When it comes to digital marketing, it can be hard to know where to start. You know you need to do something, but don’t want to do the wrong thing. Take a look at these common digital marketing mistakes to avoid when you are putting together your plan.
1. Not Having a Plan
As the old saying goes: Plan your work and work your plan. You’ll want to determine your marketing objectives for the upcoming year, budget, target audience, and from there, you need to put together a straight forward road map to reach your goals. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does need to be consistent.
2. Not Focusing on Mobile Users
If your website isn’t optimized for mobile viewing, you will miss out on customers. Nearly half of all internet users will switch to a competitor if they have a bad experience on a mobile site. Let that sink in: you are missing out on customers who actively sought you out if your website isn’t mobile friendly. And then they will go to your competitor. It’s definitely worth the cost to upgrade your site.
3. Not Having a Blog
There are so many benefits to having a blog. As we mentioned in a previous blog article, blogging is such an important part of your digital marketing strategy. It drives traffic to your site. It helps with SEO. And it allows you to share information with your audience and create stronger relationships.
Did you know: Blindspot offers blog writing services? You can give us topic ideas or we can come up with fresh content on our own. We make sure these articles are optimized for web searches as well!
4. Not Having a Social Media Presence
If you follow our blog or social media, you know by now that social media is key to your company’s digital marketing plan! For those of you out there running a business without social media pages, repeat after us: “I will start a social media page ASAP!” You may have questions like: “Which social media platform is right for me?” or “How often should I post?” We’ve got you covered! Reach out to us and we’ll get you up an running like a pro.
5. Not Engaging with Your Online Audience
Question: When your business posts on social media, do you hope to get engagement from your audience? Of course! It’s right there in the name: Social media. It implies a back-and-forth dialogue. If your audience takes the time to write a comment, submit a review, ask a question, etc., don’t ignore it! Engage with them. React and reply to their comments. Not only does this increase the organic reach of your post, but it shows your customers that there are real people running your business and increases the customer experience.
6. Not Using SEO
This is another topic we have talked about time and time again on our blog and on social media (here, here, and here, for example). Because SEO really is that important. It’s how new customers find you– which, last time we checked, is the way businesses stay in business! Search is the number one driver of traffic to websites, and 75% of web searchers never get past the first page of search engine results. All of that to say – make sure you are optimizing your search engine optimization!
7. Not Using Email Marketing
Don’t overlook email marketing as an effective tool in your digital strategy. Email marketing is low cost, highly customizable, and an all around great way to consistently stay in touch with your audience. Get creative with your content and provide information that your audience will find interesting and valuable. Think coupons, promotions, sales, product videos, customer spotlights, etc. Check out these tips for a successful newsletter.
8. Not Using Video
Consumers love videos! 85% of all internet users watched video content within the last month. Video content is easily shared across many different marketing channels- one video can be used in your email marketing, posted on multiple social media platforms and featured on your website.
9. Trying to Do It Alone
No doubt about it, creating and executing an effective digital marketing plan takes time. There’s the time it takes to create the plan initially, and then the day-to-day work to carry out that plan. We’ve heard people say they don’t have time for digital marketing because of the ‘real work’ that needs to get done, or they are too busy putting out fires to carve out the time needed. Your digital presence needs your attention; don’t overlook it! If you’re not able to have staff dedicated to your marketing, consider hiring an agency like Blindspot. We can create a customized plan for your business, including everything from a website redesign, content writing, social media, email marketing and more. Get in touch today and find out what we can do for you.