The Scariest Digital Marketing Mistakes We See Businesses Making!

Happy Halloween! With October 31 just around the corner, we were in the mood for a good scare. And, of course, we had to make it digital marketing themed. Then it hit us – what’s scarier than the common digital marketing mistakes businesses make every day?

The thing about these scares is they’re insidious. They sneak up on you like Ghostface in Scream. You think you’re safe, things are going great, and then – seemingly out of nowhere — your digital marketing is slashed!

Luckily, unlike in horror movies, these digital marketing mistakes are totally preventable. We’ll get to how to solve them. But until then bundle in, dim the lights, and prepare to get spooked.

  1. Building a website – and not doing any SEO work.

We’ve seen this one too many times to count. A business sinks a lot of money into building a brand-new website that looks great, but they don’t add in any search engine optimization (SEO) elements. As a result, their page never ranks on search engines. The horror!

The fix: Make sure your website is optimized for on-page SEO and has an ongoing SEO strategy.

  1. No mobile responsivity.

Far too many business websites are not mobile responsive. Not only could this be losing you customers (what if someone tries to access your site from their phone?) but it could actually be hurting your search engine ranking. <link to Google blog>

The fix: Contact your website developer to make sure your website can be viewed across devices of any size.

  1. Posting to social media… once a month.

The ghosting of social media. Consistency is vital to building a social media presence for your business. Yet many businesses rarely post or post a lot in a short timeframe and then crickets for weeks.

The fix: Build a content calendar and stick to it.

  1. Starting on a new social media platform… and then abandoning it.

Social media ghosting 2.0. Different from inconsistent posting, this is not posting at all. Many businesses are lured in by a shiny new platform, go gung-ho for a few weeks, don’t see instant results, and stop using it. But their profile is there to stay as a ghost of posts past.

The fix: Don’t start on a new platform without a solid strategy. If you decide to leave a platform, give it time to bear fruit and try different tactics before abandoning it altogether. If you do decide to leave, either delete the page or (if there has been a lot of content) leave it but make a note that it is no longer being maintained.

  1. Sinking all resources into one lead generator and then having that source dry up.

You’ve found the golden goose – the lead generator that is sending in the sources. They’re ready to buy and cheap to acquire. It’s like magic! You sink all your resources into that one resource. And then the magic fades… The lead source dries up. And you have to start from scratch.

The fix: Even if you have one lead source that is performing better than the others, don’t abandon everything. You know the saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”? It applies here.

  1. Fake/negative reviews with no plan to combat them.

Online reviews can be the bane of many marketers, particularly if your business is receiving fake or damaging reviews. Many businesses don’t know how to react and so they do… nothing. The reviews linger for the world to see.

The fix: Have a plan to respond to all reviews. Even if the negative review remains, prospects will see your reply as well.

  1. Not tracking analytics.

Analytics are how marketers gauge performance benchmarks – yet many businesses ignore them or put off tracking them because there’s never enough time. This is a mistake! You can’t track success if you don’t know where you currently stand.

The fix: Make sure Google Analytics code is installed on your website and make a point of checking key metrics regularly – schedule it in if needed.

  1. Paying too close attention to analytics.

On the other hand, some businesses are all about the metrics – to their detriment. Campaigns can take time to propagate and, in some cases, if the numbers aren’t coming in fast enough, instead of tweaking and shifting, businesses decide to shift gears completely.

The fix: While it’s important to track analytics, don’t make it everything. Look for quantifiable and qualitative metrics and conduct A/B testing to improve a campaign.

  1. Targeting everyone!

This is an easy mistake to make, but it’s so scary because it can be so detrimental. Often businesses try to do too much with their digital marketing – they try to be everything to everyone. They use their Facebook page to attract both wholesale and consumer business. They go after an entire industry, rather than targeted niche professions. The result is diluted marketing that doesn’t get results and blows your budget to boot. Horrifying!

The fix: A targeted strategy will help you choose niche buyer personas so you can create marketing that gets results while conserving budget.

  1. The scariest mistake of all… waiting too long to start.

Whether it’s due to overwhelm, lack of resources, lack of budget, or something else, the number one digital marketing mistake many businesses make is not doing it at all!

The sooner you start, the more time you have to grow your audience, find out what works for your buyer personas, and tweak as necessary.

The fix: Don’t know where to start (or if to start) your digital marketing? Consider outsourcing! When you work with a digital marketing agency, like Pulsion Marketing, you have access to a team of experienced marketers for a fraction of the cost.

We hope you’re able to go to sleep tonight after those truly terrifying tales of digital marketing mistakes past. This Halloween, don’t be the horror movie character who goes down the basement stairs in the dark when the killer is clearly lurking beneath. Be the one who saves the day and unmasks the villain — even the worst digital marketing mistakes can be fixed!

Contact Pulsion Marketing for Toronto digital marketing services including content management, SEO, strategic planning, and more. Call 1-888-701-4441 or visit www.digiforcemarketing.ca.