Are You Making These 4 Common Small Business Marketing Mistakes?
Creating a digital marketing strategy that aligns with your brand is a sure-fire way to avoid some of these common marketing mistakes.
Listen…this is NOT a Field of Dreams situation.
If you build it…they WILL NOT COME!
This marketing methodology might have worked 20 years ago, but with the advent of the internet and social media marketing (and the rapid advancement of online digital marketing in the past 5 years…thanks Covid…)
Whatever you THOUGHT might work…doesn’t work anymore.
1. ‘Spray and Pray’ Marketing
An unfocused digital marketing strategy that markets to everyone, everywhere.
SORRY, this type of digital marketing…doesn’t work.
Consumers get irritated and skeptical when they see a brand everywhere. Marketing on every single social media platform, bus, park bench or other media outlets might seem like a great idea. The more faces you can get in front of, the better….but this approach sends up multiple red flags with potential clients.
- They may think you’re sleezy. This kind of invasive marketing can give off “Used Car Salesman” vibes…you seem to pop up everywhere and only be intent on pushing your way to profits. Modern consumers get turned off by this kind of behaviour. It’s a slippery slope and one that can completely ruin your brand reputation.
- They may think you’re not legit. Every day thousands of spam accounts and spam businesses prey on economic gaps. They create fake accounts, websites and businesses to get people to part with their hard earned money…they excel at being “everywhere” – leveraging any marketing opportunity they can muster. It’s getting to the point that if you aren’t authentic, savvy consumers can sniff that out.
- They’re just burnt out…It’s true, it takes several, positive impressions before someone is truly aware of your brand and engages with your business…but forcing those impression can leave consumers frustrated and burnt out. If you are just throwing out content and ads, you’re not really connecting…then, when a prospect comes across your brand (one more time…ugh) they just don’t want to hear from you any more. Resulting in unsubscribes, unfollows and damage to your digital reputation.
2. ‘Mountains of Content’ Marketing
A digital marketing strategy that has you constantly on your toes creating content that goes unnoticed.
NOT worth your precious time! (And attracts low quality “leads”)
You might think that you need to make Reels (videos), blogs, webinars, Instagram posts, Facebook posts, engage on LinkedIn, go to networking events and annoy your friends and family…but the truth of the matter is, you’re just wasting your time on marketing efforts that DON’T CONVERT. Using this digital marketing strategy you might (*might*) be able to grow your list a little bit but you’ll ultimately get burnt out and build a list of low-quality leads…
- You Go Into Content Overdrive. Focusing your time on constantly creating, posting, DMing and “engaging” in the hopes that just one person might buy something isn’t a digital marketing strategy….it’s busywork. You’ll burn yourself out before you go broke. Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely benefits to a personalized touch, selling through social media…but you have to create a focused strategy for it to work well for your business.
- You Don’t Attract High-Quality Leads. Digital marketing agencies don’t want you to know that more is not better, but the truth is more, low-quality posts will just not attract the high-quality, eager and excited leads leads you need to grow your business. If you’re going to create content, remember this…there’s lots of great content on the internet, already. If you want to stand out and get people to come to you over your competition, you have to find a way to create even better, high-quality content. Focus on what you do best and then simply use other platforms and media types to promote that ONE awesome type of content.
- You Waste Time, Money and Energy. This is a constant battle as an entrepreneur…you end up doing everything yourself, or you pay through the nose to have it done for you. If you’re trying to pump out mediocre content like a machine – you’re just wasting your own time and energy OR you’ll spend more money than you get for someone else to create the content for you.
3. ‘Marketing In The Wrong Place’ Marketing
Misplacing your efforts and not defining a strong digital marketing strategy doesn’t do you any good.
NOPE….won’t work…ever.
Some business owners love to jump on marketing bandwagons, even if it doesn’t make any sense for their business. This is especially prevalent with new social media platforms and apps that pop up, but social media platforms, just like any other marketing need to be used strategically. If you’re posting on Tik Tok but your target audience is people over 50, then might be barking up the wrong tree.
- Lose Time with the Learning Curve. New social media platforms all come with a steep learning curve, figuring out the algorithms, what works and what doesn’t can take lots of time and lots of trial and error. If you’re spending a lot of time trying to figure out a new platform and it’s a platform your target audience doesn’t even use, then you’re wasting your time and energy.
- Attracting Atrocious Clients. When you market in the wrong places, you attract the wrong kind of attention. I’ve heard horror stories of businesses attracting new clients that don’t truly appreciate what they have to offer, question their prices, credibility and are difficult to sell to. These types of clients drain their energy, but they keep coming because they are marketing to the wrong people in the wrong places. Make sure you are marketing in the right places, that your marketing efforts align with your brand and attract your IDEAL client.
- Quality Clients are in Quality Places. This is similar to “put good in, get good out.” If you’re selling a luxury car, you don’t advertise in the Penny Saver. Align the places you market and promote your business with the quality of the product and service you sell!
4. ‘I Don’t Need a Website’ Marketing
Without a well-built website, any digital marketing strategy you create is full of holes.
I can’t tell you how many businesses try to operate WITHOUT a website (or an outdated one!). They struggle, and wonder why things are working and they aren’t growing. Without a website, you’re losing out on opportunities to attract new clients, build trust with them and showcase everything important and exciting about your business. Websites stand as information platforms, credibility building tools and it’s a slice of digital real estate that you OWN. Social media is fleeting, while websites are workhorses.
- A Website is a First Impression. One of the first things a person will do when they come across a new business…is check their website. If you don’t have one, they’ll move onto the next business that does. Websites not only inform potential customers about what you do, but a website makes you look more professional, put together and credible.
- Put Good In, Get Good Out. Lots of businesses, especially small businesses don’t take the time to build a high-quality website. They just “slap something together” because they know they need a website, but they don’t know how powerful of a tool it can be for their business. It is 110% worth the effort to build a website with a solid foundation of reliable technology, great content and engaging opportunities.
- Get FOUND By New People. Trying to build a website and online presence without even entertaining the idea of strategic SEO is like throwing the road map out of the car window and pretending you’re not lost. We already said above that there’s lots of great content out there on the internet and guess what…there’s other people out there building amazing SEO optimized content. Take the time to discover the keywords and phrases that people ask Google when they are looking for your products and services…then incorporate them into your website!
How to Build a Focused, Digital Marketing Strategy that Aligns with your Brand.
- Define Your Digital Marketing Goal – What goal do you have for your digital marketing? What do you want viewers/visitors to do?
- Develop a Digital Marketing Plan – Set aside time to focus on your digital marketing efforts, define your audience, determine where you can find them and outline the valuable content you intend to create.
- Build a Strong Website – Create a reliable website full of helpful content that sets you apart from your competitors.
- Create Valuable Content – Focus on what you’re the best at and what aligns with your digital marketing goals.
- Leverage Social Media – Execute your digital marketing plan and post your valuable content on social media platforms that make the most sense.
