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Signs your Digital Marketing Strategy isn’t working

With how much time people spend on the internet and on social media every day across every generation, it’s created an amazing space for advancing your marketing strategy. However, while the average Millennial start-up company might make it look easy, it is not hard to create a digital marketing strategy that just isn’t working. 

If you’ve been investing time in the digital marketing world, but you’re not getting the results you were promised, then this article is for you. 

4 signs your digital marketing strategy isn’t working

If your digital marketing strategy doesn’t seem to be getting the job done, then there are a variety of signs you’ll begin to notice:

1. Poor results

The reason you’re here is the largest sign your digital marketing strategy just isn’t working: you aren’t getting the fruit from your efforts. Entrepreneur notes that you can find out more by spending more time looking over the numbers. Explore “what you’re spending on ads, organic marketing, social media marketing efforts, etc.,” and compare it to what gains you’ve received from it. 

After running those numbers, you’ll know you need to go back to the drawing board if the costs are higher than the return. 

2. You’re spending too much time on your campaigns

The odds that you begin to see changes overnight after launching a digital marketing campaign is not likely. It takes time and consistency before you start to see positive changes. If you’re not really seeing the results you thought you would but you’re still a ways away from the project deadline, that’s perfectly normal. You may want to consider making a tweak or two to what you’ve been doing, but you’re not in the red yet.

On the other hand, if your marketing campaign has gone beyond the project deadline and the results just aren’t there, then something’s gone wrong. 

3. You’ve tried it all, but you’re still not seeing results

Whether you’ve made various minor tweaks and adjustments or have fully “thrown the kitchen sink at it,” and you’re still not seeing any results, that’s a clear red flag that your marketing strategy just isn’t working. This just might not be the right strategy for you and your organization, and that’s okay!

4. Traffic, Conversions, and Engagement aren’t moving

Yale informs readers that a few other stark signs your digital marketing strategy isn’t working are that you won’t be seeing an increase in website traffic, there won’t be an increase in ad conversions, and social media engagement will be down (or the same). With a successful digital marketing plan, you would be experiencing an increase in each of these areas. There are a variety of factors that could be contributing to this issue and they could be simply fixed by a few adjustments here and there. 

What to do when your digital marketing strategy isn’t working

If you’ve found that your digital marketing strategy is failing, then there are a variety of steps you can take to start getting better results:

  1. Figure out what’s happening internally – is your brand consistent, do you have the best team working on strategy, is your organization actually solving problems, etc.?
  2. Take a look at the external factors – do you know your target audience, are you taking the right steps to reach them, are they aware of what problem they have that you have the solution to, etc.?
  3. Check out what your competitors are up to – find other organizations in your industry seemingly having more success with their digital marketing strategy and try to figure out what they’re doing right
  4. Remember that the digital world is always changing, and your marketing strategy should be changing, too, and you’ll find much success in remaining dynamic with your plan
  5. Make sure that you’re always keeping track of your metrics, they will very clearly show you where you are succeeding and where you need a little more help

If you need help running a more successful digital marketing plan, let’s talk!