What is a Digital Strategist?
So what does a Digital Strategist do?
I’ve been asked this question, or variations of it, so many times in my short career of being one it is laughable. Laughable because even after almost a year in my new role at Publicis Modem, I’m still unsure how to really answer it.
At first I thought it was just me.
Maybe I was dumb.
Maybe it was because I wasn’t given a piece of paper with a check-list of my responsibilities when I got promoted.
Maybe I just didn’t “get” it.
Maybe I needed a sit down talking-to from someone senior explaining it.
Yes, I admit, I googled. Seriously. I googled my own job title to find out what it meant. And a funny thing happened… I couldn’t really find a concrete answer. It seemed like no one actually knew what a Digital Strategist does. Even Digital Strategists themselves.
And then, (I can’t for the life of me find it online right now but) I came across a document. A document that contained answers cultivated by someone who asked hundreds – if not thousands – of Digital Strategists, “Can you explain to me what you do?” The document was pages and pages long, filled with answers. Answers of every nature. Some long; some short. All different. I scrolled down and down, further down, and finally gave up after about 500 responses (there were many more to go).
Not one concise way to explain it.
So when my friend Jon Crowley, posted on his blog, Attention Industry, this afternoon, his thoughts on what a Digital Strategist does, I eagerly read it. And I think he may have nailed at least a core part of it:
I essentially have the same job as my father. He’s a transportation planner, and I work in digital strategy.
You can read the rest of this article, titled “Digital Strategy is Transportation Planning” here.
Thanks, Jon, for being ever-bright.
Great article (and Jon’s too)! As an aspiring account/strategic planner I often have trouble explaining to people what the role represents. With creative and account management it’s pretty clear. Is a planner a researcher? voice of consumer? A suitable analogy I try to use is a “modern-day Jacques Cousteau” – explorer, filmmaker, ecologist, a jack-of-all-trades, open-minded, curious, and determined to uncover the truth.
Thank you for the truthful and insightful article!
Tim
Hi Tim, thanks for the comment! I love your explanation of what a strategic planner is. I think we all have our own way of explaining it, which to me, is just another one of the perks of the job!
May I ask, how did you get to getting a job as a “Digital Strategist” if there isn’t a concrete answer as to what you do? I’m a student who literally -just- came across this role and I’m unsure as to how about I should go to pursue it if I decide to.
Hi Heather,
I think the first thing you should do is read, read, read. Soak up as much as you can about the digital world out there: latest trends, stats, consumer behaviour, etc. Find campaigns that works, campaigns that didn’t, and try to figure out why.
I firmly believe that any Digital Strategist should work first on the creative or accounts side. It offers a viewpoint you won’t get in all your years as a Strategist and one I think is incredibly valuable.
My first 6 months at Publicis, I worked as an Account Executive. Working in accounts offered me the chance to learn skills I can continue to use, as well as helped me understand where account and creative people are coming from when I work with them now in my currently role. That would really be my recommendation. Try to get in another way, as generally, Strategists don’t tend to hire for Jr. Digital Strategists or students straight out of school.
Last point: I would try to talk to as many “Digital Strategists” as you can, to find out what they think about what the role requires and how to get in. Who knows… one of those meetings could turn into an offer.
Good luck!
Pingback: How to Get a Job as a Digital Strategist « Emma Brooks