Why Isn’t It Working? Digital Marketing Success and Failure

Digital marketing is often spoken about as if it is the be-all and end-all of marketing. Most small business owners are often not familiar of what marketing entails, thinking that digital marketing is the way to go, or that social media can do it all, or digital ad buys are the fix for sagging sales and traffic. This would be wrong – or at least only partly right. The success or failure of digital marketing rests on how an overall marketing campaign is conducted, what is leaned from that campaign, and then how that affects the next campaign – lather, rinse, repeat.

Three Things that Work

1. Strategy and tactics. You need to work on tactics and strategy and understand the differences between the two. Strategy is the longer term, overall planning of a campaign while tactics are more narrowly focused short term plays that have a more immediate effect. Using emailed coupon codes is a tactic in an overall strategy of reaching out to customers in a specific email campaign.

2. Content marketing. Whether it’s a blog post, a podcast, a vlog, or an infographic, customers are looking for information and engagement with you and your brand. Posting consistently, on a schedule, with content either created in house or outsourced is about providing information in an accessible, entertaining way.

3. Social media. Yes, social media does work, and Facebook is the 800 pound gorilla, but depending on your target demographic, it may not be the big deal you expect. Social media is a commitment, and too many businesses create a social media presence without knowing how or when to use it. This there are a number of Facebook and Instagram accounts that have been languishing for years, no updates since 2012. It can be indispensable when building your brand online, but the results – unless you are aggressively tracking them – may be hard to see.

Three Things that Fail

1. Sales and Marketing are not communicating. Lack of communication between these two departments can torpedo a campaign before you can even get one moving. Sales and marketing are NOT the same thing, and what makes a good sales tactic can fall flat as a marketing strategy.

2. Not targeting mobile. Mobilegeddon is a fact of life that is now over a year old. This is driving more customers to sites that are optimized for mobile – with 20 percent of all e-commerce conducted on a mobile device.

3. FIRE EVERYTHING! If you are trying everything, you’re trying to track too many outgoing issues.

Working It

Getting the big picture from a professional in marketing can help you to pull together everything you need, but small businesses generally can’t field their own marketing department. That’s where we come in, presenting a one-stop web presence and marketing solution for businesses who need to improve their marketing, their website presentation, and get the most bang for the buck. You don’t need to be a big spender to build big results. Call 4 Step Studio today!

About 4 Step Studio

4 Step Studio is an online marketing agency that specializes in website design and redesign, SEO, social media and more. Our team of experts focuses on helping small business get found online, while educating them on what will make them successful in the digital world. To learn more about what we can do for you, visit our website at www.4StepStudio.com