IN today’s world, everybody and everything is digital. We are spending more time on Internet-connected screens than ever before in 2023.

According to DataReportal.com, the latest available data are showing that globally, the average person spends 6 hours and 58 minutes per day on screens that are connected to the Internet.

We do almost everything digitally today and this will continue to grow across the Caribbean as more businesses and service providers shift their offerings and services to a digital platform to improve business and efficiency.

Even though businesses in the Caribbean are realising that they must have an online presence at minimum, many are doing so without a strategy or an understanding of how to craft a successful digital strategy.

Let’s answer first what a digital strategy is. A digital strategy refers to a plan or road map that outlines how an individual or organisation will leverage digital technologies and channels to achieve their goals and objectives. It involves using various online and digital marketing tactics and tools to connect with target audiences, build brand awareness, generate leads, drive traffic, increase online sales, and achieve other desired outcomes. It requires ongoing monitoring, analysis, and adjustments to stay relevant and effective in the ever-changing digital landscape.

Let this article serve as a checklist for your brand or business for the key components that you need to address in your plan to find success. Here are 17 components of a digital strategy.

1) Goals and Objectives: Clearly defined goals and objectives that align with overall business objectives. Some examples are goals like increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, generating leads, generating online sales or conversions and enhancing customer engagement or retention.

2) Target Audience: Identification of the specific target audience or customer segments.

3) Market Research: Thorough research on the market, competitors, and industry trends to inform strategy.

4) Branding and Messaging: Development of a consistent brand identity and messaging that resonates with the target audience.

5) Website and Online Presence: Creation and optimisation of a user-friendly website and online presence.

6) Content Strategy: Development of a content strategy that includes creating and distributing relevant and engaging content.

7) Social Media Strategy: Develop a social media strategy that includes creating and distributing educational, entertaining, and engaging content that fosters a community for your audience. A businesses goal on social media should be to become a resource centre for their niche.

8) Search Engine Optimisation: Optimisation of the website and content to improve search engine rankings and increase organic traffic. Start looking into the three pillars of SEO: on-page, off-page and technical SEO for better understanding of what needs to be done.

9) Paid Advertising: Implement paid advertising campaigns to drive targeted traffic to your platforms.

10) E-mail Marketing: Develop an e-mail marketing strategy to engage your customers, nurture leads and provide exclusive content. You own this data and there is no algorithm between you and your audience.

11) Data Analytics: Implement tools and techniques to measure and analyse your marketing efforts and make data-driven decisions. Your website is able to capture 10x more data than social media and provide deeper insights than what you are able to get from social media third-party tools.

12) Mobile Strategy: Development of a strategy to optimise your digital presence for your mobile users. Ensure your website is responsive for mobile and tablet devices, you can even look at adding an app for your organisation if it fits the business needs.

13) User Experience and Conversation Rate Optimisation: Optimise your website and digital assets for a seamless user experience to improve your conversion rates.

14) E-Commerce Sales: Develop an e-commerce strategy and online sales channels to sell your products or services online.

15) Technology & Infrastructure: Asses and implement the necessary tech and infrastructure to support your marketing efforts.

16) Budget & Resource Allocation: Allocation of budget and resources to various digital marketing channels and tactics based on business goals and priorities.

17) Measurement & Reporting: Regular measurement and reporting of key performance indicators to evaluate the success of the digital strategy to make data-driven adjustments as needed.

Your strategy is going to look different according to your business or brands goals and also the industry you are in. One of the major keys to success with your digital strategy is that it needs to be flexible and adaptable due to the ever-changing nature of digital.

There are major changes happening to almost every digital channel today. Twitter changes are happening frequently due to Elon Musk. Meta is taking lessons from Twitter and switching to a monthly paid subscription model. TikTok is going through a global crisis as countries are aiming to ban the platform in their countries. Google is planning to stop the use of cookies in 2024 and, as we shift to a cookie -free world, the emphasis for businesses is to now learn more about what first-party data means and learn how to start collecting your own data and insights from your customers and audience.

Keron Rose is a digital strategist that works with Caribbean Entrepreneurs to build their digital presence. Learn more at KeronRose.com or listen to the Digipreneur FM podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify or Google Podcast.