Digital Strategy Course for SMEs

Digital strategy. Planning for success in the digital age.

COVID-19 update: arrangement of our courses

We are now delivering courses both online and in-person. Please check the delivery format for each class before you enrol.

Please note that course materials for all classes (excluding prescribed textbooks) are shared electronically within 48 hours of a course starting. Printing is not available.

Digital marketing, online marketing, emarketing – call it what you want – is the primary way in which most businesses must now connect with customers. To be successful, business owners need to have a solid understanding of the key digital marketing channels and how to effectively use them.

This course is aimed at those relatively new to digital marketing and is suitable for those in small to medium sized enterprises (SME)s. You will gain an excellent foundation from which you can build further knowledge on specific channels such as Social Media, SEO, Google Ads (AdWords), and Analytics.

Aims

This course aims to develop your understanding of the digital landscape and how to leverage it to achieve business objectives. It will help you adopt the right digital strategy for your business and successfully implement it using a range of channels including your own website, search engines, social media, email and other websites. It will provide you with ideas and insights into how you can effectively apply digital tools and marketing techniques to better engage customers and drive new sales.

Outcomes

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• effectively Implement SEO, Ads (AdWords), social media, and email marketing
• evaluate potential ROI of any Internet marketing channel
• draw up a basic digital marketing strategy
• deploy website tactics that convert more prospects into paying customers
• avoid common digital marketing mistakes and pitfalls
• use Google Analytics to effectively measure results.

Content

Where do I start?

• Evaluate the digital channels available to most businesses

How people buy products and services online today

• Insight into the online buying process

Appeal to your market online

• Latest digital tactics (website, social, mobile, search, email)
• Identify which marketing media connects with your customers
• How to align your website and marketing with your customer needs

Strategy and tactics

• Strategy vs tactics
• Search vs social
• SEO vs Google Ads
• Search marketing strategies
• Social media marketing strategies (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Google Plus)
• The effect of digital tactics on customer experience
• Integrating online and offline strategies

Building your marketing plan

• How to build a marketing plan for growth
• Anchoring your strategy to an action plan to achieve results

Measuring your success

• Know what’s working and what’s not
• How to find what you need in Google Analytics
• Understanding goals and how to measure sales conversions

Intended audience

Suitable for business owners, managers and marketing professionals of small and medium businesses keen to get more out of their online marketing. It’s aimed at those relatively new to digital marketing or who are looking for a practical framework around which to improve current marketing results or to better understand and review the work of a third party agency.

Delivery style

Delivered as face-to-face training with an experienced marketing practitioner, using hands-on exercises, real-world examples, informative videos and actionable checklists.

Materials

A copy of the course slides will be provided.