Startups are frequently excited about the prospect of leveraging digital marketing to expand their brand’s exposure. Without a doubt, digital marketing provides incredible potential. Unfortunately, many startups often make critical mistakes that derail the potential brand exposure that digital marketing offers. Perhaps you have jumped into the digital marketing fray, and are not seeing the results you desire, or you are considering getting started with digital marketing, and want to make the most of the opportunities provided. So, it’s important to understand how to avoid the most common digital marketing mistakes marketers typically make.
1. Failing to Measure CPA
One of the key benefits of digital marketing is measurability, yet many brands fail to take the time to actually define the key metrics they intend to measure. If you do not measure cost-per-acquisition (CPA), you have no way of determining the true return on investment of your digital marketing campaign. While reach is important, it is not enough. Regardless of the amount of traffic your website receives, if your conversions remain low, your campaign is still unsuccessful. Along with measuring the reach of your website, you must also pay attention to your number of conversions in order to determine just how successful your campaign actually is.
2. Failing to Own Digital Marketing
There is sometimes a common perception among many companies that only the tech department is responsible for digital marketing. While digital marketing obviously relies heavily on technology, particularly when it comes to measurability, that does not mean that the tech department should be solely responsible for digital marketing campaigns. To guarantee success, everyone needs to jump onboard the digital marketing bandwagon, otherwise failure is inevitable.
3. Believing that Outsourcing Will Solve Everything
Outsourcing digital marketing campaigns certainly provides many benefits, however, expecting a third-party agency to handle everything and achieve stellar results will typically result in disappointment. It is absolutely essential that you take the time to become educated about what digital marketing can do for your company, as well as the role you should take in your digital marketing campaign, even if you plan to outsource it. Prior to launching any digital marketing campaign, make a point of meeting with the agency you plan to use to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Take the time to find out exactly which techniques will be used and how they will measure success. Ongoing communication is also vital to guaranteeing an optimal campaign.
4. Not Really Understanding Why You Should be Doing Social Media
With social media marketing becoming increasingly popular, a mob mentality can often develop in which companies jump onboard simply because everyone else is doing it. Numbers obviously do not lie. The benefits of social media marketing cannot be denied, but you must understand why you’re launching a social media marketing campaign beyond jumping on the bandwagon like everyone else. Instead, get started with social media marketing based on your own business goals and your brand’s target audience. Find out what social media marketing can do for your brand, and then work to plan and customize an appropriate social media marketing campaign.
5. Thinking Social Media Marketing Will Deliver Overnight Success
When handled properly, social media marketing can deliver phenomenal success. Everyone has heard of incredible case studies in which startups used social media marketing to gain legendary exposure, virtually overnight. Such cases are certainly not an indication that social media marketing can guarantee overnight success. Keep in mind that social media marketing should be viewed more as a sustainable tool that can lead to long-term growth. As such, it could take months before you see the type of substantial growth results you desire. Quick results can sometimes be achieved, but they typically are not sustainable.
Leveraging digital marketing, including social media has the potential to provide incredible results. Make sure that you do not fall into the trap of making some of the most common mistakes.
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