In the last 25 or so years, the internet has gone from something that almost no one could tell you anything substantial about, to one of the biggest advances in technology in human history. These days, the internet is truly one of the modern wonders of the world. Everyone and everything can be connected and found in one place. Obviously such a creation is a boon for advertising, but there are still plenty of pitfalls that many marketers fall into.
The One-Size-Fits-All Media Package
For anyone without considerable experience creating business websites, an “off the shelf” media package may be a tempting way to go. Resist the temptation, as these canned media packages aren’t the best option, due to the fact that they aren’t custom made for your business, and may not even be optimized for your type of business.
Indeed, your auto shop might be using the same media package as the restaurant across the street and the tax service across town. Clearly, if the media doesn’t work just right, you’re not marketing your services as well as you could be. In this case, the best advice is to obtain help from an expert who understands your business and can tailor the media to it.
Quality vs. Quantity
In many cases, the quality of your marketing will do much more than the quantity of it. For many industries there is at least one of two realities; either there are thousands out there doing just what you’re doing, or there is one elephant in the room that dominates the rest. In either case it can seem difficult to gain an edge in online marketing. This is where content marketing comes in, and quality wins out. In this theory it is better to have one piece of marketing that really takes the cake than a hundred that repeat the same bland old information.
Firing Aimlessly Into Social Media
Social media can take a lot of time and effort and turn it into a whole lot of nothing. For many businesses this is the case as their efforts are wasted in the never ending tide of new information. Social media is not a total loss, however, as long as you take the time to do it right. First off, to utilize social media correctly you must set goals. Decide whether you want to grow brand awareness overall, generate more website traffic, or gain more contacts on your e-mail list. The list goes on. Once you’ve set your sights on a specific goal, focus your efforts on it, and be creative! For example, if your goal is to drive traffic to the website and you run a restaurant, shoot a video on location where some of your food comes from, and offer more content on your website with a link. If customers are intrigued by the initial offering (video) on social media, they are likely to follow the link.
Originally posted on March 4, 2015 @ 9:55 pm