Mediaboss Marketing

Our Internet marketing agency has been around since 1997, and over the course of time weve heard it all and seen it all when it comes to assessing failed marketing campaigns. I polled our sales and account management teams, and arrived at a very strong consensus that the five items that follow are by far the most common reasons why online marketing fails.

Our competitors are on Facebook, so we need to be, too is not a reason to launch a social media campaign. Neither is a vague interest in increasing website traffic or getting more leads. A clearly defined goal sounds something like this: We want to increase SEO-generated validated website leads by 20% over the next 18 months. A goal like this is specific, time-sensitive, measureable, and meaningful.

Just because a goal is measurable doesnt mean its meaningful. Organizations get tripped up by gearing their campaigns to improve the wrong data. Most common culprits:

The worst day of any Internet marketing campaign is the first day. Only by testing various campaign elementscontent, offers, images, keywords, etc.does a campaign become more productive and efficient. But testing cannot be whimsical; it must be methodical and properly executed. If a company uses poor testing methods, its rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. If a company doesnt test at all, and puts the campaign on autopilot, a crash landing is inevitable.

Failing to adequately budget campaigns is probably the most common of these five pitfalls. Ive written about under-budgeting frequently, including here and here. The temptation to get something for nothing is always alluring; in addition, many companies dont fully appreciate the complexity and scope of an online campaign with even a modest goal.

Successful companies are always on the lookout for better ideas. This spirit must drive online marketing efforts: If a company gets in a rut with, say, email marketing and SEO, it may never realize PPC or social media is a more cost-efficient and effective means of driving leads and revenue. Smart companies dont merely dabble in new marketing methods; they instead systematically budget, deploy resources, and evaluate results.

How does your company score? If youve avoided all of these errors, you are definitely on the right track. If youre guilty on all counts, at least now you have a game plan for making major improvements. And finally, if you are doing 3/5 or 4/5 properly, then you may be only a few small tweaks away from terrific success.

The rest is here:
These 5 Mistakes Are Why Your Online Marketing Is Failing - AllBusiness.com