Digital strategies are about more than just developing a website. Here are five more mistakes commonly made when developing digital strategies in emerging markets.

A few weeks ago I ran an article on the top 5 reasons that digital strategies fail in emerging markets which focused on the relationship between agencies and clients and their understanding of digital strategies. This week's article is focused on the nitty gritty aspects of digital strategies, and where a digital strategist should focus their attention.

Problem 6: Digital strategy is not about defining a website
Most digital initiatives will focus on driving traffic to a central location such as a website or microsite. It is natural then, to focus on the functionality of that site and relegate the job of driving traffic to a media planner in order to acquire the appropriate properties. If you are lucky, the media planner will ensure that your URL makes it into all above-the-line advertising. 

This is completely appropriate in a broadcast environment. In digital, the goal should be equally focused on driving content away from a site, into a variety of digital "ecosystems" where the consumers will not only find content but interact with it.  A strong digital strategy should be able to deliver against the business needs without necessarily requiring a consumer to ever visit a site.

Problem 7: Numbers are boring
Digital advertising is infinitely measurable. As you build equity in your digital brand, you are also building valuable research data. The problem is that to leverage this knowledge, you need to be able to analyse that data. This requires analysts who have the econometric skills to do this and they are thin on the ground (and expensive). Your average digital and traditional agency are so focused on the creative idea, they don't want to invest in permanent analytics nor make it a standard part of their operating structure. Highly successful DM companies have been doing this for years, if you have access to them, use them.

Problem 8: The devil is in the detail
Digital advertising is closer to the field of software development than it is to traditional advertising. By this I mean that the process of scoping and planning a digital initiative requires defining to a high degree of detail including what you are doing, how it will work, what will happen when, what the software, hosting and delivery needs, etc. All of this, long before the creatives have developed the sizzle that clients most want to see. On successful projects, this can take roughly 30 per cent of the total time it takes to develop a project. Failing to do this often results in either the agency over-committing or the client misunderstanding what they are going to get, both of which are serious mistakes.  This leads back to my earlier post, allocate the time to do the job properly…and get paid for it.

Problem 9: It's not set and forget
Traditional campaigns are marked by feverish activity leading up to the launch, and once the campaign goes live everyone moves on to the next project. In digital, this is not the case. Particularly if you are working within social media, campaigns require constant work to keep live, remain relevant and respond to the audience. It is important when managing a campaign once out in the digital universe, that you allocate sufficient resources to watch, manage and interact with customers who interact with you.  This requires setting standards around this two way interaction, ensuring that the interaction is constant and consistent and building the evolving campaign. Don't spend your entire budget on building your campaign; make sure to allocate a minimum of 20 to 30 per cent for management. In some cases there is as much work once a campaign is live as there was in developing it.

Problem 10: what worked last year, will not necessarily work this year
Digital advertising is moving and evolving faster than almost anything else with the influx of new environments, new devices and new modes of interaction. Taking advantage of these requires that the strategist take the time to learn and understand these environments as well as how to use them. Additionally, customers who may have been attracted to a campaign last year, may think that a similar idea this year is passé.  Staying fresh in digital is probably the most important aspect of strategy; agencies and clients need to allocate time to doing that.

In summary, digital strategy is an exciting and constantly evolving field. It is a detail oriented exercise which is not a one off, but a constantly evolving program of managing a client's customers in a changing environment.

Emerging markets can benefit from learning what is being done elsewhere in the world -- accessing experienced digital marketers, strategic processes and case studies -- and then applying that knowledge to their own unique markets.

Jenny Williams is the principal of Ideagarden Consulting.