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Are You Guilty of these Online Marketing Flubs?
The Sprocket Report
Maybe it’s due to depression from the season’s shorter days, but we saw a slew of oopsies in folk's online marketing over the last week. Read on to learn from others’ mistakes rather than making your own.
Mistakes often happen because we’re doing too much in too little time. The T’s don’t always get crossed and I’s are frequently left un-dotted. Unfortunately, that means a messed-up marketing message which can be, at best, ineffectual and at worst, downright harmful. Here are the flubs we saw this past week:
Oops: The email message was attractive and well laid out, but didn’t have any active links to learn more. The only option was a “Reply” email, a big step to take after just one contact.
Fix: Links to “Learn More” about the sender and this specific offering would help move recipients along the Know - Like - Trust - Buy funnel.
Oops: The web page had high-end graphics and a sophisticated interactive design, but the cool effects and pop-ups revealed Latin text filler and placeholders.
Fix: Walk through your website as if you are your own customer to catch overlooked mistakes. If you’re rushing to publish, ask your developer to hide parts you haven’t had the chance to polish up yet.
Oops: The email told a great story that begged to be shared on social media. Unfortunately, there was no “View Online” option to generate a URL for sharing.
Fix: Most email marketing platforms have a “View in Browser” or “Webpage Version” option that can be turned on when setting up your campaign. Giving a URL makes it easier for folks to share your news with their social media circles.
Oops: In addition to the marketing message, the email included instructions on how to create a marketing message.
Fix: Templates are a huge time-saver, but always, always proofread. Before scheduling your email to go to your list, send a copy to yourself first to make sure it looks exactly the way you expect it will.
Oops: The Facebook post said to “Learn More” about an event by clicking this link. But when we clicked it, we got a long list of past events and we gave up looking for the one we were interested in.
Fix: Give every event or news item its own web page rather than forcing your reader to scroll past a bunch of unrelated posts to find the one they want. Then when you share the link on social media, interested readers get instant gratification instead of instant irritation.
To err is, of course, only human. But it’s also human to strive for improvement. If you’re making more than your share of online marketing errors because you’re overworked, it’s time to let us take on that burden. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you.
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Kate Gingold
I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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