7 Steps to Create a Complete Marketing Strategy in 2022

Build a marketing plan. Create buyer personas. Identify goals. Select the appropriate tools. Review your media. Audit and plan media campaigns. Marketing|13minread 7StepstoCreateaCompleteMarketingStrategyin2022 WrittenbyKaylaCarmicheal FollowAlongwithHubSpot'sFreeMarketingStrategyTemplateDownloadFreeMarketingPlan Thetruthis,keepingupwithmarketingtrendscouldbeafull-timejob. In2022alone,we'veseenamajorshifttoshort-formvideocontent;theriseandfallofnewplatforms(lookingatyou,Meta);andthecontinuingimpactoftheglobalpandemic.Inshort,whatworkedforyourmarketingstrategyinthepastmightnotflytoday. Tosucceedinthefast-pacedmarketingworld—andmaintainasenseofrelevancewithyouraudience—it'svitaltostayaheadofthecurve.  Tohelpeasesomeofthatuncertainty,we'vecreatedthisguidetoshowyoustep-by-stephowtocreateamarketingstrategythatleavesnostoneunturned. Let'sdiveintothecriticalcomponentsofacompletemarketingstrategyin2022,followedbysomeexamplesforinspiration. TheImportanceofCustomer-DrivenMarketingStrategySteps Arobustmarketingstrategywillreachyourtargetaudience–thisincludesthosewhohaveneverheardofyourbrandallthewaytorepeatcustomers. Withoutadefinedstrategy,you’llessentiallybethrowingthingstothewalltoseewhatsticks.Andit’scostingyoucost,time,andresources. FeaturedResource FreeMarketingStrategyTemplate Fillouttheformtogetyourfreetemplate. Amarketingstrategywill: Alignyourteamtospecificgoals. Helpyoutieyoureffortstobusinessobjectives. Allowyoutoidentifyandtestwhatresonateswithyourtargetaudience. Therearesevenkeystepstocraftingasuccessfulmarketingstrategy:Buildyourmarketingplan,createyourbuyerpersonas,identifyyourgoals,selectthetools,reviewyourexistingresources,auditandplanmediacampaigns,andlastly,executeyourstrategy. Let’sgetintothedetailsofeachstepinthenextsection.Oryoucanjumptothesectionyou'remostinterestedin. 7StepsofaMarketingStrategy Buildamarketingplan. Createbuyerpersonas. Identifygoals. Selecttheappropriatetools. Reviewyourmedia. Auditandplanmediacampaigns. Bringittofruition. ExamplesofSuccessfulMarketingStrategies WhattoDoAfterFollowingYourMarketingProcessSteps 7StepsofaMarketingStrategyProcess Buildamarketingplan. Createbuyerpersonas. Identifygoals. Selecttheappropriatetools. Reviewyourmedia. Auditandplanmediacampaigns. Bringittofruition. 1.Buildamarketingplan. Wait,Ihavetomakeaplanformystrategy?What'sthedifference? Yourmarketingstrategyprovidesanoverviewofthereasonswhyyourmarketingteamwillneedcertainresources,takecertainactions,andsetcertaingoalsovertheyear.Yourmarketingplanisthespecificactionsyou'lltaketoachievethatstrategy. Notsurewheretostart?Thisfreemarketingplantemplatecanhelp. DownloadforFree Therighttemplatecanhelpyoubuildamarketingplanthatidentifiesyourbudgetfortheyear,theinitiativesyourmarketingorganizationneedstotackle,andthemarketingchannelsyou'llusetoimplementthoseinitiatives. Plus,it’lltieeverythingbacktoabusinesssummary,tokeepyoualignedwithoverarchingcompanygoals. 2.Createbuyerpersonas. Ifyoucan'tdefinewhoyouraudienceisinonesentence,now'syourchancetodoit.Abuyerpersonaisasnapshotofyouridealcustomer. Forexample,astorelikeMacy'scoulddefineabuyerpersonaasBudgetingBelinda,astylishworking-classwomaninher30slivinginasuburb,lookingtofillherclosetwithdesignerdealsatlowprices. Withthisdescription,Macy'sMarketingdepartmentcanpictureBudgetingBelindaandworkwithacleardefinitioninmind. Buyerpersonashavecriticaldemographicandpsychographicinformation,includingage,jobtitle,income,location,interests,andchallenges.NoticehowBelindahasallofthoseattributesinherdescription. Youdon'thavetocreateyourbuyerpersonawithapenandpaper.Infact,HubSpotoffersafreetemplateyoucanusetomakeyourown(andit'sreallyfun). YoucanalsouseaplatformlikeVersium,whichhelpsyouidentify,understandandreachyourtargetaudiencethroughdataandartificialintelligence. Buyerpersonasshouldbeatthecoreofbuildingyourstrategy. 