7 Deadly Sins of Online Business Marketing - And How To Fix Them!

7 Deadly Sins of Online Business Marketing

It's no secret that entrepreneurs make a lot of mistakes when first trying to market their businesses online. After all, there's a lot to learn and it can be hard to keep up with the latest trends. However, awareness is key and making corrections to fix these mistakes can mean the difference between success and failure.

When I began trying to grow my travel business online, I, too, made a lot of mistakes. Over time, I've learned from these errors and have turned my business into a well-oiled machine.

If you're just getting started with marketing your business online, or even if you've been at it for a while, I want to help you avoid these same business marketing mistakes!

Here are 7 Deadly Sins Of Online Business Marketing To Avoid:

1. Not Having a Clear Marketing Goal

Too often, business owners think they can wing it when it comes to marketing their business online.

(Total transparency...I was one of those business owners.)

After all, how hard could it be?

You just post a few times on social media and wait for the customers to come rolling in, right?

Wrong.

Marketing your business online is not nearly as simple as it may seem.

In order to be successful, you need to have a clear goal in mind.

Without a goal, you'll likely make a lot of mistakes that could cost you dearly in the long run.

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For example, let's say you want to use social media to increase brand awareness for your business. This is a great goal, but it's important to be specific.

How are you going to measure success? Are you looking for more website visitors? More social media followers? More comments and engagement on your posts?

Once you know what metric you're going to focus on, you can create content that is designed to achieve that specific goal.

Without a clear goal, you'll likely end up creating content that is all over the place and doesn't really fit together.

As a result, your marketing efforts will be scattered and less effective overall.

2. Not Understanding Your Target Market

A target market is a group of people that you have identified as being your potential customers.

In order to market your business effectively, you need to understand who your target market is and what they're looking for.

If you try to attract everyone, you'll end up attracting no one.

When I first marketed my travel business online, I thought "everyone" who wanted to travel was my "target audience". I ended up stressed out when one time I was planning Asia, Alaska and the Caribbean all at the same time!

Long story short? I realized if I knew everything about ONE region, I could book tons of trips quickly & focus my marketing efforts on ONLY those people who wanted to travel there...a win-win!

Marketing your business without knowing who you want to be your customer is like shooting an arrow in the dark and hoping it hits the bullseye. You might get lucky, but most likely you'll end up wasting a lot of time, effort and money.

When it comes to marketing your business online, you need to be laser-focused. You need to know exactly who your target market is and what they're looking for. Only then can you create content that resonates with them and drives results.

So if you're not sure who your target market is, take some time to figure it out. It's one of the most important steps in marketing your business online successfully.

3. Not Having a Plan to Reach Your Goal

As with anything in life, it's important to have a plan when marketing your business online.

All too often, business owners jump into social media or start creating content without any sort of plan or strategy.

(Yep. This was me, too!)

They post randomly and hope for the best. But if you want to be successful with online marketing, you need to have a plan.

You need to know what kind of content you're going to create, where you're going to promote it, and how you're going to measure success.

Creating a plan may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually quite simple. The key is to start small and build from there.

You don't need to create an extensive, 100-page marketing plan. But you should have some sort of plan in place so that you're not just flying by the seat of your pants.

Without a plan, you can get discouraged and easily burn out because you aren't seeing many results from your scattered efforts.

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4.Not Tracking & Measuring Results

Business owners who don't measure their results are missing out on critical information that could help them make better decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and ultimately pave the way to success. 

There are a number of business mistakes that can be easily avoided with regular measurement and analysis of marketing data. For instance, if you're measuring your results of a social media post, you can use the "insights" feature to see how many people viewed, liked, commented or shared your post. Then, compare this to the overall marketing goal you wanted to achieve.

Another way to track and measure results is to use Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a free tool that allows you to track the traffic coming to your website.

You can use this information to track how people are finding your website, what pages they're looking at, and how long they 're staying on your site.

This information is valuable because it gives you insights into what's working and what's not. You can then make changes to your website and marketing strategy accordingly.

5. Focusing on Vanity Metrics

Vanity metrics are numbers that make you feel good but don't necessarily mean anything in terms of actual results.

(This corresponds to measuring results!)

For example, let's say you're trying to increase brand awareness for your business on social media. A vanity metric would be the number of social media followers you have. It feels great to see that number go up, but it doesn't necessarily mean anything in terms of actual results you want in your business.

On the other hand, an actual result would be the number of website visitors you get from social media. This is a metric that you can actually track and see how it's affecting your business.

The problem with vanity metrics is that they can make you feel like you're making progress when you're really not.

It's important to focus on actual results that are actually going to move the needle for your business. Otherwise, you'll just be spinning your wheels and wasting your time.

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6. Not Being Consistent with Your Strategy

Even if you have the best content and the most well-thought-out marketing plan in the world, it won't matter if you're not being consistent.

When you're inconsistent with your marketing, you send mixed messages to your target audience and make it difficult for them to understand what you're all about.

Furthermore, inconsistencies in your marketing prevent you from building trust with your target audience and establishing yourself as a credible source of information.

In order to avoid this costly business mistake, it's important to be consistent in your marketing efforts. When you stick to a regular schedule of blog posts, social media updates, and email newsletters, you send a clear message to your target audience that you're reliable and that you're worth paying attention to.

Consistency is key when it comes to marketing, so make sure you're not making this common business mistake.

7. Not Using Email Marketing

Most business owners have heard that they need to be collecting leads, but many don't realize the importance of email marketing.

Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach your target audience, and it's also one of the most affordable. If you're not already using email marketing in your business, you're making a huge mistake.

If you're not using email marketing, you're missing out on a huge potential customer base. There are over 3 billion active email users worldwide, and that number is only going to grow. If you're not using email to reach your target audience, you're missing out on a huge opportunity. 

Email is also more personal than other forms of marketing. When someone gives you their email address, they're entrusting you with a piece of personal information. This gives you a chance to build a relationship with your subscribers and turn them into lifelong customers.  And relationships = sales!

Did you know that email is also more effective than most other forms of marketing? Studies have shown that email marketing has a higher ROI than any other form of marketing, including social media and paid advertising. 

And the bonus? You don't need to rely on the social media algorithm to get your message in front of your subscribers. With email marketing, you have complete control over when and how often you reach your audience.

SUMMARY:

These 7 business mistakes are just a few of the most common ones made when marketing a business online. If you're making any of these mistakes, it's time to correct your course and start focusing on what actually works.

The good news is that all of these mistakes are fixable, and with a little effort you can start seeing results in your business!

If you love step-by-step instructions for how to design and build a marketing strategy that works, make sure to join us in Audience On Autopilot Academy!

With all the systems, strategies and tools you need to market your business online, we can help you grow your business so you can live the life you've dreamed of!

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