4 Common Digital Marketing Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Nearly every business relies on digital marketing, be it to promote their products or services or to reach out to their target audiences. As most marketers know it, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to digital marketing strategies or tools. Every company adopts their own methodology to outdo the competition and stand out.

Good digital marketing relies a lot on good planning and research. By understanding your market and audience (or should I say buyer personas), you can position yourself better in the industry. Else, you are just building up towards a failure, financially and even business-wise. So here are 4 digital marketing mistakes you must definitely avoid.

1) Lack of market research

Market research is a critical element of every digital marketing campaign. Regardless of whether you are a start-up or even an MNC, it should be a part of your on-going strategy in helping you make marketing decisions. Research helps you gather valuable data and reliable information to create effective marketing campaigns.

Moreover, it allows you to identify and understand your buyer personas. Through this, you can determine your product/market fit and even run a competitive analysis. For example, you could discover that you have made a mistake in identifying one of your buyer personas. You could even implement upcoming technologies or even adopt ideas from other marketers, giving you a better edge in the market. By constantly researching, it keeps you aware of your surroundings, helping you make more strategic decisions and this is something you cannot afford to skip on.

2) Not investing enough 

Yes, we all have budgets. And yes, there are plenty of ways to cut cost on digital marketing and still run an effective campaign. But there comes a point where you need to make a significant investment to achieve more out of your marketing campaign. Marketing is an investment and it requires before you can see any considerable ROI from it.

But that doesn’t mean you have to spend a fortune on it (your boss will definitely say no). This brings back to my first point, back your claims for a higher budget with a detailed market research and plans. Explain briefly the strategies and metrics you plan to adopt for your campaigns, such as email, social media, SEO/SEM and so on. Get your boss to buy into your plans.

3) Neglecting your website 

Your website is the main point of contact for your buyer personas. It builds awareness about your business, informing audiences about your product or services. Most importantly, it guides your leads back to your website and hopefully, convert them. This can be done by getting them to complete a form, download an e-book, subscribing to a webinar or blogs. An effective marketing campaign works hand in hand with a good website.

Furthermore, people are generally savvier these days. This means they have expectations, needs and demands when visiting your company website. If you are unable to meet their expectations, they might bounce before even visiting the rest of it. Moreover, a good website helps with your SEO ranking as well, thereby increasing the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns.

4) Not socialising

There is an abundance of social media platforms online. Many use it to interact with others, consume content and even engage with their favourite brands. Most businesses also utilise social media to build their online presence. However, you can’t expect people to buy from you just because they’ve seen your ad or promotion. It is now more than that. You have to engage with your buyer personas and establish a relationship with them.

How to do it?

You can promote your products or services on social media. On top of that, you can create a community with your audience where you can engage in conversations and improve your relations with them. Remember to regularly share relevant content to ensure engagement with your audience. The better the relationship with your audience, the more effective and receptive your other marketing efforts will be. 

Of course, digital marketing provides opportunities for your business to grow. But it also requires a good approach. Remember to plan ahead and consider your options carefully. And most importantly, ensure you are not making these 4 mistakes!{{cta(‘021d4c9c-2be1-4bae-8e1e-622befd2c015′,’justifycenter’)}}