3 Bad Marketing Habits That Are Costing You Customers (and Money)

Content marketing is such a simple, straightforward strategy that many business owners don’t recognize its importance. Sharing relevant, helpful, and engaging content on your website, blog, and social media can do wonders for your search engine ranking and website traffic. 

The bad habit of overlooking content marketing happens in a couple of ways.  Some business owners neglect it altogether, leaving their websites with little to know useful content and their blogs and social media feeds completely empty. Others may toss up a few generic blog posts that are bloated with keywords but no useful information, never publishing fresh material, and expect some sort of result. 

In either case, the power of content marketing is being wasted. 

Despite what you may think, keeping your blog and social media updated with fresh content does not require a huge time investment.  The key is sharing content your customers want. Tell your customers about the latest trends in your field, answer frequently asked questions, or simply share a story about an interesting or unique project you’ve done. 

2. Relying Solely on “Free” Marketing 

Unpaid marketing tactics, like search engine optimization (SEO,) are a crucial tool in your marketing toolbox. But it shouldn’t be your only tool. All too often, business owners fall into the bad habit of assuming SEO is enough to adequately market their company. In reality, this is rarely the case. 

In fact, data has shown time and time again that SEO works best alongside paid marketing strategies, like PPC. 

Sure, it’s easy to do the keyword research, create a fully optimized website, and then never think about it again. But in the end, you’re leaving a wide swath of untapped leads with this strategy. 

Once you're comfortable with your unpaid marketing strategy, learn how paid marketing can bridge the gap and help you achieve your overall marketing goals by generating more leads. 

3. Neglecting Your Paid Marketing Campaigns  

This bad habit is an unfortunate byproduct of the one above. You’ve learned the importance of paid marketing and you set up your first PPC campaign and then... you forget it. You leave it to run on its own, steadily eating away at your marketing budget. 

Neglecting your paid marketing campaigns not only costs you leads and customers as the campaign loses effectiveness, it also costs you real marketing dollars as you continue to pay for ads that may or may not be successful. 

PPC campaigns and similar paid marketing methods require ongoing maintenance.  This includes identifying keywords and keeping them up-to-date, researching and updating your negative keywords, and ensuring your bid amounts and budget are appropriate. In short, PPC campaigns need your regular attention. 

Break Your Bad Marketing Habits 

Get into a set routine that involves creating new content, checking your SEO stats, and doing maintenance on your PPC campaign.  Do this on a regular basis.  Block off some time on your calendar and make it a priority.  Remember, your marketing campaign will only be as successful as the work you're willing to put into it. Plus, your business deserves the opportunity to thrive with robust marketing behind it. 

Looking to break free of your bad marketing habits but not sure where to start?  Locallogy can help!