Finding it challenging to keep up with all the available digital marketing tools and automations?
To get the most out of your digital marketing plan, diversification and efficiency are things that can’t be swept under a rug. This often requires leveraging different tools and platforms, and there’s technology available to help with every aspect of your digital marketing efforts, from social media marketing, email marketing, search engine optimization, and conversion optimization to lead enrichment, landing page, lead capture, and graphic creation tools. Whew!
The list of digital marketing tools to manage can feel overwhelming when you’re strapped for time or working on a small team.
The quick and easy solution is to resort to the set it and forget it method, which may work on a short-term basis but is almost never a good thing in the long run.
So let’s talk about why setting it and forgetting it just doesn’t work when it comes to effective digital marketing.
Most people would say that it’s a good idea for optimal digital marketing management to use tools for efficiency. Certainly that’s part of the pitch by the makers of those tools. And the tools absolutely save time in many ways.
We at (un)Common Logic are big believers in using tools and technology to make our work more efficient and effective. Having said that, we’re even bigger believers in having highly trained and experienced experts using and managing those tools to ensure that they’re delivering the results we want. But why?
Digital marketing tools are frequently updating and releasing new features. Often these features benefit your business by improving performance, efficiency, or user experience. Not keeping up with the updates means that you might miss out on features that could move the needle for your marketing efforts. Additionally, not keeping up with updates means you could potentially negatively impact performance or miss out on key insights by not updating campaign settings or reporting connections.
By regularly checking your digital marketing tools, you limit missing out on platform recommendations to improve performance. These can range from suggestions regarding trending user behavior and budget allocations to algorithm updates and taking advantage of changes to the competitive landscape.
In recent years consumer behavior was significantly impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic changed how consumers interact with businesses and one another. Multiple factors have shifted as a result, from how we use technology to generational ideals, not to mention the economic and public safety impacts. All of these factors and more influence how businesses need to position themselves online.
A good example of why a set it and forget it method is detrimental because of consumer behavior is looking at how search intent has changed over time. Google has made known that search intent has become more specific over time. That means search engines are better today than ever before at understanding what users are looking for.
How people search today is based around both a topic and also terms called modifiers which add more intent to the topic they are searching for information about.
Modifiers change over time because they reflect what searchers are thinking about at a specific time. By relying on a set it and forget it method you put your business at the risk of marketing ineffectively by not meeting your ideal customers where they are on their purchasing journey over time. Adjusting your strategy over time based on searchers’ intent keeps your business relevant and competitive.
Ever signed up for a subscription and forgot to cancel it before the trial ends? Or signed up for a gym membership, rarely went, and kept getting billed for it? That’s what it’s like when relying on a set it and forget it method. It’s easy to waste marketing spend on things that are not driving results when they are not managed.
Potential areas that your campaigns could be wasting spend on include:
Periodic reviews ensure a higher ROI for your business, and we understand that there are a lot of areas in an account to review especially when it comes to paid search performance. Our “5 Best Practices to Boost Paid Search Performance Quickly” article will show where to start so that you can get the most out of your budget. The article also includes case studies about how we helped clients who had underperforming accounts because various aspects of their campaigns were set up and then forgotten about.
Platforms like Google regularly update their algorithms. The main reason they usually make these updates is so that people using their platforms can have better experiences. It’s said that Google makes algorithm updates 500 – 600 times per year! That’s a lot of changes to keep up with.
The good news is that on the bigger updates Google is more public. Updates to the algorithm can be reflected in unusual fluctuations in performance, and those fluctuations usually level out after a few weeks. Adjustments are essential to maintain consistent performance and visibility during algorithm changes. These adjustments can look like continuing to create high quality content relevant to your audience, updating older content to best practices, and adjusting settings in marketing channels to maximize platform capabilities.
Competitors are not static; they evolve their strategies over time. Competitors also evolve with new technologies that are introduced to the digital marketing space. With all the accessible information online your competitors could be performing the following tasks:
Regularly visiting your campaigns helps you maintain a competitive edge. A few ways to do this in paid search include monitoring impression share, cost per click, and auction insights.
Staying competitive in today’s digital marketing landscape requires utilizing a variety of tools and testing a variety of marketing channels. Managing all those tools and channels can be overwhelming when you have limited time and resources. In the short run, you’ll feel some weight off your shoulders when you find yourself setting it and forgetting it. In the long run, it’s not the best strategy to get the most out of your marketing efforts and could be very detrimental. Here at (un)Common Logic we encourage regular platform check-ins, staying up to date, and taking a proactive approach to capitalize on the dynamic nature of the digital realm.
Want to learn more? Read about how best to leverage AI in digital marketing, the impact of conversion rate experts, and how strategic testing (the opposite of set it and forget it) led to 160% increase in orders year-over-year for this automotive e-commerce client.
Contact us to talk about your digital marketing tools and challenges and see how our approach can help your business!
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