Whether you’re spending a fortune on your digital marketing or nothing at all (yet) you need to be aware of the most common mistakes: what you’re doing wrong, why it’s not working and how you can protect yourself from being taken advantage of.
Mistakes to avoid
1. Thinking social media is everything
You are confusing social media with digital marketing. Social media is just one component. Digital also covers your website, seo, adwords, video. Anything online. It should all work together.
2. Using digital as a ‘strategy’ not a tool
You use digital marketing activities as a strategy instead of a tool to implement your strategy. You need a business/marketing strategy FIRST. This requires expertise that often digital strategists don’t have.
3. Hitting all channels with the same content
If you are trying to conquer all social.media channels at once, you will most likely saturate your audience with the same content, which has the opposite effect to the one you want!
4. Obsessing about the numbers instead of engagement
Are you building a following or collecting numbers? Engagement is important with anything you do online. People are saturated with brands so they are craving engagement with their own kind of people. So engage. And don’t try to be everything to everyone.
5. Ignoring organic in favour of paid
You need to focus on having an organic following and reach before paid. Some businesses need both, however some only need the organic. Don’t assume that paying for Adwords, for example, will solve all your problems. You need to have a platform where people can organically refer or recommend you too.
6. Being focused on the wrong numbers
For example, is your digital marketing specialist just throwing things at you such as ‘likes’ on a Facebook page or followers on Twitter — or are they showing you numbers in relation to engagement and how many visits have turned into actual business leads?
7. Not asking the right questions
This is especially relevant if you are outsourcing your online activities. Do you know what you want? If you don’t, then an agency will simply apply a cookie-cutter approach from another client. You need to know exactly what you want. And if your questions aren’t being answered satisfactorily, then you need to find yourself another provider.
8. Not tracking
Why are you investing your money in something you can’t track — even partially. You should know who is responding to your campaigns, who you’re engaging with, and — most importantly — the leads and enquiries that are coming through.
9. Not paying attention to reporting
Data before decisions. You need to be reviewing reports on which digital platform is working and which isn’t. This is how you evolve, tweak — and even eliminate what isn’t working to save on time and money. It will allow you to invest in what IS working rather than in what you think should work.
10. Worrying about what everyone else is doing
Finally, you need to not care about what other businesses are doing and focus on YOUR own territory, audience, market and budget. It is more effective to spend your money wisely on a handful of things that work than spread yourself too think purely because someone else is doing so. Go for direction and quality.
Speaker. Connector. Advocate. Influencer.
Amanda Rose is a Strategic Connector. A Keynote Speaker and CEO of The Business Woman Media.
As one of the most influential people on LinkedIn, Amanda Rose (#BossLady) is quoted as an “internet winning blogger” by TIME.com and contributes regularly to HuffingtonPost, The Financial Review, Sydney Morning Herald, SkyBusiness, and SmartCompany.com.au on how to master a successful brand, career and business.