At Gravity Bounce we see it all. The good campaigns, the mediocre and the really bad ones. Over the years we have seen so many advertising mistakes that we could fill volumes so picking the “Top 5 Common Online Marketing Mistakes” was actually a lot tougher than you might think. Here are the Top 5 Common Online Marketing Mistakes “Winners”:
Online Marketing Mistake 1: The Why
Let’s face it….everybody is busier than ever these days. Technology has created an environment where our lives are filled with messages, appointments, Facebook feeds, tweets, and emails all the palm of our hand.
We don’t have the time any more to consider all our options, do research, check references, and then make an educated decision. It should be no surprise that advertising messaging needs to be precise, problem solving, and clearly answer the question: Why should I buy from you?
Make your ads personable by using the word “you” in your copy and in 10 seconds or less you need to answer the age old question: How does your produce or service make their lives easier?
Grabbing their attention for a fraction of a second is the goal of advertising so use words to tell the shopper why he or she absolutely must buy from you.
If you can’t do that then the consumer is never going to know (or care) how you can help them.
Online Marketing Mistake 2: Call To Action
Okay, so you spent time creating the perfect ad. It has the perfect image to connect with your target demographics, it has those hard hitting – attention grabbing words and boom you have their attention…. Now what?
We can’t tell you how many times we have seen great ads that seem to leave the consumer thinking What do I do next? How can I buy from them?
Let us be clear: Ever single ad you create must have a strong ‘call to action’ that leads the consumer one step closer to your business.
We love marketing and we appreciate all advertising media channels for what they are – a great way to bring new customers to your business.
Take billboard advertising for instance. Image your ad placed high up on a 20 by 40 foot billboard perfectly positioned on the busiest street in your city. Now image the only call to action you have is a website address.
How many times have you seen an advertising ad with the only call to action is a website address. By the time you have reached the next light you have already forgotten what the website address was? By the 2nd light red light you have probably forgotten why you wanted the service in the 1st place.
Don’t let your ads be forgotten after you have worked so hard to garner their attention – make it stupidly clear how they can contact you, buy, or learn more about what you offer.
Online Marketing Mistake 3: Follow Up
This is where so many companies fail to capitalize on their advertising campaigns. They literally spend thousands of dollars building the ads, perfecting their mouse trap to capture consumer information and then literally forgot about them.
Consumers today are busy people. They have their own lives to live and they are constantly interacting with hundreds of brands a day. What you need to do is to be there for them. Let them know you are there to assist when they are ready, not when you are.
Take a step back and ask yourself, if I was a consumer considering my service – What information is relevant and what do I need to know to feel confident about my buying decision? If you take the approach to educate your potential clients on why your produce or service is superior over others you are literally warming them up to your brand.
Every company needs to have a consistent, systematic follow up process that builds consumer confidence through periodic contact that educates them. There are hundreds of automation and CRM systems like Zoho, Saleforce, or Pipedrive that allow for the creation of automated consumer email drip campaigns.
The reality is that consumers may not be ready to purchase the day they reach out to you but by having a consistent follow up process you play the odds that when they are ready you are the 1st company they call.
Online Marketing Mistake 4: Value Statement
Words are important. In advertising the words you use need to convey information and emotion to be effective. It is estimated that over 90% of the decisions made by consumers are emotional. We would like to think of ourselves as rational human beings but the reality is we far from it. How many of us drive luxury or imported cars? Let’s face it, we could get to the mall just has fast in a $5000 car as a $50,000 car so why do so many consumers drive luxury cars….its because its how it makes us feel.
Advertising needs to clearly provide the ‘value’ of what you offer. Is it cheaper, faster, limited, or a premium to other products or services? The bottom line needs to answer:
How is a consumer better off by using your product or service?
The goal with value statements is to really identify the top 3 to 4 reasons then build the ad around them.
Research as shown depending on the type of advertising your are doing after about 3 or 4 key messages the consumer tends to blend them all together and can’t process (or remember) the “The Why” as easy.
Hint: You better make sure 50% of your value statements include emotional triggers or your well designed advertising campaign is doomed to fail.
Online Marketing Mistake 5: Campaign Results
Okay, the last big mistake of the “ Top 5 Common Online Marketing Mistakes” we see companies make all the time is they fail to track their marketing results. We have spoken on this a few times but just like a company should be performing monthly profit and loss statements you should always know exactly how well your advertising campaigns are performing.
If you don’t know how much you have spent and how much new business its bringing into your business who can you measure success? More importantly, how do you know what you need to change to improve it?
To learn more about tracking advertising campaign results click here
Ask your advertising sources to send you monthly reports that clearly demonstrate how their campaigns are making your business money.
Aaron Johnston
Google Expert & Marketing Guru
Email: aaronj@gbma.ca
About the Author:
Aaron Johnston grew up in rural Ontario and has run multiple companies in varies industries over the years. After attempting to hire “the wrong guys” to try online marketing he decided he could do a better job! After 11 years of online marketing experience he shares his experience with others from Taiwan where he now lives with his two daughters.