Many companies try to do their own digital marketing rather than hire a full-service agency to take that work off their hands, and while they save money, they lose out on the expertise of a marketing specialist. That leads to common and costly mistakes that can keep a new company from reaching its full potential at a critical stage of development. The most common digital marketing mistakes are mistakes of both omission and commission, and they can build for a while unless you have a second set of eyes to alert you to these common pitfalls.
We’re DM Collective, a full-service digital marketing agency serving businesses in the Calgary and Edmonton areas and are offering a full range of online services including search engine optimization, website design, social media marketing, and ad campaigns. We believe every business needs a superhero, and we want to be yours with a user-friendly centralized dashboard and one-on-one meetings to give you an involved look at the results of your campaign. Read on to discover the most common digital marketing mistakes companies make – and how we can help you avoid them.
Digital Marketing 101: 5 Things NOT to Do
Pigeonholing Your Business
Many companies make the mistake of thinking because they know who their demographic is, they don’t have to appeal to anyone else. That leads to limited social media campaigns focusing only on one major platform, which may work to get the word out among the core audience but doesn’t give the company much room to grow. A savvy company will maintain a presence on all major sites and a healthy email list, because one satisfied customer in an unexpected place can become many thanks to word of mouth.
Using SEO Shortcuts
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the area of online marketing that most companies try to do without a specialist. While the use of keywords to drive traffic is something anyone can learn, mastering it is much trickier. Many companies use out-of-fashion tactics like spamming, keyword stuffing, and hidden text to attract searches. Not only does this not deliver lasting results, it can get the company penalized by Google.
Misreading the Room
Social media marketing is a delicate game, and many companies have tripped over themselves trying to tie into a trend or commemorate an event and wound up offending their customer base. Several times a year major brands have to apologize for ill-timed marketing campaigns that trivialized serious issues. The best way to avoid this is a second pair of eyes to figure out the right tone for a tricky subject.
Spamming Content
Keeping your website and social media pages stocked with content is important, but it’s better to have quality content than a large quantity of mediocre content. It’s common for new, active websites to pump their blogs full of short, repetitive posts that don’t hold readers’ attention. The better strategy is to cultivate strong, relevant content that readers will feel compelled to read through then share, spreading your content beyond your own social media accounts.
Many of these mistakes are the product of inexperienced businesses trying to establish themselves in the crowded online marketplace. A full-service digital marketing agency has run many similar campaigns and knows how to avoid these common pitfalls. Contact DM Collective for more information on our services or to set up a consultation today.
Not Engaging Regularly
You can have social media pages on all the major websites and post regularly, but you’re missing out on a major opportunity if you don’t have someone regularly engaging with customers. It’s common for interested parties to come on a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram page to leave a question and that question goes unanswered for days on the under-attended page. Regular interaction with interested parties keeps your page active and turns curious passersby into customers.
Digital Marketing – What TO Do
Many of these mistakes are the product of inexperienced businesses trying to establish themselves in the crowded online marketplace. A full-service digital marketing agency has run many similar campaigns and knows how to avoid these common pitfalls. Contact DM Collective for more information on our services or to set up a consultation today.