6 marketing mistakes nearly all small business owners make

Not much of a natural marketer? That’s okay, most small business owners aren’t. It doesn’t mean you can’t learn.

If these six marketing mistakes sound familiar, we’ve got some simple solutions.

 

1. Throwing budget at things without a plan

Cash means you can reach more people and access the best resources, but it doesn’t guarantee results. There should be a strategy behind every marketing channel and every post, otherwise you’re stabbing in the dark, and any good data will be a one-off.

How to fix it: Make a plan, decide how you’re going to execute it, and then choose how much budget to put on it.

Remember! Even if your marketing spend gets you in front of 500,000 Instagram users, getting them to click is much more important. 

 

2. Letting your site visitors leave and never come back

Lots of small businesses and marketers look closely at acquisition, because they want to know how people are actually finding them. Those facts are meaningless unless you can encourage site visitors to get in touch with you now, or come back later.

How to fix it: You can make the most of website traffic by building landing pages that lead people down the right path. (It’s as easy as dragging and dropping on most website building platforms.) Email marketing campaigns and remarketing ads can bring people back once they’ve left too.

 

3. Selling to a massive, non-specific audience

Mass appeal seems sensible, but it doesn’t really exist. When you’re shopping around for something, you often have a very specific idea of what you want. Your potential clients are exactly the same.

How to fix it: Create a detailed persona for your target audience, including what they want and their biggest problems. It will help you speak directly to them with the right kind of content, and turn them into a conversion or client.

 

4. Not investing in content

The internet is crowded, and it’s hard to stand out in a positive way. Marketers try all sorts of different tricks to get people interested - urgency, special offers, confusing language. Without that meaningful, quality content though, your potential clients won’t click and they definitely won’t stick around.

How to fix it: Your marketing strategy needs the right words and imagery - messaging that shows people how you can solve their problem, demonstrates you’re great at what you do, and shows them results.

 

5. Neglecting social media

Maybe you’re convinced you don’t understand it well enough. Maybe you can only find the time to dash off a couple of posts a month. Whatever it is keeping you away from social media, it’s important to fix it.

How to fix it: Focus on the most relevant social media platforms so you’re not spreading your efforts too thin. (Your audience could be all over LinkedIn, but unlikely to check Facebook). Put together a content calendar and keep it going.

 

6. Not reading the data

You’ve put loads of effort into strategy, you’ve created a specific target audience, and your content’s looking good. The next important step is checking the data for results.

Website traffic, ad results, Google Adwords, and more, will be full of insight. You’ll know which channels are bringing people in, what people click on while they’re on your site or page, and how long they spend reading the content or watching videos.

How to fix it: Choose the stats that matter and check them regularly. You’ll know what to improve on, what could do with more budget, and what kind of content is really working for you. 

 

When you’ve got your marketing strategy all sorted, Solna can help you keep cash flowing into your business.

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