Five Common Mistakes Businesses Make With Their Digital Marketing Strategy.
When it comes to the ever-changing world of digital marketing, you’re not always going to get it right.
There are always new platforms vying for your attention, regular changes in social media algorithms and the constant learning that comes with search engine optimisation (SEO).
It can sometimes be a little overwhelming. Successful digital marketing is not as simple as posting on social media a few times a week and keeping your website updated.
However, there are some common mistakes that businesses continually make in their marketing efforts – and by adjusting your tactics you could see a much higher ROI.
Read on to find out the five common mistakes that businesses make with their digital marketing strategy, and how to fix them.
1: Spreading yourself too thinly
As mentioned above, you have plenty of social media platforms and online tools at your disposal. It’s great to try new things, and it makes sense to test the waters with all that is available. But when it comes to your marketing plan, it’s better to focus your attention on the few, rather than spread your attention thinly across them all.
It is true that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest are all great platforms that have millions of potential customers using them regularly. There’s also TikTok, LinkedIn, Snapchat and YouTube.
All are well established, highly popular channels, but are they suitable for your business?
Stop for just a moment to consider whether each of these offers the same benefits to your business, or if your marketing plan should be aimed at only the relevant few.
For example, if you do not regularly post photographs or videos then Instagram and TikTok are not going to be a wise use of your time.
Similarly, if your intended audience is not overly active on Twitter, there’s no reason to waste time and effort on creating a profile to share content that will not reach your target market?
Your business is better served focusing efforts on 2 or 3 platforms that are likely to provide the highest engagement, as opposed to having a channel “just in case.”
Be sure to research each platform and make an informed decision on which ones will serve you best.
2: Not having a defined audience in mind
Talking about target markets. There are many businesses that don’t consider who their ideal audience is when planning their online marketing campaigns.
Yes, there are millions of people using Facebook and Twitter daily, but not all of those people are interested in your products or services.
You need to define your audience and cater your marketing to that group of people. Segmenting that audience into smaller groups for specific campaigns will drive more engagement than sending out posts in the hope of mass appeal.
3: Posting content for content’s sake
On the subject of posting content for a defined audience. You should also ensure your posts have purpose. Don’t post content with no reason or objective behind it. If you don’t have anything of consequence to say or show, you are better off staying quiet.
When your accounts have stood unused for an extended period, it can be tempting to post something just to remind people you are still around. But if the content within the post doesn’t add value to your audience, they are likely to start ignoring your posts, muting your channels and possibly unfollowing your business completely.
It’s better to save your posts for when you have something worth shouting about; whether that be an important company update, a new product or a half-price sale. That’s the stuff that your customers are interested in.
4: Not focussing your ad spend
Advertising your business has become much easier (and cheaper) with the advertising tools provided by many of the big players, including Google Ads, Facebook and Instagram.
Whilst these platforms are easy to use and much more cost-effective than traditional advertising. Many businesses fail to create worthwhile returns because they are too broad with their ad placement. You need to be very specific with where your ads are to be placed, and who they should be seen by.
Just as with social media posts, not everyone is going to be interested in your ad content. Yet many businesses create their ads and publish without nailing down the specifics of their target audience.
Use the targeting options within to really define your intended audience. From age and gender to location and lifestyle. When you get really specific with your ads, the ROI is much higher, and you are not throwing hard-earned money into the wind.
Focus your efforts, and you will reap the rewards.
5: Not having a blog on your website
Blog posts are a sure-fire way to drive traffic to your website and improve your search engine ranking. So why would you not include a blog on your site?
Regular, well-written blog posts that are relevant to your business are great at driving engagement and converting visitors to your website into customers.
Blog posts can come in the form of opinion pieces, listicles, ‘how-tos’ or case studies. They can be short, medium-sized, or long-form articles. The content can be informative, educational or entertaining. The choice is yours.
So, with that kind of freedom and the opportunity to increase sales and improve SEO, it’s a no-brainer to include a blog on your website.
Of course, creating quality blog content consistently is not an easy endeavour, and it can be time-consuming. However, when done correctly, regular blog posts are highly valuable to your business.
Small changes, big rewards
So, there you have it! Five common mistakes that businesses make with their digital marketing strategy and the ways in which you can adapt your process to greatly improve engagement and sales for your business…
If your business could benefit from a professional marketing strategy then don’t hesitate to contact us at YouYaa and speak to one of our expert Marketing Consultants who will help you formulate a plan to help grow your business and scale faster and more efficiently than before.
