5 MYTHS ABOUT DIGITAL MARKETING.

Confused about digital marketing? Unsure where to begin? What’s true and what really is just myth? In this blog we discuss some common misconceptions within digital marketing and hope to put those myths to bed!

Myth 1: Digital marketing is the only marketing you need

#False! Although digital marketing is one of the most important elements to a marketing strategy, your digital marketing needs to stem from your overall brand and messaging guidelines. Without these it won’t fit into the defined marketing mix your company has assigned and will be inconsistent and most likely not produce the results you seek.

It is true that many buyers do most of their research online before making any buying decisions but we shouldn’t discount the support and return on investment which are produced by more traditional marketing such as print advertising or telephone marketing.

The amount of time and money you contribute to digital marketing as a whole – and to its individual elements like PPC, social, email marketing and so on – will also vary from industry to industry.

Perhaps one of the most important elements of a digital marketing campaign is the foundation work where you figure out your customers’ research and buying habits to identify the best messages to reach them with at every stage of the cycle.

Myth 2: Website built – that is our digital marketing done!

#False! Just because you have a website doesn’t mean you have a digital marketing strategy completed. I am sorry to tell you, but a website is just the beginning!

Websites generally don’t work as a stand alone marketing tool. They integrate with blogs, social channels and even the traditional marketing method such as print advertising. You need to consider your SEO and paid-for strategy as well as making time to analyse and improve your site. After all, there’s no point in a flashy, all-singing, all-dancing website if no one knows it’s there!

Myth 3: None of my target market is online

#False! It is extremely unlikely today that none of your target audience is using the internet. It is important to make sure that your business is sustainable and that you are ahead of the game by ensuring that potential customers can locate you at any point in the buying cycle.

If your customers and competition are online, you should be too!

Myth 4: Digital marketing is free

#False! As the old adage goes, “nothing in life is free”, and this is very true when it comes to digital marketing. Even if you decide to run your digital marketing yourself, you still need to take into account the time it’s taking you – and, of course, whether that time would be better spent on other tasks, especially if the returns you’re getting are minimal.

Myth 5: There are too many social channels to manage!

#False! KEEP IT SIMPLE!

So many companies try to cover every social channel possible and have so many social media logos spread across their website that it is impossible to keep track. However, with further investigation you see that most of these social channels hardly have any content or conversations going on. This is an example of not understanding who their target market is, what they want to hear and where they are.

Take a step back, look at your target market and where they spend their time, then take a look at what they are talking about online, get involved in one or two social channels as a starting point and spend your time interacting on those channels.

By properly planning your strategy, you’ll figure out which digital channels will work best for you – but rest assured, there will be some that tick the right boxes!

Hopefully that’s dispelled some of the frequent misconceptions people have around digital marketing, but to discuss any aspect of your digital mix, email our Digital Director, Nick Capehorn.