Did you know that we only use 10% of our brains? If you think that is false, you are correct, in fact, that is one of the most common myths that people believe. A myth is a story that was created but is nothing more than a tale; however, many people believe myths to hold some truth. While common digital marketing myths may not be as large scale or exciting as our brain usage, they are still stories you should be aware of. Let’s review some of the most popular fictions surrounding digital and Internet marketing.
Common Digital Marketing Myths
According to Oxford Languages, marketing is, “The action or business of promoting and selling products or services, including market research and advertising”. Marketing comes in many forms, including digital. Digital marketing, online marketing, Internet marketing, etc., “refers to any marketing methods conducted through electronic devices which utilize some form of a computer. This includes online marketing efforts conducted on the Internet” (AMA).
Nowadays, marketing seems more like an art. With social media, banner ads, out-of-home, online video, etc., marketing is filled with endless possibilities, all with the same goal in mind; to attract your ideal audience and create and strengthen brand loyalty and sales. With false tales out there, businesses may shy away from this form of marketing because they believe something to be true that isn’t. Let’s review some common digital marketing myths and bust them.
- Negative Reviews will Turn my Customers Away: No one likes to receive undesirable feedback, so in fear of getting a “bad” review, businesses sometimes shy away from asking for reviews at all. A negative review is not actually a terrible thing. Having some bumps in the road from time to time helps to build your businesses credibility and show that your positive reviews are actually real. The key to negative reviews is handling them quickly and publicly, to show that customer satisfaction is your number one priority. Customers understand that mishaps happen and that you can’t always please everyone, so don’t be scared to gather reviews just because you may get a few less than stellar ones.
- My Ideal Audience isn’t on Social Media: Over 55% of the global population uses some form of social media; indicating that 9 out of 10 Internet users are “social” online. This means that your ideal audience is highly likely to be using some form of social media. While not every person or audience may be on every social platform, they are likely somewhere and the key is to finding out where and being there.
- I Have a Website, That’s Enough: It is true that having a website in this day and age is pretty much essential, but it is untrue that just simply having the website is enough. While you can tell your customers about your website, if you don’t direct potential customers and others to your website with some other form of marketing, you will not be able to grow your business and attract new customers. While your website is the doorstep into your business, something has to make people actually show up knocking.
- I’m a Small Business, Digital Marketing Will Not Work for me: This is one common digital marketing myth that couldn’t be more untrue. In fact, digital marketing works best for small and medium sized business. Digital marketing is much more cost-effective than the traditional forms of marketing, and allows small businesses to reach a much larger audience than they would with other forms of advertising. Digital marketing basically allows a small business to be a big fish in the advertising pond.
- I Don’t Need Fresh Content and SEO: SEO and blogs and fresh content create additional visibility and website traffic. The majority of traffic to a website is organic; 51% of all website traffic is created via SEO. SEO helps to build trust and credibility, and also increases engagement, traffic, and conversions. SEO and fresh content warrants a great ROI. SEO keeps your website current and fresh, increases the time people spend on the site, allows you target long-tail keywords, builds a connection with your audience, and more. Without fresh content and SEO you are losing the ability to reach over half of the people you should be.
The above are just a few of the common digital marketing myths, but they are ones that we hear almost daily. If you are a small or medium sized business, don’t believe the falsehoods out there.
At Water Bear Marketing we believe that in today’s world, there is no room for guessing with your advertising dollars. We help our customers get a return on their online advertising dollars and prove the results. Our team has managed thousands of online marketing campaigns and has over a decade of digital marketing experience.
Contact us for a free consultation and to learn more about how you can grow your business with digital marketing.