3 Avoidable Marketing Mistakes That Can Easily Derail Your Brand

What does your brand stand for?

Before you compose a Facebook message or send an email, defining why people should care about your brand is a question that can’t go unanswered.

Because good marketing messages aren’t composed of a laundry list of features.

Convincing marketing messages derive from a brand that knows their worth and can confidently communicate why people should engage with them.

But in the rush to market “stuff”, many neglect to highlight “substance.”

Avoiding these three marketing mistakes is crucial to developing a thriving brand presence and maintaining the overall health of your brand.

1. Not taking the time for discovery.

Many companies think of marketing as just something to do. Post to social media – check. Send out Monday morning email – check. They want to get it done so that they can get back to “serious” business.

But marketing your business is serious business. The advent of digital marketing has made this exchange of value instantaneous. Without a purpose or plan, your marketing is hollow. And it’s just a matter of time before it caves in.

To build up your core, you have to do some soul searching. Discovery is where your marketing starts. It includes self-assessment and audits, as well as external research, like interviews and focus groups.

2. Doing marketing tactics without the benefit of marketing strategy.

Social media, e-newsletters, podcasts, blogs, and the like may be marketing, but without something to tie them back to, you’ll struggle to see the results you want.

The activities above are what we call marketing tactics. They are the things we can point to that enable us to reach a particular marketing goal. Marketing strategy drives which tactics you’ll use.

Different goals will require different strategies. If you want to build your email list, for example, you may consider developing content that requires the reader to enter their email address to download. Or you may use MailChimp’s Subscribe app to collect email addresses via your mobile device while onsite at your next conference.

On social, if you want to attract customers while they’re near your business, you may consider creating a local awareness Facebook ad.

You won’t know what you need until you have a good idea of what you want to accomplish.

3. Being cheap, trying to manage your marketing yourself.

As with anything of value, there is a cost. But for some reason, as important as marketing is to the life of a brand, some businesses aren’t willing to make an investment in it. So they try to do it on their own.

But digital marketing has opened up a myriad of no or low costs marketing options. Anyone can self-publish content. Open access to these publishing tools has created a glut of content that has made it harder to get through the noise.

You many need help; someone who can be all in when it comes to marketing your brand. From strategy to online community management, content writing to analytics, consider bringing in marketing talent that is just as focused on the “why” as they are on the “how” of things.

Yes, it will cost you. But there’s a cost to free as well, and your brand will pay the highest price for it.

The takeaway.

A large part of marketing is trial and error. But there are a few things in marketing we can control, such as our actions. Don’t get caught up in the hype of the latest marketing trend. You do need to stay current, but you also need to stay relevant. And that starts by knowing your brand and setting goals. Then use the appropriate tactics to help you reach your goals.