“It’s time, you’ve got to do the TikTok. Get the management to dance: no need for a digital marketing strategy, you just need to act cool”.
Boy, I cannot tell how many times I heard this sentence. I guess dancing on social media is just like puberty or wishing to move to Hawaii: a phase people need to go through.
Trust me, this is not about Tik Tok: no hard feelings, this is just an example. The truth is that the digital landscape is a maze indeed – a network of alleys and shortcuts similar to each other – and it is dreadfully difficult to find the way out.
This is where quick, immediate solutions come into play. It’s so difficult to wrap your head around digital communications that – out of desperation – you naturally tend to embrace the “one solution” as if it was the key to all the secrets of the universe.
It’s a pattern: one needs to reduce complexity while facing a chaotic environment that is so hard to grasp. And this is where TikTok comes into play: the root of all evil is that you are not dancing yet.
Following the maze analogy, urging everyone to dance is akin to saying: just keep running straight and turning right, you’ll get to the exit no matter what.
Listen up: I am not saying that dancing is not a thing; besides, I love dancing.
Here is the baseline: the digital landscape is a maze indeed, but this is no ordinary puzzle. There are different ways out and the path is different for every player in the game. There is no unique solution for everyone to exit, and the core of the game is to find YOUR way out, and your way ONLY.
In short: dancing might work for some companies, but it might prove useless for others.
The digital maze, a digital ecosystem
I believe in the power of the maze analogy. Think about a labyrinth where walls and hedges look all the same: the digital landscape is made of a myriad of websites and tools that resemble each other, to the point of getting you lost.
And as you are trying to learn the next tool, you cannot see beyond the hedge in front of you, losing sight of the bigger picture till you are left with no direction.
In other words, the digital world is an ecosystem, an interconnected network of websites, tools and apps that, as a whole, make digital communications happen.
Think about a jungle where numberless (poor) creatures with specific identities and features thrive in a complex and evolving balance.
The way out of the jungle is developing a digital marketing strategy, a plan that guides you through landing pages, newsletters, editorial plans, social media campaigns and all that the market has to offer.
This is what I plan to do with this article: to share a few tips and tricks to help you find your bearings around the digital landscape, for you to be the master and not the victim of your digital destiny.
Know your (digital) chicken
Finding your way out of the jungle maze means making good use of all the living creatures that populate the ecosystem. But what if I have no clue of what I could potentially find out there on the ground?
First things first: in order to develop a successful strategy, it is time to get to know your digital chicken. Otherwise, think about this from a strategic viewpoint: getting some understanding of the ground should always be the first step before venturing on an expedition.
Trust the wise boy writing this article: studying will never get old fashioned. In the digital era, there are plenty of sources: watch videos on Youtube; ask ChatGPT; get a cheap course on Udemy or Coursera. Not all sources are reliable, but after a couple of weeks of research you should find it quite easy to tell scams apart from professionals.
This step is extremely underrated, for various reasons:
- First: any strategy will rarely succeed through one entry point only. You need to know many cards in the deck to choose what to play;
- Second: how can you make a choice on your strategic direction if you know less than half of the options available out there?
- Third: studying is the best antidote to gurus selling Dubai-generted wisdom. How can you verify what a consultant is trying to sell to you if you have no clue of the matter at hand?
In short: take time to learn. You know what? Sometimes the right solution for you was just around the corner, and that extra time you invested in reseraching and learning actually makes you save a lot of time and effort down the line.
Means VS Ends: the core of a digital marketing strategy
Studying helps you grasp the bigger picture. It is like taking an aerial photograph of the labyrinth.
Besides your initial research, you should know more about what the digital Ecosystem is made of. You should be more aware of the array of possibilities out there. Since the maze is full of choices, the next key step should be asking yourself: what are my goals? The next step is one of my favorites: learn to discern Means from Ends. Let me explain this.
What do you want to achieve with your online presence? Let me give you a couple of examples:
- I would like to sell my fitness video-course;
- I would like to sell my business coaching one-to-one calls;
- I would like to book more appointments for my doctor studio;
- I would like to sell the books I curate and publish.
These are objectives, goals, meaning: tangible results that you want to achieve.
We should always be pursuing business goals but the truth is that people spend way too much time discussing about Means and tools instead. Landing pages, social media channels, logos… all the different elements that populate the ecosystems are not goals in themselves, but tools that you can use to reach your business goals.
