Whether you’re just getting started with digital marketing or you’ve been at it for a while, it’s easy to become engrossed in the day-to-day tasks without taking the time to look at the overall picture. The best analogy here is…swimming! If you swim with your head in the water and don’t look up every once in a while, it’s not difficult to end up away off in the wrong direction. It’s the same with your digital marketing strategy, and there are plenty of other reasons why you’ll want to make sure you have one in place.

Never before have there been as many digital channels and platforms as there are now. And whilst that’s great for getting your message out there, it also means your competitors are there making noise too. What’s more, they’re more visible than ever before. With websites, social media, search engine optimisation (SEO), paid advertising, branding and content all playing a massive part in your online presence – it’s essential you are implementing a multi-channel marketing approach, and doing it well! There’s no doubt it can be a lot to think about, but if your competitors are there, you need to be too. If you’re not sure where to start, there are plenty of professional digital agencies that will be able to help you get started.

A digital strategy will enable you to identify, define and target your audience. Digital advertising platforms allow you to target people based on their behaviour and interests, thus creating a niche audience for your product or service. You can target people who have visited your website, who search online for particular words or phrases, or even a look-a-like audience of one of your competitors. It might sound complicated, but once you build this into your strategy you’ll be wishing you’d done it sooner. Again, there are plenty of professionals out there who can help you to get started.

The last thing you want to do is waste time or find yourself duplicating work. A digital strategy will allow you to map out what you need to do to thrive in 2018 and beyond, and more importantly, stick to it. From planning different projects and campaigns to ongoing maintenance, a strategy will allow you to keep tabs on the overall picture. It will give your business an online direction and purpose, which will come across to your customers and create the very best, professional impression of your business.

A professional digital presence will cost you both time and money, but it is, of course, worth it as long as you’re seeing the results come in! A strategy will map out what you’re doing and when, so you can track ROI against that activity. Without a digital strategy, you fall into the danger of having lots of untracked activity happening ad-hoc, making it difficult to see results. Without those results, good or bad, it is impossible to refine your marketing by investing more in what works, and cutting what doesn’t. Simply put, you can’t improve on what you don’t know!

If you can relate, it’s time to get a digital strategy in place. Block out a couple of hours to start thinking about where your business is now, where you want it to be and how you plan on getting it there. And most importantly, if you hit a stumbling block or aren’t sure what you need to be doing digitally – don’t give up! There are professionals who will be able to give you the little bit of help you need to get there.