we need to make simple marketing plan

How to create a content marketing plan to drive some good engagement on channels like Facebook." The difference may seem subtle, but in actuality the outcome is drastically different.

One of my favorite reference points is a class Donna Poppocasta taught here at OMI called "Content Marketing Strategy for Social Media" where she talked about content marketing being the epicenter of all social media and the platforms the channels you push content.

5 Sky-Rocket Method Tips Make Simple Marketing Plan

we need to make simple marketing plan

Creating a great marketing plan for your business. I recommend a simple plan, broken down into five sections, that's easy to write and follow. If you're creating your marketing plan for in-house use, you can bullet the sections and make the writing as brief as possible. Content matters most--not your writing style. Here's how to write a five-part plan that works as hard as you do:

Situation Analysis

This introductory section contains an overview of your situation as it exists today and will provide a useful benchmark as you adapt and refine your plan in the coming months. Begin with a short description of your current product or service offering, the marketing advantages and challenges you face, and a look at the threats posed by your competitors. Describe any outside forces that will affect your business in the coming year--this can be anything from diminished traffic levels due to construction if you're a retailer or a change in law that could affect a new product introduction if you're an inventor, for example.

Target Audience

All that's needed here is a simple, bulleted description of your target audiences. If you're marketing to consumers, write a target-audience profile based on demographics, including age, gender and any other important characteristics. B2B marketers should list your target audiences by category (such as lawyers, doctors, shopping malls) and include any qualifying criteria for each.

Goals

In one page or less, list your company's marketing goals for the coming year. The key is to make your goals realistic and measurable so that you can easily evaluate your performance. "Increase sales of peripherals" is an example of an ineffective goal. You'd be in a much better position to gauge your marketing progress with a goal such as, "Increase sales of peripherals 10 percent in the first quarter, 15 percent in the second quarter, 15 percent in the third quarter and 10 percent in fourth quarter."

Strategies and Tactics

This section will make up the bulk of your plan, and you should take as much space as you need to give an overview of your marketing strategies and list each of the corresponding tactics you'll employ to execute them. Here's an example: A client of mine markets videotape and equipment. One of her goals is to increase sales to large ministries in three states by 20 percent. Together we've developed a strategy that includes making a special offer each month to this prospect group, and one of her tactics is to use monthly e-mails to market to an in-house list.

Your tactics section should include all the actionable steps you plan to take for advertising, public relations, direct mail, trade shows and special promotions. You can use a paper calendar to schedule your tactics or use a contact manager or spreadsheet program--what matters most is that you stick to your schedule and follow through. A plan on paper is only useful if it's put into action.

Budget Breakdown

The final section of your plan includes a brief breakdown of the costs associated with each of your tactics. So if you plan to exhibit at three trade shows per year, for example, you'll include the costs to participate in the shows and prepare your booth and marketing materials. If you find the tactics you've selected are too costly, you can go back and make revisions before you arrive at a final budget.

You can adapt this plan as your business grows and your marketing programs evolve. Soon you'll find it's a simple tool you can't afford to be without.

What You Need ?

Your Personal (or Company) Brand

It's marketing 101 to really map out what your personal or company brand stands for and the big items you want to be sure folks remember you by...but so many times we get so harried in the day of "do do do" we forget to really think about these things when posting on social media. So the big one here is set up a top three to five attributes (powerful adjectives) and have those on the wall, desk, or screensaver to refer to so you always make sure you live up to this. So many of us post randomly, retweet (RT) without reading, and even write things like a blog post without such thought. Be sure to get your brand nailed down and so much more of the content you have to plan for will come naturally.

Your Blog

If no one has ever told you that your blog has the potential to be the single biggest impact on driving business to your company.

It's what folks judge you by. It's how you are validated as an expert in the industry. Literally it's your digital résumé. Moreover, Google LOVES blogs that are posted to frequently (once a week is all that's needed) and more so those that are shared on Twitter, Facebook, and of course Google+. So, you must start to prioritize building a great content marketing calendar of blog posts and simply live up to that. Note: I did not say think about how to get your blog seen on Facebook - that will come if the content is good and shared well.

Your Tweets

Like a good tweet, this will be short and sweet.

STOP retweeting other folks' stuff, stop tweeting third-party articles, and start tweeting your stuff. Your quick summary of a great article you read, on your blog. Your cool new product launch on your page and press release. And then strategically retweet those in your industry that really have street cred and - guess what? - align with your brand (aka step 1) and your content marketing calendar that focus on important topics to your company.

Your Video

If you haven't started creating good video, it's time you do. More time is spent watching a video than on Facebook itself. And video is 10 times more likely to be watched on Facebook than other channels like Twitter. Start simply by perhaps creating good webinar content that you record and archive. Put it on YouTube and then take the highlights and add to a good page on your site.