3.Identifyyourgoals. Yourmarketingstrategygoalsshouldreflectyourbusinessgoals. Forexample,ifoneofyourbusinessgoalsistohave300peopleattendyourannualconferenceinthreemonths,yourgoalasamarketershouldbealongthelinesofboostingonlineregistrationby10%attheendofthemonthtostayontrack. Othermarketinggoalsmightbetoincreasebrandawarenessorgeneratehigh-qualityleads.Youmightalsowanttogrowormaintainthoughtleadershipinyourindustryorincreasecustomervalue. Whateveryourgoals,identifywhattheyareandhowyourmarketingorganizationcanworktoachievethemoverthenextyear. 4.Selecttheappropriatetools. Onceyouhaveyourgoalsidentified,makesureyouhavetherighttoolstomeasurethesuccessofthosegoals. Onlinesoftwarelikesocialmediaschedulersgivesyouanalyticstohelpyoukeeptrackofwhatyouraudiencelikesanddoesn't.Alternatively,youmightconsiderGoogleAnalyticstomeasureblogandwebpageperformance. Additionally,makeyourgoalsSMART–todoso,takealookatHowtoWriteaSMARTGoal[+FreeSMARTGoalTemplate]. Hereareafewtoolsthatcanhelpyoutrackandmeasurethesuccessofyourmarketinggoals: HubSpotMarketingHub TheMarketingHuballowsyoutoconsolidateallofyourmarketingtoolsintoonecentralizedplatform. Toooften,you’llfindatoolthat’spowerfulbutnotveryeasytouse.Withthistool,youcanattractuserswithblogs,SEO,andlivechattools.Youcanthenconvertandnurturethoseleadsthroughmarketingautomation,thelandingpagebuilder,andleadtrackingfeatures. Withcustomreportingandbuilt-inanalytics,youcananalyzeyourdataandplanoutyournextmove.Plus,HubSpotMarketingHubintegrateswithover500tools. Pricing:Free;Starter,$45/month;Professional,$800/month;Enterprise,$3,200/month. Trello Trellokeepsyourmarketingteamontrackandopenlycommunicatingabouttheprojectsthey'reworkingon.Createboardsforindividualcampaigns,editorialcalendars,orquarterlygoals. Built-inworkflowsandautomationcapabilitieskeepcommunicationstreamlined,andsimplicitykeepsyourmarketingteamfocusedontheworkthatmatters. Pricing:Free;StandardClass,$5/month;PremiumClass,$10/monthfor100users;Enterprise,$17.50/monthfor250users. TrueNorth TrueNorthisamarketingmanagementplatformbuilttohelpyouhityourmarketinggoals.Builtspecificallyformarketingteams,TrueNorthturnsyourmarketingstrategyintoavisualprojectionofyourgrowth,whichisusedtocreatemonthlymilestonesthathelpyoustayontrack.OneofthekeybenefitsofTrueNorthisthatitcentralizesallofyourideas,campaigns,andresultsinoneplace,witheverythingtiedbacktoyourgoal.Pricing:$115/month(freefor30days). Monday.com EverythingonMonday.comstartswithaboardorvisuallydriventable.Createandcustomizeworkflowsforyourteamandkeepgroups,items,sub-items,andupdatessyncedinreal-time. YoucanalsotransformdatapulledfromtimelineandGanttviewstotrackyourprojectsonMonday.comandensuredeadlineshavebeenmet.Plus,withmorethan40integrations—fromSurveyMonkeytoMailchimpand,ofcourse,HubSpot—youcanvisualizeyourdataandensureyourwholecompanyiscollaborating. Pricing:Basic,$8/month/seat;Standard,$10/month/seat;Pro,$16/month/seat;Enterprise,contactforpricing. SEMrush SEOcontinuestobeahugefactorinthesuccessfulrankingofyourwebsite. SEMrushallowsyoutorunatechnicalSEOaudit,trackdailyrankings,analyzeyourcompetitor'sSEOstrategy,researchmillionsofkeywords,andevensourceideasforearningmoreorganictraffic. Butthebenefitsdon'tstopatSEO.UseSEMRushforPPC,buildingandmeasuringaneffectivesocialmediastrategy,contentplanning,andevenmarketresearch. Pricing:Pro,$119/month;Guru,$229/month;Business,$449/month. Buzzsumo