In our digital world, marketing online and in digital spaces is more important than ever. With the majority of the population now accessing the internet, there are more opportunities for businesses to reach consumers than ever before.

If you’re new to marketing or already feel a little uneasy about all this digital marketing mumbo jumbo, then this guide is for you. We’ll debunk the most common myths surrounding online marketing and digital marketing, as well as teach you the fundamentals of digital marketing so you can become an expert.

Myth #1: Online Marketing Is New

To say that online marketing is “new” is quite an understatement. As early as the 1950s, businesses were using the internet to market their products. However, it wasn’t until the late 1990s that the internet evolved to the point where businesses could take advantage of its vast potential for marketing.

Even then, for many businesses, creating a digital strategy was a gradual process. It started with websites, continued with social media, and ended with email marketing.

Myth #2: You Can Use All These Different Forms Of Marketing

Depending on your budget and how much you want to spend on marketing, you might think about using several different marketing methods to reach your target audience. Even those businesses that have limited funds can use several different tactics to market their products.

For example, if someone is reading an article on a company’s website, but also happens to be on social media, the company’s marketing manager might want to see both forms of content, as well as email marketing campaigns, to understand which methods are working and which ones need to be changed or avoided altogether.

Myth #3: You Need To Do A Lot Of Market Research Before You Start Marketing

A lot of people think that before they can successfully market a product, they need to do a lot of research. They might also think that to do effective market research they need to target a specific audience, engage with them through social media, and measure the results of their efforts.

While it’s true that you need to do your market research before you start marketing, this research doesn’t necessarily need to be limited to one form of marketing. In fact, early on in your company’s existence, you might not even be sure what kind of product you’re going to be offering.

Myth #4: You Need To Have A Specific Audience In Mind To Market To

In our world, specific audiences have become a thing of the past. Today, everyone is a potential audience and the internet makes it easier for businesses to connect with millions of people across the world.

If your business is currently focused on a local audience, it might not make sense to expand your research to include international audiences. However, as your company grows and matures, it’s easy to see how focusing on a specific audience can be beneficial. Consider finding out what kinds of customers you have, where they are and what marketing methods work best with this audience.

Myth #5: International Consumers Are More Important Than Local Consumers

If you’re new to marketing or feel like you lack the confidence to approach marketing in a digital world, then this myth might seem like a relief. After all, if you’re already doing all of this research, why not just target international consumers? Or, at least, the more elusive younger generations?

While it’s true that you might not know how to effectively market to an international audience, you can rest assured that your business will still be able to function successfully.

Most countries have highly developed internet economies, allowing businesses to easily target local audiences, as well as international audiences. In fact, depending on your product or service, you might even be able to function effectively without targeting or reaching out to international audiences at all.

Myth #6: The More You Promote, The More People Will Like Your Product

One of the most pervasive myths surrounding marketing is that the more you promote a product, the more people will like it. While it’s true that people usually don’t like to be kept in the dark when it comes to new products and services, the opposite can be said for brands that fail to promote a product effectively.

If your product is relatively unknown, it can be difficult to garner enough interest to prompt someone to purchase it. However, if you’re unable to convince people to try your product, you’re losing potential sales, regardless of whether or not they end up liking it.

You might be tempted to throw an “introductory” price point for a newly introduced product or service, but this strategy can backfire. When retailers do this, it usually means that the price will be lowered eventually, due to demand and lack of supply.

Myth #7: Facebook And Twitter Are Marketing Tools

People have slowly started realizing the power of social media to market a product or service. However, even today, when businesses and marketers are finally waking up to this fact, many still think of these platforms as “social” sites or, at the very least, as platforms for “networking” or “communicating” online.

While it’s true that you can use these platforms to disseminate important business information, post pictures of your cat, or let everyone know how the Cleveland Cavaliers did this year, these platforms were not necessarily created with marketing in mind.

For example, take a look at how many times the terms “marketing” and “social media” appear in the Twitter help section. The majority of the tweets in the help section are used to provide assistance to users who have questions about the platform.

Due to their historical association with social media, many people assume that Facebook and Twitter are tools for marketing. However, the truth is that these platforms were not built for marketing; they were built for communication.

Myth #8: Consumers Always Have To Win

If you run a business and you’re hearing this myth more and more, you’re in luck, because it’s totally false! Not only does it not mean that consumers always have to win, it also means that you, as a marketer, don’t have to lose. In fact, you can have your cake and eat it, too!

What exactly does that mean? It means that you don’t always need to choose between promoting a product and satisfying a customer. You can satisfy a customer while also marketing a product, through an initiative marketed as “Customer Victories”.

Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms have enabled marketers to create complex campaigns, whereby a business can promote a product or service, while also engaging with customers.

With the right strategy, a business can use social media to attract, engage, and retain customers. This is also known as the “Customer Lifetime Value” (CLTV) model.

Myth #9: Advertising On Social Media Is Bad For Business

Even though it is sometimes difficult to determine how much impact social media has on a person’s life, most people would still choose to live in a world without social media. This is largely due to the fact that many people still think of advertising on social media as “spamming” or “marketing to the detriment of another brand.” However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

In a world where everyone is a potential consumer and the competition is ruthless, businesses that succeed on social media operate in a very different manner than those who don’t. Essentially, the goal of advertising on social media is to create engaging content that will encourage someone to either make a purchase, request a service, or take some kind of action that will benefit the business.

If your product is relatively unknown or there isn’t enough consumer demand for your product, then advertising on social media is not going to be beneficial to you.

Myth #10: Consumers Only Have Positive Feelings Towards Products They’ve Never Heard Of

When was the last time you heard of a product that someone didn’t like? Chances are, it was probably a long time ago. This is mainly because, in today’s world, consumers know exactly what they’re getting into when they buy a product they’ve never heard of. This is also known as “brand blindness.”

However, this is not the case when someone has a brand loyalty issue. If someone is having a problem with your product and they’ve never heard of your product, it is sometimes difficult to get them to try your product, even if it is the perfect solution to their problem.