10 Marketing tactics that aren’t worth the money…
A great marketing strategy is one of the most important investments you will make for your business. You won’t have customers or a growing loyal community unless people know who you are. Without customers, you won’t have a business at all. We have all heard the saying “you have to spend money to make money,” and this is true when it comes to your marketing strategy. But what should you spend your marketing budget on? And how do you even decide how much of a marketing budget you should have?
There are no hard and fast rules on budget setting. It often comes down to multiple factors such as risk aversion, funding, business goals, and industry standards. To set your budget you need to look at all of those factors along with how much things actually cost. Then figure out how much you are willing to invest in the success of your business. For tactics that are directly tied to sales, it is easier to figure out what your return on investment is. But there are tactics that bring you other benefits that aren’t tied directly to sales such as thought leadership, some forms of content marketing, social media community building, and others that lead to brand awareness and act as tools to help you achieve higher revenues when you use them correctly.
MARKETING TACTICS TO AVOID
When you figure out your marketing budget, you want to make sure you spend your marketing dollars on the right tactics that will move your business in the right direction. There are so many things you could invest in, but here are ten marketing tactics that aren’t worth your money.
A flashy, expensive website: A fancy website might seem like a good idea, but you should never sacrifice function for design. The most important thing on your website is that people can navigate through it properly and that you are providing enough valuable content and a way for them to get in touch with you. Spending tens of thousands of dollars on a flashy website isn’t necessary. Doing the foundational work to make sure that your site is laid out properly is better.
High volume content output: We have said it over and over… Quality is better than quantity. Blogging once per week with high value content is better than publishing a blog per day with content that won’t interest your audience.
Buying social media followers: We have talked about this before, but buying social media followers is never a great strategy to use to grow your audience. What is the point of spending money to reach a bunch of people who don’t fit within your buyer personas? You would be spending money on something that would likely never turn into revenues. It is better to grow your audience organically, connecting with people who are potential customers and are highly engaged with your content.
Social media ads… without a content strategy: As a marketing tactic, social media ads have become a necessity for certain platforms (we see you Facebook). However, there is no point in spending money on social media ads without making sure that when you send people to your page you have some great content on there for them to read. A content strategy will ensure that your social media ad spend will get you the results you want.
Being on every social media platform: People think they need to be on as many platforms as possible so they can be found, but it doesn’t make sense to be on five social media platforms if you aren’t going to be active on all of them. It’s better to have a smaller digital footprint and be on one social media platform and do it really well than it is to be on many without success. Stick to whatever you can handle otherwise you won’t enjoy it and you just won’t do it.
Having multiple accounts on one social media platform: For large corporations with multiple product lines and a marketing team, having multiple accounts on each social media platform could make sense. If you’re a small business, those multiple accounts cost you time and money. Chances are you won’t be able to maintain multiple accounts while providing any value for your audience, and you would be splitting your customer audience. Consolidate into one account and create a solid content strategy that will help you get your message across.
Print ads: Hear me out… In some industries, depending on your target audience, print is great. However, if you have a limited budget, print ads are the last thing you should be spending money on. They are expensive and it is harder for you to track their effectiveness. If you have a large marketing budget and you can allot a portion to print ads, then it is great – but make sure you have a way to track it.
Untargeted paid digital ads: Ads are easy to get wrong without a strategy. If you are paying to reach people, take the time to target the right Otherwise you will waste your time and money. And if you don’t know who your target audience is, it’s time to step away from the paid ads and create your buyer personas to build a target audience that makes sense.
Untargeted Direct Mail outs: It can be hard to make a case for direct mail these days in a digital world. While it might make sense in some industries depending on your target audience (maybe they’re just not that into social media!), most people just recycle those carefully designed materials when they show up in their mailbox or at the door. If you do choose to do a direct mail out, make sure you are targeting properly geographically and tactically. Only do it if it makes sense for your audience.
Generic press releases: I strongly believe the press release isn’t dead when used in the right way and for the right industries. It is a great way to keep track of official stakeholder announcements for corporate communications or general announcements. However, if you are looking to put together a media relations strategy, you should rely more on individualized pitches that are more story based so you can tailor your pitch to each media contact. Sending out a blanket press release won’t get you the coverage you are looking for.
Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, but you will have to invest in a strategy that will allow you to grow your business successfully.
If you aren’t sure how to make your marketing work for you, sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.