In life, there are dos and don’ts for everything. Ever since we were young and we are told by our parents not to do certain things, one example I remember clearly is; whenever I get near something lit, they would repeatedly say no, no, ouch, ouch. They have raised us up to know what we are supposed to do and what we should avoid. The same goes for Digital Marketing.

Running a brand in the world of digital can be tough, so here are 5 Do’s and Don’ts of Digital Marketing to make it a lot easier:

1. DO: Know your audience (Who is your target audience?)

The first step to anything in life is to create a path for yourself. Do not just follow what others are doing. There is a high possibility that it might not work. Why? Your target audience. 

You cannot just follow the footsteps of others and copy what they are doing because their target audience might be completely different. What works for them, might not work for you. Get to know your target audience. What do they like, what do they dislike, what is their age range, what do they do for a living, what is their behavior, and so on. 

Identifying your target audience is vital. It puts you at a high advantage because you will be able to create content catered to exactly what they like. This is key in developing an effective digital marketing strategy.

2. DO: Know Your Brand and Competition

I cannot emphasize how important it is for you to identify and to have a strong brand identity. Without it, customers will find it extremely difficult to engage with your business, as branding is the best way to convey your message to your target audience. 

Nowadays, with so much competition, businesses need to go the extra mile to make sure they stand out. Your brand gives you personality and allows you to control how others perceive your business. So make sure that you don’t neglect it. 

Also, make sure you stay ahead of your competition. The only way to do that is by learning what your competitors are doing.  Learn about their weaknesses and strengths, as it can help you enhance your strength and to work on your weaknesses. 

3. DO: Personalize the User Experience

Customers are the most important aspect of any business. Catering to their needs and pain points is crucial. So having a marketing process that helps with answering those needs is indispensable. 

Personalization makes customers feel special, allowing them to engage more efficiently. In addition, personalization increases user loyalty and empathy towards your brand as they encounter more relevant content. These emotions are directly connected with customer lifetime value. The better the connection, the higher the customer lifetime value.

Email marketing is a great example since emails allow for dynamic personalization which has allowed marketers to increase engagement rates.

4. DO: Construct a User-Friendly Website

The final destination of all your social platform campaigns is your website. Make sure you create a user-friendly website.

Businesses usually make the mistake of neglecting usability, but usability is vital for the success of any website. It can help improve the website’s performance and help boost sales and revenue for your business. The customer should be able to find what they’re looking for easily. 

Here are some ways you can increase your website usability:

• Fast load times
• Well-formatted content
• Mobile compatibility
• Balance of images and text. 

5. DO: Create Original Content for your Digital Marketing

Content is king! The ideal digital marketing strategy includes understanding your target audience, brand, and competitors and then creating original content aligned with their needs. 

This is the type of content your target audience will remember and connect with. Everything from your blog, social media posts, and your website should be tailored to your target audience. In addition, original content helps improve search engine optimization, establishing authority, increasing credibility, and expanding social reach. 

Keep in mind your content needs to be relevant to your readers for them to engage with it.  

1. DON’T: Forget About Your Current Customers

Marketing is about delighting existing customers as much as it is about attracting new ones. 

It is crucial to make sure your customers are satisfied with your product, not only to make sure they buy again, but also so they spread the word through social media and referrals. 

Word-of-mouth marketing is very effective. People trust family and friend’s recommendations. Also, focusing on your existing customer is one of the quickest ways to increase revenue. 

You can start by crafting special offers to your loyal customers, creating online events exclusively for them, and by sending personalized emails as a thank you. 

2. DON’T: Overlook Email in your Digital Marketing Strategy

Do not put all your eggs in one basket. Most businesses rely solely on social media marketing and overlook Email marketing. When email marketing is handled correctly it can be your most successful strategy. 

It delivers the best return on investment (ROI) among all other digital marketing channels.  In order to increase your email list, you can create a landing page for your business, where customers provide their email in exchange for something free like a newsletter, guide, and so on. 

Furthermore, make sure you do not send too many emails, as crowding inboxes will only serve in irritating your prospects and clients. Also, this will increase your chance of ending up on customers’ spam lists which will have a big toll on your domain’s reputation. 

3. DON’T: Say ‘I Don’t Care about SEO’

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is pivotal. If customers are not able to find your website, how do you expect them to buy from you? 

The most important goal, whether you are a small or big business, is to show up in Google’s search results. SEO is vital as it can help you achieve numerous business goals. SEO helps you increase domain authority, drive more people to your website, increase conversions, and gives you a competitive edge over competitors. This all leads to an increase in sales, loyal customers, and business growth. 

Make sure you keep updating your SEO strategies from time to time, to stay up to date with the changing trends. Strong and quality SEO is critical for a brand’s presence in this day and age. 

4. DON’T: Ignore mobile optimization

Nowadays almost everyone has a mobile phone. Many use them for their daily internet activities, so overlooking something like mobile optimization is foolish.  

If you want to grow your business digitally, you need to make sure that your website’s content and visuals are mobile-friendly. Also, mobile optimization helps you improve user experience website speed, user engagement, mobile SEO, and attract more local customers.

Additionally, your website visitors are potential customers, so you should use your full ability to make sure that they have an exceptional experience, no matter what the device they are using is. 

5. DON’T: Overdo your Digital Marketing

Quality over quantity always. No one gives attention to how many blog posts you have on your website. 

They care about the quality of information you are delivering to them. So, don’t post anything just for the sake of posting, as you will turn people away by spamming them with low-quality content. The same goes with everything else. Do not share too many social media posts and do not send too many emails. 

Post valuable information that is of high quality. Overdoing anything is a big no! Posting just for the sake of posting without taking quality into consideration, will impact your domain authority. 

One thing for sure is that a successful marketing campaign needs a solid strategy behind it. If you believe that your digital presence has been lacking, then there might be a problem either with your digital strategies or you adopted the wrong strategies. Make sure to go over our list and check off the things you have and what you need to work on.