58. Do I need to be a digital expert to write a digital strategy?

A digital strategy should reflect the vision and goals of your organisation, and your expertise puts you in the best position to create it. Involving your team and audiences can help you to understand further the internal and external needs of your organisation. However, you also need to be able to identify when it could be beneficial to recruit outside help.

York Christmas festival brass band weekend – close up of a euphonium player wearing a Santa hat

Image courtesy of Visit York © Visit York

Salisbury International Arts Festival – the orchestra stand to receive applause at the end of a performance in Salisbury cathedral

Deciding when to work with a digital strategist

Employing digital strategists to guide you through the unfamiliar landscape of developing a digital strategy can have its benefits. However, making the most of expertise within your organisation can often be as effective as bringing in outside assistance. This resource guides you through the initial steps of planning your digital strategy to help you identify where digital expertise may be of benefit.

Levels

1. Beginners
You're starting from scratch, or you need a digital skills and knowledge refresh. You're time poor and need a quick fix.

Level 2 2. Development
You've mastered the basics and now you want to fine tune your digital skills and knowledge. You're looking for new ideas and inspiration to achieve what you want to achieve.

Level 3 3. Advanced
You know what you're doing digitally but you want to do it better. You're keen to test and experiment and take your heritage organisation to the next level.

Digital Heritage Hub is managed by Arts Marketing Association (AMA) in partnership with The Heritage Digital Consortium and The University of Leeds. It has received Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and National Lottery funding, distributed by The Heritage Fund as part of their Digital Skills for Heritage initiative. Digital Heritage Hub is free and answers small to medium sized heritage organisations most pressing and frequently asked digital questions.