And no, publishing on five channels and setting a monthly ad spend doesn’t qualify as strategy. It qualifies as activity. And there’s a difference — one that’s costing your organization both relevance and revenue.
You’re not running a digital strategy.You’re running a content landfill, propped up by budget-heavy ad campaigns that
deliver marginal ROI — if any.
The Illusion of Output
Executives
often confuse “digital presence” with “digital performance.”
You’ve got a content calendar, social team, paid‑media agency, and a dashboard
showing “engagement.” But engagement with what? Click‑bait headlines, 6‑second
clips, carousels, PDFs no one opens. When those flop, you double the ad budget.
That’s compensation for irrelevance.
Your Audience Isn’t Passive. They’re Actively Filtering You Out.
Executives
like to imagine a buyer’s journey where “awareness” comes from content and
“conversion” from ads.
Reality is sharper:
Your
audience doesn’t owe you attention.
They filter 95% of what you publish — subconsciously and immediately.
So,
when you “target” them again and again with the same bland narratives, you’re
not building familiarity, You’re building fatigue.
Why This Happens: No Core Narrative. No Strategic Spine.
Strategy isn’t a content mix; it’s
a point of view applied everywhere. Most firms can’t state theirs in one
sentence, so they chase formats: “Let’s do a podcast,” “Need more video,” “Go
viral on TikTok.” Tactics in search of a story.
The Lie of Organic Growth
Let’s
address the myth directly:
Most people believe the internet made marketing “free.”
They think anyone with time and a good phone can build a big brand with just
social media.
And
yes — a few people did.
But
they are exceptions, not the rule.
They were early, lucky, or had extreme consistency, creativity, and support
behind the scenes.
Brand doesn’t grow by accident.
It grows by positioning, repetition, and
capital.
You
don’t build a brand because you post.
You build it because you own a clear space in the
market — and repeat it until it sticks.
What a Real Strategy Looks Like
A real digital strategy isn’t just about content or campaigns —
it’s about alignment across time horizons. A strong strategy
operates on three levels: short-term actions that drive immediate results,
mid-term initiatives that build scalable systems, and long-term moves that
position the brand for enduring relevance. Each layer has a distinct goal — and
when they’re disconnected, your strategy becomes just noise.
🎯 SHORT-TERM STRATEGY: SELL SOMETHING
— TODAY
This
is not about brand. This is about revenue now.
You need offer-driven content that pushes
urgency and leads people to act:
- Create
“limited-time” offers with content that matches intent (DM now, register
today, Book a demo).
- Showcase
recent wins: "Last
week, we helped X company generate 1,200 leads with zero ad spend — here's
how."
- Run click-to-conversion flows on WhatsApp,
Telegram, or Email — not just feed posts.
If
your content doesn’t lead to action in the same week it’s published, it’s not
short-term strategy.
Examples that work:
- Instagram
Story ads with a 24-hour promotion.
- WhatsApp
autoresponder campaign tied to an online tool/demo.
📈 MID-TERM STRATEGY: BUILD GROWTH
INFRASTRUCTURE
Short-term
sells — but it doesn’t scale.
Mid-term strategy is about building repeatable engines:
- Launch
partnerships with agencies, creators, or B2B services who already have
trust in you.
- Start a recurring content series that educates and
retains (e.g., “Growth Thursday” or “Football Market Watch”).
- Use marketing automation: email flows, WhatsApp
drips, segmented funnels — to retarget and convert passively.
- Plan
strategic campaigns around seasonal moments, launches, or industry events
(don’t improvise your calendar).
Mid-term = architecture.
If you go silent when the campaign ends, you don’t have strategy — you have a
pulse.
🧠LONG-TERM STRATEGY: OWN THE MARKET’S
MIND
This
is branding. Not logo or colors.
Brand
= Position × (Proof + Emotion + Repetition)
- Publish POV-driven content: take a stand, call out bad
practices in your industry (like this article).
- Show who you know and what you’ve solved:
"We helped a Saudi fintech cut CAC by 30% by fixing
their onboarding journey."
"Met with [known figure] at Web Summit — discussed how AI is destroying
marketing creativity."
- Attend real industry events and talk about them —
with commentary, not selfies.
- Turn
your knowledge into a long-form
series or playbook your competitors can’t copy.
- Emotion: The part that makes people care.
Without emotional relevance, proof sounds like bragging.
If you don’t control a conversation in your industry within 12–18
months, you’ll just be posting forever.
Content Categories That Actually Work
You
don’t just need more content. You need the right mix. Here are some different categories of
content that you may find matching your strategy:
- Fun + Relatable: fun related videos, memes,
trends, team behind-the-scenes. (Build reach.)
- Educational + Tactical: real solutions,
frameworks, industry breakdowns. (Build trust.)
- Product/Service Showcase: offers, features,
results. (Build intent.)
- Event Content: industry panels, conferences,
local roundtables. (Build presence.)
- Power Moves: big clients, solved crises, key
people you meet. (Build authority.)
- Point of View (POV): strong takes, truth
bombs. (Build loyalty.)
If
you only post one or two types, you’re predictable. And predictable gets
ignored.
Final Word: Digital Without Strategy Is Just Activity
Digital
strategy is not about being online.
It’s about what you own in the market, and how fast you can convert attention into action.
And
that’s not built in Canva or by "boosting" a post.
If
you're serious about building a brand that grows while you sleep — not just one
that posts while you panic — then we need to stop calling every content
calendar a “strategy.”
Let
me know your idea:
- What are
the content types that worked best
for you?
- Where
are you struggling — short-term sales, mid-term growth, or long-term
brand?
- Do you
actually track content by category, outcome, and impact?
Drop
your thoughts, disagreements, or war stories in the comments.
Let’s get smarter together — not just louder.
—
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you enjoy this article you can subscribe to our NewsLetter Growth.Exe
@ www.bit.ly/4jPJ77W
Farhad Hafez Nezami
Tech & Sports Entrepreneur | Growth Strategist
#marketingplan #growth #strategy #growth.exe #digitalmarketing
#onlinemarketing #growthmarketing #paidads #advertisement #ads #paidgrowth
#creative
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