Engagement Without Strategy is Pointless

I read a blog post by Seth Godin last week that had me shaking my head and thinking “He’s wrong!”.

Now normally I totally agree with Seth – he focuses on getting things done, being yourself, telling stories, and all the good things that help grow your business. But, this time, I don’t agree…

Here’s what got me so riled up:

“And then the internet comes along and it’s mysterious and suddenly we need an email strategy and a social media strategy and a web strategy and a mobile strategy.

No, we don’t.”

First, I’ll give him this – we don’t need a bunch of different strategies, one for every media channel or tool. But we DO need a strategy for how we’re going to handle this “mysterious internet.”

The lack of a digital strategy is what gets so many companies into trouble. Tweet this!

Without a strategy, the online world becomes a mess of disconnected forms of communication. We waste huge amounts of time and money jumping from one tool to the next, hoping that somehow this one will be different, that it will bring in customers, sell products, and generate revenue.

But, unless it’s part of an integrated digital strategy that’s aligned with our business goals, why would we expect social media, mobile, email, etc. to help us reach those goals? If we don’t know why we’re doing it, or what outcome we’re trying to achieve, how do we know WHAT to do?

Seth talks about the people on the other side of those tools – the human beings who read our emails, blogs, and newsletters – and engaging with them. Great. I like engagement. I can engage with people all day long. But will it bring me more business? Done without an overarching strategy that supports my business goals – no.

What’s the point of engagement if it doesn’t help grow your business? Tweet this!