Sometimes it’s not about what you need to start doing and is more about the toxic habits you should pull away from. It’s easy to overlook the bad when your focused on keeping up with the latest trends, especially when every piece of content on the internet is telling about a new technique to try. But what about the ones you should lose? It’s just as important to take a good hard look at what tactics are doing more harm than good. Here are a few ideas on what you could stand to lose.
Focusing on technology over strategy
What is the purpose in signing-up for every new app or going through a complete website overhaul if you’re seeing zero results? Nothing. That’s because buying new technology will not solve your strategy problems. While these tools can help boost efficiency, no tool will build your marketing strategy for you. This solution lies in addressing underlying problems and having an in-depth understanding your customer base. Before we even decide to onboard a new client, we put their team through marketing auditsto get of the core of business problems.
Using content farms
In general terms, "content farm" is being used to describe a website that publishes large amounts of inexpensive, often low-quality content created to boost search engine traffic. This is often done through the use of dozens of freelance writers, or blog writing services such as Blogmutt. Marketers should instead focus on creating quality over quantity, offering valuable information to their specific target audience. For more ideas, watch our video on how to create content people care about.
Talking at your customers
Truth is people care a lot about themselves. So stop creating content that’s only focused on you. Your website copy should be written with the customer in mind! Pull back on the formality and technical jargon so you can speak to your audience as individuals. Have a regular conversation with them. Your message will sound more authentic and have a stronger impact. Keep in mind that people have learned to ignore general messages that could be targeted at anyone. Get specific and put your audience first.
Trying to be clever instead of clear
Less than 25% of U.S. consumers trust ads and marketing messages in print or online publications. (Hubspot) Yet many marketers continue to create content with meaningless marketing jargon or clichés such as “"Best-of-breed" or "World-class.” The problem is that most marketers spend far too much time trying to be clever instead of clear. The best headlines are the ones that capture the specific needs of your target audience and introduces an idea that will make their lives better. Here are a few examples of 13 types of headlines that will get you more blog traffic.
Depending on organic reach
If you’re relying solely on organic reach when sharing content on social media, your content is no longer getting viewed. Facebook has changed its news feed to prioritize what friends and family share, which will reduce the amount of content that users see from brands and publishers. It’s now absolutely necessary to put a little spend behind each post to ensure it is actually seen and shown to the right audience. Set aside a budget particularly for social media advertising to help your posts get the impact they deserve.
Looking for a team of experts to trim the fat off your marketing plan? We’re here to help. Just ask On-Target!.
