Choosing a marketing strategist is no small feat. You need to consider each prospective strategist’s expertise, experience, and many other factors. There are a number of questions to ask your strategist that can help you make your final decision, but ultimately, you need to choose the strategist that is able to offer a comprehensive approach to digital marketing, from strategy all the way to reporting.
The good news is that once you have found the right person to assist with your digital marketing campaigns, you will be able to enjoy the peace of mind that comes from knowing that you are on the right track. When that happens, your strategist may offer valuable insight into your past, current and future marketing efforts. Be sure to listen when this happens – the wisdom that you can gain from a marketing consultant is invaluable.
If your marketing strategist could offer just three bits of advice, what would he tell you?
What your marketing strategist longs to tell you
Some of the most important things that your marketing strategist wishes he could tell include the following:
1. Digital marketing is a marathon, not a sprint
Without fail, one of the biggest misconceptions that many businesses have about digital marketing is that it is designed to deliver fast results. While you may notice some results sooner than others, marketing is all about the long haul. The strategies and effort you put into your social, search, digital advertising, content, reputation and various other marketing channels are designed to help you grow over the long term. Expecting instant results can lead to frustration at best, and shady, damaging digital marketing strategies at worst.
2. A smaller targeted audience is better than a massive broad audience
Another common misconception is that it is better to have a huge audience of people that may or may not convert, rather than a smaller audience of people who are interested in what you offer. In a world of Instagram and Facebook celebrities and major campaigns to increase likes, traffic and shares, it can be easy to equate large followings with success. In reality however, a large following will not do you any good unless most of those people are going to convert. A smaller following that is made up of loyal fans, prospective customers, repeat customers and brand advocates is far more effective for conversion.
3. Without a plan in place, you are wasting your time and resources
Finally, the very nature of a strategist focuses on planning. You will need to allow your strategist to help you plan in a way that is cost and time effective. Not following your strategist’s guidelines, ignoring best practices that he has laid out for you, resorting to tactics such as bought followers or mailing lists, and generally trying to wing it will all sabotage any strategy. Listen to your strategist, and allow him to do what you have brought him in to do… deliver results for your brand.
Ready to learn more about working with an experienced strategist? Leave a comment below, or send me your details to find out more about how to get started with a marketing specialist.
