Sometimes, it is good for every marketer to cut through the hype and get straight to the bottom line around the value of new media and marketing. While the value of brand building is very important, you should also realise that we are in business to make money so we can pay the bills and keep the lights on. Some business publications point out that certain brands are number the best when it comes to social media followers, yet what good does that do if you’re losing market share and sales? Here are six essential questions around digital marketing and our responses for those who still believe that marketing is about increasing sales, profit and keeping existing customers happy.
Q: I keep reading that more and more companies are increasing their digital marketing budgets. Should we follow this trend ?
A: Do not follow the herd, but make your own trails instead. It really depends on just how important digital marketing is to your customer and product category. Look in your fridge or pantry and tell me how many of those products you really have time to research online ? However, consumers will spend time online researching products like insurance, automobiles, electronics and even some clothes. You need to understand what is the most important consumer touch point that turns them into a customer of your brand.
Q: So if we are in the grocery channel does this mean we can ignore digital marketing ?
A: No, not at all. It just means that you might get a better ROI with an in store promotion or FSI coupon than a Facebook page. Besides consumers expect you to be on social media if they have a problem. Your job as a marketer is to understand which channel is going to provide the best ROI and that is not always digital marketing.
Q: We spend a lot of money on search marketing. Should we continue to purchase as many keywords as possible ?
A: 54% of respondents found websites through natural search results in 2012, up from 50% in 2011. Social networks were the second-most preferred discovery resource, with 32% using them in 2012, up from 25% in 2011 and 18% in 2010. In addition, Google is now ranking websites based on content and shared content not just your brand. Thus, if you are using a content marketing strategy, you could be missing the mark with organic search if you are not integrating the content with your brand.
Q: What about social media ? There is so much buzz about brands using social media today.
A: Engagement is one of the most overused buzzwords today because marketers are struggling with how to connect engagement with brand objectives. Today reach and frequency have little meaning to multitasking consumers and remember that the number one reason that most people like a brand on social media is for special offers. You still need social media, yet they have to be integrated with your overall marketing and should not be singled out for a bigger slice of the budget unless you have direct proof that it drives conversion.
Q: What about big data? I keep hearing that it’s the “new marketing currency”. Is this really the case ?
A: There are many problems with the assumptions behind the “big data” narrative being pushed, primarily by consultants and IT firms that want to sell businesses the next big thing. Fortunately, honest practitioners of big data, or data scientists, are by nature highly skeptical, and they have provided us with enough reasons to be wary of many of the claims made for this field. Is more data always better? Hardly. In fact, if you’re looking for correlations, gathering more data could actually hurt you. For those of you who do not normally think in data, what that means is that past a certain point, your return on adding more data diminishes to the point that you are only wasting time gathering more.
Q: There are so many buckets where we can spend money in digital marketing. Which ones should be prioritized ?
A: You need to start with your branded website and create a website using a process that involves the basics such as testing wireframes and usability testing. There is no such thing as getting a website up and you’re done. You need to continually optimize your site via feedback from analytics and users. People come to your branded website to learn about your actual products so what are you doing to convert them and keep them as customers ? You will need market research to ask your audience about what do they want to see in your branded website. Think as an consumer, yet balance their needs with your branding and marketing.