Digital Marketing Faux Pas

Having an Online Marketing strategy has become absolutely essential for any business. Just getting a website commissioned is not good enough. You need to find and continually work to attract targeted users to your site, in order to convert those browsers into paying clients of your business.

Marketers are still making basic faux pas when it comes to a digital strategy. Google actually reports “four out of five people use search engines to find local information, like business hours and addresses… Yet only 37 percent of businesses have claimed a local business listing on a search engine.” On the other hand, if you are giving online marketing a solid go and you’ve come to a stall… here are a few tips to get you online strategy humming again.

1. You Won’t get out of Your Own Head

Everyone is different. Not everyone thinks like you, acts like you, or values the same things as you. Remember, your opinion is not the only one and other people may find value where you don’t.

The second you find yourself in “total disbelief” while performing research and analysis, step outside or get a cup of coffee. People have a hard time believing people think differently than you do!

2. Treating Digital as an Add On

Giving your digital agency the brief about a month before the campaign launches is not acceptable. Digital is not just a box that needs to be ticked, it can often be the central consumer awareness and engagement platform.

So if you are a client marketing body, give your digital agency a break and brief everyone together. You just might find yourself with a killer idea centered around digital engagement.

3. Ignoring the Next Step

You’ve spent money on building digital assets (websites, Facebook pages, Instagram accounts), and you’ve probably spent money on media to get people there. So why not take the opportunity to continue the conversation by eliciting some contact data, email addresses and phone numbers? Data can even be collected from within interactive banners.

4. Live Chat Needs to be Manned

How many times have you been greeted on a web page by a picture of a smiley looking representative asking, “How can we help?” You open up the live chat box, type in your question and are then left hanging.

If you’re in charge of website strategy, live chat seemed like a good idea at the time, offering consumers a 24-hour written response option, but somebody has to be there. If not, remove it, quickly.

5. Launching and Leaving

Website, Facebook page, Twitter, Line, Instagram…

It’s understandable that marketing directors want to cover all the bases and make sure all consumer touch points are available. And it’s also understandable that agencies are all too often keen to play along with this money making, scattergun approach. But the end game will be lots of unkempt, deserted online shop windows for brands.

It is much better to launch fewer assets, keep them updated, and be more skillful in leading consumers to well-tended social media accounts.

If you are going to abandon an online asset, remove it properly with a professional take down, including warning messaging, just in case there are a few consumers still lurking around.

6. You Try to do it All

Yes, you are the greatest most capable person you have ever met… now hire someone and pay them what they are worth.

People go to college to get degrees in creative writing, technical writing, graphic design, and web development. Knowing your own limitations and knowing when to cut your loses and pay a professional can be the best solution sometimes. Taking time and money to go back and fix something that was never right in the beginning is usually a slow, painful, and expensive endeavor.

7. Not Doing Mobile and Tablet Optimization

There can’t be any excuse for this anymore. We’re constantly being bombarded with data about the latest mobile Internet figures. So why do so many sites still hide up in the left corner of tablets or appear as postage stamps on phones?

8. Measuring Everything and Doing Nothing

We’ve all been trained and seen the latest sparkly interactive reports and dashboards, but be honest, how often do we really dig into all the data being thrown at us on a daily basis?

That’s because these things need time and skill to understand, let alone interpret and extract insights from.

So to gain real perspective and action from digital measurement, be prepared to invest in people and time to make measurement actionable.

Onimod Global is an eclectic mix of dedicated professionals working to create, implement and manage your ongoing search, internet and digital marketing efforts. Our cross-channel synergy expertise, advanced analytical analysis and experience in constructing and executing successful digital campaigns make sure your brand meets the consumer when and where they need them.

Contact us today to see how we can work with your company on an ongoing basis to adapt and stay ahead of your competition in an ever-changing digital marketplace.