The power of the Internet is also its greatest weakness. Accompanying the incredible ability to disseminate information and share ideas at a rapid and broad pace comes a discouraging downside.
The inherently open and transparent nature of the web means it’s conducive not only to sharing valuable facts, but perpetuating myths and inaccuracies. This is no less the case when the topic is B2B marketing.
If you aren’t familiar with the source, it’s vital to fact-check anything you read before either believing or repeating it. Any so-called guru can launch a blog, publish a post, and make claims that are supposedly true.
In order to guard against misinformation and uncover the facts, take a look at a few of the most common B2B marketing myths and the truth behind them.
It’s incredible how long this one has been going around. While SEO and content marketing are certainly related and even intertwined at times, they are not identical.
Done right, content marketing will stay focused on SEO keywords and search engine relevancy, but that’s as much for human eyes as it is for search engine algorithms. You should conceive of SEO as a subset of your overall content marketing campaign, not the primary goal.
This is a dangerous one. In reality, a large percentage of firms not only use social media to advertise their own services, but also employ it to discover new opportunities and potential partnerships.
Park View Legal’s Twitter page offers an excellent example of a business that frequently interacts with other organizations in its industry. If you’re not using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to connect with possible partners and colleagues, you’re missing out on a major marketing opportunity.
On the contrary! If your competition hasn’t yet launched a digital marketing strategy, you have an opportunity to beat them to it.
One thing’s for sure: If your competitors plan on being in the swim over the next five years, they’re going to need a digital marketing plan. Waiting on them will do nothing but put you behind schedule and force you to play catch-up.
Given the explosion of social media sites and the race for search-engine supremacy, it’s easy to assume email marketing is dead. It’s still very much alive and well, however.
Every major corporation still uses it. Email is inexpensive, can be highly personalized, and remains relevant. In fact, under the right conditions, email marketing was recently reported to achieve an ROI of 4,300 percent.
Simply take a look at this list of compelling content campaigns and you’ll see that creativity is very much a possibility for B2B businesses. The only difference lies in the approach.
Your team should carefully analyze your target market before creating or publishing anything.
When it comes to your business or career, you can’t afford to be misinformed. Any time you read something, you need to make a habit of verifying its accuracy.
The next time you run across one of these B2B marketing myths, stop it in its tracks by stating the truth.
