As digital marketing has become increasingly prevalent within almost every industry and more and more companies are prioritizing their digital marketing strategies, it goes without saying that you’ve probably seen quite a bit about digital marketing out there. From SEO to SEM to CRM with lots of other acronyms and terms in the mix, understanding exactly what digital marketing is can be a challenge.
That’s why we’re here: to debunk 10 of the most common misconceptions about digital marketing, clear the air, and make sure you leave this article with a clear understanding of what digital marketing is–and if you can see a future for yourself.
Photo by Campaign Creators on Unsplash
10 Misconceptions about Digital Marketing
Disclaimer: this is not an exhaustive list. The truth is we could write a much longer article about digital marketing misconceptions, but we don’t want to bore you, so we’ve kept it short and sweet, hitting some of the biggest misconceptions that you might run into as you take your first steps into digital marketing.
Only big companies need digital marketing
We hear this all the time and we truly don’t get it: all companies, regardless of their size or industry, can benefit from digital marketing strategies. And yes, it is possible, because not all digital marketing actions are expensive or require extensive marketing teams; lots of organic marketing strategies specifically have no costs and are great places to start for smaller companies looking to better understand their customers and improve their online performance.
Digital marketing is only needed for new products or services
Think about the biggest brand or product you know: even though you’re fully aware of it and the company it comes from, is it still marketed? Of course! In today’s increasingly competitive market with more options than ever before, all companies, regardless of their brand authority or experience, need to market themselves and their products to both retain their current clients and attract new ones.
It’s all about the followers
Sure, a high follower count looks good at first glance, but have you ever seen an account with millions of followers and under 200 likes on their post? And few to none comments? This is because the follower count is not what ultimately makes a product or service successful; companies need to focus on their engagement with their audiences and focus on marketing their products and services to users who will actually buy them, not audiences that don’t pay their company any attention.
Once launched, marketing campaigns are good to go
Those outside of marketing frequently assume that marketing campaigns are a one time thing and once they’re released, the job is done. Marketers know, however, that keeping track of campaigns, their progress, and their results is an absolute necessity; in fact, many campaigns are adjusted while they’re live, taking into account the information that marketers received from tracking their progress over time.
Marketing is a one-way communication channel
In marketing, the company is just speaking at the customer, right? Not quite: digital marketing demands a two-way dialogue between the user and the company with constant changes and feedback requests to better understand what you can be doing to connect with your audience on a deeper level and create a sense of brand loyalty.
SEO isn’t important in the days of social media marketing
With the rise of viral content on companies’ TikTok accounts, does SEO even matter anymore? You might hear that it isn’t as important, but that’s simply not true: online experiences are still frequently started by search engine queries and Google and other search engines are consistently updating their algorithms to ensure that users are first seeing the most relevant and legitimate content.
Anyone can be a digital marketer
While we do agree that anyone could become a digital marketer, we also recognize that there is a need for educated and skilled digital marketers who truly know what they’re doing. From needing skilled copywriters who can write clean and easy to understand copy to SEO experts who can identify the right keywords to include in content, digital marketing experts are just that–experts.
Quantity over quality
The more times your brand name is out there the better, right? Not quite: especially as search engines and social media start to evaluate the quality of your content in their algorithms, what matters most won’t be the quantity of content you’ve released. Therefore, it’s more important to slow down and focus on producing effective and useful content instead of merely trying to fill search pages.
Source: Incrementors
Digital marketing yields instant results
Even though hitting send on a newsletter or Instagram post might make you feel like you’re about to get instant results, digital marketers know that true results and success comes after time. Building up trust with your audience and improving your online presence takes time and is a gradual process; expecting instant success will only lead to disappointment and burnout.
Traffic is the only important indicator of success
Many companies receive lots of traffic, but convert very few users, meaning their campaigns are ultimately unsuccessful, despite promising traffic results. This is because ensuring you’re marketing your services to the right audience is a key factor; if you’re receiving traffic from people who are ultimately uninterested in your product, your actions are not productive.
Did this help clear up some of your doubts about what the digital marketing world is really like? We hope so. And if you’re interested in learning more about this fast-growing field, check out some of our other content here:
About the Author:
Juliette Carreiro is a tech writer, with two years of experience writing in-depth articles for Ironhack. Covering everything from career advice and navigating the job ladder, to the future impact of AI in the global tech space, Juliette is the go-to for Ironhack’s community of aspiring tech professionals.
