Marketing Mistakes to Avoid in 2023

Take control of your digital marketing and avoid these seven mistakes that many businesses make. Stop falling behind and get ahead of your competition.

In the year ahead, avoid these 7 digital marketing mistakes

If you make the mistakes below, your hard-earned progress will be undone. Let us help you avoid this. To be successful with digital marketing, you need a detailed, thoughtfully executed plan.

The digital world is perhaps more important than any other for knowing what not to do as well as implementing what you should.

#1 - Failure to identify your overall marketing objective

It's not easy to maintain successful digital marketing efforts. More importantly, business owners risk wasting money and other resources when they do not set clear objectives, strategies, and tactics.

In order to reach your goals and your team's goals, all of your marketing efforts will be in support of them. For instance, if your goal is to become the number one service provider of “widgets” in the area, you'll need to devise a well-defined strategy for reaching it. If one of your objectives is to surpass your competitor in sales, you may consider promoting store-wide sales or creating loyalty programs to achieve that objective. Your target audience will be informed about these perks via social media, Google Ads, and emails sent to existing customers to encourage repeat purchases.

To achieve the overall marketing goal, define your goals, objectives, and strategies in specific terms and assign tasks to each team member.

You should remember that tactics are tools. For example, social media is a fantastic tool that can support a variety of marketing objectives, but if used improperly, it will seem as though it has wasted your time and money. The message, frequency, and creatives will all play an important role in determining how your marketing efforts are received by your audience. Plan and adjust accordingly.

Be prepared to make adjustments if necessary to achieve better results by deciding the metrics you will use to measure the success of your efforts.

#2 - Not clearly defining your target persona

Understanding that not everyone will be interested in your business/service is important. And that's okay.

A digital marketer who successfully develops detailed target personas. You must write a very detailed biography of your ideal customer/client (that could be based on a past customer or something you have conjured). Then all content, social media, and email marketing campaigns are written in response to that target persona.

When you create target personas, you can target your messaging toward the people most likely to convert. It does not matter how many likes, or email leads you to have.

As an example, your target audience may consist of men 40-60 who are interested in fitness, since they share many of the same demographics as your target persona. You might consider Blake as your target persona. He works at a law firm, enjoys working out five days a week, and believes that investing in himself is the best investment he can make. Marketing collateral can be tailored to meet the needs, preferences, and styles of your target personas when you know who they are.

Businesses can lose out if they cast too wide a net. Spending money or resources on irrelevant or uninterested audiences can have negative effects on their other activities.

#3 - Not having a social media and content strategy

Setting goals and identifying metrics for success is one thing, but creating engaging content and establishing your business as a trusted supplier/partner is another. One of the biggest mistakes we see in digital marketing is the set-it-and-forget-it approach. Launching a website is only the beginning of your digital marketing journey, not the end. To maintain your online presence, you need to create helpful content consistently.

A blog can increase your SEO ranking, allowing you to reach a wider customer base. We encourage all business owners to write for their audience and for search engine optimization at the same time. The publication of relevant case studies that demonstrate the benefits or usefulness of a product or service is worthwhile for some businesses.

The goal should be to create content that adds value to your viewers and that will resonate with those in your target audience. Take advantage of the engagement opportunities that can come from social media. Your audience will likely leave a comment if it resonates with them. Respond to that comment. This opens up an excellent opportunity to continue the conversation and/or to support the business of commenting (if appropriate). Engage with your audience in a positive way whenever possible.

Your brand will be more successful if you keep this in mind as you build it.

#4 - Assuming the needs of your users

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, some companies may have adjusted their sails. Others may have built a strong rapport with a new customer demographic in order to incorporate changes. Continually investigating the needs of your current and target audiences can be very beneficial to your business.

Consider asking existing customers what their pain points are. You may discover new opportunities for improvement by asking them how you can help solve those problems.

#5 - E-mail is not incorporated into marketing efforts

Marketing with email is the process of mailing your audience and customers. It helps boost conversions and revenue by delivering valuable information to help them achieve their own goals.

When done correctly, email marketing yields an average return on investment of $36 for every $1 spent. Despite being overlooked, email marketing is still an effective digital marketing tool that can help you achieve your business goals. Resolving this digital marketing mistake is easy.

As we enter the post-pandemic era, marketers are sending 27% more emails than before the COVID outbreak.

Here are some email marketing benefits and use cases:

In exchange for a helpful piece of content (sent via email), use a lead capture system to entice subscribers to provide their contact information.
Develop and foster relationships with new and existing customers/clients.
Promote and market your products.
Keep your company on top of your mind and increase brand awareness.
Email marketing is ranked as the third most effective marketing channel by 79% of marketers according to HubSpot.

#6 - Not using user-generated content

In simple terms, user-generated content, or UGC is social proof. It shows that your users are satisfied with your products, services, staff, or other aspects of your business.

In addition to posting on social media, writing blog posts, sending proposals, and e-mail marketing campaigns, business owners can include positive social proof on their websites. UGC has inherent power, which means it makes it easier for business owners to ask future customers to share their positive experiences on popular rating sites like Google, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor, or industry-specific platforms like OpenTable.

#7: Not utilizing E-commerce to sell online

In spite of the fact that this mistake doesn’t happen as often as it once did, websites with products that don’t offer online payment options are losing out on income. Hard stop. The majority of consumers will search for an alternative source of products/services if they are required to call or email a business.

The process of making a payment should be as frictionless as possible for a customer since sales are crucial to a business's survival. In 2022, consumers expect an easy process of purchasing and paying.

82 percent of Americans now use digital payments, an increase from 72% five years ago, according to McKinsey & Company. There is increasing interest in new areas like "buy now, pay later" and cryptocurrency as well.

It is becoming more popular to choose the "buy now, pay later" option. A McKinsey & Company survey indicates 29 percent would have made a smaller purchase or not purchased at all without the financing option. Another 39 percent say BNPL was a substitute for a credit card, and another 31 percent said it was a substitute for a debit card or cash.

When considering SEO, businesses using an e-commerce option on their own website will see the best results Since product information is indexed by search engines, it gives 'juice' to their entire website.

Aside from Amazon, eBay, and Etsy, there are also other online purchasing options. Don't forget Facebook/Instagram as well.

Regardless of which solution you choose for your business, make it easy for your customers to purchase.

Final thoughts

These seven digital marketing mistakes will put you at a competitive advantage in 2023 if you wish to grow your business. Monitor your results to determine what is working and what isn't now that you're focusing on the right things. Adjust as needed. The right approach leads to more website traffic, more engagement, more conversions, and more sales, right? That's what we're trying to achieve, isn't it?

Got questions? Visit us @ www.sirkle.com and we’re happy to help.