Inconsistent brands. Abandoned blogs. Outdated websites. Mixed media messaging. Sporadic social media updates. These are the things that keep marketers up at night – and some of the spooky marketing mistakes that reduce ROI. In a fast-paced world where content and messaging pass by at a jarring rate, brands have a finite amount of time to capture and engage their audiences. Follow these best practices to keep these ghoulishly unsettling marketing missteps at bay.
Dust the cobwebs off your website
It’s amazing how quickly websites can become outdated. Today, conducting an annual website audit is considered a best practice. Scrubbing your website each year helps to ensure not only brand consistency, but that the most timely and relevant information is taking the lead. As you’re going through the audit process, be mindful of how the user experience could be improved and what you can do to enhance the site’s search-friendliness. For more information on scrubbing your website content, click here.
Take a broom to your branding
As you dust the cobwebs off of your website, you’ll also want to sweep away anything that is spurring an inconsistent brand. Brands are living, breathing organisms that grow, change and evolve. The brand you built when your company launched a few decades ago may not be an accurate reflection of the company that you have become.
As a first step in this process, look at colors, fonts and messaging. Do the colors on your website match your business cards and presentation templates? Is the mission statement on your brochure aligned with the boilerplate on your press releases? When you watch your spokespeople on TV and read their interviews in print, are the ‘who we are,’ ‘what we do,’ and ‘why it matters’ aligned? A consistent brand is among a company’s greatest assets so take the time to keep yours in-check.
Share some social treats
When social media channels are updated sporadically, it can be challenging to cultivate a loyal and highly engaged following. Similarly, when the same content is shared across all channels, engagement also tends to dwindle. If you want your social media audiences to remain loyal and engaged, you need to share some treats from time to time. Think opportunities to be part of an exclusive meet-and-great with a featured guest/speaker, early access for event registration, access to unique experiences, out-of-the-box video content, etc.
Keep the costumes in the closet
Sometimes mash-ups are a win-win. Think for-profit/non-profit partnerships, like-minded organizations forming coalitions and strategic alliances, and the cronut. When it comes to maintaining a consistent brand, mash-ups can, at times, lead to confusion. While it can be tempting to stretch your brand to try to capture increased market share, you need to remain authentic at all times. If you excel at serving B2B companies in the tristate area, own that position of strength. You wouldn’t wear gym attire to a cocktail party in an attempt to stand out from the crowd and you shouldn’t try to dress your brand up as something it isn’t just to try and nab audiences’ attention.
Turn the blog lights back on
An outdated blog can lend the impression that a company or cause is no longer in business. When someone is searching for information about your organization, and/or its products and services, it is critical that they have access to up-to-date information. And, one of the best ways for people to find that information, is through a content-rich and consistently updated blog. A blog is also a great tool for demonstrating industry expertise and generating fresh content to share in email marketing and on social media. As with your website, you’ll want to tidy up any broken links and ensure brand messaging is consistent at all times.
A strong marketing program that blends research and creativity can help brands to increase market share, bolster audience engagement, and enhance expert positioning. When you keep the monsters and ghosts of marketing missteps at bay, you can realize a consistent and powerful marketing program that is aligned with your overall business strategy and consistently yields ROI.
