Good marketing is the lifeblood of your business. Bad marketing is a deadly infection that no transfusion can fix. While not all marketing mistakes are fatal, some represent a point of no return, especially for a small business that is relatively new.
Even large, well-established companies can’t get away with massive marketing mishaps for too long. It is shocking how little we learn from the mistakes of others, and how often history repeats itself. We tend to think ourselves immune from the same consequences, or that this time, it will be different. As a small business owner, you can learn a lot from studying some of the worst marketing blunders of all time.
The best way to avoid problems of this nature is to hire a professional who can be more dispassionate and analytical about marketing. A good online marketing services company can help you avoid common mistakes in your campaigns involving:
- Social media
- SEO
- Link building
- Mobile web design
As an amateur, you may be familiar with these types of campaigns. But you will have no idea what actually works and what doesn’t. You might blindly mimic your favorite site believing that you are doing something beneficial for your business, when in reality, you might be copying the wrong thing, or the right thing but without context.
Hiring a professional service eliminates this problem. But if you feel confident enough to go it alone, here are some marketing blunders you definitely want to avoid:
Marketing That Does Not Increase Engagement
The problem with display advertising is that you can never really know how much effect a single campaign is having. You can pour a lot of money and effort into a campaign only to realize months later it didn’t work. Display advertisers focus on the number of impressions. Roughly speaking, that is the number of times the ad was seen. But there is no way to really measure that with precision. Seeing, after all, is not the same as engaging.
One of the advantages of a good content marketing strategy is that it tends to result in increased engagement. As a small business trying to get the most from your marketing dollar, you need to maximize engagement. That roughly relates to the number of times people actually act on your marketing message.
It doesn’t matter if you get 1,000 people seeing your ad if only 10 of them visit your site, and only one of those clicks on a link but doesn't make a purchase. Avoid expensive marketing products that do nothing for active engagement.
Don’t Be Creepy
The Burger King mascot is creepy and makes me want to find a Golden Arches. The McDonalds clown is one of the few clowns that is not creepy. Guess which one wins every time. Don’t make violence, blood, gore, disfigurement, or sexual innuendo part of your logo or brand.
Be Careful with Email Marketing
There is a fine line between real mail and junk mail. According to Statista, 59% of email was spam in late 2017. It has been as high as 71% in 2014. The difference is in the relative effectiveness of spam filters, not that companies are sending less spam. In the real world, there are no spam filters and the percentage of junk mail to legitimate mail is said to be in the 90s.
In the digital world, mostly bad things happen in email. That is where phishing hacks are most commonly delivered, along with link viruses and other exploits. You will get drawn into dating and pharmacy scams 10 or more times a day if you are not careful. Email is such a red-light district, legitimate businesses are better off avoiding it when possible.
Facebook is one of the most used and pervasive companies in history. You cannot use their marketing blunders as a counterpoint. You are not Facebook, and cannot survive a bad reputation for privacy or regulatory compliance. So make sure your marketing efforts focus on engagement, avoid creepiness, and stay well clear of the line between legitimate email and outright spam.
There is a good reason marketing services exist and thrive. When you go it alone, there are more ways to do it wrong than to do it right. Avoid the pitfalls by bringing in a pro for your next marketing campaign.