How is your social media strategy linked to the annual marketing plan?

fully agree with Shaikha Ali Al-Sowaidi

My Social Media strategy is so tied into the overall marketing plan that it fits in seamlessly. Currently, any SMM that is being done is also being implemented into traditional marketing. I apply style guides for the traditional marketing that is being utilized for SMM. I like to do it that way so that there is no confusion, we can focus on the problems at hand, and take our time developing new style guides just in case the current ones do not work.

A large-scale digital marketing strategy is a complex undertaking, which is why before you know it - and even though you have the best of intentions - things can get messy. Too much of this tactic, not enough of that one; a dash short on cohesion, a lack of collaboration. One tiny misstep can often send an entire digital marketing strategy careening off track. However, when the perfect mix of digital marketing solutions comes together, success flows like the magical elixir of a Disney fairytale.

With that in mind, we're kicking off WSI's 2015 Digital Marketing Video Series with an entry called the 6 Essential Elements For A Successful Digital Marketing Strategy. With the amount of confusion, noise and sheer choice available in the digital marketing space, it's become increasingly difficult for marketers and businesses to figure out where and how to focus their energy. In the video below, we outline the components that will help your digital strategy cut through the crowd and deliver success.

Following are the strategies linked with our marketing plan.

With more and more people interacting with brands via their smartphones and tablets, it's necessary to ensure you're delivering a consistent and responsive experience across all devices. It should be just as easy for a user to engage with or complete an action on your website, content and social media with their phones as it is their laptop. And oh yeah, we haven't even mentioned wearable devices yet, but there's going to be 116 million of these little gadgets shipped around the world by 2017, so that might be important. Don't sleep on anything related to mobile technology - we promise you'll regret it.

Is SEO dead? HA, good joke, we really had ourselves going there for a second. SEO is alive and well, friends, but perhaps a bit more difficult than in the  past due to an increased number of requirements and that pesky algorithm over at Google that keeps getting better and better. Then again, search marketing isn't just about SEO, so don't forget about the incredible effectiveness of pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns. The key, whether you're doing PPC or SEO, is to track and measure your results so you can maximize the value of your marketing budget.

It's amazing how overlooked and underused email marketing is, even as we head into 2015. Sending email to your target audience is one of the most effective ways to drive traffic, engagement and conversion. You're missing a huge opportunity, not to mention an integral part of a successful digital marketing strategy, if you haven't implemented email marketing.

Over the last year, we've talked a lot about how vital customer service is to the core of a company or brand. And in our opinion, social media is a space where you can delight your customers with unexpectedly exceptional customer service. Increased social activity also gives a boost to your brand's awareness, and adds credibility and thought leadership to your industry voice. Even though many businesses had a difficult time discerning the utility of social media, they're starting to figure out it isn't just a fad.

Ah, content marketing - the darling of the digital space for the last few years. With more companies heavily investing in content, there's an increased pressure to plan, organize and deliver magical, unicorn-like content that wins the heart of anybody who reads it. Yeah, that's not reality, at least not the unicorn part. But seriously, content is becoming so huge that you really do need to seamlessly plan, collaborate and organize your content marketing agenda to achieve success.

Everything in digital marketing boils down to value. Most companies and brands have tight budgets but expect huge results, and the only way to do that is to always, always, always measure, tweak and improve upon whatever it is you're doing in order to extract maximum value.