BuzzSumoallowsyoutoanalyzedatatoenhanceandleadyourmarketingstrategy,allwhileexploringhigh-performingcontentinyourindustry. Usetheplatformtoidentifyinfluencerswhomayhelpyourbrandreach,monitorcomments,andfindtrendstomakethemostofeveryturn. Asyourneedsevolve,youcanalsoleveragetheircrisismanagementandvideomarketingtools. Pricing:Plus,$179/month;Large,$299/month;Enterprise,contactforpricing. CrazyEgg Needtooptimizeyourwebsitethisyear?ConsidergettingstartedwithCrazyEgg.You'llbeabletoidentify"attentionhotspots"onyourproductpages,trackadcampaigntrafficonyoursite,andunderstandifshoppersareclickingwhereyouwantthemto. Youcanevenmakesureyour"BuyNow"buttonsareinthebestplace. CrazyEggalsooffersrecordings,A/Btesting,andmoretohelpensureyourwebsiteisofferingthebestuserexperience. Pricing:Basic,$24/month;Standard,$49/month;Plus,$99/month;Pro,$249/month;Enterprise,contactforpricing. 5.Reviewyourmedia. Decidewhatyoualreadyhaveinyourarsenalthatcanhelpyoucreateyourstrategy.Tostreamlinethisprocess,thinkofyourassetsinthreecategories–paid,owned,andearnedmedia. Paidmediameansanychannelyouspendmoneyontoattractyourtargetaudience.Thisincludesofflinechannelsliketelevision,directmail,andbillboardtoonlinechannelslikesocialmedia,searchengines,andwebsites. OwnedMediareferstoanyofthemediayourmarketingteamhastocreate:pictures,videos,podcasts,ebooks,infographics,etc. Earnedmediaisanotherwaytosayuser-generatedcontent.Sharesonsocialmedia,tweetsaboutyourbusiness,andphotospostedonInstagrammentioningyourbrandareallexamplesofearnedmedia. Gatheryourmaterialsineachmediatypeandconsolidatetheminonelocationtohaveaclearvisionofwhatyouhaveandhowyoucanintegratethemtomaximizeyourstrategy. Forexample,ifyoualreadyhaveablogthat'srollingoutweeklycontentinyourniche(ownedmedia),youmightconsiderpromotingyourblogpostsonTwitter(paidmedia),whichcustomersmightthenreTweet(earnedmedia).Ultimately,thatwillhelpyoucreateabetter,morewell-roundedmarketingstrategy. Ifyouhaveresourcesthatdon'tfitintoyourgoals,nixthem.Thisisagreattimetocleanhouseandidentifygapsinyourmaterials. 6.Auditandplanmediacampaigns. Cleaninghouseseguesstraightintothisstep.Now,youmustdecidewhichcontentisgoingtohelpyou. Focusonyourownedmediaandmarketinggoals.Forinstance,willupdatingtheCTAsattheendofyourblogpostshelpyouincreaseRSVPstoyourevent? Next,lookatyourbuyerpersonas.Let'ssayyouworkforavideoeditingsoftwarecompany.Ifoneofyourpersona'schallengesisaddingcleansoundeffectstotheirvideosbutyoudon'thaveanycontentthatreflectsthat,makea15-seconddemovideoforInstagramtoshowhowgreatyourproductisatsolvingthatchallenge. Finally,createacontentcreationplan.Theplanshouldincludetopicclusters,goals,format,andchannelforeachpieceofcontent.Besuretoincludewhichchallengeit'ssolvingforyourbuyerpersona. Forideasoncontentcreationoramorein-depthlookathowtocreateacontentplan,checkoutourpost,TheUltimateGuidetoContentCreation. 7.Bringittofruition. Atthispoint,yourmarketresearchandplanningshouldhelpyouvisualizehowyourstrategywillbeexecuted–andbywhichteams. Thefinalstepistobringthatalltogetherandassignactionstoyourplans. Createadocumentthatmapsoutthestepsyouneedtotaketoexecuteyourcampaign.Inotherwords,defineyourstrategy. Thinklong-termwhencreatingthisdocument.Astandardstrategydocumentis12months.Thisstructuredtimelineshouldbethehomebaseforyourstrategicmarketingefforts. Topaintanexample,let'sgobacktothevideosoftwarecompany. MaybeinJanuary,youwilllaunchasoftwareupdatethatimprovestheexportationprocessforusers.InApril,youwanttopublishanebookthatexplainseditingtermstoyourbuyerpersonas,andinSeptember,youplantolaunchanintegrationwithothersoftware. Remember,yourdigitalstrategyisuniquetoyourbusiness,sothedocumentshouldbeaswell.Aslongasthestrategyincludesthepertinentdetailsoutlinedinprevioussections,you'llbeset. Nowthatwe'veexploredthecriticalstepsofacompletemarketingstrategy,let'slookatsome"Whydidn'tIthinkofthat?"strategiestoinspireyourown. ExamplesofSuccessfulMarketingStrategies 