For an entrepreneur, the allure of handling digital marketing in-house can be strong. You’re brimming with ideas, eager to make your mark, and often don’t feel like you have enough revenue quite yet to outsource your marketing. However, digital marketing is not a DIY endeavor—it’s a complex, nuanced field that requires expertise and experience. While it might be tempting to apply a hands-on approach, or to outsource to the cheapest bidder, the intricacies of digital marketing and the rise of misleading ‘Fakexperts’ make professional guidance not just beneficial but essential for success.
Understanding the Complexity of Digital Marketing
Beyond the Surface: The Multi-Faceted Nature of Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is much more than the very visible tip of the social media iceberg.
It encompasses a deep understanding of SEO, which is far more nuanced than mere keyword stuffing—it’s about mastering search engine algorithms, understanding the importance of backlinking, and creating content that’s both relevant and valuable. Even more so with the introduction of AI-based search results.
Similarly, effective content marketing goes far beyond basic blog writing; it’s about crafting narratives that resonate with your audience, compelling them to engage and act.
Social media management is not merely about posting appealing images; it’s a strategic exercise in engagement, analytics, and understanding the unique dynamics of each platform.
And when it comes to PPC and ad campaigns, it’s not just about spending money on ads; it involves strategic budget allocation, in-depth keyword research, and continuous campaign optimization.
The 5 Ps of Marketing: A Comprehensive Approach
A true digital marketing professional understands that digital is not limited to the items mentioned above.
And a true marketing professional understand that digital marketing is just one part of the
marketing mix. The
5 Ps—Product, Price, Place, Promotion, and People—are crucial.
Each element of the business must be carefully considered and integrated into the digital strategy, ensuring that online efforts align with and support the overall marketing goals and the business as a whole.
The Fakexpert Phenomenon
The Dangerous Lure of Fakexperts
The digital age has given rise to ‘Fakexperts’—self-proclaimed “gurus” lacking the depth of knowledge and experience necessary for effective marketing strategies. These individuals often capitalize on the
Dunning-Kruger effect, where limited knowledge leads to overestimated abilities.
They lure businesses with promises of quick fixes and guaranteed results, leading many down a path of ineffective strategies and wasted resources.
Fakexperts are a two-pronged problem. Sometimes, they’re providing guidance to DIY marketers, and their advice may not be the best, or may only work best with one type of business or for one industry. Then there’s other Fakexperts who are having entrepreneurs pay them to do their marketing, with restrictions along the same lines of using strategies that may only work well for one type of business.
Spotting and Avoiding Fakexperts
Recognizing a Fakexpert is key. Warning signs include overpromising, such as guaranteed instant results, a lack of proven client results, reliance on their own success stories, and high-pressure sales tactics.
Understanding these red flags is crucial in navigating the digital marketing landscape and selecting a professional who can truly deliver results.
The Time Factor
The relationship between experience and efficiency in digital marketing is a crucial factor often overlooked.
An inexperienced marketer, while potentially less expensive per hour, may take significantly longer to complete tasks. This inefficiency isn’t just about time—it’s a cost factor that, when calculated over the duration of a project, can significantly impact your budget.
A seasoned professional, with a deeper understanding of digital marketing nuances, can navigate tasks more swiftly and effectively. This efficiency is not just about speed but also about the quality of the outcome. The adage “time is money” rings particularly true here; more experienced marketers, despite their higher rates, often end up being more cost-effective in the long run due to their ability to achieve desired results in a shorter timeframe.
Quantifying the Efficiency Gap
While specific statistics vary across different markets and tasks, a study by the Consulting Research Group illustrated this efficiency gap. They found that entry-level marketers, on average, took almost twice as long to complete similar tasks as their more experienced counterparts. For instance, a task that a seasoned marketer could complete in an hour might take a novice up to two hours or more. This discrepancy becomes more pronounced with complex tasks such as SEO strategy or data analysis, where in-depth knowledge and experience play a significant role.
Moreover, this isn’t just about the hours spent; it’s about the effectiveness of those hours. An experienced marketer’s hour is often packed with strategic decision-making and insightful execution, while an inexperienced individual might spend the same hour navigating basic challenges or correcting mistakes.
The Cost-Effectiveness of Hiring a Professional
Avoiding the Cost Pitfalls of Accidental DIY mistakes and of Fakexperts
The decision to hire an experienced professional is not just about avoiding inefficiency; it’s also about sidestepping the costly pitfalls of either doing it yourself or of working with Fakexperts (either ones giving you advice, or ones doing the work).
Many clients have come to us either after they’ve accidentally broken something, or after a Fakexpert has failed them, leading to not just the cost of the initial service but also the expense of correcting it. This double expense, coupled with potential sales losses during ineffective marketing periods, underscores the importance of choosing the right professional from the start.
Here’s a few examples:
- One Fakexpert told an entrepreneur who was DIYing their SEO to hide a bunch of keywords on their web pages, either behind other elements or by making the text the same color as the background. This is called “keyword stuffing” and can actually get your website dinged negatively by Google.
- One DIYer accidentally set a file on their website to tell all search engines NOT to crawl or index the site. They found the recommendation online, and didn’t realize what that exact step would actually cause since websites aren’t their forte. Then they couldn’t figure out why their site wouldn’t show up in Google, even when carefully searching the exact name and location. This was actually a really quick fix for me, but they had already gone months by that time with their website not appearing on any search. This really slowed their business.
