“Do we need a digital marketing strategist?” comes up a lot with businesses who already have a website, already run some ads, maybe post on social now and then, and still can’t say what any of it’s actually doing for them. That’s usually the tell. Not that nothing’s happening, but that nothing’s joined up.
So here’s what a digital marketing strategist actually does, and how it’s different from just “doing marketing.”
Strategist vs specialist, what’s the actual difference?
A specialist is good at one thing. An SEO person does SEO. A social media person does social. A PPC person runs ads. All useful, all needed, but none of them are looking at the whole picture, or asking whether the SEO strategy and the ad spend are even working toward the same goal.
A strategist sits above that. They’re looking at your business goals first, then working backwards to decide which channels actually earn their place, how much budget each one deserves, and how they should support each other rather than compete for the same customer twice.
What that looks like day to day
Strip away the job titles and it comes down to a handful of things done properly:
Understanding what you’re actually trying to achieve, more enquiries, more repeat custom, a specific type of client, before touching a single channel. Looking honestly at what’s working and what isn’t, which is harder than it sounds when everyone’s invested in their own bit of the pie. Deciding where the budget should go, and just as importantly, where it shouldn’t. Making sure SEO, content, paid ads and everything else are pulling the same direction instead of quietly undoing each other. And reporting back in a way that ties to revenue, not just clicks and impressions that look busy but don’t mean much.
Why “we’re already doing marketing” isn’t the same thing
Plenty of businesses are doing marketing. Fewer have a strategy behind it. You can be posting on social every week, running Google Ads, and paying for SEO, and still have no real answer if someone asks what’s actually driving your growth. That’s the gap a strategist closes, not by doing more, but by making what you’re already spending actually add up to something.
It’s also worth saying plainly: a strategist isn’t there to replace your specialists, they’re there to make sure the specialists aren’t working in silos. Good strategy makes good execution worth more.
Does your business actually need one?
If you can answer, without hesitating, which of your marketing channels is driving the most revenue and why you’re spending what you’re spending on each one, you’re probably in decent shape. If you can’t, that’s usually the moment it’s worth bringing someone in to look at the whole picture rather than adding yet another specialist to the mix.
