7 Inbound Marketing Mistakes That Hinder Your Company's Growth

Roberto Mejia
by Roberto Mejia on September 25, 2013 in Strategy
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The rise of the Internet and the resulting transition to an inbound marketing model has created a massive, industry-wide case of on-the-job training. As marketers everywhere learn about inbound marketing methods, there are naturally a lot of mistakes being made and lessons being learned through trial and error.common mistakes

To help reduce that "error" part, here are some common inbound marketing mistakes to avoid from the start.

  • Lack of strategy. No matter what you are attempting, you need a plan that spells out what you want to accomplish and how you are going to accomplish it. Testing different methods can be part of the plan, as long as you also have strategies for measuring and evaluating your marketing efforts and determining when to change directions or pull the plug. 
  • Inconsistency. There are differences of opinion as to how often you should post new blog content or update various social media channels. However often you choose, the important thing is that you remain consistent. It does you no good to post lots of content and build up a following if you then abandon the channel for a few months. 
  • Not engaging with users. Inbound marketing is a very democratic model, where everyone has a voice--or, at least, they should. If you censor heavily and only allow positive comments, you will alienate many users and arouse legitimate suspicions in others. Similarly, not responding to comments or questions will indicate that your company is impersonal and doesn't really care about customers. 
  • Ignoring important channels. You want to be where your target audience is online. That doesn't mean you need to be on every social media network or rank for every keyword, but there will be important ones that you don't want to ignore. After all, the incremental cost of each additional channel online is going to be rather small.
  • Lacking calls to action. Inbound marketing starts with attracting prospective customers to your site's content. Successfully attracting visitors to your website does you little good, though, if you do not then convert them into leads and customers. Many website landing pages lack a clear call to action or provide no reason for a visitor to further engage with your company. Others have a call to action, but have no compelling offer or other reason for the visitor to act on that call. 
  • Not measuring results. Compared to traditional advertising and outbound marketing channels, inbound marketing provides a wealth of information about how effective each campaign, channel or piece of content really is. If you are not properly capturing such data and using it to improve your future efforts, you are missing out on one of the biggest benefits of inbound marketing. 
  • Not keeping up with changes. Inbound marketing does evolve rather rapidly. Search engines change their methods; social media empires rise and fall. The good news is, these changes affect everyone, and you can gain an advantage by being quicker and more willing to change with the times. But if you are not paying attention or are too fond of the status quo, your inbound marketing program can just as quickly get left behind.

Avoid these mistakes, and you will be well on your way to creating a successful inbound marketing program.

* Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

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Roberto Mejia

Roberto Mejia

While specializing in web development and inbound marketing, Roberto Mejia prides himself in always learning and improving as much as possible.