7 Unpleasant Marketing Tips That Just May Save Your Business
Or, at the very least, provide some light reading
To no one’s surprise, content and social media are two of the fastest growing focuses in digital marketing today. Within these are niches, such as analytical data, front-end web development, blogging, and so on.
In the time that I’ve been an online writer, I’ve come to accept and internalize certain caveats of the industry, maxims, mantras, and other tidbits of advice that I believe everyone (business owners, new marketers, and even veteran bloggers) should be aware of.
Without further ado — here they are:
1. Numbers Aren’t Everything
When I first began to blog, I felt every view, click, link, and Tweet was the greatest thing in the world. It was like a stranger on the street unexpectedly approaching me to give me praise. This is actually still, mostly, true except now there’s a lot more to it than just how many people follow your business on Twitter or like your Instagram photos.
On the non-numerical side of things, the overall aesthetic of your online assets is just as important as numbers. What does that mean? Well, it is almost like how certain people can look suave in a $200 suit while others can’t even pull off one worth $2,000.
If you care what people think about your physical spaces (you clean up your home before company comes over, right?), then you should care just as much about the cleanliness and overall asthetics of your digital spaces.
Though I may never capture all the clicks in the world, I still take pride in the look and feel of my blog (and the blogs I write for), and how they are received by readers who actually care. Which leads me to my next, oh so important, point.
2. Quality Over Quantity Every Time — Every. Time.
As a blogger and content crafter, I frequently encounter the classic “Quality vs. Quantity” question. I’ve shared my input before, as has just about every other marketer on every marketing blog out there. But what you need to know is short and sweet.
Would you rather have 100 people see your logo and have mediocre feelings about it or close ten deals? Yeah, me too. No one cares if your database has 1 million contacts in it if 980,000 of them have never interacted with your brand.
Chuck ’em out and focus on tailoring your content towards the 20k who actually care. It will serve your brand far better.
No one will read the world’s longest novel if it’s full of crap content; even fewer will read the world’s shortest novel if it’s full of mediocre content. And there is no one on this planet who will read a novel that does not pertain to their interests.
Basically, it all boils down to how well you put together your posts, Facebook statuses, Tweets, landing pages, and other content. The shorter the piece, the more attractive it is to certain readers. You’re never going to capture everyone’s attention with the same blog post, though, which is why it is important to mix it up with different types of content and give length and effort to the topics that deserve it.
3. Professional Shoplifting is “OK”
Writers are thieves. We steal bits of dialogue we hear on the street, run with ideas we see on other sites and try to do them better, and do everything we can to use inspirational input as fuel to output better content.
It is really easy to see “shoplifting” in action when you visit a major news site, read the latest article on Google Panda, and find a repurposed (possibly worse) article on a competing website. Don’t reinvent the wheel. There is nothing ethically wrong with writing on topics people want to read about as long as the content is original and any “borrowed” information is linked back to the original source.
In fact, I would encourage professional shoplifting. After all, you want to become a millionaire? Find a millionaire and do what he does. The same pertains to content creation. Find a blog, website, or other content repository that inspires you (or competes against you) and use that as fuel for your creative fire.
4. Social Media Is Hard
At least, this is true for small businesses with admins who have no clue what they are doing (i.e. the majority of them). Unfortunately, because so many of us use social media in our personal lives, we feel that we should be experts when it comes to social media in our professional lives.
The thing about social media for business purposes is that no one has to like or follow your pages — and if they do, they don’t ever have to tune into your messages. In fact, why should you expect a real person to willingly choose product promotions from an impersonal brand over status updates from actual friends and family members?
You can’t expect this from your customers. Instead, you have to convince potential followers that the content you publish is informative, entertaining and worth its place on a newsfeed. Inexperienced marketers (or interns, assistants, etc.) responsible for a company’s Facebook page might go into it expecting 1,000 likes and shares a day only to be shocked at how challenging it is to gain traction. At that moment, you will have the impulse to sign up for one of those countless services that promises to make your accounts social media rockstars for next to no money. Resist that impulse with everything you have.
Patience pays off on social media platforms, as does extensive research, awesome writing, and a more than a touch of creativity. Don’t take the shortcuts. They never work.
5. Online Marketing Is Indispensable
If you are not currently marketing your business online, you should be. Why? Because your customers are all over the web (and on mobile).
People shop online, chat with friends, share new products they bought on Facebook, compare prices, look up directions and hours of your place of business, and so on. You need to develop solid digital assets because that is what consumers expect.
It does not matter if you run a bakery, a call center, marathons, or whatever — social-content marketing is the only way to network in the digital age. Regardless of industry, your potential clients are out in the digital world doing research on your exact product. The trick is putting your content in locations where your prospects will organically stumble upon it.
6. There Is No One-Size-Fits-All Answer
Social media and content marketing frequently evolve. People are coming up with new tools, platforms are becoming more interconnected, and on and on. It is unclear how things will be in a year’s time since consumer habits and technology change at such a rapid and ever-increasing pace.
One important thing to always remember is: don’t let the self-proclaimed experts fool you.
The best advice is to have a wide pool of inspiration and advice, but take all of those recommendations and the things that you read with a grain of salt. Some people definitely know what they’re talking about — others don’t. And just because something is successful for one business doesn’t mean it will be successful for yours. When it comes to social media and content generation, do what you are comfortable with and carefully track the results.
7. You Can’t Do Everything
When I go into a small businesses and see a sign that says, “Follow us on Facebook! Google Plus Us! We are on LinkedIn! Find us on Twitter! Connect on Instagram, Pinterest, our blog, YouTube, website, Tumblr, and everywhere!” I get irritated.
Companies that don’t yet understand etiquette in a social world are quickly demonized — or worse, ignored and forgotten.
Brands should start slow with no more than two platforms that already captivate their target audience. Do you own a crafts store? Pinterest and Instagram are obvious go-tos. Are you a concrete contractor? A YouTube channel for short films is probably not recommended.
Choose your battleground wisely, and remember that it is a war zone out there where you must constantly fight for users’ attention.
Final Thoughts
Before wrapping up this post, here are a few parting words of wisdom:
The why and the when…
- Overdoing it is almost worse than not doing it at all. Almost. No matter how many articles you read or how many classes you take, ultimately everyone learns through doing. As such, mistakes will be made. However, no one ever accomplished anything by sitting on the bench, so there’s no time like the present. That being said, start out slow. This will minimize the impact of your inevitable mistakes and missteps.
Now for the how…
- Marketing has evolved where people want relevancy — not propaganda. Developing audience relevant content to keep prospects engaged is vital. Over-aggressive sales and messaging is the quickest way to lose customer faith and followers. Stop selling and help people buy.
- Buyers want to feel business savvy and like they’re working with qualified thought leaders. Since buyers usually don’t contact a sales team until they have just about made their purchase, compelling content that designates your expertise is essential.
- Automation tools have enabled the ability to create triggered campaigns to deliver even more timely and focused messages to prospects and customers. This evolution allows you to access a captive audience and deploy campaigns that convert prospects into committed customers at the most opportune time. It also saves you time, money, and a whole lot of frustrstion. See HubSpot for excellent (and mostly free) tools to start out with.
