Australian business urged to adopt diversified marketing strategies as Google and Facebook laws create uncertainty

The Australian Government's recent moves to legislate over content shared by Google and Facebook legislation has created uncertainty for business, with many having investing heavily in Google AdWords and Facebook advertising over recent years.

Sagar Sethi, Chief Executive of digital marketing agency Xugar, sees that the situation higlighted the lack of diversity in many business’ marketing strategies and suggests organisations need to adopt 'hybrid' strategies to safeguard and build their business, explaining "putting all your eggs in one basket is risky in any venture. When it comes to marketing you need to diversify and adopt a hybrid strategy that protects your business while ensuring growth."

Sethi points out that with technology changing faster than regulators can keep up with and recent events has forced a recognition that technology giants “the Zuckerbergs of this world” call the shots when it comes to digital - not marketing teams, not IT specialists and not governments.

Sethi warns “it’s a clash of the titans and Australian businesses could be caught in the crossfire if they don’t take appropriate action to protect themselves.

The historic banning of news on Australian Facebook pages left businesses scrambling to deal with the sudden and unprecedented removal of content.

The event took place in the shadows of Google threatening to remove its search engine services from Australia and shortly followed by Apple now providing iOS 14 users with the option to essentially opt out of tech that removes the capabilities of targeted marketing on the iOS Facebook platform.

Sethi continues “businesses need to take back control and ensure their business is based on a broad and sturdy foundation by adopting hybrid marketing practice.

“Hybrid marketing allows businesses to diversify and spread their investment across multiple channels in a way that best suits their objectives and needs - it’s not always just about ROI.

“There’s always somewhere to go after Facebook ads. Digital marketing agencies should be helping organisations understand what works for their business..

“By investing time and finance into deciding which channels work best for their business, they can insure themselves against future snap crises like the Facebook one, which will keep happening.

“You wouldn’t buy a house or car without insurance, so why run a business without it?”