Many of you most probably may heard myths and misconceptions about marketing strategies, including digital marketing. Some of these myths are more prevalent than others, while some may have been the truth during the earlier days of digital marketing. However, times have passed and online realities changed. The digital sphere is a constantly changing and shifting plane, and what was once truth is not applicable anymore.
So join us as we examine some of these prevalent myths, as we try to unravel the truth behind these beliefs – and learn from realities that can help us become better and more effective Digital Marketers.
Myth 1: Digital Marketing Can Solve All Business Needs
In this highly evolved Internet age where everything is digitally and technology driven, Digital Marketing is everything that you need to solve all your business needs. Traditional marketing is completely outdated and is not applicable or effective anymore in a world gone digital.
Reality
Digital Marketing is a very important tool for doing business in the Internet stage, but it is not a cure-all that will take care of all your business needs. Digital Marketing is just an integral part of multi-faceted marketing plan where each element, including traditional marketing, is equally important as the other.
While many consumers rely on information they get from Internet to influence their buying decisions, a larger part still rely on and billboards, newspapers and magazines to know more about a brand or a product. Traditional marketing is without a doubt more expensive than digital marketing, but it generally requires less time to execute and has longer lasting impact.
still, no form of advertising is better than word of mouth, but you can mix traditional marketing with digital marketing and get the best results using a comprehensive, multi-faceted marketing program.
Myth 2: Digital Marketing is Easy Compared to Traditional Marketing
Digital Marketing is an easier and more straightforward process that delivers immediate results in less time, compared to traditional marketing. The process is equated to simply putting up a blog and setting up social media profiles and voila – you now have a Digital Marketing campaign in place.
Reality
According to Social Media Today, Digital Marketing is not the panacea – a magic bullet or an instant cure-all – that small and medium enterprises would want it to be. It will take a lot of time, an =d will require a lot of work, and in many instances the immediate results can be frustrating and disappointing.
Unlike traditional marketing where the key element is advertising, Digital Marketing exists in an arena where targeted audiences can be reached more effectively through connection, engagement and conversion. It comprises of several tactics and techniques that will only be effective if executed through a comprehensive, well-planned and cohesive strategy.
Audiences in the arena react more positively with brands that connect with them at a social and more personal plane.
Myth 3: Digital Marketing is a “Set It and Forget It” System
Just like what Kevin Costner’s character in the movie “Field of Dreams” did when he relied on the concept of “If You Build it, They Will Come”, all it takes for Digital Marketing to work is to allocate a budget, set it and then forget about it till next quarter.
Reality
Digital Marketing takes more than just posting on social media or a blog and expect your content to go viral right away. It is not a one-time project where you simply set-it and forget it, and then expect to get favourable results.
Digital Marketing requires a well-executed strategy that involves planning, testing, execution, maintenance and assessment. And these steps are primarily aimed at enticing people to visit your site.
But what happens when they get there? Average retail conversion rates on the first visit are just 1 to 3%. If you need better results, your work doesn’t end once a visitor enters your site. You need to improve and enhance your strategies, get better conversion rates, and generate more sales.
Myth 4: Digital Marketing is Free of Cost
You don’t need to spend money to develop a Digital Marketing strategy. You can set up websites and social media profiles for free and connect with your targeted audiences.
Reality
Although it does not cost as much as traditional marketing, Digital Marketing entails some costs and budget for it to be more effective. According to HubSpot, content marketing, an integral part of Digital Marketing, can generate 3 times as much leads than traditional marketing, 62% less cost – but it is not free.
Businesses and marketing agencies that generates profitable results from Digital Marketing know this fact, and are actually increasing their budget allocation up to 35% of their total marketing budgets by 2016. 28% are reducing their budget allocation from advertising and are funneling these funds into digital marketing.
Myth 5: Digital Marketing Can Produce ROI Right Away
Create a Digital Marketing campaign and when it goes live, you’ll hit your ROI right away.
Reality
Many businesses and marketers believe that they will get straightforward results from Digital Marketing. If they spend a certain X amount on Pay-per-click advertising, social media marketing or SEO, they will get a 3X or 4X amount in sales and profits right away.
Many actually have difficulty and find it a challenge to measure their ROI from Digital Marketing, according to studies conducted by Smart Insights, similar to what… 45% of European marketers are experiencing, according to Driving Content Marketing Success.
But ROI from Digital Marketing is measurable and possible, but in an arena that is constantly evolving and changing, measuring and realizing your ROI will take time. But when payback comes, you’re ensured that your investments do pay off, setting the future of your business and your company for the long run.
Myth 6: Digital Marketing is More Effective with Large Quantities
To get better results from Digital Marketing, you should churn out massive amounts of content, generate thousands of clicks and generate large quantities of referral links.
Reality
Back in the earlier days of Digital Marketing, the norm to generate as much traffic and backlinks as possible, regardless of where all these come from. This is not true of applicable anymore, as changes to search engine algorithms give greater focus on the quality, and not the quantity, of these links, clicks and content.
Just like what happened to SEO Hacker, where the site reached the PageRank 5 score with only 20,000 inbound links (as opposed to the 100,000 to 1,000,000 links perceived as the requirement for ranking). Instead of focusing on quantity, they focused on developing an effective content strategy, word-of-mouth links through it high-quality cornerstone content, smart interlinking and smart outbound linking strategies.
Myth 7: Digital Marketing is Applicable Only to the Younger Generation
Digital Marketing is effective only in targeting the hip and digitally savvy younger generation below 25 years of age.
Reality
Emarketer reported that the most common age demographic in social media sites like Facebook is between the age of 25 to 34, which comprises up to 29.7% of all users. In another report from International Business Times, it highlighted that Facebook is being dominated by users between 25 to 55 years of age – an age group demographic which has lots of buying power. The target market for Digital Marketing is not limited to the younger generation.
Digital Marketing can be used to target or re-target consumers from different age groups, even those who are already 65 years old and above. So, what matters is that you know your audience and you tailor-fit your content and strategy to cater to your target audiences’ age group.
Myth 8: Digital Marketing is Effective Only for Certain Businesses
Digital Marketing is applicable only to business niches that are interesting enough to create a buzz online. It will not be effective to boring, technical or mundane businesses and industries.
Reality
Do you think old razors are not interesting enough to generate a buzz online? Wrong. Dollar Shave Club proved they can turn a somewhat boring product into an exclusively online sensation – and generate lots of profits in the process.
The same can be true for any industry or business niche out there. It all boils down to choosing the right digital marketing channel where you can reach your targeted audiences with the right kind of content.
Just like in social media, B2C companies won’t get the same results from LinkedIn as they would from Instagram, Pinterest of Facebook. it’s a matter of knowing your audience and using the right channels and content to connect with your audience.
There are more Digital Marketing myths prevalent out there, but these should not be enough to hold you back in your marketing efforts. Take extra effort in studying and knowing your market and finding the right content and digital marketing strategy that will help you connect, engage and generate profit from these target markets.
