by Albert Badalyan*

The digital space is constantly expanding and changing with time, and this alone makes it very different compared to the offline world. Hence, it’s only logical that the marketing techniques employed by you to attract an audience in the digital space should be unique and creative. 

You might think that your digital marketing strategy is effectively producing a good return on investment. What if you’re wrong and you’re just wasting your money? Let’s explore the following deadly mistakes for you to avoid them and lead your business to success.

1. Underselling Your Website

Having a website has become a real necessity for any type of business activity, whether it exists online or offline. But the internet has reached its saturation point, hosting more than 1.5 billion websites on the World Wide Web. In such excess, you cannot expect audiences to stumble upon your website unless you promote it.

To drive traffic to your website, which eventually results in revenue, you need to invest in its promotion. Investing in SEO, SEM and development of high-quality content, and also paying to advertise it on search engines, are some excellent ways you can promote your website. If you don’t have enough knowledge and experience in SEO, not a problem; you can use some of the fastest learning skills and learn SEO and SEM on your own.

2. Missing Your Target Market

If your metrics are telling you that your business landing pages have an increasing number of visitors, it is important for you to identify whether those visitors represent your target market. It is entirely possible that the traffic you are generating is not your target audience, which can indicate either misplaced digital advertisements or inaccurate marketing communication.

In case you have made such mistakes, it is important to reevaluate the digital platforms where your ads are visible, and also to revise your marketing communication to make it more appealing for your actual target audience.

3. Setting Unrealistic Goals

A systematic approach to digital marketing calls for the development of a long-term strategy. It would be best if you outlined the goals you want to achieve in the short, medium, and long term. 

However, many digital marketers develop unrealistic goals that overestimate the potential of the digital space. For example, expecting your business to attract more than 500,000 customers during its first year of operation is an unrealistic goal. 

Also, many digital marketers expect all visitors to convert into sales, which is another deadly mistake they make as this creates doubts in their minds about the benefits of digital marketing.

The solution is simple: set goals that you can realistically achieve with digital marketing. This can be done by observing past trends and also the experience of other, similar businesses working in your industry and investing in digital marketing.

4. Using Clickbait

Many digital marketers, in order to boost customer engagement, tend to invest in content that is clickbait in nature. Clickbait is content that puts a clever spin on words to make it sound very appealing to customers, without holding any real value for them. 

For example, if you use phrases such as ‘you will never believe what happened next’ even though the content inside is very much believable by the average joe, you are using clickbait to lure audiences to your page. Such practices tarnish your brand’s reputation and credibility.

Instead, focus on creating content that delivers actual value to your target audience, and tell your audience exactly what they can expect to find inside the article. That way, your viewers will never be disappointed with the actual content inside, eventually becoming a regular visitor due to the availability of good quality content.

5. Not Investing in The Right Resources

Many businesses employ only a couple of individuals to handle all of their digital marketing needs, and some don’t even provide them with the necessary tools. This results in ineffective digital marketing campaigns that don’t result in any profitable lead generation.

To be an effective digital marketer, it’s important for you to make sure that you and/or your team are well-staffed and well-equipped to run an effective campaign online. This requires both the right tools and also digital marketing professionals who can think strategically and design tactical digital marketing campaigns that provide the highest return on investment.

6. Only Spending on Paid Advertisements

Digital marketers tend to spend the entirety of their marketing budget on paid advertisements, leaving behind little to no budget for other, possibly more effective, digital marketing strategies.

How to avoid digital marketing mistakes

Instead, as a digital marketer, you should only spend on paid advertisements if you are interested in generating more visibility for your brand. If your brand already has an organic following that is gradually increasing with time, you might be better off investing in other digital marketing tools, such as the development of high-quality content or improving the design of your landing pages.

7. Not Personalizing Your Communication for Every Customer

There is nothing more that customers pay attention to than a message which carries sentimental value for them. For example, sending an online birthday card to your customers on their birthdays can help you develop a deeper connection with them without spending anything. 

Unfortunately, many marketers ignore such personal communication, even though it is essential if your goal is to build brand loyalty.

8. Ignoring Emails Being Sent by Customers

If your customers have any feedback pertaining to your business, there is a high chance they will take out time to send you an email about it. It is very important that you respond to such emails every time, as every email that goes ignored results in a lost customer, that’s for sure. 

Even if you have to invest in a dedicated resource that would only be responsible for responding to emails, it can prove to be a very valuable investment.

9. Working with Outdated Skills

Digital marketing is evolving rapidly, and this requires digital marketers to keep their digital marketing knowledge up to date. This can be done due to many online and offline courses available for free or for a very low price. Outdated skills can render your digital marketing efforts ineffective, resulting in a waste of resources.

10. Ditching Effective Old Methods for The New

If a marketing channel is working well for you, switching from it to a new channel might be counterproductive. For example, many marketers have moved away from SMS marketing to modern digital marketing methods that are now available with the promise of greater customer reach. 

However, these new methods may not be suitable for your business, and you might benefit more from sticking with the older methods. Hence, always evaluate the impact of such a switch before you pull the plug on a marketing channel that is serving you well. 

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* “Holding a PhD in Business Organization, Albert Badalyan is a Business and Digital Marketing Expert, and the Founder & CEO of Click – Digital Marketing Agency. He has work experience with proven success in working with various Startups, Enterprises, and Corporations in the field of Digital Marketing, E-Commerce, Law, Manufacturing, Jewelry, WordPress, Cryptocurrency, Software Development, etc.”