Right now, everyone wants a digital strategist. Not because they have a plan, or have assessed a gap, but because it is the current shiny job title making the rounds on LinkedIn and conference stages.
Companies are loading job descriptions with every acronym under the sun from: SEO (Search Engine Optimization), AEO (Answer Engine Optimization), SGE (Search Generative Experience), SXO (Search Experience Optimization) and a dozen more that sound impressive but lack real context for their business.
A friend reached out to me recently and said her company was drafting a posting for a digital strategist and she asked wanted to know outside of SEO and AEO which acronyms should they include? I asked back, “what are you trying to solve?” She paused and said she did not know, they just needed a digital strategist for content.
Define the Need
The smarter question to ask is not what acronyms you should include, but what problem you are trying to solve. Are you struggling to get found online? Are customer acquisition costs too high? Are you unclear how your content aligns with your sales funnel or how customers perceive your brand? Each answer leads to a different kind of expert. Throwing buzzwords at the wall will not fill that gap.
Before you hire a digital strategist, audit your brand and projects to see where you have a need for them at. For example:
- What digital assets do you currently have; example: website, content, social media, email?
- What tools are already in place and are in what capacity are they being used?
- What results are you trying to achieve in the next 6 to 12 months?
- Where are you losing momentum in, is it discovery, engagement, conversion, retention?
Only after you know your pain points can you hire someone with the right mix of experience and skill and not just the right acronyms on paper.
The Scrum Master Parallel
We saw this same hiring confusion just a few years ago with the rise of Scrum Masters. Right before the pandemic, everyone wanted a Scrum Master but if you ask them what a Scrum Master actually does the room would go silent. Ask those who finally got a Scrum Master are they following the rules of Scrum and you get a resounding, NO. People wanted Scrum Masters but implementing Scrum was extremely difficult in organizations that operate from the mindset of “this is the way we have always done it”. That role is essential in agile development environments but became a trendy job title rather than a strategic fit. The results were wasted salaries, underutilized talent, frustrated teams as well as Scrum Master.
Digital strategy is on the same path. Hiring for hype, rather than for fit, will cost you.
AI Tools Are Not the Strategy Either
The same logic applies to AI tools; Companies are rushing to buy enterprise AI software without clarity on what role those tools will play. Do you need automation in your content creation pipeline? Are you trying to improve customer insights? Or is your real problem internal organization and project flow?
AI can be transformative but only if you know where transformation is needed. Otherwise, it becomes another expense with no ROI.
What a Real Digital Strategist Brings
A true digital strategist does more than speak fluent acronym. They:
- Translate business goals into digital tactics
- Identify gaps in your funnel or tech stack
- Propose platform and content strategies tailored to your audience
- Measure what matters and adjusts accordingly
Those are just a few of the things they do. They do not just run audits but they do interpret them. They do not just install tools but they make sure those tools support actual business outcomes.
Stop Hiring for the Trend. Start Hiring for the Fit.
It is easy to be swept up in trends, especially when your competitors are making flashy announcements about new hires or tools.
Before your company posts another role or signs another tool contract, ask this:
- What are we trying to achieve?
- Do we understand the problem well enough to describe it without jargon?
- Are we looking for a person, a process or a tool?
Food for Thought
Digital strategy is not a title but more of a mindset. It requires clarity, not clutter, purpose, not panic. If you want transformation, do not start with a list of acronyms. Start with a mirror. Understand your organization, know your gaps and then hire someone who can bridge them. Getting tons acronyms will not help you if you do not know what you need a digital strategist for.
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Shaunta Garth is a Strategic Communications & Visibility Architect specializing in digital storytelling, media strategy and public affairs.