Entering the world of digital marketing is a great experience that is also an intimidating one. There is so much information to consume between SEO, social media, ads, and much more. I have made mistakes myself (and I continue to learn every day) so I thought it would be helpful to compile a list of common beginner mistakes, and how you can avoid making them.
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1ļøā£ Jumping in to everything all at once
So many beginners want to learn everything at once (SEO, design, ads, analytics, etc.), and this is often overwhelming and confusing, leading to burnout.
š Fix: Pick a skill to focus on at any time. Perhaps begin with social media or content creation before gradually jumping into email marketing or SEO.
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2ļøā£ Ignoring who you are targeting
There are marketers who rattle off post after post without thinking, “Who am I speaking to?” This leads to low engagement and bad results.
š Fix: Develop a customer persona. Know about their age, pain points, goals, and habits around the platform you are using.
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3ļøā£ Posting With No Purpose
Just because you’re posting every day doesn’t mean you’ll be successful. Without a goal, a plan, or purpose in place, your posts are just contributions to the void.
š Fix: Develop a content strategy. You’ll want to determine your goals, platforms, topics, and the frequency of posting, as part of your content strategy.
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4ļøā£ Not Tracking Your Efforts
If you’re not tracking what you are doing, how will you know what’s working? Many new content creators ignore analytics, and are completely missing out on valuable information.
š Fix: Utilize tools like Instagram Insights, Google Analytics, and Meta Ads Manager. At a minimum, track engagement, reach and conversion.
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5ļøā£ Repeating Others Without Context
Taking inspiration is a good thing ā but if you are copying someone else (without thinking about how their strategy works), you won’t truly separate yourself in your own work.
š Fix: Develop your own voice and style. Take the time to understand the strategy behind the content, not just the superficial look of the design.
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6ļøā£ Not Building Your Personal Brand
Many new learners are hesitant to post a picture of themselves or share their own journey. However, an essential piece of your success in this field is personal branding.
š Fix: Stay simple! Start to share what you’re learning. Post regularly in your desired field and use LinkedIn or Instagram as a segway into your reputation online.
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In summary,
we learn to NOT do the things we know we shouldn’t be doing ā and trust me, Iām still learning to do that every day as a digital marketing intern. What matters most is how quickly you learn to improve.
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š© Lets Connect, Freelance Digital Marketing Analyst in Dubai