While the digital age as we know it began more than two decades ago and the technology to have an online presence is more readily available than ever, many small businesses don’t have a solid digital foundation. Sure, they have a website and social platforms, but often these are the bare minimum or worse, they have been neglected.
Why is this the case? Well, it comes down typically to some form of fear.
Fear of learning something new; fears about knowing what to say; fear of starting and then not being able to keep up … the list goes on. These are normal fears, but these are the fears that hinder and limit.
I struggled with many of these same fears and through trial and error have found a formula to combat these fears.
The formula consists of three steps that result in the creation of a “digital action” plan. While it will take some intentional time to get everything dialed in, once you do, you will be on your way with a plan that you can consistently use over and over.
Let’s go over the action steps so that you move away from fear and start getting more digital.
Action Step One: Identify Who You Want to Attract
The “who” here is your ideal client(s). Now this is not that long list of demographics, but rather a true snapshot of who you want to work with.
By identifying the “who,” you will know where you need to show up digitally. For example, if one of your ideal clients is a young female, fashion forward entrepreneur who is growing her organic skin care line, then you know that you need to show up on the social platforms where she is hanging out.
Typically, a business has a long list of ideal clients, but I highly recommend to be focused, you need to limit it to no more than three and be as specific as you can.
Action Step Two: Be Honest with Yourself
This exercise is simple but does take being truly honest. The purpose behind it is to help you decide what digital actions you should focus on.
Start with a document and brainstorm all the digital actions you want or could do for your business (eNewsletter; Social Posts; Video Tutorials; etc…). Then create three columns.
- In the first column put down any of the digital actions that you like to do. These are often things you are somewhat consistent in already.
- In the second column put down things you know you need to do and are willing to do if you have the right tools.
- In the third column put down things you will never do. These are the tasks that you schedule and skip over and find every excuse to do something else. You need to find someone else to do these for you OR figure out a different method that will yield the same results.
Action Step Three: Create Your Digital Action Plan
This last and final step will help you get your actions organized. You can create this plan any way that works for you, the key here is to get it written down in some fashion.
- To start with, choose three digital actions from the “like to do” and / or “need to do” columns from the step above. You can always add more later but keep it to three.
- Next brainstorm a list of themes that are appropriate to your brand. A good rule of thumb is to have one theme a month. This will help you shape the content.
- Finally, you need to map it out so you can execute it consistently. I use a digital document with tables to do this and create a template so I can save time.
- First make a master plan and decide when you will do each specific digital action (ie. Post on Social MWF and Post Blog third W of the Month).
- Second you will make a specific plan for the month ahead that is detailed
(ie. Theme of Month is Self Care; On June 15 Post blog about meditation). - Third, get it on your calendar or use a scheduler platform.
Ultimately this all comes down to consistent action: focus on your WHO; focus on the things you WILL DO and focus on getting the PLAN in motion.
I cannot guarantee that this will make all the fears go away, but I can say that you will give yourself the tools to lessen them. And by having a plan in place that helps you actually get those digital actions done, you will be more successful in developing a solid digital presence.
