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Digital marketing used to be a thing of luxury but now it’s a complete necessity in order for brands to stand out. There are some myths surrounding digital marketing that could be holding back most entrepreneurs from maximizing output and engagement online.

Some of the myths were once true but need to be revisited once again and some were just not true, to begin with. Here are a few:

Myth #1: “My business must be on every social platform”

Social media has become a very important tool for many businesses but that doesn’t mean you should be on every platform.

For instance companies with technical service offering would succeed best on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook rather than Pinterest and Instagram while fashion related business would do well on Instagram and Pinterest.

It can be time wasting to update all social media accounts with fresh, relevant and regular content so it’s better to focus on 2-3 platforms that will give you results than keep track of many platforms which won’t provide results and your target audience isn’t necessarily there.

Use this guide to find out which social media platform is best for your business.

Myth #2: ”It’s all about followers”

There are a lot of goals and metrics that you can establish when creating your digital strategy like page views, followers, likes, comments. They are great but such can be misleading.

Go a little bit deeper than that, look at the time spent on your website, abandoned cart (if you have an e-commerce site) and more importantly conversion rates. How many of those who view, comment or like on your social media become paying customers?

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Myth #3: “Boring industries can’t benefit from digital marketing”

Rest be assured that whatever industry your business is in, your targeted customers are bound to be online somewhere. Don’t be fooled into thinking that your product or service isn’t too exciting or glamorous for you to profit from social media. It’s a matter of finding the right people to offer your product or services.

“You’re only boring to those who aren’t in your target market.”
– Harry Gardiner

Additionally, stay ahead of the curve if your competition isn’t online yet. It is better to capitalize on their mistake and gain the first mover advantage to capture a new segment of customers.

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Myth #4: “Online negative comments are bad for my business”

Of course, it is emotionally hard to see bad comments on something you have worked so hard to build but use this to your advantage. While some resort to hiding comments, blocking users etc. responding well and timely to legitimate concerns will do you a world of good in creating a virtuous reputation for your company.

Motherland Mogul tip: There is no point in responding to insults and baseless comments. If you follow the tip on responding above, you will create brand loyalists (“your tribe”) who will defend your brand to the so called “keyboard warriors” who just want to destroy you.

Besides, recently Instagram just like Facebook has rolled out a new feature which blocks offensive language. This feature is currently only available in English but more languages will be added later on.

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Myth #5: “It’s all about tech”

Do not make a mistake of thinking traditional marketing is now a thing of a past. Yes, technology is key in digital marketing but it will be wise to merge it with your existing traditional marketing practices like TV and radio commercials, newspaper, networking etc. into one so that you have a lasting impact and become more apparent.

The Internet is unpredictable and with the influx of many updates per seconds, minutes or hour, you are better off maintaining a balance between the old marketing approach and digital marketing.

Motherland Mogul tip: If you run a digital marketing campaign only you run a risk of being swallowed up by the Internet.

Myth #6: “Why blog when I have a social media?”

You probably should be writing content because chances are your target audience may be searching for it online when they are looking for tips, how to guides, product recommendations etc. The importance of having a blog cannot be understated as when on social media, you are on someone else’s turf and on their terms.

With a blog, you’re on your territory and you make the rules. You can write as much as you want about anything. People come to check you out and here is where you build your position as an expert.

There are a lot of myths out there but these ones are the ones I meet the most and are quite misleading. Don’t let any of them hold you back from fully benefiting from the digital world. Conduct your research and prepare a digital strategy that works for your business.

Are you familiar with any other digital marketing myths that may have been left out on this list?

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