Digital marketing is almost, but not quite, synonymous with marketing itself. For the majority of companies it is the primary focus of their marketing efforts, with the potential to capture an enormous, global audience and build a future for a company that is truly open-ended. As a field linked to technology, digital marketing is in a constant state of evolution as new methods for connecting with the online audience are developed and put into practice. The article uncovers 6 digital marketing myths that you must avoid on all cost.
6 Digital Marketing Myths
That said, it’s not a new field and has had a good amount of time now to be explored, leading to some amazing innovations, but similarly leading to some critical errors and misconceptions. As a digital marketer, you need to know what’s going on at all times so that you can develop in the right directions.
Misinformation is going to be a cause of some great concern for you and your company, since you need to be completely surefooted in your marketing approach to find real success. So, given that myths about digital marketing strategy and practice are so abundant, let’s bust a few of them and get to grips with the reality of digital marketing.
1. Success Requires Lots Of Resources
The great irony about this misconception is that it is the precise nature of digital marketing that makes this untrue. Where in the past it would certainly have taken a serious budget and a dedicated marketing team to run a large campaign for a company, digital marketing can be executed effectively for very little money indeed.
In fact, some digital marketing strategies, like social media audience building, can be done for free! The internet is such a rich and under-regulated resource, that you can have an audience of millions for hardly any money at all. If you do have a budget, then the options really are limitless.
2. Content Is Great Effort, Small Gain
The first thing worth saying about this is that I’m not trying to say that keeping up with content development, creation and output isn’t difficult: it is. It takes a lot of work, sometimes on multiple people’s behalves, to put out even a single piece of content.
The reason that this is still a myth though is in regards to the small gain: content does not give you a small gain. You just have to be creative about how you use your content. Single usage can be turned into four times usage without too much effort at all.
3. You Should Try And ‘Go Viral’
Going viral is an increasingly abstract idea, since there are so many different levels to what it could mean. And yet, a lot of digital marketing teams are fixated with the idea. Having a fixation with going viral is a dangerous idea, since actually creating ‘viral content’ is extremely difficult.
And even if you do get lots of views and a big spike in popularity, there’s still a big difference between being successful and being viral. In truth, it’s a fool’s errand to chase becoming viral, since the internet’s affections are so unclear. Focusing on producing high quality content and growing your audience steadily is much more worthwhile.
4. High Traffic Means Great Results
Getting clicks through to your website and being able to see the thousands, potentially millions of visitors your site receives can be quite a kick. It feels like you must be doing something right and that success is in your fingertips. The former is true: you are doing something right.
Getting views is hardly a negative concept and if it was that or having no views at all, you’d obviously choose the former. However, it is important that you remember that quality of clicks matters significantly more than volume and that high traffic does not mean good results.
You need to look much more closely to establish exactly whether you are finding success: how many of those thousands of clicks result in anything more than a click away from your site?
5. Negative Comments Will Cripple My Company
When you own a company, or work in the client facing side of a company, particularly when the company is small, negative comments about your company can really sting. When you’re working hard to provide the best possible service you can for your customers, it can really shock you when one lashes back at you with critical, even unkind language.
However, don’t get in a panic after a one star review. Your digital marketing dreams aren’t over. In fact, it’s actually a great opportunity to show to other clients or potential-clients just how dedicated you are.
Respond to the critique and try and address the issues the reviewer had. Show positivity in the face of negativity and just remember that no company on earth exists without some detractors!
6. Email Marketing Is Finished
No. I can’t be anymore firm about this one. Companies who abandon email marketing are throwing away an opportunity in a really foolish manner. Use this gifted opportunity to communicate directly, privately and personally with high value targets for your company. Email may have been around a while, but it is going absolutely nowhere.