4 Steps to avoid a marketing nightmare

June 24, 2010 | Posted by Carolyn Pikoulas
Advertising has changed much in the past decade with the rise of the Internet, Web 2.0 and mobile technology. That also means that the amount of seminars, webinars, podcasts, and how-to web videos are saturating the marketplace. The problem is, people are starting to get the idea that the means of advertising is more important than the message itself. While the outlets for marketing and advertising have (arguably) improved, the importance of the message has somewhat fallen by the wayside.

The thought of marketing in all of today's available outlets can be overwhelming. It's hard to know where to start, especially if you're a new business. Here are some steps, so you can wade through the snake oil salesmen and create truly successful campaigns:

1. Figure out who you are and who you're trying to reach. Understand your customers' world and how they consume media. Formulate a marketing plan that best reaches your target market. This may include a combination of traditional (outbound) and non-traditional (inbound) marketing strategies.
2. There will always be new tools and new "specialists" popping up over the years to come. But understand that these tools are not the same as having a strong marketing or branding strategy. People who drive excitement around "the next cool thing" do not really grasp how to use the tool well in a comprehensive branding strategy.
3. Budgets are much smaller these days, that's for sure. A small business faced with either paying its employees or creating an elaborate marketing campaign will always choose to pay its employees (I would hope). But the Internet gives us the opportunity to market cheaply, create more targeted campaigns, and often achieve better ROI results than traditional marketing outlets. So, if you must decide between spending $5,000 a month in print advertising or $5,000 on your website, the wiser choice would be your website.
4. Don't forget that just because blogging, social media, and Internet marketing are low-cost or even free, the time it takes to update and measure results takes an awful lot of time. And time is money. Nevertheless, creativity is still the driving force behind a successful campaign. Without it, the message becomes ineffective and all the work will be in vain.