What Is A Digital Strategist?

Like many of my friends in the industry who offer SEO or digital marketing services, my dear mother has a really tough time explaining to her friends what I do. If someone asks my mom what her son does for a living, she usually says “something to do with internet marketing” and goes onto explain that I work from home, coffee shops, or even from a different country.

In a way, this blog article is for you mom (I’ll send you the link soon)

In short, digital strategists help business owners grow their businesses by using effective website design, SEO, Google ads, and copywriting services. The industry name for the digital marketing services I offer is usually referred to as a “Digital Strategist” who works on digital strategy.

I’ll admit it’s not what my 11-year-old self wanted to be when I grew up (a singer), but I love what I do and I enjoy the challenging nature of my role. I’ve also finally come to admit that I have a horrible voice, which is why my wife only allows me to sing in the shower with all of the windows closed and shut.

Why hire a digital strategist?

Every business owner has dreams, desires, and goals for growth, usually over a short, medium, and long term period. In the case of digital strategy, a dream is a goal your digital strategist reaches on your behalf by using online marketing methods best suited for your industry, goals, and budget.

A good digital strategist is a dreamer because digital strategy work requires an understanding of the big picture to reach the right audiences in the right places at the right times, as well as a vast creative skillset, so a digital strategist has to wear many hats and come up with creative ideas and implement it.

What specific value can a digital strategist add to your business and what are their responsibilities?

A Digital Strategist will gather requirements for a digital marketing activity, whether that activity is for creating a new website, optimizing an existing website, or creating a complete digital marketing campaign. Before an activity begins, thorough research goes into the client’s target market and competitors, that research is gathered and analyzed, goals are created, the strategy is documented, and then the execution of the Strategy is implemented and monitored over a set period.

These are some of the responsibilities and tasks a Digital strategist does on a daily basis:

• Evaluate and implement improvements on a client’s current digital strategy
• Keep up to date with the latest digital tools
• Optimize Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Create integrated and cost-effective digital activities
• Analyze and report on digital campaigns
• Analyze customer behaviour
• Communicate with clients on decisions, feedback, and goals
• Create a plan on how digital assets will be optimized for business results
• Identify new platforms for lead generation

The most successful digital strategist:

• Can turn business insights into actions
• Works with speed and determination
• Have strong organizational skills, multi-tasking capabilities and are detail-oriented
• Have a proficient understanding of data analytics and how to optimize campaigns based on the data
• Have a strong understanding of web design, SEO, google ads and copywriting
• Are honest, respectful, and hardworking
• Are deadline-driven
• Are persuasive yet authentic
• Pay attention to the small details
• Have an ability to problem solve and brainstorm

Just to recap: A digital strategist isn’t necessarily a job title or a role, but rather someone experienced in digital marketing with an ability to think in a certain way. They have to be able to recognize where the current digital landscape is, where it’s headed, and where business opportunities present themselves. Digital Strategists leverage research, analytics, and insights to create integrated digital marketing plans that work.