1.RegalMovies Digitalstrategy:Ownedmedia RegalMoviestooktheHalloweenspirittoanewlevel,evenrenamingitsTwitteraccounttoreflectthespiritoftheseason.This"MonsterMadness"pollisafun,interactivewaytogetfollowersinvestedinRegal'scontent: ImageSource Regal'stweetisanexampleofownedmediabecausethecompanywasinfullcontroloftheanswersfollowersgave(and,apparently,AmericanWerewolfdidn'tstandachance). Regaleffectivelykepttruetotheirbrandbyusingonlyclassicmoviesintheirpollwhilestillputtingamodernspinonit. Thisisalsoagoodexampleofhowretweetsdon'tnecessarilyequalsuccess.Whilefourretweetsaren'tthatbigofadeal,checkoutthevotes:461.Thatmeanstherewereover400interactionswithasingletweet. 2.LaCroix Digitalstrategy:User-generatedcontent,earnedmedia User-generatedcontentisoneofthebestwaystogaintractioninyourstrategy. Itdemonstratesyourappreciationforloyalcustomers,buildscommunity,andalsoincentivizesotherusers'topromoteyourproductsforthechanceatasimilarshout-out. Plus,sometimesthecontentyourbrandloyalistscreateisreally,reallygood. ImageSource Inthiscase,theconsumerispraisingthebrand’sproduct.Doesn’tgetbetterthanafantasticreviewlikethat. 3.SmallGirlsPR Digitalstrategy:Eventmarketing Wait,isthatKekePalmer? ImageSource SmallGirlsPRisaboutiquePRcompanybasedinNewYork,andoneofthecompany'stalentsisthrowingamazingeventsfortheirclients,likeOlay.ThiseventrecapcarouselonInstagramisaneffectiveeventmarketingexample,asitboostsawarenessforyourbrandandofferssocialproofbyfeaturingapublicfigure. 4.Superside Digitalstrategy:Paidmedia DesignagencySupersidelaunchedanInstagramadtopromotealeadmagnet:Theirdigitaladdesignguide.Whilethebrandmayhavecreatedtheguidespecificallyforpaidpromotions,it’salsopossiblethattheyrepurposedahigh-performingblogpostintoadownloadableebook. Inthiscase,alltheyhadtodowasrepackagetheircurrentcontent,buildanadarounditwithcreativeassets,andrunit. Inprevioussections,wediscussedthepowerofleveragingmultipleformsofmediainyourmarketingstrategy.Thisisagreatexampleofit. 5.Target Digitalstrategy:Paidmedia,Twittercards Ifyou'vegotthebudgetforpaidmedia,takefulladvantageofit. Paidmediaiswhenyoupaysocialchannels,likeTwitter,topromoteyourcontentontheirsite.Bydoingthis,yourcontentreachesnewaudiencesyoumightnotbeabletoreachorganically: ImageSource ThisinclusiveadfromTargetaboutfallshoppingusesTwittercardstopromotethebrandandmakeshoppingeasywiththeclickofabutton. Moresocialchannelsareofferingwaysforshopperstopurchasein-apporclosetoit,drivingsalesandboostingexposureforbrands. WhattoExpectAfterFollowingYourMarketingProcessSteps Ultimately,creatingacompletemarketingstrategyisn'tsomethingthatcanhappenovernight.Ittakestime,hardwork,anddedicationtoensureyou'rereachingyouridealaudience,wheneverandwherevertheywanttobereached. Stickwithit(andusesomeoftheresourceswe'veincludedinthispost),andovertime,researchandcustomerfeedbackwillhelpyourefineyourstrategytoensureyou'respendingmostofyourtimeonthemarketingchannelsyouraudiencecaresmostabout. Editor'snote:ThispostwasoriginallypublishedinOctober2019.Ithasbeenupdatedforfreshnessandaccuracy.   OriginallypublishedFeb25,20227:00:00AM,updatedApril132022 Topics: MarketingStrategy Don'tforgettosharethispost! RelatedArticles 5StepstoCreateanOutstandingMarketingPlan[FreeTemplates] Marketing  |20minread 20 DigitalMarketingEbooksMarketersareReadingin2022 Marketing  |13minread TheTop7MarketingChallengesFacedGloballyin2022[HubSpotData+ExpertTips] Marketing  |19minread ExpandOffer SocialMediaContentCalendarTemplate Getitnow Getitnow DownloadforLater