5 Things you should understand before creating a digital strategy
The Purpose: The objectives, use and application of digital strategies vary from one business to another. The digital strategy applied by a movie theater will be different from that of an institution of higher learning. These examples refer back to the fact that for your business, there are certain key reasons you desire to have a digital strategy. As a client, it becomes easier for you to make it clear to the digital strategist what results you expect. For instance, the primary purpose may be creating awareness and brand reputation which then results to onboarding of new customers as the secondary objective. Know exactly why you want the digital strategy and the expected results. It makes it clear to the strategist too.
Your Target Audience: It makes no financial sense to develop a digital strategy when you do not clearly understand your audience. Failure to understand your buyer persona results to adoption of strategies based either on a fad or industry best practices. Note that even the industry best practices may are general in nature and may not fully apply for your business; they are merely a starting point. When you understand your audience, you know their preferences, their association with brands, their preferred services and products, and their expenditure patterns. You also know if they use mobile devices or prefer desktops. You will also understand their temperaments to various types of content, web design, and even aspects such as email marketing. From this point, your strategist will advise on what tools to use and which ones to avoid.
Social Media: The future is online, and social media makes up a sizeable share of this future. As a client, you need to understand the opportunities and limitations that lie in social media as one of the many tools of a digital strategy. You do not have to include all social media channels in your strategy. Instead, only pick that which adds value to your brand and helps in connecting with your audience and relevant connections in your industry.
Content Is King: It will do you no good to have the most superior and expensive digital strategy if your content is offbeat. Content is the fuel that drives mobile apps, websites, forums, social media pages etc. In this era, authenticity is key as your target audience expects little or no fluff or falsehood in whatever messages you wish to get across. You must get your content strategy right from the beginning and ensure it remains active on a daily basis. For your brand to engage with the audience effectively, an average presence will be required, but ensure it does not become too pushy. Besides, have the right type of content for various channels based on the type of business you do. For instance, a travel company should have a very active content strategy posting high-quality photos, videos and reviews as often as 2–3 hour spans. Of course, this costs money, but pays in the end by increasing brand visibility and recognition.
Privacy & The Online Persona: You need to understand that in your digital strategy, you will access and store crucial information such as customer and supplier’s name, emails, locations etc. Such information is private and confidential and should be treated as such at all times. Adopt a privacy policy early enough and train your employees too. This way, you will avoid increasing legal repercussions should data be leaked. Also note: while a digital strategy not only provides an
online presence but also ensure you always leave digital footprints. Ensure your digital tools and apps are utilized for the intended purposes; not engaging in online rants and wars on social issues, political affiliations and bashing competitors. The internet never forgets and such footprints could be adversely used against your brand.
