Have you bought into the whole social media craze? I think I have. Since you are reading this, you can attest that I have started. I have a Facebook page, a Linkedin account, I am on twitter, and I blog. I am a member of more sites than I can remember. As you can tell, I don’t really have a strategy. I blog, and I try to keep everything else up to date. Figuring out how to use technology as it evolves is challenging enough. Add the dynamic that you are trying to figure out how competitors use the technology as they gain experience, and you end up with a complex project. Now most of you are thinking that you are not competing against anyone. If you are one of those doubters, ask someone who has recently been unemployed lately.
Time is money to a business, so time spent on social media that does not provide the projected return is a waste. Yet in our personal life, we often jump into things with out considering the time we spend. We plan everything in business. We construct project plans, 5 year plans, marketing plans, and communication plans.
So, why do we need a digital strategy? A digital strategy combines web, mobile, and internet activities into one consolidated view of communication. A half hearted approach never works. We have learned that throwing money at technology doesn’t work. Many view this as a marketing attempt or campaign. There is another reason we need to have a strategy. Adaptability.
Your brand takes time to establish and build the recognition you desire. In addition, you will need to monitor the results of your activities, adapting your strategy to take advantage of what works and modifying what doesn’t. Reading the definition of Strategy in Wikipedia I found the following: “thus a Strategy will rarely be successful if it shows no adaptability”. Isn’t success what we are trying to achieve?
