We’ve made it to the end of the year! This means that a lot of people are getting ready to launch into the new year and they are looking to get their marketing either started or upgraded. Whenever people start buzzing about marketing, there are always a few marketing myths that pop up. Some of them I hear all the time!
I can’t tell you how many times I run into people that have these myths on the tip of their tongue. The reality is, if you learned or believe any of these myths, know that you are putting the stability and growth of your business on the line by believing them.
Now, when I say “a few,” really, I mean A LOT. There are A LOT of marketing myths out there and some of them are seriously KILLING your business. There are so many marking myths that are negatively impacting your business that I’m going to break this down into two posts.
Here are the first Four Marketing Myths that are Killing Your Business!
Marketing Myth #1 – When Done Well, All You Really Need to Focus on is Social Media
Fun fact: as of 2021, over 3.7 billion people worldwide are active on social media? I can hear you right now saying that statistics should tell you that social media can grow your business. And you’re right, it can and it does. The danger here is the idea that you ONLY need social media to market your business.
The fact of the matter is the social media platforms own your content on their sites and more importantly, they own your audience. You, my friend, are just renting space. None of the information that you post on social media is yours, once you post it. That platform now controls who sees it and when they see it.
What does this mean for you? That means that at any point, any social media platform can decide to shut down your account without any notice. Then you lose access to all that content and, more importantly, to your audience.
This leaves your business vulnerable. You need to have another way to communicate with your audience.
Trying to only use social media to grow and scale your business is a BIG mistake. You should absolutely be on social media, however, you want to use it as just one means of marketing. Social media should be part of your integrated marketing strategy, it in and of itself is not a marketing strategy.
Marketing Myth #2 – Facebook Ads Are All I Need to Make Millions of Dollars.
Here’s the thing, marketing and advertising are not the same things at all. If you’re talking about your Facebook or LinkedIn ads, you are discussing the advertising portion of your marketing only.
Advertising is essential to a good marketing strategy, but it’s only half the battle. Ads go hand-in-hand with a variety of other marketing methods. Ultimately, you want to get customers interested in your brand and your lead magnet. Marketing is a multi-step process and should encompass every stage of the Dating Your Ideal Client method.
Look, I’m a Digital Marketer who specializes in driving traffic via paid social media ads and I know that marketing is a multi-layer effect. It generally takes seven to ten touches before someone is ready to buy from you.
So when you use ads in conjunction with your other marketing activities, you can quicken the pace of the connections and the speed at which someone goes from introduction to commitment. Ads are just one piece of a really effective marketing campaign.
Marketing Myth #3 – Marketing is Only to Acquire New Customers or Leads
Marketing is about so much more than just acquiring new leads or customers. It’s about building your brand, establishing yourself as the expert, and keeping the romance alive with your existing or past clients.
If your focus rests solely on collecting customers, they’ll leave as quickly as they came. It’s crucial to generate some level of lifetime value that you can offer your customers. Show that you’re still useful to them after their initial purchase. Incentivize them to engage with your brand and continue to refer people to your business.
Marketing Myth #4 – Marketing Will Get Results Right Away
This is the BIGGEST marketing myth in the books! So often business owners find themselves disappointed when their marketing efforts don’t create results immediately.
Unfortunately, this myth often has people giving up before they even really get started. So often I see coaches implementing one digital marketing tactic after another and giving up because they get discouraged when they don’t see immediate results. I get it, everyone wants instant gratification and to be able to see that their marketing efforts are making a difference immediately.
Digital marketing is more likely to produce results than traditional marketing, and it still takes time to get to that payoff. Marketing is a long game, it takes time, effort, and investment to create the results that you want.
Here’s the truth, even if you have amazing ads running, it can take months to crack a funnel, to find that message that gets people to buy every time. Remember that there is a process to marketing that when implemented correctly will result in success, however that success takes time and data to determine what is going to work best with your business and audience.