As 2015 progresses, the message is loud and clear. Digital marketing is here to stay and is consistently becoming a major marketing budget consideration for most businesses. Businesses are now spending equal amounts on television and digital. And now that? Well, if your website is not complying with the latest developments or you are not doing content marketing or search engine optimization (SEO) or you are not developing any strategy for search engine marketing, you may well start to do it. However, accepting the hype of different digital jargons seen online or on social media without a true understanding of the results of digital marketing efforts can turn your marketing effort into a jet of water without the expected results. These are the 3 biggest mistakes in digital marketing that most companies make.
Mistake 1: poor planning
A bigger mistake made in digital marketing is the absence of an organized cohesive strategy, resulting in wasted valuable time and money, not to mention lost opportunities. Before investing, you should plan the following for effective digital marketing:
Understand your market – A solid understanding of a brand’s competitors, customer demographics, geographic boundaries, existing distribution channel, and knowledge of market trends (both about product and demographics).
· Perform a SWOT analysis: Find your opportunities, threats, strengths and weaknesses.
Clear definition of your marketing objectives: What results are you looking for with your marketing efforts and what KPIs and objectives will you use to measure success?
· Have a budget: What is your budget for this marketing effort and what are the individual marketing channels?
Mistake 2: unrealistic expectations
It should be noted up front that digital should not be understood as instant results, especially with companies that are new to this digital marketing practice. In fact, digital campaigns need some time to develop, optimize and improve to obtain the expected results. It is imperative that customers have realistic expectations. The average terms per service offered are shown below:
Pay per click campaign: 90 days.
Search engine optimization: 90 – 180 days.
Social networks: 30 days.
Mistake 3: Not being informed
The presence of new analytics software makes it easy to track and analyze every view, every click, and every dollar. However, the important thing is to be informed about how the company is spending the marketing budget. So if a marketing agency is working for a brand, key stakeholders need to know the important data points. So, if it is a PPC campaign, you must have the knowledge of how to log into AdWords and also be able to check the account history as well as follow any changes to the account. This should be true with the different digital aspects. You must have a reasonable understanding of KPIs, terms, and best practices.
If you don’t have time to review the learning materials, hire a consultant who can conduct audits and help eliminate unskilled work. This will keep the lead marketing agency and staff on their toes and save you money.
