This Is How Small Businesses Waste Their Marketing Dollars
Wasting money on marketing is one of the biggest challenges facing small businesses. Money wasted on bad marketing campaigns is mostly money down the drain.
What’s more, even if you don’t get any tangible return, you can’t get that money back. It almost feels like gambling, but with really really bad odds.
So where are companies wasting their marketing dollars? And what can then do to stop hemorrhaging funds?
Paying For Facebook Advertising
In the past, it was relatively easy to get your business content in front of your target audience. You just made some great adverts or content. And then Facebook’s algorithm would put it in front of your audience if it thought it was appropriate.
But those days are now long gone. It’s extremely unlikely that businesses will get their content in front of Facebook users. As a result, they have to fork out for advertising, even to get their own content shown. It can be a nightmare.
The advice now from marketing experts is to sidestep Facebook ads entirely. Companies on Facebook should focus on building their mailing lists instead. Then they should approach their customers through direct methods, like an email campaign.
Failing To Optimize Adwords Campaigns
Getting your business noticed on Google can be tough, particularly in the beginning. The problem is that Google won’t rank your website until it’s sure that you’ll provide customers with a great online experience. Most companies, therefore, have to take out an Adwords campaign to get their business onto the first page of Google. Sometimes, this works, but it can come at a big cost.
What’s more, a lot of that expense is wasted. The statistics show that one in five Adwords managers haven’t reviewed their account in the last 30 days. Only around one in ten consistently work on their campaigns every week. It means that many companies are significantly overspending.
So what’s the solution? Well, one option is to get an Adwords audit. These audits delve into the detail of your account to make sure that you’re optimized for your target audience. Often companies with low click through rates are spending above the odds on their campaigns. Some can save as much as 25 percent on their total bill once their accounts are reviewed.
Pushing For A Single Big Marketing Effort
There’s advice all over the internet on launching big marketing campaigns. But are they a good idea? Sure, you could drop more than $10,000 into a single marketing effort. Companies launch events and spend thousands of dollar renting out facilities. Or they decide they want to go bold and start a TV advertising campaign with all the associated costs. But are those methods likely to yield the long-term returns you’ll need to make your business sustainable? Probably not.
Marketing for most small businesses needs to be consistent. Most will have a budget of $1,000 and stick to it. That’s about how much you’ll need to work out if your marketing strategy is effective or not.
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