If you are to survive and thrive during this difficult era, mastering marketing is a must. The problem is that a lot of businesses and entrepreneurs are stuck in the old days when it comes to marketing, using strategies that are not effective in 2020. With that being said, in this blog post, we are going to take a look at some of the common marketing mistakes that need to be avoided if you are going to make a big impact throughout the coming year.

Choosing black hat marketing techniques - There is only one place to begin when it comes to common marketing errors, and this is using black hat marketing techniques. This refers to techniques that are pretty much used to cheat the system. Examples include keyword stuffing or incorporating white text so that you can sneak keywords into your website. These sorts of approaches may have worked years ago, but Google is wise to them now. You may experience results in the short-term, but these results won’t last, and you will probably find yourself being penalised by Google, which is the last thing anyone wants when they are trying to gain more traction online.

You are inconsistent - Marketing works well when there is consistency. If you are constantly changing your mind, for example, using different colours and presenting your brand in different ways, this is only going to confuse the audience and it will dilute your brand as a consequence. Furthermore, you need to make sure that there is consistency with regard to your posting schedule as well. If you post a blog post three times in one week, then you disappear for the next week, you are going to struggle to get a following. Instead, it is better to post consistently, i.e. once per week. You can schedule posts to make this easier. The same can be done with your social media accounts as well.

Sticking with one marketing method - The most effective marketing strategies are those that are layered. They incorporate a range of different marketing techniques, which come together to create the perfect vehicle to push the brand forward. Of course, you have SEO. Then you also have PPC, which involves using Google Ads scripts automation for digital marketing. Or, what about social media marketing? Social media is a great tool for engaging with customers and prospective customers. In most cases, using a combination of all of these approaches is going to be best, rather than purely centering in one strategy.

Trying to do everything in-house without the expertise - It can be tempting to handle all of your marketing efforts in-house. After all, it can seem like the cheaper solution. However, if you do not have the necessary experience, this can end up costing you more money in the long run. This is because you will be missing out on opportunities. If you choose a team of marketing experts with care, you can expect a considerable ROI. Therefore, it is important that you look at the value from a monetary sense when you are determining whether it is better to handle marketing in-house or outsource it to a team of professionals. 

You don’t handle negative reviews well - Reviews are a very important part of marketing today, as they represent social proof. If you think about it, you are going to be much more likely to purchase a product if someone unassociated with the company recommends it, right? However, not all reviews are good! No matter how hard you try, you may end up with a customer who is simply never happy. While it can be disappointing and even offensive to read a negative review, it is important to take a moment to breathe and to consider your response. Yes, you should respond! Your efforts to rectify the problem and come to a good solution could turn a disgruntled customer into a loyal one. Even if the customer seems impossible to please, other people will see that you care about your customers, and this will help to boost your brand image in this respect.

So there you have it: an insight into some of the biggest marketing mistakes that people make. If you have noticed any of the errors that have been discussed above, there is no need to panic. However, there is a need to start looking at the changes that you can make to rectify these errors. The sooner you get your marketing efforts back on track, the better