Digital Marketing is Like Baking a Cake

Made Essential Reading on 02 July 2010 Richard Turrell

I was recently asked to create an analogy for digital marketing. Racking my brain and accepting that inspiration arrives from the most unusual avenues, my moment arrived whilst watching a cookery show (hosted by Sophie Dahl if it helps my credibility?) when she hit the nail on the head with her description of how to bake a decent cake. The actual sponge is almost scientific, it is imperative that you purchase the right ingredients and use the correct volumes; it’s what you do around the base that makes the difference.

I hereby launch my Essential Digital Marketing Cake.

Basic Ingredients

As any WI stalwart will tell you, you should not mess with a successful formula; the following (in my eyes) are simply unavoidable:

• A website
• A customer / prospecting database
• A way to send emails
• A marketing resource

In theory, the better the ingredients, the better your cake tastes but don’t spend your entire budget at this stage or your cake will be rather plain and ordinary.

The filling

Anyone that likes a decent Victoria Sponge knows that the filling is what makes the cake. The following elements are pivotal to how successful you make your digital marketing:

• Some decent copy
• A well prepared marketing strategy
• Ideas (as many as possible)

Toppings

This is where you can create a digital marketing solution that works for your audience. The key advice that I can offer is that all of your metaphorical toppings should complement each other and be appealing to your customer base. You wouldn’t try to target senior management using street slang, as much as you wouldn’t add popping candy to your grandmother’s birthday cake.

As you keep your core audience at heart you can be as creative as you deem necessary and pick from the vast array of marketing techniques and processes that are available.

Time to finish the washing up

There you go, I’ve just backed up my career with advice taken from a cookery programme! Fortunately it actually makes sense, we have all tasted good and bad cakes but they are still cakes none the less, digital marketing is no different.

PS. If anyone would like to send me a cake to support my analogy I believe that would be a very good idea. Send your cakes to the Essential office.