- One client kept talking about how anyone other than her doing her social media or other marketing just couldn’t get it right. I asked some questions about brand voice and guidelines, and she said it was all in her head. I explained that until she could relay it to someone else, and do so in a way that the other person would understand it, she wasn’t ready to bring on anyone (nor grow her business!) If you see yourself in this, I’m going to nicely say that the problem isn’t your freelancer … it’s you (but we can help you fix it!)
- Another client paid $1000 for a simple website, thought she had chosen a company in the US so that there wouldn’t be any communication barriers, then found that wasn’t the case after there were so many spelling and grammatical errors on the website, and she had a very hard time getting the even most basic pieces ever set up because of the language barriers. She then came to use to have us revise and finish it, meaning additional cost.
- One DIYer set up a website on one of the all-in-one builders where that vendor controls your hosting and owns all of the code and your access. She built a 6-figure business. The platform (Etsy in this case) randomly closed her account one day (yes we know why, no it wasn’t accurate, no she couldn’t get it back). Since she had DIYed her site, and set up something that was obviously working, what she missed was the ways to integrate everything with the back end of her business … so she lost all customer records and information about orders in process etc. It took her about 18 months to get things back on any type of solid footing (and that’s where we came in to help with a website which she had full control over, plus setting up all of the other business systems so that there were always redundancies.)
- One mid-6-figure business hired someone brand new to revise their ecommerce site. Unfortunately, you don’t know what you don’t know, and there were many errors, including having Google completely remove the site from search for 6 months, killing the decades of solid SEO that they had already built. SEO started over from scratch. The site was also almost nonfunctional in that it took minutes for a page to load. Both of these and other problems meant that their income dropped to near zero for a year. Many of these issues we could fix fairly quickly, taking their site speed from an “F” grade from google to an A+ for example, but other issues – like the delisting on Google – will still take time to improve. They paid the first freelancer 5-figures to create the site; and then unfortunately also had to pay us to fix it. (The good news is that we were able to, which made them very happy, and now we’re continuing SEO and other site improvements as well!)
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure 😉
Long-Term Value and Sustainable Results
Our focus is on developing sustainable, long-term marketing strategies that account for the full spectrum of marketing and the individual business’s overall ecosystem. This approach not only ensures immediate effectiveness but also lays a solid foundation for future growth, avoiding the need for costly strategy overhauls as the business evolves.
Vicky’s Unique Approach to Digital Marketing
Our approach to digital marketing is not one-size-fits-all. We specialize in B2P marketing, crafting strategies uniquely tailored to each business’s needs. Our
Beyond-the-Graph Growth™ methodology ensures a balanced focus on both tangible metrics and the intangible elements crucial to business health.
FAQs: Why You Shouldn’t DIY Your Digital Marketing
Q: What common problems do DIY marketers face?
A: DIY marketers often encounter several challenges, including:
- Lack of Strategic Direction: Without professional expertise, it’s challenging to create a cohesive, strategic marketing plan.
- Ineffective Use of Budget: Misallocation of funds in channels that don’t yield return on investment.
- Time Management Issues: Underestimating the time commitment required for effective marketing.
- Keeping Up with Trends: Difficulty staying abreast of the latest digital marketing trends and algorithm changes.
- Poor SEO Performance: Struggles with optimizing content for search engines, leading to low online visibility.
- Social Media Mishaps: Inconsistent or ineffective social media presence, leading to poor engagement and brand representation.
- Analytical Overwhelm: Challenges in interpreting data and analytics to make informed decisions.
Q: How does expertise in digital marketing make a difference?
A: Expertise in digital marketing brings several advantages, such as:
- Strategic Insight: Professionals provide a strategic approach, aligning marketing with business goals.
- Efficient Budget Utilization: Experts know where and how to allocate resources for maximum impact.
- Time-Saving: Professionals efficiently manage marketing tasks, freeing up your time to focus on core business activities.
- Trend Adaptation: Experts stay current with trends, ensuring your marketing remains relevant and effective.
- SEO Mastery: They possess the skills to optimize your online presence for better search engine rankings.
- Enhanced Social Media Engagement: Professional handling of social media leads to better engagement and brand loyalty.
- Data-Driven Decisions: Experts can interpret complex data, providing insights for informed decision-making.
Q: What are the risks of relying on outdated or incorrect marketing information?
A: Relying on outdated or incorrect marketing information can lead to:
- Wasted Resources: Time and money spent on strategies that no longer work.
- Brand Damage: Outdated tactics can harm your brand’s reputation and alienate customers.
- Missed Opportunities: Failure to capitalize on current trends and market shifts.
- Ineffective Targeting: Poor understanding of current customer behaviors and preferences.
Q: Can’t I learn enough from online resources to effectively market my business?
A: While online resources can be informative, they often lack:
- Personalization: Generic advice may not apply to your unique business context.
- Depth of Knowledge: Surface-level information is no substitute for the depth of understanding that comes with professional experience.
- Strategic Application: Knowing how to strategically apply information for maximum impact is key, and this often requires professional guidance.
Q: How can professional digital marketing save me money in the long run?
A: Professional digital marketing can save money by:
- Avoiding Costly Mistakes: Professionals have the experience to avoid common pitfalls.
- Long-Term Strategy Development: Crafting strategies that deliver sustainable growth, rather than short-term fixes.
- ROI-Focused Approaches: Focusing on tactics that yield a higher return on investment.
