No one can deny that the effectiveness of online marketing is rapidly changing. Strategies that are relevant today can be outdated in as little as 24-months. Why then do so many digital marketers hopelessly cling to ploys and practices of days gone by?
To stay on top of the game and keep your digital marketing campaigns humming smoothly, we’ve outlined a few of the old standbys that are best avoided if you want to see the effectiveness of online marketing improve in your business.
Out-dated: Communication is Changing
There is No Marketing Plan, Just a Fluid, Ever-Evolving Strategy
The old adage was to stick to the plan at all costs. Now the strategy needs to adapt quickly and constantly. Gone are the days of rigid digital marketing strategy and strictly monitored budgets. Success can no longer be attained by implementing static outlines for the upcoming fiscal year.
Stringent spend limits. Prefabricated and approved content. Explicitly defined audiences.
Do those sound like paradigms for success in today’s online world?
The digital space has become a living, breathing organism, particularly when considering the massive expansion of social. Consequently, digital marketing campaigns are now completely subject to previously non-existent environmental pressures.
These pressures mean rapid adaptability is the most valuable asset any digital marketer can have if they wish to increase the effectiveness of online marketing in their organization.
Moving forward, B2B and B2C marketers will need to be fickle enough to abandon a campaign strategy at the drop of a hat and agile enough to re-purpose their resources efficiently on-the-fly if they are to find consistent success.
Display Campaigns are Dead
Somehow, display has managed to survive in the progression of time when other digital marketing concepts have gone the way of the Dodo.
The truth is, display campaigns are wisdom teeth—Even though they’re not doing any immediate harm, they take up valuable real estate and present a potential health hazard down the road.
Display cannibalizes precious marketing resources – from budget dollars to analyst bandwidth – that could be better used elsewhere.
Seriously, when was the last time you paid attention to, let alone clicked, a pop-up advert or a roll-over banner?
Abandon the display ship now before it’s too late.
The Client is Important, But They Aren’t Always Right
Whether you’re an in-house marketing department or an agency taking on outsourced work, the long standing mantra when it comes to digital marketing has been this:
The client is always right.
Whether applied to content creation or strategy development, the man (or woman) behind the money has always possessed ultimate veto power.
Here’s the problem with that:
The client (in-house or out) does not know as much about digital marketing as you do.
If the client doesn’t like something in your overall strategy or approach to creating content, that’s fine.
Listen to what they have to say, perhaps even adopt some of their ideas, but remind them that you not they have the final say; doing this will help you navigate around the hazards posed by counter-productive approval processes.
Don’t lose sight of the fact that you’re paid to be the digital marketing expert not the digital marketing yes-man. Keeping quiet will only hurt the effectiveness of online marketing that you provide to your client. If the client is compromising the integrity of the campaign by providing irrelevant or damaging input, a successful digital marketer cannot be afraid to silence them.
Effectiveness of Online Marketing Mobile Marketing Makes Sense
Mobile Marketing Makes Sense
Start increasing your mobile focus now or risk being left disastrously behind. Six or seven years ago during the dawn of the mobile revolution, it was more than fair to dismiss the marketing opportunities of the mobile space. The technology was clunky, the screens small and the speeds painfully slow.
That was then, this is now and the now includes ridiculous data speeds, wide-spread public WiFi, larger mobile screens and vastly more powerful devices. Video, in particular, has experienced a boom as a marketing medium thanks to its digestibility over mobile.
As the prevalence of mobile devices grows, effective digital marketers are going to be presented with an incredible opportunity—the opportunity to market to people in real-time as they move, regardless of where they currently are or where they are going.
Remember, while it’s certainly past dawn, mobile marketing is still in the early hours of the proverbial morning. As the technologies and strategies surrounding it continue to evolve, so too will its effectiveness for marketers.
Volume isn’t Everything
Up until recently, saturation bombing the internet with your content, branding, etc. was a fairly effective means of digital marketing. The belief was that volume of digital exposure is directly related to digital marketing success.
Not anymore. Sheer volume is nice, but a clear digital-voice is better. The digital space is so crowded that “volume marketing” is pretty much useless unless you’ve got the budget of a Microsoft.
You need to stand out from the crowd if your marketing efforts are going to succeed.
What makes this brand dissimilar from the rest? How are we different?
Find something, anything, that makes your client “pop” and use that as a starting point for your strategy development.
The Effectiveness of Online Marketing is Changing Rapidly
Don’t be caught using outdated strategies in the rapidly changing online marketing space. Doing so can be costly and threaten the success of your business.
Want assistance improving the effectiveness of your online marketing campaigns? Total Product Marketing is here to help. Contact us today to speak with an expert about how we can execute a success marketing campaign for your organization.
