A well-crafted marketing plan is crucial to any business. But even the most ingenious plan won’t go anywhere if it’s not well-communicated to your entire team. That’s why we think your next campaign should include a marketing plan infographic.
COVID-19 took a toll on budgets, according to a Deloitte/Duke Fuqua School of Business survey, which found that marketing spending dropped by nearly 4% in 2020. However, the survey of marketing executives predicts that budgets will bounce back this year, rising by about 14% over the course of 2021.
If you’re struggling to find a good way to present your marketing plan, putting it in the form of an infographic could help you make the most of the budget boost you’re getting this year. And for those whose budgets aren’t rising, creating marketing plan infographics through Venngage’s Infographic Maker can give you serious bang for the buck.
NEW! Introducing: Marketing Statistics Report 2022
It’s 2022 already. Marketers, are you still using data from pre-COVID times?
Don’t make decisions based on outdated data that no longer applies. It’s time you keep yourself informed of the latest marketing statistics and trends during the past two years, and learn how COVID-19 has affected marketing efforts in different industries — with this FREE marketing statistics report put together by Venngage and HubSpot.
The report uses data gathered from over 100,000 customers of HubSpot CRM. In addition to that, you’ll also know about the trends in using visuals in content marketing and the impacts of the pandemic on visual content, from 200+ marketers all over the world interviewed by Venngage.
Grab your copy now — it’s not like any other marketing reports out there, plus it’s 100% free!
In the meantime, let’s explore some basics of marketing plan infographics and look at the many applications they can have across a range of industries.
Want to learn more about other types of infographics? Read our blog on the 9 main types of infographics or watch the video below:
Click to jump ahead:
- What should be in a marketing plan?
- Business marketing plan infographic
- Content marketing plan infographic
- Multichannel marketing plan infographic
- Social media marketing plan infographic
- Email marketing plan infographic
- Nonprofit marketing plan infographic
- Consultancy marketing plan infographic
- Marketing plan infographic tips
What should be in a marketing plan?
The Deloitte/Duke survey we mentioned earlier found that the average company spends anywhere from 4% to nearly 25% of its revenue on marketing, with education and consumer services spending the most.
Even for a small company, spending a quarter of the year’s revenue on marketing means that those in charge of marketing activities need to make sure their strategies and campaigns are on point, which means crafting well-considered plans.
The basic elements of a marketing plan typically include:
- Goals
- Budget
- Target audience
- Competitor analysis
- Timelines
- Tactics
While the example above was created to detail a content marketing strategy, companies can create plans surrounding any area of marketing. For example, the template above could be easily customized for in-person marketing methods, SEO, link-building and more.
Also read: Marketing Infographics: The Definitive Guide [Includes Infographic Templates]
Business marketing plan infographic
Depending on your industry, your audience may expect your marketing plan infographic to be in the form of a multi-page presentation. For some of them, an one-sheeter marketing infographic could be more up their alley. Whatever your business, be sure to tailor your marketing plan infographic to the audience.
This simple business marketing plan infographic is several pages long, detailing the plan itself as well as the process necessary to create it. If you want team members to buy into the plan, you should hold nothing back.
While most marketing plans are for internal use, it could be necessary for you to engage with media, reporters and others outside your organization depending on your field. This media kit marketing plan infographic does just that as it includes details about the company, its leadership and the release schedule media members can expect.
Content marketing plan infographic
According to Hubspot, about 70% of companies use content marketing, making it one of the most popular forms of marketing today. But its ubiquity doesn’t mean that savvy marketers can take their foot off the gas when it comes to planning their content marketing strategies or communicating them clearly to team members.
In this content marketing plan infographic template, an interested person would get all the information they need to know about the campaign, from goals to audience personas to the expected workflow of content.
Companies with mature content marketing strategies may not require such thorough methods of communicating content marketing plans, and an example like this could be right for your organization. This Venngage marketing plan fits on one page, which makes it extremely digestible.
Multichannel marketing plan infographic
It may be necessary to fold all methods of reaching your audience into a single plan, especially for small businesses.
This marketing proposal template can help you share plans across many channels, or you can use it to narrow your focus to just one channel or even a single campaign.
One of the best ways to ensure success in your marketing plans is to be sure you’re gathering robust data that you can then use to shape future campaigns. This marketing proposal example is ideal for giving team members the high-level data they need to understand what worked and what didn’t as they consider their next move.
