Why Being Everywhere in Digital Marketing Is a Trap

Hi there, it’s Chris here from PPC Geeks.

I often speak with Business Owners and Marketing Managers about if and when to expand to other platforms.

Digital Marketing offers so many options that it is overwhelming and no one can be an expert in every channel without help from specialists.

We get businesses wanting to advertise on Google, Facebook, X, and TikTok because they believe that being seen everywhere is the key to success.

The reality is these are not billion dollar startups with endless VC money; they are the smaller businesses that drive our economy.

Many Marketing Managers and Business Owners are led to believe you have to be everywhere, but the truth is that each platform serves a different purpose.

Platforms can be broadly categorised into two buckets:

Demand Generation

Demand Capture

Marketing is all about doing something with demand, and that comes down to either capturing existing demand or generating new demand.

For example, if your red pen runs out, you simply head to Google or Amazon, type in “red pen”, and make a purchase.

But if you are a company that sells a red pen made from bamboo, people may not know to search for it, so you need to generate awareness that your version of the product even exists.

You have to highlight why your bamboo red pen is better and create interest on platforms like Facebook or TikTok, or with Google Demand generation campaigns.

Demand capture focuses on harnessing the demand that is already present, such as customers actively searching on Google or Bing.

When deciding whether to advertise on all platforms, you need to ask yourself if your goal is to capture existing demand or generate new demand.

You might need to do both, but one approach will likely dominate, and that is where you should focus your time and money.

The most common refrain I hear is that there is not enough time to do everything, but people still try to anyway by being on every channel and this just spreads your budget, and results too thin.

It is far better to choose one priority platform where you can hone your messaging, perfect your ad copy, and listen carefully to customer feedback.

I call this the waterfall technique…

You should start on the best platform for your needs, usually – Google Ads for demand capture or Facebook Ads for demand generation – and maximise the results before expanding further.

Be aware that the metrics for demand capture and demand generation are very different, with high-intent channels yielding higher conversion rates but at a higher cost due to increased competition.

For many companies, it takes years to fully capture the available demand on one platform before it becomes time to consider expanding to another.

There is a sweet spot in advertising where you meet your key metrics without spending exponentially more for diminishing returns.

Once you reach that tipping point and have accurate data to confirm it, then it is time to look at another platform, but not before.

Remember, the more platforms you are on, the more your time and budget become spread too thin, which reduces the value of every pound you spend.

Many agencies will tell you to advertise on every platform simply so they can charge more, but that is not the path to real long term success.

If you need guidance on where to focus your efforts or when to expand your reach, then let’s chat and align your strategy with your goals.

Until next time, keep your strategy sharp and your focus laser clear.

Cheers!

~ Chris

Co-Founder & Chief Geek
PPC Geeks – The UK’s leading specialist PPC Agency.