Digital Marketing is a must have for any and all businesses. How you promote your business can be the difference in having one client and having ten clients. Today there are countless options to promote your product or service. Unfortunately, with so much room for growth, comes room for error. We believe learning the “DO NOTs” is just as important as learning the ‘Must Dos.”
Marketing mistakes will happen, but with a little help you can avoid a few of them. Here are five common mistakes to avoid when creating and executing your marketing plan.
Paying to Much for Paid Advertising
Paid Advertising is a great way to expand your reach beyond your network. There are several platforms that have detailed Paid Advertising software that allow you to focus your ads in multiple ways. With so many options and promises of impressions and clicks it can be easy to want to throw money at this medium and watch your traffic go up. If only it were that easy.
While paid ads are a great way to increase your traffic, investing a large amount of your budget into these ads without a plan will not yield a return on your investment. Yes, more money can increase the number of ads and in theory this will result in more traffic, but that is not always the case.
Before investing a dime into paid advertising create a detailed plan. In this plan, among other things, include your budget and expected results. You should monitor and make adjustments often to ensure you are getting the appropriate ROI from your paid advertising. You may need to increase your budget to get the expected results. On the other hand, it may be beneficial to reduce your budget.
NOT Investing in Content Marketing
Content Marketing is something many people are invested in, but not consistently. There are several mediums to create, post, and share content. While it’s not critical to use them all, it is critical to create some form of content on a regular basis. Writing a blog post every other month and posting on your social media platforms here and there is not nearly enough. Create content benefits your site and your brand in multiple ways.
Lacking content not only makes your site/brand less interesting and empty, but it can also create the impression that you are not in business. We’ve all visited a site or a social media page that has not been visited in six months and you question if they are in business any more.
Creating content is great opportunity to establish your brand message. This gives people a chance to understand what you are about before doing business with you. Another big benefit is the SEO implications. Google specifically loves content and rewards sites for creating quality content. Without content it can be difficult to be found on the first page.
We keep a close eye on our industry and share and discuss any big changes that happen. This keeps you informed, but it also helps you find new topics to discuss on your site or social media platforms. Do keyword research and see what your target market is interested in. Use these keywords to create content and watch your traffic rise.
NOT Having an Optimized/Mobile Friendly Site
Website Design takes time and endless drafts before you are finally satisfied. The perfect combination of colors and graphics to make an appealing and engaging site can be difficult to find. An often overlooked part of the process is the format and optimization of your mobile site. Your mobile site speed and design are just as important as the desktop version.
While we design on full laptops or desktops, a great portion of website traffic comes from mobile sites. According to Stone Temple, “in 2018, 58% of site visits were from mobile devices.” Not having an optimized mobile site leads to an increased bounce rate and as a result, less overall traffic. If your mobile site takes to long to load or if it’s to difficult to navigate many will leave and never return.
You can use Google Search Console to measure your your site performance. Other software will tell you load time and how to reduce it. To ensure your site is mobile friendly we encourage you to check it often while you are designing your site. We check our mobile site after every change we make.
NOT Being Active or Engaging on Social Media
Social Media is a fantastic tool for business. You have an opportunity to reach practically anyone anywhere with the right content. That being said, Social Media is also a double edged sword.
Leaving your platforms inactive can have a huge impact on your brand. Behind your website, your social media platforms come up next when someone searches for your business. If a potential client comes across a page that has not been used in two months it doesn’t leave a very good first impression. Many may assume you are no longer in business and potentially move on to your competitor.
To avoid this be sure invest in content marketing (see above) and spread out your content. It’s not critical to post everyday, but you should post or share consistently. When possible do not go long periods without sharing or posting some form of content.
NOT Having a Digital Marketing Strategy WITH Goals
This one seems like common sense, but in our experience it’s often overlooked. Many business owners do not have a clearly defined marketing plan WITH clear and measurable goals. On the list of marketing mistakes this one has the biggest impact. Without a plan WITH clear measurable goals it will be difficult to accomplish anything or hold yourself accountable.
From analytics and strategy, to social media and other content creation you need clear goals to ensure you are getting a return on your investment. Don’t settle for the surface key performance indicators (KPI). These include social media followers and impressions. These are good, but alone do very little for your brand. New customers and subscribers to your blog are great examples of KPI that will move your bottom line.
These are not the only marketing mistakes. There are countless others that will likely plague you one time or another. Digital Marketing is a ever changing landscape. If and when you make a mistake, fix it, learn from it and move on. You’ll be a better business owner for it.
Do you have any marketing mistakes you made early and would like to share? Feel free to comment below and share your experience with others.
If you need more guidance feel free to contact us and we’d be happy to assist.