Commit to digital blogging and social marketing success in 2018!

It’s that time of year: Kickoff meetings for 2018 are in full swing, including discussions of how to improve marketing for the year ahead. In today’s digital world, many companies have communications challenges resulting in lackluster product announcements, prospects and clients who don’t understand key product features, and sales teams that feel they don’t have enough fresh information to gain the attention of prospects and clients.

To address these challenges, a digital content game plan that includes blogs, social media, and digital newsletters is a cornerstone of marketing and communications success. In previous posts, I shared the importance of establishing a blog strategy as the foundation for a strong overall digital and social media marketing strategy. In blogs, maintaining focus on the right target personas, delivering valuable content that is interesting and varied, and keeping your target audience’s attention is critical.

But it isn’t the first blog post, the first Facebook post, or the first Tweet that will ensure social marketing results. Instead, having a clear roadmap for consistent delivery of interesting content over time will grow your audience and opportunities.

To create a winning social marketing strategy, here’s another key ingredient: Ownership and organizational commitment.

Do you have a clearly designated social marketing “chief”? This is important, because an owner of your digital blog and social content—a digital leader—needs to have authority and respect within your organization to help ensure the 10^th blog post is as exciting as the first. That person should be empowered as the steward of your digital communications strategy, to create a channel of immediacy that is lacking in other communication outlets (e.g. press releases and collateral). Your digital communications leader should be the front line for validating messages and feedback, and should have the ability to drive awareness and broader attention for key content and offerings.

Even a strong digital leader will fail without organizational commitment. To enable your digital and social communications to succeed, the broader organization, starting with your leaders, needs to commit and show their support—from day one. Content is hard business, and keeping content fresh, interesting and varied to keep your audience reading and wanting more takes more than one person. Without the organizational commitment and prioritization of the communications strategy from the outset, even the most capable digital leader will fail.

Make a new year’s resolution: Commit to success with digital and social marketing!

In today’s digital economy, having a digital and social communications strategy is a key to success—and so is providing organizational commitment and granting ownership to people who will ensure both value and variety in your content that will grow your audience and advance your business. Here’s to making your digital and social marketing success a new resolution for 2018.

One behalf of the DeLaune team, we wish you all a happy and successful new year!