Worried about digital marketing? You’re not alone. There’s a lot to be concerned about.
- AI is driving more referrals … less referrals but they’re better … but maybe they’re not … maybe they are.
- Organic reach on social is dying.
- Referral traffic is going away. Search engines aren’t sending sites traffic and socials are penalizing links.
The current digital marketing landscape is volatile. We’re all trying to figure out how to adjust to the new normal … if there is one. How can you succeed during a time of change?
1: Focus on the Fundamentals
Basketball player Tim Duncan spent 19 seasons in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs. In the time that he played, both the Spurs and professional basketball went through several huge changes.
But even as things changed around him, Duncan was never out of position, never caught off guard, always consistent. They called him the “Big Fundamental” for a reason. I watched him kill my beloved Oklahoma City Thunder with his left block bank shot in 2014 … the same shot he’d come into the league making in 1996.
The game always changes. The rules will change, and people will find new ways to optimize. But like Duncan, focus on the fundamentals.
- Who are you talking to?
- What are they looking for?
- Are you filling their needs?
Do that and the rest follows.
2: Don’t Over-Invest
This is an easy one, especially if you’re not a full-time marketer. I’ve seen small businesses over-index on one strategy or another and spend way too much money on things that didn’t really help — all because it was trendy or the ‘experts” said it was the thing to do.
SEO is a great historical example — to this day, I talk to small businesses who got burned 10 or 15 years ago spending all their money on SEO with fly-by-night “experts.”
Pivot to video, which is still happening, started years ago when Facebook cooked the books on their in-feed video stats. Tons of businesses decided to do video no matter what the quality because “video is what works.” But they didn’t have the expertise or their audience wasn’t into it, and they had to walk it back.
The next big over-investment is happening right now with AI — adoption rates are WAY ahead of available use cases. In businesses both small and large, decision-makers have demanded AI be shoehorned in without a fundamental understanding of how it should be used.
It’s easy to feel reassured by someone telling you they have a surefire win. Don’t trust pretty promises. Take the time to evaluate and don’t over-invest on one thing.
3: Test New Ideas
“But wait,” you might say. “You just got done counseling caution and recommending we stick to fundamentals. Now you’re saying to test new things?”
Yes. The key word, though, is test.
Set aside some time and resources to test new tactics, approaches and platforms. Don’t overdo it, but if you’re not trying new things you’re going to miss when something really revolutionary actually comes along. Follow the example of someone like Marc Maron, who tried the new medium of podcasting in 2009 and turned a failed broadcast TV career into a successful podcasting career. Or our former owner Brian Clark, who was early to the party on content marketing and parlayed that into the Copyblogger empire.
Change Brings Opportunities
We’re in a challenging time for digital marketing. But crisis means opportunity. Stick to the fundamentals, don’t panic, and try new ideas. You’ll get through it. And if you need a hand … we’ve been around the block a couple of times. We’re here to help. Just drop us a line, anytime.
Best Regards,
David Brandon
Copywriter
Rainmaker Digital Services