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Could your marketing be outdated, ineffective, or even harmful? Forbes.com columnist John Rampton recently featured several signs to watch for to know if your marketing is falling flat, including:<\/p>\n
1. You\u2019re ignoring inbound marketing.<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s not just about the advertisements in magazines or online. Inbound marketing focuses on providing customers with valuable content, instead of pushing out a specific message. \u201cInbound marketing has been proven to be far more effective than traditional advertising,\u201d Rampton writes.<\/p>\n Read more<\/strong>: Old School Marketing Strategies That Still Work<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n 2. You\u2019re using social media just because \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re using social media just because you think you are supposed to, you likely aren\u2019t seeing much benefit. Create a strategy beyond gathering followers.\u00a0Use it to promote your content, build a\u00a0community, and address any customer concerns or questions, Rampton writes. That said, don\u2019t use social media to just push your agenda or promote your listings<\/a> or blog posts; use it to engage.<\/p>\n 3. You fail to update your blog regularly.<\/strong><\/p>\n You don\u2019t need to contribute a new blog post every day but you should be blogging about one to three times a week, Rampton notes. If you\u2019re posting less than a month, you need to revisit why you even have a blog because you\u2019re not likely generating much traffic from it to make it worth it.<\/p>\n 4. You have not looked at your analytics in months.<\/strong><\/p>\n Everything in your marketing should be data-driven, Rampton stresses. Don\u2019t repeat the same mistakes over again by not looking at your analytics. Carefully evaluate what your data is telling you about you audience and about their likes and dislikes.\u00a0Check your website, email, and social media analytics at least once a week, Rampton says.<\/p>\n 5. You don\u2019t segment your audience.<\/strong><\/p>\n If you\u2019re trying to target everyone, you are\u00a0likely really targeting no one. Figure out who your ideal client is. Focus on attracting those consumers\u00a0with your marketing. \u201cOtherwise, you\u2019ll be wasting a lot of time and money on people who will never buy from you anyway,\u201d Rampton says.<\/p>\n 6. You do\u00a0not ranking high in the search engines.<\/strong><\/p>\n If your business name or your name isn\u2019t in the first few spots of the Google search rankings, you have a problem. If your competitors all outrank you, you have a big problem. Focus more on mastering SEO to get higher in the search rankings. This likely will mean more content building. Read: 6 Weeks to Better SEO<\/a> or 3 SEO Trends to Make You More Findable Online<\/a><\/p>\n 7. You create lots of content but little traction.<\/strong><\/p>\n Seventy-five percent of content gets zero links, and 50 percent gets two or less Facebook interactions, according to the site Moz. Get others to read your content. Rampton suggests a three-step plan: Research topics and issues your audience cares most about to use as the basis of your content; write high-quality and 1,200-plus word articles about those issues; and have a plan to promote your content via email and social media.<\/p>\n Source: \u201c15 Signs You Need to Be Better at Marketing<\/a>,\u201d Forbes.com (Feb. 4, 2017)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n [ad_2]\n
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