The digital strategy vs digital marketing strategy: Main differences

digital strategy vs digital marketing strategy

Digital strategy and digital marketing strategy are terms that get thrown around a lot in the marketing sphere. To make matters worse, the definitions of each have become muddled over time, which has led to a lot of confusion. In this article, I’ll try to clear up some of that confusion by explaining the difference between these two strategies.

The digital strategy

The digital strategy is a high-level document that outlines the business objectives and key strategies for achieving them. It should be reviewed at least annually. The digital strategy should also include specific tactics for executing the overall strategy. For example, if you have decided to increase your advertising spend by 20% over the next year, this would be included in your digital strategy because it’s part of your overall plan to grow revenue through marketing activities.

It is the vision and prioritization of the resources needed to align (the structure, the process, the culture) for the desired business outcomes.

The digital strategy is more strategic than the digital marketing strategy.

The digital marketing strategy is a set of actions to achieve specific measurable results and financial goals.

It’s where you put in place your plans for how to apply your resources (time, money and people) to achieve your business objectives (or not).

The digital marketing strategy

A digital marketing strategy is a plan for how you will use digital channels and assets to find, reach, engage and convert your target audience in order to achieve your business objectives.

A digital strategy is more strategic than a digital marketing strategy because it helps businesses establish their place in the online ecosystem by answering broader questions about the future of their organization’s online presence. It also helps companies align their efforts with business goals, create an overall framework for decision-making and set expectations for both internal stakeholders as well as external partners like publishers.

It is a pragmatic plan for how you will use digital channels and assets to find, reach, engage and convert your target audience in order to achieve your business objectives.

Digital marketing strategy is a plan for how you will use digital channels to achieve business objectives. It involves the use of digital tools and channels that can be implemented in any organization, regardless of size or industry.

A digital marketing strategy is different than a digital strategy, which is more of a vision for using new technologies to transform your business. A good example of this is Starbucks, which has transformed its business model by ensuring that every store has free Wi-Fi and by offering mobile payment services via their app (a form of frictionless service).

Summary

A digital strategy is holistic, taking into account all aspects of your business to determine how digital can be used to achieve your goals. It looks at how you will use digital channels and assets (such as websites, apps and social media) to find, reach, engage and convert your target audience in order to achieve your business objectives.

A digital marketing strategy is more tactical and focused on specific channels like paid search advertising or email marketing campaigns. The focus of a digital marketing strategy is on the actions that need to be taken in order to find prospects online.

Conclusion

The digital strategy is high-level and holistic, while the digital marketing strategy is more tactical. It’s important to remember that these two concepts are not mutually exclusive, but rather complementary. A successful digital marketing plan will involve many aspects of your business that are captured by your digital strategy.