If you are new to marketing, you might be finding it difficult to digest all there is to know about this industry. With digital marketing moving at lightning speed, it can be overwhelming to try and keep up with the newest trends and skills you should be acquiring.

As a marketing professional or small business owner, it is easy to make mistakes. You’re only human, and that means you’re never going to be perfect in your career! In today’s post we will explore five common marketing mistakes that newbies make, and how to avoid them in your career.

Mistake #1: spending little or no time designing your website

In today’s world, anyone can have their own website for a small amount of money and a little time spent. However, not everyone can make their website search engine optimised, engaging, user friendly and customer focused.

Due to the fact it is easy to get a website nowadays, many small business owners don’t invest much money or time on their website. This is a big mistake, because not only is your website the first interaction most of your customers will have with your company, but it is also the easiest way to bring new customers to your brand.

To avoid the fate of having a dead-end website with few visitors, make sure you invest in professional web design advice, and fill your website with content that is SEO friendly and engaging for your customers to read.

Mistake #2: appealing to a very narrow audience

Your business and products might not be appealing to each and every person, but that doesn’t mean you should shut your doors to a wider customer base. Even niche businesses are able to pull in a wide range of customers by being open, friendly and approachable in both their online and in-person customer service.

The trick is to make your potential customers feel as if they need your products, even if they had never considered them before. With this attitude, you can start exploring how to make your products or services more widely accessible and appealing, eradicating the common mistake of playing only to a niche audience.

In addition to bringing more customers into the fold, you can also use this tactic for your B2B marketing too. You might find that by expanding your marketing not just to customers but to other businesses too, you can make your company more appealing overall.

Mistake #3: ignoring social media trends

Social media is king in today’s marketing world, whether you like it or not. Even if you prefer old fashioned marketing techniques like billboards and signage – both of which are great tools if combined with digital marketing techniques – you need to be up on current social media trends.

It is of paramount importance that your business follows and involves itself in social media trends, such as dance challenges on TikTok, trending hashtags and Reels on Instagram. If you aren’t sure about how to get involved in these trends, you should hire a freelance social media manager to give you advice on following these trends and using them to build your platform.

Ignoring social media trends is a surefire way to come across as out of touch as a business. Appealing to a younger customer base who are more likely to shop online and shop through social media is a vital part of marketing in 2021. People of all ages use social media nowadays; it is a free tool that you can and should use to up your marketing game!

Mistake #4: assuming your customers will always be loyal

Repeat customers are an essential asset to any growing business. Acquiring new customers is an important part of your operations, but retaining your customers is even more crucial. Repeat customers are a powerful marketing tool in themselves when it comes to bringing in new customers; there is nothing more effective than recommendations from those they trust!

One huge mistake any business leader can make is to assume that their customers will stay loyal. Loyalty is earned, not automatically given; even repeat customers need to be incentivised. Successful companies value their repeat customers by giving them subtle perks such as deals on bulk packages, previews to the newest product launches you are offering, or similar things that will keep repeat customers coming back!

Don’t make the fatal mistake of assuming that all your customers will remain loyal no matter what; keep earning their loyalty as if they could leave at any moment!

Mistake #5: not using SEO tools for your business.

SEO, standing for search engine optimization, is an incredible asset to any business that operates online. SEO tactics, when implemented correctly, help your business to draw more traffic to its website by making it more easily indexable by Google’s algorithm.

If you don’t feed any relevant information to Google about what kind of customers would like your brand, what products you have to offer and the kind of industry trends you follow, it is unlikely new customers will find your website!

SEO tools include:

• Keyword use
• Blogger outreach
• Video content
• Link building
• Affiliate links

And many more!

Marketers that don’t use SEO effectively can wind up with a beautiful website that contains great product information, and barely any visitors! This is a conundrum you desperately want to avoid, so ensure you get clued in on SEO if you aren’t already.

Most businesses need help with establishing an SEO strategy. Luckily, there are many brilliant SEO agencies that can provide you with content and give you strategic advice. Click here to learn more about how your business could benefit from a failsafe SEO strategy.

Final Thoughts

If you are new to running a small business, or you want to learn more about marketing, use this guide to help you avoid common marketing mistakes. Digital marketing is an ever-growing industry that anybody can be a part of, but you need to watch out for easily made mistakes that could be devastating to your business strategy.