Then start looking at what your competitors are doing on video or other folks that you can see doing a good job and copy that. Build some video that is worth sharing, whether it is customer interviews, product demos, you teaching a class or workshop, etc.,

Summary

We think about content first. Things like our blog, our video, and our overall plan, and THEN we think how we can best share this blog or video on Twitter. Or on Facebook. And then we push it out. Spending the time to think through a content marketing plan will drive every decision you need to make for effective social media return on investment.

Must Follow this Rules for create a smart digital marketing content

Optimize for search and for mobile

This step is essential. According to one study, search contributes about a third of the traffic that websites receive. The principles of good search-engine optimization (SEO) must be applied to every piece of content as you create it, not just after-the-fact, in the metadata. Who is your audience? What answers are people looking for? What keywords will they use to find those answers? That’s what you need to know on the front end. You can certainly extend your reach by crafting sharp headlines, managing the on-page SEO, and building a diverse but relevant link portfolio — but you extend it all the more when the content itself follows best SEO practices. Also create content with mobile in mind. Think carefully about how the length of your message, the formatting, visual elements, and links will shape user experience. The better the experience, the more likely customers are to stick around and absorb the message.

Design a modular but cohesive content plan

You can increase your impact by creating “content modules” — small bits of content, each with a targeted purpose, that can be used in a variety of ways. For example, a blog post can be excerpted to provide social media status updates, included in your e-mail newsletter, syndicated on LinkedIn, and more. But each module should also plug into a clear narrative arc. In a screenplay or a novel, that arc follows the hero’s journey; in content marketing, you use it to guide the buyer’s journey. The typical arc goes from broad (for instance, who we are and why our brands can help solve people’s most urgent problems) to narrow (the differences that define a superior product or service). To build a cohesive user experience, map out how you’ll use these modules to tell your story from beginning to end.

Segment your audience

Use customer data to personalize your message. Is your email newsletter a blast to everyone who signed up for your list? Or do you tailor your distribution? The latter approach will yield much better results. You can send existing customers exclusive information about an upcoming feature release, for instance, and leads can receive content that’s designed to move them toward a purchase. Personalization — whether it’s based on interests, demographics, or where customers are in their journey — gets you noticed and persuades people to take action. The more relevant your content is to them, the more effective it will be. And by targeting certain outlets or platforms, such as Facebook for B2C sales and LinkedIn for B2B sales, you’ll increase your relevance even more.

Create relationships with branded publications and sites

The term “brand journalism” is a controversial one, but it nicely encapsulates where content creation has gone: using good writing and storytelling techniques to create high-quality marketing messages. As customers are exposed to your content — particularly through publications and websites they respect — they’ll learn more about your brand and begin to trust your authority in whatever space you’re playing in. To build relationships with other sites, try writing guest posts for niche or industry sites, again with a clear focus on relevance. These often have a relatively open contributor policy, in that you apply and are able to blog there, but each piece undergoes editorial vetting. (Business2Community is a good example.) Blogging for sites that allow contributors to run columns on a case-by-case basis requires more persistence and even stronger writing, but such outlets generally have more engaged, more targeted, and often larger audiences, as well as more credibility. You can also connect with journalists and other bloggers, in hopes that they’ll link to your content in their own columns and posts. Sharing original research or creating an infographic that they can write about is a great example of this approach in action.

Pay for distribution

Paid distribution can work well for a variety of formats, including entire stories (newswire-style), headlines, videos, links, and social media updates. Tools such as Outbrain enable you to get your content onto major platforms in the form of “suggested posts” that appear below the site’s own content. Sponsored posts and status updates are also gaining in popularity. They’re essentially ads that allow you to exploit the extensive data that websites and social networks collect about their users.

Share with relevant communities. After publishing your content, share it in communities where it’s likely to be of interest. For example, if you’re writing about inbound marketing techniques, you might reach out to BizSugar.com, Inbound.org, and relevant subreddits on Reddit.com. Make choices based on relevance and value so you can generate interest and discussion in communities where your ideas will matter. You don’t want to spam any community.

Reach out to influencers in your market

The idea here is simple: you create content that’s potentially interesting to leading figures in your market and their audiences. As you’re compiling your list of influencers, think about the opportunities that you’re seeking. For instance, do you want them to review a book you’ve written? Be clear about how you’d like to benefit and what you can offer in return, such as a review of one of their books or a plug on your company blog. Once you’ve established these important connections, strengthen them by sharing influencers’ content through your channels and commenting on their blog posts and social updates. Focus on building relationships rather than conducting one-time transactions.

While a successful content strategy starts with publishing exceptional content, the strategic distribution of that content is the real key to positive ROI. (You can measure impact through various metrics, but I recommend starting with Google Analytics.) Broaden your distribution capabilities by building relationships with media, understanding your audience, and tailoring your social media activities to humanize your content and reach your audience in a way that’s relevant to their interests.