Digital marketing is a tricky field because its elements are in a constant state of flux. What worked yesterday and today might not work tomorrow. A lot of brands aren’t aware of this and are left frustrated and confused when their digital marketing stops yielding results. What they don’t yet understand is this:

“BECAUSE CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IS ALWAYS CHANGING, MARKETING TACTICS HAVE TO CHANGE AS WELL.”

Here’s a list of what to do when a brand’s digital marketing efforts stop yielding results:

1. UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS NO MAGIC STRATEGY: If a brand’s entire strategy depends on something ridiculous like tricking social media algorithms, it’s going to fail. The key is to find what works for you, and this will require a lot of trial and error. Another thing to note is that just because something works for a competitor doesn’t mean it’ll work for you. (Spoiler: it might not even be working for them.)
2. STUDY ALL THE RELEVANT DATA: when a digital marketing strategy starts to fail, background data (analytics) need to be checked out to spot the weak areas. E.g. Finding out more about your current customers and why they patronize you is a good first step to properly identifying your ideal target audience. Properly analyzing the necessary background data can help you properly adjust your strategy accordingly to meet your desired goals.
3. REDEFINE YOUR STRATEGY: During successful campaigns, relevant data should be collected. It’ll be needed to refine and influence future marketing efforts. Strategizing is important because even if there’s been a lucky streak of success with your digital marketing campaigns, replicating or building on that success in the future will be near impossible.
4. PRIORITIZE TIME AND MONEY: You need to invest 80% of your time and money on your surest customers. Because, and this might be a strange thing to hear, not all potential customers –and even existing ones– are equal. (Vilfredo Pareto’s 80/20 principle of economics.) This doesn’t mean all other customers should be completely ignored though. It’s just a good way to prioritize time and money. (Especially if you don’t have enough of one or both.)
5. ENSURE THAT CONTENT IS TOP NOTCH: It is said that at the heart of every digital marketing campaign lies quality content. Whatever form of content being put out (audio, visual etc.), make sure it’s spot on and that it perfectly conveys whatever message your brand is trying to pass along.`
6. BE EVER READY TO GO BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD: Because the rate at which things change in the marketing game will make your head spin. Be ready to start the process all over again the moment the current strategy stops being effective. Wait too long and the consequences will be dire.