Digital marketing is an immense space and covers a vast range of strategies and platforms, which can sometimes be overwhelming for small businesses. Getting the strategy right and growing your business, community and revenue streams are key for small businesses. But it can be tough to understand the best path to take.
These 5 common mistakes in digital marketing showcase areas you may overlook or may not have considered. Discover why they are so important and how to avoid making these mistakes.
1. Not defining and setting goals for your digital marketing strategy.
One of the most important factors in any marketing strategy, digital or otherwise, is defining and setting goals for what you would like to achieve and mapping out how you will get there.
Many small businesses either utilise SMART goals, KPIs or ROI, or a mixture of the three, to ensure they are on track. Setting these goals across the various teams, streams and business functions allows you to work towards a clear goal and milestone, which can assist across all facets of the team and business.
2. Not utilising SEM and PPC for growth.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising are vital for every digital marketing strategy, and especially for small businesses where they can be used for everything from brand awareness to lead generation and thought leadership.
Utilising platforms like Google Adwords helps ensure that you are in front of your customers, wherever they may be, and that you are competing across as much of the digital landscape as possible.
Not utilising SEM and PPC as part of your digital marketing strategy hinders growth and revenue, so incorporating them into your strategy is imperative.
3. Not incorporating SEO and content into your strategy.
Many businesses make the mistake of only utilising SEM and other paid strategies, and overlook, or don’t invest in SEO and content.
As SEO and content both take time to develop and show results it is often overlooked. From optimising your website, improving your organic search ranking, to creating compelling content that resonates, it can be a time-consuming exercise for small businesses. But SEO is definitely worth the effort.
The long term benefits of SEO and content include brand awareness, organic conversions and lead generation, all adding up to an excellent ROI for your business.
RELATED: 4 free SEO checks you can do for your own business.
4. Not appearing on social platforms and directories.
Social media platforms and business directories are where your customers, and potential customers, gather to learn, engage with and discover new details and insights about your business and product offerings.
If you don’t appear on social platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and various online directories, you are missing out on growing your business on the most cost-effective and far-reaching platforms for digital marketing.
RELATED: Which social platforms should your business invest in for the new financial year?
5. Not aligning your digital strategy with your overall marketing strategy.
A well crafted and thought out digital strategy won’t be effective if it doesn’t align to your overall marketing strategy. While as a small business you may have fewer employees or smaller marketing teams, it is still absolutely critical that all teams and functions work together on an overall strategy. This includes branding, PR and advertising teams and functions.
A cohesive overall strategy for your business is key to a streamlined brand experience, and ensures you have a better return on investment (ROI) for all of your marketing efforts.
Need a hand turning your digital strategy around? Yellow Pages’ award winning suite of digital marketing products and services helps you grow your business online.
