5 Common Mistakes Businesses Make in Online Marketing - Part 1

Posted by: Nancy Lambert

Because online marketing is still fairly new in the scheme of things, constantly changing and evolving, many businesses are not sure what to do to maximize their online success. Or they simply don’t understand the importance of having a strong, positive online image in today’s marketing environment. Either way, the results can be devastating for a company’s future.

This article is Part One (1) of a Five (5) part series on the most common mistakes businesses make in online marketing.

Mistake #1 - The Kevin Costner Approach to Online Marketing

The first mistake is the “build a website and they will come” approach. This is where businesses naively believe that just because they have a website on the Internet, they will be found by hundreds or thousands of qualified prospects who are all dying to do business with them.

This type of business quickly becomes discouraged by their lack of results and determines that the Internet and online marketing space is simply hype and not all that it’s cracked up to be.

However, this is the same approach that a business owner would take if they decided to open a store front but never put out a sign or advertise their business. Their results would be just as disastrous. Most business owners understand that concept - you just have to understand that it’s the same thing on the Internet.

You must be willing to develop an online strategy and put together online marketing plans and digital campaigns using proven marketing tools such as search marketing, social media, and online video.

Understanding how to pull together a successful plan and implementing it for maximum ROI is another issue though that some businesses think they understand but really don’t. But that will be covered next month in Part 2!

Bottom line, working with a professional Interactive Agency like Xcellimark can mean the difference of simply throwing money at some type of online presence with little to no results or building a web strategy and marketing plan that sets you up for great success.