What's Wrong With My Marketing?

In the day and age of social media and digital communications, nearly everyone fancies themselves a marketer. And I suppose that in some ways, everyone is - we're marketing our personal brands: our roles as parents, leaders, authorities and whatever else is hot at the moment. We share our company's marketing content across social networks. We chime in with something cool we saw on YouTube and suggest our company do something similar.

But not all marketing is created equal. While something may work for an Instagram influencer, it likely won't have the same success for a B2B company, for example. Yet, here are five things to check in your marketing that can apply to just about any brand:

1. You're too self centered. Social media has brought out the narcissist in a lot of us, but that doesn't mean focusing on just your company and products will engage an audience. Sure, it may work for Kim Kardashian, but it's not likely to work for your security product in the same way, unless you intersperse other helpful and informative information in between your company and product updates. Your content needs to be about your audience and their needs and wants, not just about you. In addition, you can no longer expect your audience to come to your properties - you have to reach out where they are, across multiple networks.
2. You lack visuals. Even a B2B brand can and should be using imagery in their social media. Tools like Canva make it very easy to create unique, branded images.
3. You haven't jumped on the video bandwagon. Hubspot reports that 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service by way of video, and that 88% of video marketers report that video gives them a positive ROI. Video can be simple and inexpensive - anything from your CEO speaking to a smartphone camera, to product or program overviews, man on the street videos interviewing people at a conference, or more complex pieces like explainer videos. People tend to engage with and share video more than text-only content, so it's a crucial component to smart marketing.
4. You're not involving your customers. I'm sure what you have to say is very interesting, but third parties are always more credible, especially if they're your customers. People want to hear from people like themselves, which is why social media influencers are so popular now. And, brand trust is a fickle thing. However, people tend to trust friends and even a friend's network who they don't personally know or, heck, other reviewers (even strangers) on Yelp or Trip Advisor - more than they trust brands. Get your fans talking and sharing for you!
5. You're not analyzing. It still surprises me when I speak to prospects who are not measuring their marketing or PR in any form. Marketing well is not inexpensive, so don't you want to know your ROI? We worked with three new clients this last year that didn't have anything set up - not even Google Analytics. Reviewing your analytics on Facebook or Linkedin isn't enough - you must track ROI around what matters most to the brand, such as purchase intent and sales - not likes and follows.  And, the numbers don't mean much if you're not analyzing what is happening behind them. Where are your fans and followers finding you? How long are they staying? Where do they prefer to engage and in what way? What's their buyer journey look like? What content is really driving prospects to the top of the funnel? What content is working with which audience? These are all elements that will supercharge your marketing and differentiate you as a true marketer.

Following these five basic guidelines can help you stand out as a marketer and continually get better. Just like the phone, social media channels don't make everyone a good communicator just because they have access. It takes strategy, thoughtful presence and consistency to do marketing right.