10 Reasons Why You Need a Digital Strategy

Almost every business today has some sort of online presence. Whether you have a website, social media accounts, or an eCommerce store, you need to have a digital strategy in place. Many businesses create a website and then forget about it, assuming that simply having a website is enough. This is not the case. In order to compete in today's digital age, you need to have a comprehensive digital strategy that covers all aspects of your online presence.

What Is a Digital Strategy?

A digital strategy is a comprehensive plan that covers all aspectsof your online presence. It includes your website, social media, emailmarketing, and eCommerce store. A digital strategy ensures that all of your online channels are working together to achieve your business goals. According to Reyes (2020), digital strategy focuses on the use of technology to improve business performance such as the reimagining of the existing processes.

If you want to grow your business, you need a digital strategy. A well-executed digital strategy will help you reach more customers and grow your revenue. In order to compete in today's competitive market, you need to have a strong online presence. Here are 10 reasons why you need a digital strategy.

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10 Reasons Why You Need a Digital Strategy

1. In-depth business discovery

When you create a website, social media accounts, or an eCommerce store without first having an in-depth understanding of your business, you're setting yourself up for failure. You need to have a good understanding of what it is you want to achieve or what are your goals. By doing this, you will be able to re evaluate and optimize your business goals, current tactics, target audience, and more. But if you don't do this research, you'll have no idea what type of content to create or how to reach your target market.

2. Eliminate missed opportunities

If you're not actively engaging with your target market, you're missing out on a lot of potential business opportunities. By having a digital strategy in place, you can connect with more people who are interested in whatyou have to offer.

Through social media marketing, email marketing, and SEO, you can reach more people than ever before. And the best part is that all these can be automated, so you can continue to reach new customers even while you're aslee por away from your computer.

3. To know your online audience

It's important to know who your audience is and where to find them. With a digital strategy in place, you can easily identify your target market. You'll know where your audience spends time online and what type of content they like to consume. This will help you focus on creating the right type of content that resonates with them so that you can reach more people and increase your brand awareness.

The most effective way to know your audience is through analytics. However, in order for this data to be useful, you need to first set up goals and target keywords so that the analytics software can track these things for you. Once you have this information, it will help you better understand who your audience is and what they're looking for online.

This will allow you to create content specifically designed with them in mind which means more sales! And if there are any gaps or missed opportunities in how people are searching then it gives you the opportunity to fix those issues on-site or with other techniques.

4. Reach your audience where they are

Your customers are online and you need to be too. In order for your business to succeed in the digital age, you need to have a strong online presence. This means having a website, social media accounts, and an eCommerce store. By doing this, you'll be able to reach more people who are interested in what you have to offer. You can also connect with them on a deeper level by providing valuable content that they will enjoy reading.

Additionally, it's important to consider how your audience prefers to consume information. Some people prefer reading articles while others prefer watching videos. Others might like listening to podcasts or audio recordings. Be sure to provide content in all of these formats so that everyone has a chance to consume it from their favorite platform.

The key here is to think about how they're going to find you and where they'll be when they do so that you can provide them with what they want as quickly and easily possible!

5. Competitors will gain market share

If you don't have a strategy in place, then your competitors will gain market share. And this means that they're going to be taking business away from you! You need to make sure that doesn't happen by creating an effective digital marketing plan which includes SEO tactics like keyword research and link building campaigns as well as social media strategies such as content creation for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. You need to make sure that your audience can find you online because if they don’t, they will be taken by your competitors.

6. Digital differentiation

A digital strategy will help you differentiate yourself from your competitors. With the right plan in place, you can stand out and create an experience that is unique to your brand. One way to do this is by creating high-quality content that is relevant for your target audience. You can utilize the Blue Ocean Strategy where you focus on creating an untapped market space where competition is irrelevant and as unexplored (Swan, 2017). Another option would be using social media as a platform to engage with them on a personal level through live video broadcasts or personalized messages sent via DM(direct message).

For instance, you might also want to think about offering special promotions periodically throughout the year which could include free shipping when they spend over $75 dollars in one transaction or giving away product samples during holidays like Mother's Day.

7. You Need a Powerful Online Value Proposition

Your online value proposition is what makes you different from all of the other businesses that are competing for your customer's attention. It needs to be clear, concise, and easy to understand. And it should explain how you're going to solve their problem or meet their needs.

When you have a strong online value proposition, it will help you attract higher quality leads which will eventually turn into customers. You can also use it as a tool to increase sales by highlighting the features and benefits of your products or services on your website and social media platforms.

A good way to come up with a powerful online value proposition is by using the PAS formula:

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Problem: Start by identifying the problem that your target market is experiencing and then explain how you're going to solve it.

Solution: Next, highlight the advantages or benefits of using your products or services.

Advantage (or Benefit): And finally, make sure that it's easy for your customers to understand what you're offering them!

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If you can't seem to come up with a strong online value proposition on your own, consider working with a digital marketing agency who can help you create one that will be successful in helping you achieve your business goals.

8. For direction and guidance for your business'online strategy

A digital strategy is important because it provides your business with direction and guidance for its online marketing efforts. It can be used asa roadmap to help you achieve your goals whether that's increasing brand awareness, generating more leads, or boosting sales.

When you have a well-defined strategy in place, it becomes much easier to make decisions about where to allocate your resources (time, money,etc.) and what tactics to use. This means that you'll be able to save valuable time and money while still achieving the desired results.

9. Get everyone on the same page

A digital strategy helps you get everyone on the same page. It allows for collaboration between team members and provides a clear path forward so that your business can achieve its online marketing goals in an efficient manner.

If you don't have a strategy in place, then it can be hard to get your team members working together. However, when they know what needs to happen next (and why), there will be less confusion and wasted time spent figuring out how the project should proceed.

‍10. To track ROI of your online marketing efforts.

Last but not least, you need a digital strategy so that you can track the ROI (return on investment) of your online marketing efforts. This is important because it allows you to see which tactics are working and which ones aren't - and then you can make necessary changes.

When you're able to measure the success of your campaigns, it will help you allocate resources in a more effective manner. You'll also be able to justify spending money on digital marketing initiatives since you'll be able to see how they're impacting your bottom line.

Tracking ROI isn't always easy, but with the right tools and data in place, it can be done. So if you're not currently doing so, start tracking ROI today!

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To conclude, there are many reasons why a digital strategy is important for your business. But at the end of day, it comes down to one thing: ROI (return on investment). If you're not tracking the success rate of your online marketing initiatives, then how will you know if they're working? And without knowing that information, how can you make sure those efforts aren't going toward something else entirely? So, start today!

It's also important to remember that a digital marketing plan is not static - it should be constantly evolving as your business changes and grows. So be sure to revisit it regularly and make adjustments as needed.

Need a digital strategy? Reach out, we can help.

References

Reyes, C. (2020, August 3). Digital strategy - The evolving business strategy | Liferay. Digital Experience Software Tailoredto Your Needs | Liferay. https://www.liferay.com/resources/l/digital-strategy#

Swan, S. (2017, March 3). 3 models for digital brand differentiation. Smart Insights. https://www.smartinsights.com/marketing-planning/marketing-models/digital-branding-frameworks/

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