The Problem With Digital Marketing

If you work in digital marketing every day, there’ll probably be a few problems that come to mind.

But the main problem isn’t what you think.

You already know that building a mailing list, or getting more web traffic isn’t as easy as you thought when you first set up your digital marketing strategy.

You’ll spend hours at night thinking of ways to do things differently to improve the situation.

But the problem isn’t the doing.

The problem is making sure that what you’re doing is right in the first place.

Let’s be honest, whether you’ve been marketing digitally for 6 months, a year or 5 years, chances are that you’ve probably missed something out in your digital strategy or have misunderstood another.

Both are potentially damaging. But not as damaging as not taking a step out of the Facebook Ads, the keyword research and the YouTube videos, to look at this as a whole.

But not as damaging as not taking a step out of the Facebook Ads, the keyword research and the YouTube videos, to look at this as a whole.

The main problem in digital marketing is the MEASUREMENT of that digital marketing.

That’s because the digital marketing game has a referee, and he runs the show. Just like in a sports match, he calls the shots and makes the decisions within the game. If a

Just like in a sports match, he calls the shots and makes the decisions within the game. If a play hasn’t gone right or hasn’t gone by the rules, then he’ll stop the game and will re-start play at his own accord.

You’re basically bound to everything he chooses to do.

This guy with the whistle is the guy that measures your digital marketing activity too. And you’re the only one that can take up that role in your business.

Now, measuring a campaign sounds relatively easy.

You’ll think about putting the digital marketing strategies to work and will leave the measurement until later.

But that ‘later’ never comes.

And when it does come, you don’t spend enough time doing it and won’t be measuring the right things in the right way. You’ll skip the important points, and will never really know how effective those digital marketing campaigns were.

The game goes one, but none of the players know what the hell is going on.

It’s a constant tunnel of figures and percentages that you don’t really want to go through.

Sure, offline, measuring your campaigns is a little easier. There are fewer variables. While in the digital world, it’s the exact opposite. It’s the exact opposite because there’s so much more that you can get wrong.

There are fewer variables. While in the digital world, it’s the exact opposite. It’s the exact opposite because there’s so much more that you can get wrong.

Connecting the dots when it comes to digital marketing measurement and business performance indicators isn’t an easy exercise.

Talking of exercises, for example, are you measuring your website visits or visitors? The two seem similar on the face, but what they mean for your business and your digital marketing, are very different.

The problem is the misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the measurement. And this misunderstanding can result in the wrong decisions – especially when it

And this misunderstanding can result in the wrong decisions – especially when it come to putting a digital marketing strategy in place, and then amending it – which leads to lost customers and lost revenue. That is a huge problem.

That is a huge problem.

I mentioned YouTube earlier; do you think that online videos work the same as those on TV? Of course not. Do you know what you’re measuring for those videos?

I think the answer is no too, or at least it’s a little vague.

With your new promotional offer, are you measuring click-through rates for that offer or are you measuring brand recognition? Both are completely different and require different measurement.

Both are completely different and require different measurement.

See what I mean? Need another example?

Will this blog post be a ‘success’ if I get a high number of views or visitors or shares or comments, or will it be a success if I manage to get one email reply in my inbox asking to take part in a joint venture project?

I know the answer…

But these are answers you also need to know when it comes to your business, and your digital marketing campaigns and strategies.

If you’re not measuring the right things, then you’re basically going into your business digitally blind. (That’s not a good idea.)

Analytics has made life a little easier for us. They are there to give us an indication (or even a snapshot) of how things are going with our digital campaigns.

But they’re not enough.

There’s an abundance of data that needs to be analysed – and it can only be analysed if you know what your performance indicators are alongside your business goals.

It’s a problem that digital marketers need to address in the full.

It’s a problem that can be solved with time, the right tools and the right goals.

This is down to you, and you alone.