Figuring out how to market your business correctly is a challenge for many small business owners, especially if an owner doesn’t have much help and funds are limited. Understanding how to best market your business and reach your target audience is a lot easier if you avoid the following five mistakes:
1) “No Idea” in General
Don’t know what you’re doing, but are forging ahead anyway? A common marketing mistake, many dive into PR, social media, blogging and other marketing options without having any real concept of what to do or how to do it. Rather than making your social profiles all about self-promotion and wondering why you aren’t getting any feedback, learn how to engage your target audience by studying what works when it comes to consumer engagement. Think about what they might find appealing, and don’t forget about promotional options and discounts as rewards for interaction.
2) You’ve Signed Up For Everything
It may seem like a great idea to sign up for every single social media site as a way of reaching a wider audience, but it’s really not. Again, think about your target audience and the social media sites they use most, and go for those. Updating channels that aren’t utilized by your demographic isn’t helpful, so “go for depth rather than breadth.” Focus efforts on one to three sites frequently used by your customers and add content that ensures they’ll “like” and “follow” you.
3) No Marketing. None.
Another common marketing mistake by small businesses? Failing to market the business at all. It’s easy to let marketing fall by the proverbial wayside if business is good, but marketing isn’t just about the “right now,” it’s also about the future. So even if business is booming, make certain it continues to boom by implementing solid marketing efforts. You’ll be thankful you did during the down times.
4) Forgetting to Measure Results
Even the best marketing campaigns are for naught if you aren’t measuring results! Marketing articles always mention the importance of analyzing results for lead generation, and since social media platforms have built-in analytics, there’s really no excuse. Google Analytics is another free option that allows you to find out what’s working and what isn’t in regards to web site traffic. You must analyze your efforts and continually tweak where necessary.
5) Using One Marketing Medium Only
Don’t eschew other marketing options because you’re a huge fan of one, such as Search Engine Optimization. Why? If your favorite tool suddenly no longer works, you’ll have to scramble to find a new one and potentially start all over. Have all your eggs in one basket is a big risk and potential disaster. Choose a few options that fit your budget and use them in conjunction.
Avoid these marketing mistakes to get the most your of your small business marketing efforts.