Pop Quiz: Are you making these 3 common marketing mistakes?

Marketing can feel challenging, from the changing of trends and customer habits, to evolving platforms, and more, it’s easy to fall into a habit and not adapt, or worse, not realize you’re making a mistake. This can be especially challenging if you don’t really have the marketing knowledge or tools to keep you on track.

In this blog, we’re going to break down 3 common marketing mistakes you might be making.

You don’t understand your audience

If someone were to ask you who your target audience is, what would you say? If your answer is too vague or broad, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

Not understanding your audience can lead to a failure to connect with your audience and build customer loyalty. It can also lead to difficulty creating relevant content. 

But, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

Here are a few basic demographics to consider when trying to understand your audience: age, income level, and locations. Beyond this, also think about their interests, their behaviours, their lifestyle, and even their values and how they may align with your brand (i.e. if you’re brand values sustainability, is that something they value in their life and how so).

If you have a few different answers for these questions, that’s ok, many brands have a first and secondary target audience.

Once you have an idea of these answers, create profiles or personas built around these characteristics. 

You don’t track analytics

Think about your social media, your latest/last campaign, your website, or your email marketing right now, how do you track the analytics?

If the answer is that you don’t, it’s time to start!

If you’re not tracking your analytics, then it can be difficult to understand what’s working and what’s not. Data can also steer you in the right direction when making important marketing decisions, so if you aren’t tracking your progress, you could end up taking a misstep.

If you aren’t tracking ANY data, it may seem daunting to get started, but, you can start with something that’s currently relevant. For example, if you have a current campaign or maybe you’re running an online ad, you can start there. If you aren’t, social media is a great starting point.

We suggest creating an excel spreadsheet to easily track your success over time, for example, for social media, you can track it on a monthly basis. While the metrics you decide to track may vary depending on what you’re tracking, some common ones include, reach, link clicks, and visits.

You are inconsistent

From branding, to social media, and more, a lack of consistency is a common mistake and it can damage your brand.

Let’s take both of the above for an example, when your branding lacks consistency, this can lead to confusion about your brand and it can even lead to a distrust if customers think you’re inauthentic because of it. Think of popular brands you know with consistent and strong branding, like Coca-Cola. Their strong branding also means they are more memorable. So when you fail to have consistent branding, you may fail to create a lasting and positive impression in customer’s minds.

Now, let’s use social media as an example, when you aren’t showing up consistently on socials, again, you run the risk of being forgettable. It can also break down your relationship with customers and sink your visibility.

So what can you do?

For branding, you can create a detailed brand guide, which will include features such as your brand colours, the voice of your brand, and even what kind of font you want to use. Once you’ve decided on these, review your website and socials to make sure they align and update where necessary.

Now let’s think about social media. Here, consistency will look like showing up regularly. 

It could be helpful to create a framework and a couple templates to start. For example, you may decide to post 3 days a week. Plan out what that content will look like and then try sticking with it.

If you’re making any of these mistakes, remember it’s ok to make mistakes. Being able to recognize these mistakes and then working on them can really help turn things around and get you on the right track.

Are you struggling with your marketing and not sure how to fix things? Book your free 20 minute consultation with us.