Online marketing is quick and easy to navigate, but is it really a pushover? Without a digital strategy and the right instinct for timing and target groups, even large marketing campaigns can mean a non-event.

In order to avoid your next online campaign from running aground, we have summarized for you the ‘deadliest sins’ in digital marketing.

1. Online without strategy

Online marketing is a science in itself. Many still believe that it does the trick to keep the business running and casually share, for instance, the latest product in social media via smartphone. The result is probably just that the post is disappearing unnoticed in the Newsfeed, although timely coordination with the marketing department could have improved the impact of the post. However, with digital natives on your side and a bright idea up your sleeves, digital platforms can be indeed becoming the arm for consumer awareness and engagement.

2. Forgetting to measure

All beginnings are difficult, particularly entering into the digital industry: Online stores are built, new software updates installed and staff trained. Because of time and costs, those responsible in marketing should not miss the next step, which is monitoring the touchpoints between the customer and the brand. Collecting contact information, such as email address and phone number, is generally worth gold for the database.

3. Only collecting data

Only collecting and hoarding data, however, still provides no added value and would be a gross negligence in the digitization process. Initially, the complexity of the data sets can seem daunting, because expertise is in demand for the correct interpretation of the figures. But it is worth to struggle through it, as marketing and sales in particular will benefit from a clean data preparation. This makes them gain further insight into the customer journey and allows to initiate and control concrete and cross-channel activities.

4. No mobile optimization

Mobile follows the digital movement, which means that it is no longer sufficient to be represented only with a desktop version of the online shop on the web. Consumers are looking for product information across all devices. They expect from the dealer the same service on all devices: smartphone, tablet and desktop. Since Google has defined ‘Responsive Design’ as a ranking factor, mobile and tablet optimization has in fact become obligatory for any online shop.

5. Untargeted customer segmentation

The Internet offers the opportunity to address target groups personally and directly, so don’t waste time to engage with them digitally. With the help of analytical software, Customer Journeys can be tracked comprehensively across devices and channels, so that even the smallest fringe group can be identified easily.

6. All at once

Online marketing is a large playground with many possibilities. There is a danger of wanting to perceive all the possibilities the Internet has to offer at once. Especially when entering the digital business, it conserves resources when entrepreneurs move in a clearly defined field. Still, orphaned social media accounts are unfortunately not uncommon.

7. Neglecting legal issues

The web is often regarded as a kind of legal vacuum. A mistake, especially when using images. Verifying picture licenses should therefore be a priority. The private photo collection is often not enough for marketers, which is why they like to fall back on stock photos. Especially in content marketing, the images aim to catch the viewer's eye and win as many Shares, Likes and Co. In this context, the issue of "copyright" can very quickly become uncomfortable, because once uploaded via social media, they can be shared and re-used in an uncontrolled manner.

By MediaBUZZ