Digital Marketing Coaching: what you need to know
You may not have come across digital marketing coaching; you may not have known that such a thing even existed. Digital marketing coaching is different from the traditional coaching that you know of.
Generally speaking, in coaching, you must identify what you need – and the kind of coaching that will fit that requirement.
Why you would need digital marketing coaching
With digital marketing coaching, you will be talking to a digital marketer – a specialist in the digital landscape. Someone who is knowledgeable about technology and understands your specific needs with regard to your online presence.
Systems, processes, the right digital tools and a tailored approach are key in starting, organizing and implementing your online presence the right way, in the long run. But even before taking action, you need to understand the what and the why.
What the digital ecosystem is all about, and why you should do certain things.
For any type of coaching to work for you, it has to be appropriate to your needs as an individual or as a company. Often, you need to take a step back, focus on just being, and reflect on what you are doing, why you are doing it and how – even more so with your online presence.
Earlier in my career, I used to ask clients about their digital marketing strategy. I was usually met with some degree of uncertainty or confusion and I soon realized, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know.’ I was asking a question that people were not able to even understand. What does ‘digital marketing strategy’ mean? What is it really all about?
This is why it is important to always go back to the basics and be able to answer the What, Why and later, How. The concept of digital marketing coaching relies strongly on these. You need to first understand what it is, why you need to do it and what you need to learn in order to figure out how to do it.
What is digital marketing coaching
Digital marketing coaching aims at helping business owners make progress online and empowers them with increased confidence in their digital marketing strategy.
Visualize a list of your questions and doubts – and then you get someone to discuss them with and answer them for you. Someone outside of your organization, someone holding the space, a safe space –
“a kind of business partner without the legal implication.”
Digital marketing coaching is not just a way to assess and share industry best practices and digital tools that steer you in the right direction. It is really a way to pause and think – strategy vs reactivity. We spend most of our days doing and often we wonder if we are doing it the right way. This coaching could be a push in the right direction, helping you shift your mindset.
It could also simply be a trigger to look at the digital landscape with a fresh perspective.
What digital marketing coaching is not
Understanding the difference between mentoring, consulting and coaching will help you make a clear distinction.
Mentoring involves sharing expertise with someone in the same industry, grooming them to fit a position or skill set. It is development-driven and helps you grow and reach your full potential.
Consulting is all about imparting specific advice to a group of people to whom this advice is valuable and essential to further their work. A consultant helps people solve their problems to help them move from their present state to a desired one.
Coaching is designed to improve your performance by a skilled, experienced and trusted advisor in a nurturing and encouraging environment. It is performance-driven, with the aim to help you excel in a particular area. You can read more in detail about coaching here.
Coaching involves sharing resources. It doesn’t provide a list of standard instructions to follow that will culminate in immediate results, and digital marketing coaching is not a class.
It is, in fact, a powerful conversation between the digital marketing coach and client, which aims to identify the client’s online need, and brainstorm towards the best strategy that will lead to the most effective solution.
Why you need digital marketing and how it is beneficial
Truth be told, most people don’t even know where to start. And why should they? Especially because digital marketing isn’t familiar ground.
In a way, digital marketing coaching offers more of a concrete approach because you’re given a range of business tools, solutions, models and strategies to help, and to at least get you started. It is an ally for all owner-managers who have a lot to do, and lack the time to research the answers; they may not even know where to look for them.
In the midst of things, we tend to move too quickly to act.
We should refrain from rushing to actions right away even if it feels better to get moving and check things off the list. It is important to be aware and identify the real problems before we move forward. What is at the heart of the problem?
However, this inclination towards act is ingrained in us humans. In fact, it is even clearly outlined in the concept of the ACTION BIAS. Heard of it?
“The Action Bias describes our tendency to favor action over inaction, often to our benefit. However, there are times when we feel compelled to act, even if there’s no evidence that it will lead to a better outcome than doing nothing would.”
[The Decision Lab]
Though it may feel better doing something instead of doing nothing, doing ‘something’ in digital marketing doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing something right. And when you spend so much time, and invest so much into something, you tend to want to know, isn’t it?
A digital marketing coach will support you throughout your online journey and help you pause, take a step back and reflect on what you are doing, why and how. Digital marketing coaching is strategy vs reactivity. Refreshing isn’t it?
How is a digital marketing coaching session organized?
- Why a website?
- Why Instagram, as your choice of platform?
- Why email automation?
- Why SEO?
How does a digital marketing coach help you?
You can expect help to:
- Clarify your company’s messaging/branding
- Define the goals and objectives of your online presence
- Identify issues affecting your company’s online presence
- Brainstorm solutions and strategies to implement moving forward
- Face challenging current working practices and identify new ways of working
Generally speaking, a digital marketing coach will help you improve your overall business performance online, looking into solutions to counter that feeling of pressure and overwhelm when adapting to an ever-changing environment.
What can you expect from your digital marketing coaching?
Nothing is set in stone, but, here are some outcomes of our time together –
(drum roll, please) 🙂
- Answering the why
- Identifying the challenges
- Defining the areas of discussion
- Thinking about a strategy for the next 3, 6 and 12 months
- Setting a personalized and realistic plan of optimization
- Identifying knowledge gaps
- Voicing out your marketing expectations
- Identifying your KIPs and how to measure success
- Adopting a tech savvy attitude
It is essential to be clear on what kind of support you require and what expertise and experience the digital marketing coach has to offer. Both can set expectations of their time spent together:
- Practicality
- Encouragement
- Motivation
- Accountability
- Kindness
- Organization
- Time management
A digital marketing coach shifts your mindset and helps you approach the intricacies of digital marketing with peace of mind, and understand better how everything is integrated. The more you understand, the more you can strategize and plan your online presence.
As business owners, we cannot do everything on our own. Often, if not always, we need an impartial sounding board to help us challenge our thinking. A digital marketing coach can tell you what they do as a way of sharing experiences and solutions. They will not impose anything nor will they do the work for you. But they will definitely meet you where you are.
Before you contact me, ask yourself this question: Now, why do you think you need digital marketing coaching? Your answer is your trigger to send me that email…
