Dealing with The Post-Strategy Blues
The new year is underway, and businesses are now busy implementing their 2025 digital marketing strategies. With 80% of B2B lead generation on social media coming from LinkedIn alone, growth-oriented businesses know that a well-defined, results-driven strategy has never been more crucial.
Learn More: Check out our article on 2025 Video Trends – Predictions to Elevate Your Digital Marketing Strategy
What are the Post-Strategy Blues?
Think back to November and December of last year. There’s an unmistakable energy that comes with brainstorming ideas, analysing the market, researching trends and tailoring all of this into a fresh strategy: the ideas are bold, the goals are ambitious, and the team is energised. But as the strategy shifts from planning to implementation, reality often sets in.
Now it’s time to create, curate, schedule, proofread, edit, post, report, and show up every day and sometimes the results might feel, well, rather underwhelming…
Sound familiar? You’re not alone.
This is what we like to call the post-strategy blues, that uneasy period where the excitement of ideation meets the slower, more methodical process of building a strong foundation. And while it can be frustrating, it’s an essential stage. Expecting immediate results is unrealistic.
Feeling lost?
A digital marketing strategy is not a stand-alone document. It’s a high-level plan that shows how you get from where you are now, to where you want to be in 12 months based on your budget, target audience and business goals.
But in order to deliver this, you also need a content plan.
We like to break our year into quarters:
Q1: January, February, March
Q2: April, May, June
Q3: July, August, September
Q4: October, November, December
This breaks the year into manageable chunks. You can start by seeing what big things are happening for your business. For us, we’re launching Cyber Made Human Series 2 in March, so Q1 is planning content for the launch, and Q2 is the creation and implementation of this content. We also knew our business turned four in January, so we planned some content around this that all tied back to our digital marketing strategy goals.
You can look back at your content pillars and dedicate each quarter to a specific pillar. Of course, you’ll always cover all pillars, but focusing on one will help guide implementation.
Learn More: Check out our article on What Are Content Pillars on Social Media?
Building your Digital Marketing Strategy Foundation
A successful digital marketing campaign isn’t just about occasional flashy content, clever adverts, or chasing viral moments. It’s about building something sustainable. As someone implementing the strategy, you may feel like you’ve delivered your message, and it’s starting to feel boring. But you’re competing for exposure on platforms, so repeating, repurposing and staying consistent is key.
Actionable steps to build a solid foundation:
1. Refine your message: Is your brand voice consistent across all platforms? Are you clear about who you’re speaking to and why? Do your platforms have high-resolution banners, logos, and recent pinned content?
2. Streamline your workflow: What tools are you using to get a high-level view of your overarching content plans? Can you see what’s happening as an organisation with events, social media, website, PR, and email? Also, consider the planning process. Do you have defined roles for proofreading, design, scheduling and reporting?
3. Maximise your content: Rather than creating a hundred pieces of disposable content, consider building a plan that gets the most out of every piece. This is called re-purposing.
For example, you may be hosting an event; you could post behind-the-scenes content on the night, key takeaways from the speakers the next day, and a showreel highlight video a week later. You can also turn those key takeaways into a blog and an Instagram carousel. This saves time planning and ensures what you put out gets maximum exposure.
The tricky thing? These efforts don’t produce overnight results. This is the long game of organic marketing. The work you’re doing now, improving your SEO, refining your email strategy, and developing your thought leadership content, may take weeks or even months to see solid results. But when it does, the payoff will be far greater than chasing quick wins. That’s because organic marketing is about building trust, establishing yourself as a leader and ultimately driving leads.
The Patience Problem
We’ve been conditioned to expect instant gratification. Social media platforms, for example, provide us with likes, shares, and comments in real time. The idea of waiting months to see an increase in organic search traffic or a boost in brand authority can feel like you’re failing. But success is rarely instant.
Patience is key during the implementation phase, and so is realistic goal-setting. Instead of expecting immediate results, ask yourself:
- Are we reaching the right audience?
- Is our engagement rate improving?
- Are we seeing small improvements in traffic or conversions week by week?
- Are we delivering what we said we would in the strategy?
- What are retention rates on our videos and long-form content?
Ultimately, a small, highly relevant audience that actively engages with your content—and has the interest and means to buy from you—is far more valuable than gaining 1,000 new followers or likes with no relevance.
How to Overcome the Blues
If you’re feeling discouraged during the early days of your 2025 strategy, here are some tips to keep your team motivated and focused:
1. Celebrate Small Wins: Did you publish your first long-form blog? Has your team mastered a new tool or completed some training? Recognise progress, no matter how small.
2. Stay Data-Driven: Regularly review your metrics to ensure you’re on the right track. Early indicators can help you tweak your efforts without losing sight of your long-term goals.
3. Keep Communication Open: Share updates, challenges, and progress with your team. Transparency can help maintain morale during slower periods.
4. Revisit the Big Picture: Remind yourself and your team why you’re doing this. What’s the ultimate goal? Keeping your “why” front and centre can be a powerful motivator.
5. Seek External Perspectives: Sometimes, a fresh set of eyes can help reframe challenges or identify opportunities you might have missed.
Trust the Process
The early months of implementing your digital marketing strategy may feel slow, even frustrating, but trust the process. By focusing on building a strong, sustainable foundation, you’re setting your business up for long-term success. While quick wins are tempting, they rarely deliver lasting impact.
As we move deeper into 2025, try to embrace patience and persistence. Remember, all great results start with a solid plan, and the discipline to see it through, even when the results aren’t immediate. The blues might linger, but the payoff will be worth it.
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TILLY
I manage the social media strategies of AVC and our key clients. This involves content planning, creative campaigns and daily management. I am the team expert for all things social media, such as algorithm and platform updates, and how to formulate compelling social-first content. I also am a content specialist who loves writing and video editing.
SPECIALISMS
+. Social Media Strategy
+. Social Media Management
+. Digital Marketing Strategy
+. Content Strategy
+. Content planning
+. Writing
+. Video editing