The 5 Myths About Marketing You Need To Stop Believing Now!

There are certain beliefs that are so pervasive that they are often held as truths. These, if followed, can wreak havoc on a company’s marketing efforts. Here are 5 myths and how to avoid falling for them:

MYTH #1: Only large businesses need digital marketing.

FALSE!

Companies of all sizes benefit from a distinctive, compelling, and thoughtful online presence. A marketing plan that includes a comprehensive digital strategy will be a magnet for prospective customers and is a necessary branding awareness tool that any company needs to incorporate – no matter your revenue, number of employees, or geographic footprint. Once you have a plan, employing an agency, like Stellar Edge, that excels at all aspects of marketing in the digital sphere will prove a viable device to give your content strategy legs. Oh… and we can help with the plan too!

MYTH #2: If you build it, they will come.

FALSE!

This may have worked for Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams, but it seldom works in real life – especially when it comes to your website. A beautiful and functional website is just the beginning of the story. How will you get eyes on your website and compel visitors to act once they are there? A website should never work alone or be static, but rather it should be working in tandem with other initiatives and be continually updated to meet the growing market demands. Make sure you have a team that is skilled in all aspects of marketing to plan and execute this strategy. *cough* Stellar Edge *cough*

MYTH #3: SEO – set it and forget it.

There is a thought that you can do some initial search engine optimization when you build your site and you are done; it will continue to work for you, right?

FALSE!

SEO is an ever changing, almost a living thing. You need to continually analyze and adjust your strategies to be sure they are up to date with Google requirements. In these uncertain times, it is critically important to plant your SEO seeds now. Planning for future growth is important so that when the time comes you will have a strong foundation that will be well on its way to bearing the fruits of your labor. Nothing happens overnight, so you must be consistent. Planning and consistency allow for opportunity.

MYTH # 4: Negative reviews should be hidden at all costs.

FALSE!

This is something that has become all too common and is a death knell for companies who want to maintain truth and integrity. By allowing all comments good and bad to not only show, but be open for response, you show your audience that your company is committed to growth and making sure that problems are confronted and handled in a clear and transparent manner. By allowing only positive testimonials to be seen, you will sound insincere and people will not believe they are real.

MYTH #5: Social Media is only for sales.

FALSE!

Of course, you want to increase your revenue – that’s why most companies have an online presence. But beating someone over the head with your product is a huge turn off to most people and can cause you to lose more customers than you convert. Consider why you yourself go online. Not as a business owner, but as a consumer, and general all around nice person – to connect, to learn, and to find interesting content that adds value to your life. Notice “being inundated with ads” was not one of those reasons. Creating engaging content that allows your followers to connect, to learn, or to add value to their lives will generate a following that trusts you and wants to continue following you. Rather than focusing on the immediate sale, ask visitors to sign up for your newsletter or fill out a survey. A positive side effect? They may open their wallet when the time is right because NOW they trust you!

By implementing these 5 components into the next piece you write, you will be an effective blogger before you know it! Share the story of your next blog that goes viral – we would love to hear about it!