The world's worst digital marketing advice - iMediaConnection.com
Bad judgment
These next few bits of advice are a little less common, but they can be a lot more damaging. I'm being kind to those who do give this advice by categorizing these under "bad judgment," as I could have been much harsher. Avoid anyone giving you this advice about your digital marketing.
"Don't worry. No one will ever find out."
This sounds like advice that is given to a naïve kid in an after school special, but it's advice that I've heard a time or two before regarding digital marketing. Keep your distance from people who talk like this. Besides the moral issues that might come with taking this advice, rest assured that someone will alwaysfind out. What sorts of things am I referring to? I wrote about 10 of them in another iMedia Connection article while back ("10 sneaky marketing tactics you need to avoid"). These questionable tactics include everything from "astroturfing" to making it impossible for people to cancel their accounts. If you think that the short-term pop you might get from any of these stunts is worth the risk, ask any of your fellow marketers who have been caught in the act. Again -- someone will always find out.
"We need to dump more money into digital."
As someone who is employed by a digital marketing agency, you might think that I love to both hear and dole out this advice. Yet, you won't ever hear me say it. Why? First, "dump" is the key word here. "Dumping" more money into anything isn't the answer. You might be able to buy more impressions and "eyeballs," but little else.
This isn't to say that many brands couldn't benefit from a greater investment in digital marketing. However, figuring out what makes sense for the brand should be the critical step instead of figuring out who has excess ad inventory. When I hear about a brand "dumping" more into digital, it usually means they want to buy more display ads. That's rarely the answer. Don't "dump," but rather "strategically place" your digital marketing dollars.
"Our site should have a massive Flash intro video and music -- loud music."
This one isn't just about Flash intro landing pages or music per se, but I'm using these as proxies for some of the other spectacular lapses in judgment that lead to some of the most frustrating user experiences on the internet. Take the Flash intro video. You know, it's that video or animation that you're forced to watch before you can even enter a site. It almost always involves floating shapes miraculously coming together to show some type of "synergy." Yes, we love this. We love having to wait to get into your site or having to search for the "skip" button before we get to the content we're looking for. This is doubly annoying if you throw in some music that automatically starts playing. Not everyone loves Fat Boy Slim as much as you do.
Before you go for the "wow factor" on your site, make sure the rest of the site is amazing (including the content). If you've got spare time and money after that, then add in all the Flash intros and dancing baby animations you want. We won't judge.
1 comments:
nice
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