Common Misconceptions in Digital Marketing 

Marketing isn’t for everyone, but thanks to digital marketing, its message reaches almost all. The ease of using digital marketing strategies may tempt many newbies into thinking that they’re know-it-all marketing punters.

As professional marketers know all too well, it’s never that straightforward.

We’ll get straight to the point – the biggest misconception about digital marketing is that it can be flawlessly pulled off with little to no direction.

The second biggest myth is that it’s far too difficult.

And many marketers have been found to be guilty of believing in either one of these myths.

The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in between. A successful digital marketing campaign hinges on two crucial aspects: planning and execution.

In other words, without an elaborate, thoughtful strategy, your marketing efforts can flounder.

But, when you let misconceptions guide the way, they certainly will.

34% of B2B marketers believe that their company has a very sophisticated content marketing.

Here are common marketing myths you need to avoid before planning your marketing strategies:

Digital Marketing isn’t for my business

There is a common misconception that only the big brands get good returns through digital marketing. There is also a common notion that marketing does not work for small businesses.

No such thing!

In fact, small businesses stand to gain more from digital marketing than big companies. Thanks to social media and micro-influencers, you can cultivate a loyal base of customers.

The foundation of digital marketing is word of mouth.

Digital marketing only provides you with a platform to spread the word.

How viral your ideas and products become to depend on your business strategies alone. The size of your business isn’t as important as the quality of your strategies.

While some companies will have to work harder than others, it isn’t impossible to receive ample returns by marketing your products and services.

All you must do is express interest in showcasing your product. At some point, people will show interest in buying it.

“I already cater to my customers’ needs”

It’s tempting to believe you already know all about your customers. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

Customers, like the products, made for them, change and evolve. Their current needs and demands shape the products of the future. Just because you’ve solved their problems once doesn’t mean you’re their only option.

Regardless of loyalty, if your competitor offers a better deal than you, don’t be surprised when your once loyal customers switch sides.

It would behoove your business’ interests to keep your loyal customers engaged so that they remain busy with your products and services. Understand your market and its shortcomings, so that you can cater to specific needs.

Never make the mistake of assuming your customers’ needs are constant and are already met – just like businesses, their needs change with time.

“A friend will help me with marketing”

Sure, you might know colleagues who are well acquainted with everything there is to know about digital marketing. But, banking on them to help you boost your business can be detrimental.

No doubt, they might be expert marketers. But do they know your audience as well as you?

Do they know their pain points, ambitions, and the specific problems your business resolves for them?

Humans are emotional beings first, rational next. That truth sets the foundation for all marketing efforts, both inbound and outbound.

Effective marketing is all about striking the right emotional chords. While your marketing acquaintances might do it by the book, they’ll find it hard to connect with your audience.

Marketing isn’t a lifeless procedure or process as much as an emotional journey that means something.

“Good marketing delivers immediate results”

This is, by far, the most common myth.

There is nothing instantaneous about marketing, no matter which industry you belong to.

The axiom that good things take time holds particularly true for digital marketing.

The truth is, response time varies from medium to medium. Things tend to take its own course of development; results in marketing are never instantaneous. It’s important to remain patient at every stage of your journey.

Sometimes, even with a great campaign, your sales and figures won’t match what you hoped for. But it’s necessary to remember the bigger picture in the long run. If you keep trying, eventually you will break even.

Remember the story of the rabbit and the tortoise? We all know who won that race.

Patience pays off in the long run.

You do have various tools to examine your real-time reach, but for your content to strike a chord with your prospects, it can take longer than expected. But remember that’s completely normal.

Content Creation = Blogging

Blogging is a part of content creation. Another extremely widespread notion is that content creation ends with blogging.

Digital content marketing is much more than blogs, snippets, and articles.

If you thought they were it, you haven’t been paying attention to the other forms of content that users consume.

Content can be auditory, visual, and written expressions. From webpages, tweets, and live tweets to whitepapers, eBooks, and podcasts, there are plenty of options available for you to dabble with.

Learn and understand how your customers like to consume their content. This information should form the basis of your future content strategies.

According to a report from Hootsuite, 3.48 billion people use social media. That’s 45% of the world’s population!

“Sales are down, we need to cut the marketing budget”

In a small business, budgets are usually limited. During harder times, it isn’t uncommon to see budgets get slashed just to sustain the business.

But a very common mistake that business owners continue to make is to slash marketing budgets when sales suffer.

This is a very short-sighted and deadly mistake to make. Your marketing efforts are the reason your business has any sales in the first place.

Cutting your marketing budget short in the event of low sales is akin to uprooting an entire plant when just a few flowers have withered.

Without a solid marketing campaign to back you up, your sales will stay low. Cutting marketing budgets will make that much likelier to happen.

It’s a much better idea to focus solely on the departments that are under-performing. Pay enough attention to the symptoms, and you’ll ensure it doesn’t become a disease.