To some businesses, Digital marketing can seem like an endless maze. To others, it is a paved road to massive success.
If you prefer the second scenario, you need to overcome 4 major Digital marketing challenges.
If I ask you which aspect you find most challenging about digital marketing, I believe your answer will be one (or some or all!) of the following:
Digital marketing is...
- Overwhelming
- Competitive
- Time Consuming
- Unpredictable
My bold claim is that these so-called challenges are BIAS! These are just symptoms to a bigger problem that I will reveal later.
For now, I will shake your belief about each of them and offer "Quick fixes"! (But hang in there as the real fix is coming up later)
1. Is Digital marketing Really Overwhelming?
"You can't swim without getting your feet wet". The same applies to digital marketing since you have to start somewhere. However, having too many choices is a mixed blessing as it can easily make your head spin, not knowing what your first move should be. You may think of e-marketing as a perfect example of the paradox of choice.
When confronted with the Digital marketing avalanche, some businesses do NOT jump at all for fear of drowning, while others throw themselves carelessly in the middle of a stormy sea!
It goes without saying that both of them will fail miserably. So, if you want to succeed, you must...
Quick Fix 1: Cherry pick few digital marketing channels for your business to start with and keep expanding them slowly but surely.
2. Is Digital Marketing Really Competitive?
Yes and No! At a first glance, the e-marketing scene can seem fiercely competitive. It is a fact that businesses of all types and sizes have some kind of online presence.
Would your competition even matter if you raised the bar and differentiated yourself from everyone?
Quick Fix 2: Learn the ropes of different forms of digital marketing including social media marketing and the (one and only) email marketing
Before leaving this point, I want you to appreciate the bright side of the e-marketing battle field! Thanks to the internet revolution, competitive intelligence has become easier than ever. With a click of a mouse, you can legitimately spy on your key competition and tweak your business strategy accordingly.
3. Is Digital Marketing Really Time Consuming?
Yes, if you are spending so many hours doing monotonous work and only few hours engaging with your prospects!
Can you make all the Digital marketing automation hype work for YOU? You bet...
Quick Fix 3: Take advantage of CRM solutions, marketing automation software and social media management tools in order to ensure that you're working smart ,not hard online
4. Is Digital Marketing Really Unpredictable?
Again, yes and no! Back in the day, I recall that I came across an eBook titled: "How to Make MySpace Your Space?". I don't think anyone is buying this book today!
The point is that digital marketing is unpredictable in so many different ways:
- Any site can lose its popularity or even shut down in a heartbeat
- In the meantime, new platforms are emerging everyday so you have to breathlessly keep up with new trends and technologies
- You have to put up with any sudden changes in platforms you're accustomed to. For example, when Twitter changed profiles design, some people who had customized profile background images had to redesign their pages. Every now and then you must face the rude awakening that, since you are not the owner of your favorite social network, you have to adapt to any surprises. When it comes to unwanted surprises, Facebook is the king! In fact, sometimes FB terminates users' pages without a warning!
- What if you are used to a free feature in a social site, then it suddenly became fee based? You've got the drill!
In spite of all that, you can still workaround Digital Marketing unpredictability by focusing on your own evergreen digital asset
Quick Fix 4:Focus on driving targeted traffic to your website and. Check out Steve Job's recipe for niche blogging success and business blogging hunger games for a healthy dose of inspiration
So Far So Good! What's The Real Problem?
After proving to you that every so-called digital marketing challenge has a quick fix, let's get down to the root cause of the problem: NOT having a crystal clear target market definition!
When you kick off your digital marketing journey without accurate information about the digital habits/preferences of your target market, you'll be easily swept away by all the beautiful distractions the internet has to offer.
Having a clear vision of your target market, on the other hand, will force you to focus on reaching out to them. All the distractions will disappear and the cost will be clear for you to start a smooth sailing to your desired destination.
Let me back up my point with an example. Let's say your target market is 30-to-40 years old stay at home moms.
When you use social sites with the goal of reaching this niche in mind, your vision will give you a framework and a set of actions to take. Here are some examples:
- You will search create content tailored to the problems/needs of your target market
- You will run a Facebook Ad campaign targeted to this group of people
- You will Google all Twitter users who have the words "stay at home mom" in their Twitter bios and follow them
- You will run LinkedIn surveys tailored to them
How long does it take to create a Facebook Ad? Few Seconds! No longer will digital marketing become a time and energy drainer.
Your vision will clear all the so-called challenges from your way and you will be on your way to massive success.
You can't drive a plan without a campus and similarly, you can't embark on your digital marketing journey without a solid vision to guide your way. What's your vision?