Let’s be even clearer. Let’s separate Ends (E) from Means to achieve them (M):
- I would like to sell my fitness video-course (E);
➡️ That is why I am building my community on Instagram (M); - I would like to sell my business coaching services (E);
➡️ That is why I am blogging about business topics (M); - I would like to find more clients for my doctor studio (E);
➡️ That is why I am heavily investing in Google Ads for local shops (M); - I would like to sell the books I curate and publish (E);
➡️ This is why I invested a lot in my fast, fashionable e-commerce (M).
Take a moment to read it again if necessary and let it sink. This is not rocket science, agreed, but do not take it for granted.
I clearly remember a couple of local businesses wasting their time on Instagram posts without even setting up a Google “My business” account.
Why? Because they never took time to reflect on their goals, and jumped straight to the channels and means. They focused time and energy on Instagram because they liked it as if the social media channel was an end in itself, regardless of the mediocre business results they were collecting.
They acted as if Google “My Business” did not even exist and they completely ignored that making your activity searchable on Maps can organically bring way more clients than expensive Ads. Things suddently changed when they shifted perspective from the wrong to the right tool to achieve their immediate business goal.
In short: always remember the difference between what you want to achieve (ends) and the tools you need to get there (means). Unless you are working for fun only :-).
Testing and adjusting your digital marketing strategy
Dear reader, I warmly hope that you are still bearing with me. A quick recap: step one involves knowing the ground; step two concerns drawing a map with the elements you know, sketching a way out of the maze. The last step involves actually taking the first step and WALKING out of the labyrinth.
It might come as striking, but it is just not. Strategies are plans that could reasonably work, but they are not success cases yet. Let’s speak through an example.
I plan to build an organic funnel on Instagram by publishing captivating reels. I will naturally drive traffic to my website, collect emails by offering freebies and sell my course through emails.
This sounds like a perfect plan, but it is not a result yet. You will need to test your assumptions.
During the process you might discover that organic growth is way slower than expected; you might learn that carousel posts are way more effective than videos on your audience; you might realize that organizing live webinars ending in sales pitches is way more effective than impersonal email marketing.
The truth is: you will need to try implementing your strategy and see if it works. You might get it right from the beginning – and I really hope you do. But most of the time, you will have mixed results – sometimes exciting, sometimes depressing. You will need to twist, adapt and adjust your strategy until you see the results coming.
In short: there is a gap between theory and practice, and the only way to know if your plan works, is to implement it and learn in the process.
Going back to the maze analogy, you will need to walk along the path you have designed on the map to see if it actually leads out of the jungle. Do not look for shortcuts and be ready to embrace a new, off-beaten path if the initial plan is leading you against a dead end.
Towards digital marketing strategy: consultancy is key
Good news is: you are not alone. Finding your way out of the maze might not be easy, but you might find guidance in digital marketing and communications consultancy. Getting out of the maze it’s way easier with someone who has deep knowledge of the ground.
At the same time be wary: there exist no secret recipes for immediate success. That is why I always beware of Social media gurus who offer Dubai-seasoned wisdom to become millionaires in the blink of an eye.
Instead, effective consultancy should convey that similar companies in similar industries do follow analogue strategies, even though every business is also an individual case. That is why involving a digital strategist offers various benefits:
- advising on success stories and best practices that worked in the past;
- assessing your plans and strategies;
- support in building marketing and communications tests effectively.
In other words, looking for consultancy in defining a digital marketing strategy sounds like going on an expedition with a guide who has been there, done that before you, and who can show you where to step to make it out of the jungle alive.
Experienced guides are usually fellow human beings just like you, who had the chance to invest time and money in trying and failing before you. People who already learnt from their mistakes and who can advise on which paths to follow and which to avoid.
Navigating the digital maze alone can turn out to be extremely expensive and dangerous. Try to look at the process in perspective: hiring an experienced guide might look daunting and costly at first, but in the long run such a wise choice could save you way more time and resources that you could possibly imagine.
About me!
My name is Edoardo, but everybody calls me Edo.
I am a digital marketing specialist and a digital project manager, with extensive experience across different digital marketing projects.
Thank you for reading thus fur, I appreciate! I hope you found the article useful.
Feel free to share any thoughts or doubts, drop me a line here: edo@edoardoghitti.com
Also, I run a newsletter where I share tips, tricks and views on digital marketing. You’re welcome to join: no charge and no spam. You are safe with me!
Talk soon! 🙂