The digital world can be very overwhelming. There is so much choice, information and data available that it can get very confusing and that’s when the uncertainty ca kick in. you likely start asking yourself questions such as “what should I be doing, where to start and where to get help?”

The worst thing you can do is let this fear overcome you and stop you from missing out on the opportunities digital can offer your business. The first step is to stop, reboot and breath!

Here are some logical steps you can take to help you through this process if it is relatively new and you are just starting out.
• Look at what you currently have? Do you have a responsive website? Do you have social media pages, a mailing list, a blog etc? Once you know what you have you can start to see where there are gaps to help you determine what you need to add or invest in next?
• Understand your customers and get to know their needs & wants – what digital channels they are using and how they want to interact with you. You can do this by looking at your existing Google Analytics Data and social media insights. You don’t want to spend time & money developing digital channels that your customers don’t want to use or interact with you on. Knowing your customers is key as how can you begin to create relevant content until you know what they want and what style of content they want from you
• Create a plan or a strategy – you need to understand how to get from Point A to Point B so take time to write a plan (or outsource this to a specialist). If you aren’t very clear on what tactics you need to put into place, you will take a shotgun approach and end up wasting money & time on doing the wrong things. You can also share your strategy with your team so they can work with you to bring your vision to life
• Determine priorities – you cannot do everything straight away. You need to look at what is more important to get done first, what can be developed to help with sales and the low hanging fruit. Think about all the different areas you need to implement and determine priorities over the next 3,6, 12 months and it will also not look so overwhelming
• Put timelines in place – be realistic about what you can achieve in any given time but make sure you have some deadlines in place. If you don’t have any timelines you will continue to procrastinate and keep putting it off
• Get expert help & advice – you cannot be great at everything. If digital marketing is not your area of expertise, take time to talk to experts, attend events and learn what you can to help you on your digital journey. Outsource the stuff you cannot do or need extra help with and focus on the things you can do well.

Digital overwhelm doesn’t need to be an illness that stops your business progress into the digital world. Follow the above steps and when all else fails and you are started to get scared remember to breath and reboot!

If you want to learn more then sign up for the 6 week Digital Action Program starting soon – Regular intakes during the year: