Digital Marketing Myths Debunked 2023

Whether it’s the latest season of Emily in Paris or another TikTok that claims you can make over $5k every month by doing digital marketing as a side hustle alongside your 9-5, digital marketing myths are abundant among those without prior experience in the industry. HigherVisibility has compiled its expert insight in order to debunk some of the most common myths that people have in relation to digital marketing, based on how the profession is represented within the media, TikToks, and the questions that people are searching for on Google. 

Digital Marketing According to the Questions People Are Asking Google:

Is There A Demand for Digital Marketers? 

As of 2022, the Digital Advertising and Marketing market in the US was estimated at $223.2 billion, with the market projected to grow at a CAGR of 13.1% between 2023 and 2028, meaning that companies offering digital marketing services are likely to grow alongside this. This growth necessitates highly-skilled, versatile digital marketers to fulfill these roles, with a 2021 LinkedIn report stating that digital marketing was one of the top 15 most in-demand skills worldwide and digital marketing specialist positions being among the fastest-growing job titles. 

The industry as a whole is constantly adapting and shifting, creating new roles and modifying existing ones. Demand is set to grow in the coming years as technologies such as AI change the digital marketing landscape. This aside, ‘digital marketing’ covers a wide range of job roles, from social media to SEO, PPC advertising, content creation, and much more. Ultimately, there is an abundance of roles to suit professionals with varying skill sets. 

Can Digital Marketing Make You Rich? 

Many will have seen social media gurus proclaiming how they got rich off of starting their own social media management or ads business via high-ticket clients, which often arouses the misconception of digital marketing as an easy get-rich-quick scheme. Answer the Public showed that people were asking, ‘Can digital marketing make you rich’ and ‘Can digital marketing make you a billionaire,’ with a lot of these people being most familiar with the idea of digital marketing as starting your own agency and outsourcing the work to professionals within the industry, they then launch training courses on how others can do the same without experience. And while this has worked for some, it is also not an accurate representation of the industry. 

According to Glassdoor, the average salary for a digital marketing manager in the United States is around $75,000 per year when employed by a company or agency. This differs depending on factors such as experience, location, and job role; however, due to the growing demand within the industry, professionals can expect competitive salaries. 

One of our previous studies also found that digital marketing professionals can command high salaries working as a freelancer, with our analysis of Upwork.com finding that the highest average hourly roles were in strategy/general marketing ($53.06 p/h), design and development ($43.82 p/h), and paid channels ($38.62 p/h). When we broke this down into individual roles that could command the highest rates, YouTube Marketing Specialists came in first position with an average hourly wage of $61.70, Marketing Strategists came in second with an average rate of $58.44, compared to $38.48 in a salaried position, and Copywriters came in third with $54.29 compared with $31 per hour in a salaried role. 

Can I Do Digital Marketing as a Side Hustle?

A similar misconception is that digital marketing can easily be done as a side hustle, a myth often upheld by gurus within the space who profit from teaching others how to do what they do. While digital marketing as a freelancer or independent business owner can be done as a side hustle, it’s not to say that it’s an easy venture. It depends on the scale at which you operate, how many clients you have, and how much time you have alongside this to dedicate to improving your skill set and keeping up with a rapidly changing industry. It’s also important to manage client expectations in terms of workload, working hours, and deliverables. 

Will Digital Marketing Be Replaced by AI?

With the rise of AI, a common question, according to Answer the Public, is whether ‘digital marketing will be replaced by AI’, which is also a discussion that professionals within the field are having. The common consensus is that while AI can streamline many processes within marketing and even improve the quality of output, there is currently no substitute for human experience and input when it comes to strategy and overall marketing activity. 

Within the realm of content and SEO, experts queried whether Google could detect whether a text has been generated using AI, and if so, would this content rank lower than content that has been produced by a human. According to expert John Mueller, in the past, AI content would be seen as automatically generated and thereby spam, in line with the previous stand of Google in its Google Search Essentials document. With the advancement of AI, automatically-generated content is no longer just spam content but can also provide valuable and concise information for users. Google ranks the content on the web according to how useful it is to users, how relevant it is, and in line with their E-A-T principle (expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness). 

While Google hasn’t officially commented on whether they are detecting whether the content is written by AI or a human, there have been previous discussions, prior to the launch of Chat GPT around the matter. They stated that they are not against AI-generated content per se, but rather focus on whether that content is helpful or not. That being said, various experts believe different theories, with some arguing that as long as the content is helpful, it won’t be penalized, and others say that Google can detect the unnatural language patterns of Chat GPT and see this as spammy content. 

The State of Digital Marketing According to Media and TikTok

The Netflix TV show Emily In Paris took social media by storm for its ease of watching, storylines, and the appeal of being filmed mostly in Paris and various regions of France. However, it also prompted real-life marketers to point out several marketing myths that are widely presented throughout the series as the young American marketing executive works for the luxury French marketing agency Savoir. 

Is Digital Marketing Just Creative? 

Many social media users who are also marketers detailed how the series displays the profession as all party and no work, with Emily attending exclusive events, running from launch to dinner, all the while stratospherically growing her Instagram through hashtags employed with reckless abandon. After all, it is TV and was produced for entertainment rather than educational purposes, but with many viewers around the world perhaps not previously seeing the ins and outs of the profession; it’s important to tackle the idea that marketing is all fun and games. 

Digital Marketing is undoubtedly a profession where creatives thrive; however, it’s also important to note that this creativity is led and shaped by data and analytics. Campaigns are typically only launched if the data suggests that they will achieve a specific goal and perform against KPIs; they are then meticulously scrutinized according to key metrics and reported back to the client or brand, which then informs future campaign ideation, something which isn’t well-represented within the series. 

Another key aspect that is absent within the series is the process that agencies and professionals often go through with clients, and it is a common misconception when people who have no prior experience in marketing consider the profession. Many people may believe that marketing professionals who work on brand accounts have free reign over what is posted and what activity is undertaken; however, many companies have rigorous sign-off processes that professionals have to go through before acting on campaign ideas. 

TikTok: My Customers Aren’t Gen Z, Why Would I Need to be on Social Media? 

Several digital marketers on TikTok create videos on the most common myths and preconceptions that people have of the profession, whether that’s other people looking in or potential clients and brands. One of the biggest misconceptions is that only young people use social media, specifically that only young people use social media platforms like TikTok. This has been widely proven to not be the case, with demographics ranging through generations across a variety of different users and sectors. According to Statista, as of 2023, there are 308.27 million social media users across networks, with different generations and groups preferring to use social networking in different ways. Brands who work with marketing agencies may be apprehensive about utilizing social media as part of their strategy if they have an older target audience due to the myth that social media is just for young people, despite this not being the case. Marketing professionals have clear insights that demonstrate where activity would be best placed for specific brands and target audiences, and there are a variety of ways to execute brand activity depending on the strategy and social media platform that can be effective across a range of demographics. Ultimately, it’s not about a brand being present on all social media platforms but rather the ones that will be beneficial based on audience insights and data. 

Another habit of those on the outside of the digital marketing industry is over-simplifying the tasks which professionals execute, for example, diminishing social media managers as simply posting content for a brand, or graphic designers as making aesthetic logos and images. The reality is that a lot of this work is underpinned by meticulous data gathering, insight, and strategizing. The myth that digital marketing doesn’t require a strategy is especially prevalent in social media marketing, especially in the age of brands employing the tactic of creating casual or funny content, such as Netflix and Innocent Drinks. While this may appear to be simple, off-the-cuff content, it is often created through social listening and being the first to tap into trends, excellent community engagement, and a lot of back and forth in terms of collaborating with different departments. 

TikTok: If Results Don’t Happen Straight Away, Will They Happen At All? 

A common misconception that brands have when approaching digital marketing professionals and agencies is that if results don’t happen straight away, then they won’t happen at all. Results from digital marketing efforts can vary significantly; even if there are some quick wins that can be acted upon to get results, other activities can take time to pay off. It’s worth seeing digital marketing as more of a long-term investment, with any short-term results being recognized as more of an added bonus, than an expectation.  On average, it can take anywhere between 6 to 12 months to see results from persistent, well-strategized digital marketing activity to yield lasting results.  

TikTok: Is Digital Marketing a Waste of Time for Small Businesses? 

There is a common myth that only larger businesses with bigger budgets can see the benefit of digital marketing activity; however, this is not the case. Marketing professionals and agencies can work with smaller brands to achieve effective results around the budget available for marketing activity by carefully selecting KPIs and channels that will yield the greatest return. By carefully assessing analytical platforms and evaluating where digital marketing activity would be best placed, results can be achieved even on small budgets. Even hyper-localized businesses can benefit from boosting their online visibility, particularly when it comes to ranking for terms that are location-specific, such as ‘internet marketing agency near me’ or ‘seo companies Houston’, which can be instrumental for small businesses SEO.  

TikTok: Is Digital Marketing Easy, and Can It Be Done by Anyone?

While digital marketing is a skill that can be learned, it certainly cannot be consistently done well by someone with no prior experience in the field. Effective digital marketing is the result of learning, applying the learning, monitoring results, and understanding how to repeat it better. Even marketers that have been in the industry for long periods of time could find their work stagnating and failing to reproduce results if they’re not adapting their knowledge and strategies to the ever-changing landscape and market. The misconception that the field is easy comes from an oversimplification of the tasks executed as part of the job role, as we previously mentioned with the example of social media management. To be a well-rounded digital marketer, professionals need to have a toolkit of various skills and competencies, from data analysis to content creation and ideation. 

TikTok: Is The Goal of Digital Marketing Only to Get New Customers?

Digital marketing can be executed across a variety of KPIs; one of these can be to assist in generating new customers; however, this is not the only goal. Digital marketing campaigns can also improve lead quality, drive increased sales among those identified leads, increase general brand awareness, shift brand positioning, and many more. Similarly, considerable increases in traffic also don’t necessarily equal huge increases in sales. 

Is The Quantity of Content More Important Than The Quality?

Whether it’s written content in the form of a blog post or video content in the form of a TikTok or Reel, the push for producing more across more platforms is more prevalent than ever before. While some may argue that producing more is the key to your brand being seen by your target audience, it’s important to note that a focus on quantity shouldn’t dilute the quality of your message, and you should produce as much as you are able without sacrificing on the quality of the content. 

No. 84% of people use Google 3 or more times a day, 46% of product searches begin on Google, and just 0.63% of people look on page 2 and beyond of Google. 

Therefore, if your site is not optimized for SEO, you could be missing out on massive amounts of potential customers. Getting websites onto page 1 is not easy, especially in crowded markets, which is why having your SEO in check should be at the forefront of any marketing strategy. Digital PR can also assist in helping brands rank for target keywords by creating content that includes these and gaining backlinks from high-authority, topically relevant domains. Additionally, with an increasing number of people using social media platforms like TikTok as a search engine, there are also wins to be had there for brands who want to rank for key terms and improve their visibility.

Ultimately, the digital marketing industry is awash with myths and misconceptions relating to the field from clients/brands, professionals outside of the industry, and even those within the industry itself. It’s extremely important for experts to dispel these and reduce misinformation about the industry that is frequently perpetuated by the media and those with limited knowledge of the inner workings of the profession.