Creating a plan before acting can save you a lot of time. Knowing the facts before creating that plan can save you even more time.
Indeed, knowing the facts about digital marketing will minimize drawbacks for your strategy. Although it is tempting to jump straight in, being realistic about marketing will increase your strength to handle it well. For whatever weaknesses it has, digital marketing is a worthwhile investment if you can weigh the risks and align it with your business goals.
What, then, are these facts about digital marketing?
Digital marketing fact 1: it is not that cheap to implement
Merely setting up a website, PPC ad campaign and social media profile is an oversimplification of what digital marketing entails. It is also an underestimation of the costs. The competition is too high for digital marketing; to remain competitive, you need the best minds and allocation of resources. Social media ads, PPC (pay per click), SEO services (search engine optimization), content marketing, coordination and multi-channel/device marketing becomes more expensive when you increase the reach and competitiveness of your campaign.
Therefore, you have to plan well and budget prudently for the process. Expenses will increase with digital marketing if you are expanding your business and reaching millions of potential customers.
Digital marketing fact 2: it is not for everyone!
Digital marketing works for some brands but not others. Some consumers are not aware of the existing market online. Despite figures showing Mcommerce penetration and more consumers searching for businesses online, there are consumers who don’t search online. These consumers find businesses from word of mouth, leaflets, the Yellow Pages, newspaper supplements and industry magazines. When assessing your marketing needs, the behaviors of your target consumers matter the most.
Do not replace your traditional marketing strategy with digital marketing. Combine them both to create an efficient strategy to acquire new customers. Social media marketing can also be a boost to your strategy, just optimize it and use it well.
Digital marketing fact 3: it changes with consumer behavior and technology
The fundamental principles of marketing, such as customer satisfaction and building connections remains the same. However, the mode and technology of digital marketing changes all the time. Your consumers may adopt new technology to communicate/shun certain social media platforms. Make sure that your marketing strategy really works by testing and tracking the results. In digital marketing, it pays to stay on top of all possible changes and updates of the digital world.
Digital marketing fact 4: reputation can be destroyed online
You need to be aware of activities that might destroy your hard earned connections or make a negative impression towards your customers. You might be targeted by competitors online or consumers with their own agenda.
Be on guard and be ready for the possible negative content that will impact your business online. The way you conduct and present yourself can either strengthen your customer relationships or damage it forever. Acting with professionalism and speed can mitigate any further damages to your reputation if it is a social media crises.
Digital marketing fact 5: hacking and cyber crime happens online
People can take your information or confidential data accessible for hacking. If you own an online business that collects sensitive marketing data, this is even more risky. Hackers can take your customer’s contact details and spam them. You will need to train employees about security and DDoS attacks.
Digital marketing fact 6: it is challenging
You need to undergo the difficulty with measuring the impact of your digital marketing. You need the skills of data analysis, testing and content creation. In a survey by Adobe, it was found that 47% of marketers had limited knowledge about digital marketing; 39% said that the fast pace of change in digital marketing was an obstacle. Outsourcing work to consultants and companies that specializes in digital marketing can save you money in the end, but justifying the spend to executives can be difficult.
Executing a content strategy that is coordinated and consistent is one of the biggest challenges to online businesses. This stems from lack of resources, skills and planning (targeting and using the right metrics).
Digital marketing fact 7: mistakes are forever on record
Mistakes are inevitable every time you do or try something new. Some are easy to fix in digital marketing but others will harm your business. The problems with making mistakes in digital marketing is how to repair your relationship with consumers and make them trust you again. Bad content marketing, spamming customers with emails, and saying the wrong things on social media may or may not leave lasting damage. When content gets published online, it exists forever on record.
Prepare to be flexible and improve your content or approach as you connect to your customers. Your content marketing must be reliable, valuable and relevant to your customer with the ultimate intention of winning their trust.
Digital marketing fact 8: hedge your bets in digital
It is hard to put your bet on your online visibility knowing that the future of digital world is uncertain. You do not know what will happen next as the digital world paces fast. The rapid changes cause rapid updates that you need to cope with.
You must move cautiously but quickly. Cautiously means you should not make large investments without testing and tracking your efforts. Quickly means you can adapt and establish user-friendly marketing at every opportunity. That way, you can keep up with the times and boost your visibility online for target customers.
Digital marketing fact 9: consumers don’t trust advertising
Constant social media ads and promotional content that misrepresents the brand destroys consumer’s trust. Con artists can take advantage of PPC, social ads and emails to trick consumers. This can make your target customers suspicious of your brand too. In order to reassure consumers, you need to build brand reputation and stand behind the product or service that you provide. Allow for online reviews and build up trust through engagement on multiple marketing channels.
Digital marketing fact 10: the many variables make it difficult to measure
If you’ve spent money on traditional advertising, then you’ll know your return on investment (ROI). With long term digital marketing, such as social media connections, SEO and creating content, the ROI is harder to calculate. This creates difficulties in justifying the marketing spend to a decision maker. If you are the decision maker, this undermines your confidence in digital marketing. You need to know what metrics you use to assess the effectiveness of your digital marketing and how to track the data from your campaigns.
Conclusion
These ten facts about digital marketing can make everyone pause before developing an online strategy. Don’t panic; these facts may challenge you to explore all avenues to enhance, improve and develop effectiveness in your digital strategy. Evaluate your content marketing and the importance of your metrics. Knowing the worst can bring about the best in your marketing strategy. It is the stepping-stone to success.
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