Social media marketing plan infographic
According to the Deloitte/Duke survey, the average company spends about 15% of its marketing budget on social media and that’s expected to rise to about 25% over the next half-decade. That means social media marketing plans aren’t just nice to have; they’re necessary.
This simple, engaging example shows that marketing plan infographics don’t always have to be stuffy to connect with consumers. Particularly if the target channel or audience is on the younger side, using bold colors and a friendly icon style can create a youthful vibe.
Similarly, this social media marketing plan infographic uses a popular illustration style to convey the key aspects of the plan.
Also read: 10 Tips to Make Eye-Catching Infographics for Social Media
Email marketing plan infographic
About 60% of companies in Deloitte’s survey said they invested in improving the performance of their email marketing and other direct digital marketing campaigns. With the vast majority of consumers using email, it’s not hard to understand why companies are investing heavily in this channel, including by offering gated content like the example below.
Another example: this email marketing plan infographic is easily customized to add the details of your email marketing plans. While it’s in a multi-page format, it’s a breeze to isolate a single page that you can share with your team with our infographic editor.
Nonprofit marketing plan infographic
In the nonprofit space, every penny counts, and raising awareness of your cause could be the difference between staying afloat and sinking.
Speaking of floating or sinking, this Venngage marketing plan infographic template was designed for a nonprofit supporting clean water, but with its simple style, it’s easily customizable to any other type of nonprofit. What makes this example stand out is the detailed editorial calendar that can help keep your entire team on the same page.
Marketing plan infographics for nonprofits can be on the lean side like this example that states goals, plans and the target audience.
Another take on that approach would be ideal for nonprofits that help individuals and families, and pictures of happy faces drive home the importance of the issue.
Nonprofit marketing plan infographics can be shared with external audiences, including media and reporters, and this example gives a journalist everything they need to write about the nonprofits upcoming campaign.
Consultancy marketing plan infographic
The exciting and scary world of consultancy holds the promise of true independence, but without the support system of a company, effective marketing can be even more important, whether you’re a one-person operation or a small shop.
Small consultancies could use this business plan infographic to seek funding or partnerships or as a template to explain what services they can provide to clients.
Consultancy proposal infographics can also be simple and to-the-point, like this example, which covers the bases but is streamlined.
Marketing plan infographics for consultancies are a perfect match for presentation software, and particularly if your consultancy is new, treating everything like a pitch deck can help you think like an investor.
Marketing plan infographic tips
Now that you’ve seen some examples of marketing plan infographics that may apply to your business, how do you go about creating one? Let’s look at some simple steps and tricks to make your marketing plan infographic as effective as possible.
Creating a marketing plan infographic requires having a marketing plan to begin with. If your company is mature, you likely already have strategies you use to craft marketing plans, but as this infographic illustrates, following a few steps can help make coming up with new campaigns simple and easy.
We’ve explored a lot of flashy, impressive examples, but the truth is that a marketing plan infographic does not have to be loaded with visual elements to be effective. As this Instagram post template illustrates, it’s possible to create the basis of a marketing plan in just three steps.
Of course, we recommend if you’re going to take the time to put your marketing plan into an infographic format and use Venngage’s Infographic Maker to make it engaging.
As this Facebook post template shows, you can use charts and graphs to visualize metrics, while icons and illustrations can help guide readers’ eyes.
Perhaps the most important aspect to crafting a successful marketing plan is understanding your ideal audience member. When it comes time to create your marketing plan infographic, consider using photos or illustrations to create a target persona.
Make a fake name and give them a backstory to round them out as people. This will help team members view your ideal customer as a real person rather than numbers on a page.
Expectation setting is also a crucial aspect of creating successful marketing plans. By writing a brief executive summary and following that up with clear, data-driven goals, you can ensure your team knows where you’ve been and where you’re going.
Regardless of the format you choose, if you can follow the six steps outlined above, you should have everything you need to create an engaging and effective marketing plan infographic.
In summary: Not every marketing campaign will generate staggering results, but failing to plan means planning to fail. Be sure your marketing budgets are spent effectively by creating a marketing plan infographic
Communicating the goals, metrics and target audience of your marketing plans in the form of an infographic is an ideal way to help team members become more engaged with the plan because it lets them visualize every aspect of it.
Whether you need a marketing plan infographic in the form of a one-pager or your audience can handle several pages, there are many approaches that could be appropriate for your company regardless of what industry you’re in.
It’s time to engage your team members and better present your ideas. Start creating a marketing plan infographic today with Venngage’s Infographic Maker. It’s free to get started.