5 Digital Marketing Myths Debunked

By Larry Reed On Dec 11, 2018

Digital marketing has become just “marketing” — it’s the norm for modern businesses, while traditional marketing, although still present and necessary, has inevitably taken the back seat. Being a powerful driving force for growth, it’s not exclusively a concern of the marketing team.

In a well-integrated strategy, customer service and sales teams primarily need to have some insight into the facets of digital marketing, but there’s usually a lot of outdated information or prevailing myths concerning it. This can only create misunderstandings across teams or lead the non-marketing staff to miss out on viable solutions and opportunities in their work. In light of that, we’re here to debunk the 5 most common digital marketing myths.

Myth #1: If Your Competition Isn’t Online, You Don’t Have to Be Either

This one is especially common among small businesses, and it either leads owners to dismiss the notion of investing in digital marketing, or forces the marketing team to do a lot of convincing and justifying. But the simple truth is that in the modern marketplace, no matter the industry, there can really be no growth without digital marketing.

Years ago, you could get away with not having an online presence because your competition doesn’t. But today, customers expect at least a website and an active social media account. The further beyond that (such as investing in SEO, for example), the better. Plus, having an online presence when your competition doesn’t is just about the most obvious and easiest way to get far ahead of them.

Myth #2: Social Media Marketing Doesn’t Work for Every Industry

The majority of B2B companies pay no heed to social media, especially when they’re just starting out. There’s a widespread misunderstanding that social media can’t work for every industry. It’s actually not surprising that this myth came to life, considering that not all companies have insight into how diverse the social landscape is.

Every industry can leverage social media — but not every channel works for every industry. The key is to find the right channel for you. That will be the one where the majority of your target audience is and which presents itself as an ideal medium for your type of business. A B2B company that sells paper won’t have much to look for on Instagram and Pinterest, for example, as opposed to an online fashion retailer, but they’ll find LinkedIn and Twitter useful to their marketing efforts.

Myth #3: Mobile Doesn’t Drive Conversions

If you’re not seeing your prospects converting on mobile, instead of accepting the fact as a hard truth, the question to ask is why?

The things is, mobile UX (user experience) is different from desktop UX. Your website might be responsive, but does your checkout process resonate with the way people use their phones? You can’t just replicate the desktop process on mobile, expecting people to go through lengthy forms and fill out numerous fields using their thumbs. Everything on mobile needs to be simpler, faster, and requiring minimal effort. So when you’re looking for professionals to optimize your site, you’ll want to find someone who understands the practices of mobile UX so you can adjust the conversion process.

Myth #4: Negative Reviews Will Seriously Hurt Your Sales and Marketing Efforts

With the rise of platforms such as Yelp or TripAdvisor, digital word-of-mouth has become a major concern for marketers. Online reviews, including brand mentions posted on social networks, are more influential now than ever, with the majority of consumers trusting them to ensure they make informed buying decisions. Consequentially, reviews are the cornerstone of online reputation management — a legitimate facet of digital marketing — and all fear the negative review.

Except those who understand the workings of the digital landscape. Negative reviews need to be taken as an opportunity, particularly, an opportunity for the customer service team. By taking the time to respond to them properly and address your unsatisfied customer’s concerns, you can right wrongs, win over their affections, and most importantly, build your reputation as a trustworthy and devoted company. Furthermore, some bad reviews will help you identify your weak points and develop ideas for improvement.

Myth #5: SEO Is Dead

You’ll hear this over and over again from those who delved a bit into SEO back in 2010 and dropped it at some point. Because indeed, the SEO from back then is dead. Modern SEO is a crucial part of digital marketing for businesses of all scales, and its techniques are very different from those back in the day. Current SEO practices are far more sophisticated as Google’s algorithm has not only evolved to great extent, but continues to change on a regular basis. With the mobile-first index and various UX-oriented ranking factors, SEO is now integral even to the first stages of building a website.

These are just a few of the most common digital marketing myths, which lead people to fundamental misunderstandings. We had to get them out of the way first, but no doubt, there are plenty of others. And as the digital landscape is fluid and continuously changing in one way or another, so do digital marketing practices face constant evolution. Inevitably, what’s current and true today in terms of digital marketing practices is likely to become outdated at some point and thus turn into a myth. Those who are able to keep up will surely be a valuable asset to their teams.