Business

Common Mistakes Small Business Owners Make When Marketing Online

Marketing is an essential part of turning any small business into a success. Marketing online, or digital marketing as it’s commonly known, can help your business reach an untapped customer base that perhaps you might not be able to without the power of the internet. However, with SEO, sales funnels, mailing lists and many other things having an impact on the quality of digital marketing, it can be quite a complex affair. Here are 5 of the most common mistakes that small business owners make in their digital marketing strategy, and how not to fall prey to them.

1. The Wrong Attitude

It may be tempting to get your name as far out there as possible with your first few campaigns, and get as many clicks as you can. After all, go big or go home, right? But, it’s far better to have a small but effective campaign, and be proactive when it comes to the conversions you do make, than waste money on a lot of clicks from curious but undesirable visitors.

While the point of a digital marketing campaign is to attract new customers, remember that the power lies in your hands. Don’t just ask people to shop with you or check out your stuff; show people why you’re the best at what you do. In the end, great content marketing comes down to three things; a high quality store or product, high quality copy, and a high quality potential customer base.

2. Not Knowing Your Stuff

When launching an ad campaign make sure you have a rough plan based on what you’d like to achieve, as well as your budget. How long your ad runs for, SEO keywords and where they appear in your ad, and whether you’d be prepared to scale the campaign during its run if everything goes well are all aspects to devote some thought to.

Once customers get to your site, this is your chance to prove that everything you claimed in your ad campaign is true, and retain them. An undeniably great sales funnel, or distinct call to action will help convert the customers that your ad brings in. Of course, superb web design is paramount, such as that created every single day by the experts at DLR Media, the Dundee web design agency.

3. Looking in the Wrong Places

When seeking out new customers, you cannot simply wait for them to come to you. Natural traffic to your site is a great way to glean what brought people there in the first place, whether it be quality content, unbeatable prices, or great SEO, so you can do more of it. However, your site is unlikely to grow at a desirable pace in this way.

But targeted ads are a little more expensive, so you need to put ads in the right places in order to attract and convert the right people. Honing your brand niche, knowing the kind of customers you want on your site, and finding the perfect places to advertise are great ways to get around this. For example, if you sell luxury products, finding a high-end luxury blog to post a product review is a perfect, affordable option.

4. Not Monitoring Conversion or Leads

Likes and follows are beneficial in the long-term for a desirable brand image, but these things alone won’t make your digital marketing campaign a success. It’s always nice to be noticed, and your ad could even go viral, but if it’s not bringing in new customers then it hasn’t done its job.

Conversion doesn’t have to mean customers move directly from your ad to making a purchase. But it may mean that they browse and bookmark your site, join your mailing list, or even get in contact with your team. Bringing potential customers one step closer to making a purchase is what conversion is all about, so make sure to keep your eye on it to assess whether your ad is doing what it’s supposed to.

5. Brushing Off Mishaps

If your first or second try at a digital marketing campaign didn’t bring in the results you needed, then why? Did you get impressions but not enough interactions, and need to reassess where your ads are placed? Did you get likes but not enough clicks, and need to work on your calls to action? Did you get clicks but no purchases, and need to give your site design a revamp?

There is no better time than when things go wrong to work out how you can perfect your next online marketing campaign. So many small business owners brush an unsuccessful marketing campaign off as the luck of the draw, but there are always ways to actively improve. As always, thorough preparation is key, and if you can find a way to one-up your last digital marketing attempt, then you’re on the right track.