7 Horrible Mistakes You’re Making With Your Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is not only about visuals; it’s also about positioning your product at the right time in the right place. Marketing is multi-faceted, with each of its elements working together to showcase your services and products. Some of the various elements of digital marketing include market research and market communications (i.e. social media and email marketing).

If you have a business and you are not focusing on digital marketing, you are a step behind the competition. Sometimes, even the most experienced digital marketers may miss a few things when executing a campaign. Below, we list seven costly mistakes you can make when executing a campaign so you can minimize the risk of failure.

1.  Unrealistic Expectations

Whether you have a $500 or a $10,000 budget, it is important to be realistic with your expectations for your marketing campaign. There is a common misconception that digital equates to instant, when in reality, that is not the case. Digital campaigns take time to be developed, optimized, analyzed, and then improved in order for you to see the desired results. Listed below are the average timelines per service:

Pay-per-Click Campaign: Approximately three months. With PPC campaigns, the bidding has to be optimized and the copy has to be A/B tested regularly in order to determine the right messaging to successfully meet marketing goals. When the necessary changes are made, they need time to grow and gain traction.

Social Media: Approximately one to two months. Social media should be treated like any other marketing channel, and has to be tracked in a similar way. Posting irregular impromptu snippets is not enough. To successfully implement a social media campaign, you should have a planned content calendar to remain consistent and be on track to deliver fresh content. Your posts should be thoughtful and target your specific audience. As time goes on, social media continues to be an integral component of any content marketing strategy.

Search Engine Optimization: Approximately three to six months. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most talked-about aspects of digital marketing. Successful search engine optimization is dependent on the keywords that you are trying to rank and how competitive they are. You may want to consider using long-tailed key terms when trying to improve search engine optimization. With that being said, it is important to have realistic expectations because this process does take time.

The key is to have patience and allow your campaigns to develop. Just because you don’t see yourself rise to the #1 spot on Google in the first week after implementation doesn’t mean that it won’t happen. This is the time to take notes of what works and what doesn’t, so that you can make the necessary changes to see that your goals are met.

2. Forgetting About Mobile Users

Digital marketing extends beyond the computer screen. Almost everyone has a smartphone, which can be used as a channel for digital marketing strategies. Forgetting to optimize the mobile experience of your online visitors can dramatically reduce the traffic on your site.In order to have a successful mobile strategy, you’ll want to think about how consumers are interacting with your business on mobile and what you can enhance the experience. The first thing you’ll want to do is make sure that your website is compatible with all mobile devices (Apple, Android, etc.). If you don’t have a mobile strategy, you may even consider creating an app to interact with your customers and deliver relevant content.Mobile has quickly become the most used digital platform for consumers; therefore, it is critical that it is clean, fresh, and user-friendly. At BreezeMaxWeb, we have a suite of products (BreezeView, BreezeTact, BreezeChat, BreezeText) that enhance the mobile experience for your online visitors.

3. Not Utilizing Social Media

Social media is a powerful tool in the digital marketing industry. Many marketing professionals forget that social media is not only meant for broadcasting but to also facilitate open dialogues and engagement. Not only does it complement your other advertising efforts, but it also enhances your search engine optimization, making your business show up more frequently in relevant searches.Many businesses use social media to not only keep their audience engaged, but also target new clients. Giving non-paid updates to your audience makes your business come off more genuine and interesting.Businesses overlook the importance of organic social media strategies and try to speed up the process by buying social media followers. While this may seem like a great way to make your business seem reputable and popular, people are well-equipped with the knowledge and tools to distinguish an account with real followers from one with fake bought followers. The moment they find out that you have bought followers, your business is automatically labelled as un-trustworthy in the court of public opinion. You should be aiming to build a network of real people that you can convert into long-term clients/customers.

4. Not Using Videos

Videos are not only great channels for content, but they also give future clients and customers a real-life image and portrayal of your product/business. Consumers love videos because they are easy to digest and visually stimulating, while marketing professionals love it because it provides a big return on investment (ROI) when done correctly.

High-quality web and mobile videos have more reach and garner the interest of consumers. Not having video or having poor video quality can negatively impact your brand and how potential clients and patients view it.

With BreezeTube, we are able to provide our clients with affordable and engaging web and mobile videos that will not only emphasize your product and/or services, but also put you in a position to engage with a larger audience.

5. Writing Off Email Marketing

Writing off email marketing may be detrimental to your business. There is a misconception that people no longer read their emails. If you’ve sent an email to your customers before and saw no results, then you might want to think about re-evaluating your methods. You need to aim and create emails that will generate a response. It is also important that you take the time to optimize your email for mobile devices. You don’t want to risk your target market deleting your emails if they are not optimized properly.

6. Slow Website

You need a professional website because it is the foundation of your online presence. Whether it is a blog, products, information or services, it is crucial that your website is professional and high-functioning.

If you are utilizing social media for digital marketing campaigns, you will need a place for viewers to learn more, which is where your website comes into play. It’s what they will look for and see first, so you want to make sure that it is the best representation of you and your brand. The longer a visitor stays on your website, and the more times that they return, the more likely it will turn into a conversion.

Many people make the mistake of having a poor website because they are tough to build, manage and maintain securely. Any shortcuts taken puts your business at risk of losing a multitude of opportunities in addition to it potentially becoming a safety risk.

7. Not Converting Web Traffic to Customers

It can be a difficult task to convert web traffic into customers without the right tools. The right tool helps you turn passive visitors into potential leads by compiling visitor information. This tool helps you or your sales team gain the information that they need to reach out to visitors and convert them into clients/customers. Up to 98% of visitors leave a website without doing anything, even if they are interested in the service or product. With BreezeWho, you’ll be able to identify the name, contact details, and user data, all of which you can use to reach out to visitors.

These seven mistakes can hinder the growth and development of your business. Trying to manage all of your campaigns, and developing strategies on your own is a difficult job to take on.

Interested in taking your business to the next level? Reach out to us through the form below and let’s help transform your business into a sales machine!