Approximately 93% of adults in the United States use the internet, with 85% saying that they go online on a daily basis. Almost half of the people surveyed (48%) say that they go online several times a day, and almost a third report going online “almost constantly.”
For businesses, this should be seen as encouraging news. Through effective digital marketing practices, businesses are able to reach and target a broad audience online. Digital marketing has become increasingly important to business success in recent years and will only continue to grow in importance.
If you aren’t completely satisfied with your business’s digital marketing success, then it’s possible that you are making some common errors.
Read on as we highlight 7 digital marketing mistakes that may be hindering your business’s success.
1. Working Without a Clear Understanding of Your Audience
One of the biggest strengths of digital marketing is the ability to hone in on your target audience. This streamlines your marketing efforts, maximizes ROI, and ensures that your brand messaging is as effective as possible.
However, if you aren’t entirely sure who your target audience is or how they would search for a business like yours, it can be incredibly difficult to run an effective marketing campaign.
In fact, targeting the wrong audience can actually do more harm than good. Take, for example, a digital marketing campaign that targets audiences who are not interested in your product or service. This can lead to wasted time and money on marketing efforts that produce no results.
Start by narrowing down your target audience to demographics and by understanding how best to market to them online. For example, if your product or service is mostly aimed at teenagers, then it would be a good idea to focus on marketing with videos on sites such as TikTok and YouTube.
2. Ignoring the Value of SEO
Many businesses ignore SEO best practices and simply assume that their target audience will find them online. There are billions of Google searches around the world every day, which typically serves as the starting point for an online experience for many people. Unless your website is highly ranked and visible on search engine results pages, then people aren’t going to find it.
Want to know the best place to hide a dead body? On the second page of a Google search result. It’s a bit dark, but nobody ever finds anything beyond the first 10 results. In fact, most people will modify their search and look at a new set of top 10 results before they go to page 2.
Unless your business is up there when people search for related keywords, it’s clear that your SEO practices are not working as they should.
SEO is one of the most effective online marketing strategies and should not be ignored. By optimizing your website and content for search engines, you can significantly improve your business’s visibility and reach.
3. Focusing on Quantity Over Quality
Many businesses make the digital marketing mistake of thinking that more is better. They create a blog, post a couple of tweets, blast out an email campaign, and call it a day. However, this shotgun approach often yields little in terms of results.
In order to be successful with digital marketing, it’s important to focus on quality over quantity. This means taking the time to create valuable content that provides real value to your audience. It also means taking the time to develop well-crafted marketing materials that are relevant to your target audience.
When you focus on quality, you are able to produce content that is more engaging and effective. Your audience will appreciate the effort you put into creating quality content, and this will help you to build trust with them.
4. Not Doing Keyword Research
There are many different elements to SEO. However, selecting the right keywords is a central part of a strong overall strategy. Keyword research is the process of researching the common search terms that online users search for on Google and other search engines.
If you want your business to be visible in search engine results, then you need to make sure that you are using the right keywords. This requires doing keyword research to find out which keywords are most relevant to your business, have the highest search volume, and are targeted toward users who intend to buy.
Not doing keyword research is one of the biggest digital marketing mistakes you can make. It’s important to take the time to find the right keywords for your business in order to improve your chances of being found online.
Once you have determined the most relevant keywords, you should strategically include them in your website’s content and other online marketing materials. This boosts your search engine ranking and makes you more visible to the people who search for these keywords.
If keywords are an unfamiliar term to you and your business, it’s likely that your digital marketing plan isn’t as strong as it could be. Doing keyword research is a crucial step in the right direction.
5. Underappreciating the Value of Social Media
Social media has changed the marketing landscape in recent years. While paid advertising is a major feature for businesses on social media sites, there is a lot more to it. Social media sites offer businesses a line of direct communication with their customers and potential customers.
Some of the benefits of an active social media presence include:
- Increases brand awareness
- Humanizes your brand
- Increases website traffic
- Generates new leads
- Promotes website content
- Engages directly with the public
- Offers instant customer service
- Generates feedback and reviews
The most relevant social media site for your business depends largely on who your target audience is. This is where it pays to have a clear understanding of your target market and their online habits.
6. Not Changing With the Times
81% of Americans say that they use YouTube, making the platform more popular than Facebook (69%). The public’s appetite for video content is well-established, and many social media sites are harnessing that interest. Sites like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and now Facebook have highlighted the popularity and appeal of short-form video content.
We expect that one of the biggest trends in 2022 will be the rise of short-form video content. Some of the benefits for businesses include the following:
- Capture the attention of audiences
- Boost your SEO ranking from authority sites
- Videos encourage social media sharing
- You can easily latch onto current trends
- Build trust and credibility
Ideas for business video content include feature service demos, tips and how-tos, customer testimonials, expert Q&As, video infographics, and behind-the-scenes content.
7. Going It Alone
To really make the most of your business’s online presence, it is essential to partner with an experienced digital marketing agency. Here at Bill Wolf Media, our expert team knows exactly what it takes to effectively market businesses online.
Some of our comprehensive internet marketing services for small businesses include:
- Brand identity consultation
- Local directories
- Reputation management
- Website design
- Content marketing
- Search engine optimization
- Email service
- Pay-per-click advertising
When it comes to creating and implementing a digital marketing strategy, we’ve got your back.
Digital Marketing Mistakes Hinder Your Success
Digital marketing is an ever-evolving world. If you believe that your business has been making some or all of the above digital marketing mistakes, then your best option is to partner with a professional service that has a proven track record of helping businesses grow.
If you are looking for quality digital marketing in Pittsburgh, then your top choice is Bill Wolf Media.
Contact us today for a free digital marketing consultation. We look forward to answering any questions that you may have and helping you meet your business goals.