Let me ask you this question, what are you doing online to boost your business?
Digital marketing is the best way to get your business or brand out and in front of millions of people.
However, not all digital marketing trends are treated equally.
While there are a lot of digital marketing efforts that can help you, you’ll find many articles focusing on this topic already.
Resource Article: 9 Digital Marketing Trends to Watch Out for 2020
What I’m here to tell you are the practices worth quitting.
Specifically, I’m going to talk about the 5 digital marketing trends worth quitting.
Not only can these practices be a waste of time, efforts, and money, they can sometimes have the opposite desired effect, too!
Keep reading on to learn more.
If you like reading this article post of mine then please share this pin on your Pinterest group board. Thank you 🙂
5 Digital Marketing Trends Worth Quitting
Digital marketing takes up a lot of time, energy, and be costly as well.
Therefore, there is no reason to waste any of these precious resources on something that can be shown to be ineffective at best and harmful at worst.
1. Post Tons of Keyword Stuffed Content
The days of quantity over quality are over when it comes to blog posts.
In the past, it was fine and even good to post 300-500 word post stuffed to the brim with your focus keyword.
However, that’s not the case anymore.
This is one of the practices that can hurt you while also being ineffective.
Shorter, fluff pieces are just not what users are looking for and Google knows this.
Therefore, they are more likely to send users to websites where the content is long, engaging, and teaches them something.
Google tracks how long a user stays on your page, what they interact with, and where they go next.
The goal, in Google’s eyes, is to have users come to your website, stay on it for more than a few seconds, get the answer they needed, and not have to go searching again.
To support this, you must have long, meaningful, well-researched, and engaging content.
If the user is learning something or having a question answered, it’s likely Google won’t send them there in the first place.
Posting less with quality content is far more important than posting with short, non-engaging content.
2. Offering a Free eBook for Email/Engagement
There was a time not too long ago that free eBooks were all the rage.
It was an item with a perceived high value that a user could get for free, usually in exchange for their email.
It’s not that this was one of the bad digital marketing trends.
Rather, it was too good.
Since, this tactic worked so well, less than stellar marketers worked to exploit it.
This led to “eBooks” barely being deserving of the title.
It was more like a flyer, advertisement, or just a page of copy and pasted gibberish just to grab an email address.
Unfortunately, this started becoming the norm rather than the exception.
Therefore, users simply don’t trust eBooks anymore.
While it will get you some emails, most people will simply close the offer as soon as they see the word eBook.
Instead, try offering something different, preferably something instant.
This could be a video, quiz, or even a course they have to unlock with their email.
Think outside the box here.
What “free” item would make you give up your email?
3. Relying on Free Social Media Posts
During the beginning of social media and the few years after, there wasn’t a lot of set of rules to follow and a lot less competition.
Fast forward to now and almost every business, new and old, uses social media to promote themselves.
Not to mention, millions of more users post daily now more than they ever did in the past.
What this means for you is that relying on free social media posts just does not work anymore.
While you will get some engagement, thousands of your followers and new customers will never see your post.
It simply gets buried among everything else.
Users are more likely to see posts from their friends and sponsored (paid) posts before they ever see yours.
Boosting your post on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is now the best way to increase the visibility of your posts and gain new followers.
It can even help future posts as well since these social media platforms tend to show you more of what you like and comment on.
As more users see your post and interact with it, they’re more likely to see future posts from you.
4. Spamming Your Customers
It’s not that spamming your customers was ever a digital marketing trend, but it was definitely a practice going on and still happening to this day.
In the past, sending multiple tweets, email blasts, or repetitive Facebook posts might have worked but customers are simply over it.
If you post too often or send too many emails, they will just leave, unfollow, or unsubscribe.
Your customers don’t want to be harassed while they’re online, especially with useless content.
Make sure your posts and emails are helpful and meaningful.
I have previously written a couple of article posts about this subject, so you can check them out –
Customers won’t mind hearing from you if you are offering something to assist them or teach them.
Finally,
5. Ignoring Your Customers
While over posting on social media or sending tons of emails has been the digital marketing trend in the past, technically ignoring your customers hasn’t.
That would be a piece of terrible advice.
Rather, this trend comes from ingrained habits and misunderstandings.
Not too long ago, companies didn’t directly interact with any of their customers.
If you needed something you had to call a number and later on, send an email.
However, all of that has changed!
Customers want a company they feel they can reach and interact with.
It’s not that you want to ignore your customers.
We’re just suggesting you make a point to go out of your way to interact with them.
If a user leaves a comment on a post, for example, make sure you let them know they’re heard.
This can be through simply liking the comment or even replying.
This will have a ripple effect, too.
Other users will see you commenting and interacting with someone else and that helps to build a brand trust which evolves into brand loyalty.
To Wrap Up…
So, there you have it – 5 Digital Marketing Trends worth Quitting!
The bottom line, it’s highly advisable that you stay updated with the latest digital marketing trends and tactics to stay aligned with your core purpose, not just your product.
Focus on what your customer really wants, and understand what would be the best strategy for you to increase your customer engagement level.
It’s that simple!
I hope you enjoyed reading my blog post.
Let me know your thoughts or suggestions in the comments below.
And if you liked it, Share it!
My name is Sujoy Mukherji. I am an Internet Marketer, Entrepreneur & Professional Blogger. Founder of the Affiliate Hub Blog.