6 Common Online Marketing Mistakes You Need to Fix Today

Common Online Marketing Mistakes

If you’re following my blog or Facebook page, you probably already understand the importance and value of social media and online marketing. The question is-what is your strategy? Are you a “try anything to see what happens?” or “I’ll just remain quiet because I don’t know what to post” kind of marketer? If you answer yes to either one of these-you’re not alone. In the past few weeks, I have been talking to and interviewing business owners like you. They all share three common traits:

• They understand online marketing is important
• They want to do more online marketing.
• They don’t know how to make it happen.

These traits expand beyond my research. Clutch released a report in 2015 that shows us:

1. 53% of small businesses actively use social media to market their business

2. 47% are just throwing things at the wall and hoping they stick!

A little scary, isn’t it? I think so too. The good news is YOU have FULL control over the fix! You could hire a full-time marketing strategist, you could hire a part-time marketing strategist, or you could outsource all of your marketing needs. Before you do that, look at these 6 common mistakes made by small businesses like you. Are you guilty of any? If so, start there to fix the problem.

1. Streamline Your Approach.

Social media platform options seem endless (because they are!). Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, Instagram, Google+, YouTube are just a sampling of what is actually available. Stop trying to be active on all of them! Unless you are a big corporation, it’s not worth your time. Think about where your ideal customer “hangs out” and be active there.

If you’re selling homemade products, you’ll find more success on Pinterest or Instagram where you can showcase your creations. Business to business marketers will find great success on LinkedIn. Know your audience and join them.

2. Make Planning a Priority.

Consistency is vital in your online marketing strategy. Your message needs to be consistent across all online marketing methods. What you write about on your blog needs to be supported by you Facebook and Twitter posts. The easiest way to be consistent is to create a plan. Content calendars are a powerful tool utilized by many marketers. Content calendars list every day of the year and give you a place to brainstorm topics, content type, who is responsible, and where it will be published.

3. Be Efficient.

Efficiency is the key to making online marketing happen. Once you brainstorm your plan and put it on your content calendar, pick a time to publish a week’s worth of content at once. Batching your posts in a scheduled time frame is more effective than posting as you go. This assures your posts go live. It keeps you from being interrupted and missing a day.

4. Recycle Content

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to create something brand new EVERY day. If you publish a blog post on Monday, share it on Facebook on Wednesday and LinkedIn on Thursday. It’s okay to promote the same content. It keeps your message consistent and increases its reach.

5. Choose the Right Tool for the Job

Can you bake a cake without a pan, oven, or whisk? Probably not. The right tools make it an easy task to accomplish. The same goes for your online or social media marketing strategy. The internet is filled with free tools! Use these tools to your advantage and you will see your time invested, decrease.

Some great tools include:

•  Canva- make graphics for your social media posts
•  Hootsuite- manage multiple social accounts from one platform
•  EpicBeat- share expert’s content that your audience will be intrigued by

6. NO MORE Selling!

This is the mistake marketers are most guilty of. Social media is not the place to sell your product or service. The purpose of these platforms is to create a connection, build a relationship and trust, and make them want to come to you on their own. Most customers are actually turned off by sales posts. They are easy to ignore and are far from engaging. Follow this rule in you marketing strategy:

95% Informative, engaging, and valuable posts

5% Sales

The sales post are just “sprinkled” in the overall strategy.

If you are guilty of any of the 6 mistakes here, pick one and fix it today. Social media and online marketing can be overwhelming. Get control of your strategy today.