The beginning of the year always brings a wave of recommendations of what to do and expect from the new year. Tips, predictions, and trends flood newsfeeds and blogs this time of year, but they rarely tell us what NOT to do in order to keep our marketing efficient. Since the best way of learning is through our mistakes, today we will talk about 3 recommendations of marketing practices to avoid in 2020.
Trying to go viral
For marketers, it’s a common dream for at least one piece of content to go viral. Going viral is like winning the lottery, you just need one chance to make it and gain the attention of thousands of people overnight. Those chances are hard to come by, and often times can end up being a counterproductive and costly mistake by gaining the wrong types of attention and sometimes even alienating consumers. Instead of aspiring for virality, it’s better to create and implement a well-rounded strategy that is more likely to generate high-quality results in the long run. In this case, slow and steady definitely wins the race.
Having all of the answers
According to Business2Community, another mistake that brands made in 2019 are presenting themselves as experts of things unrelated to their brand. This has become a common occurrence with brands or businesses that try to join the corporate responsibility bandwagon by taking a stand on social movements in their marketing content or campaigns. If not executed properly, advocating for or against these movements can come off as aggressive and sometimes even fake.
Now, we’re not saying that as a brand you shouldn’t support social causes. Everyone can have an opinion, and customers appreciate brands that do. But brands should not pretend to have all the facts or answers to the world’s problems, let alone impose them on the consumer. Instead, if your brand is going to support a cause, it’s more important to ask the right questions and create awareness or conversation on the topic, than impose solutions.
Another recommendation is to genuinely support said causes. Another mistake that brands make is to support a cause with a hidden agenda, often times to give an impression of morality. In the end, actions speak louder than words and now more than ever, consumers value transparency. They can tell when a brand is advocating out of convenience, whether it be to stay relevant or to please a certain group of consumers, or if the support is genuine.
Focusing on Trends
The digital world is quickly and constantly changes. There’s always a new platform, a new type of campaign, or a new tool to consider. With so much novelty and competition, if you’re not following trends, it’s easy to feel like your brand is falling behind. There’s no doubt following trends can offer big opportunities for marketers, but not every trend needs to be followed. Because of this Business2Comunity recommends not falling in the trap of following trends that are not worth your investment. Instead, rely on the tried-and-true basics of marketing as a foundation, and only use trends that align with your business goals. Remember, following trends can help you stay relevant, but relevancy isn’t everything.
This 2020, start off with the right foot by considering these 3 recommendations on what practices to avoid.
Source: business2community.com