8 TIPS TO SAVE YOUR BUSINESS

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This is just solid marketing advice you can take with you. Come back any time, it's free! Here's tips from me & Entrepreneur's, Brian Sutter.

As marketing pros, we never like to see money lost to wasted marketing. Many business owners inadvertently waste much of their budget on misused or ineffective tactics and tools. To help you cut waste and boost success in 2016, here's a list of the eight most common businesses mistakes & what you can do turn those losses into gains. Here's a quick explainer video for you.

10 LAWS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

8 WAYS TO SAVE YOUR BUSINESS & YOUR AD BUDGET

1) Using social media to build a following

Social media is great, but too many small businesses dive in with no better strategy than to “build a following.”

Brian recommends using your current social media investments to build your email list. Start collecting your followers’ email addresses so you can communicate with them directly.

I recommend incorporating an interactive component like a unique promotion or a contest that asks consumers to become part of your company. Try interacting with your audience not talking at them.

2) Expecting too much too soon

The solution? Expect a two-year ramp-up period. If that seems impossible, use careful advertising to get the marketing engine warmed up then complement that with as much content as you can afford to create and promote.

3) Not understanding your audience

If you don’t understand your customers, you might as well donate your marketing budget to charity.

The whole point of your marketing is to reach your audience. You need to KNOW who they are. You need to understand and interact in their world.

4) Not knowing how you’ve attracted your mega-customers

You need to know which marketing tactics and content are bringing in your most valuable customers. The top 20 percent of your customers probably account for at least half your revenue.

5) Doing big one-time ad campaigns

There are plenty of cool marketing tactics to try. Some of them work great, but most do not especially if you haven't built in the proper components.

6) You aren’t tracking your marketing well enough

Brian says there’s a lot of confusion around Google’s pay-per-click advertising platform. I love AdWords, and I find it to be a very effective marketing tool.

7) You’re trying to do too much

As small businesses, we’ve got limited resources. We can’t be on every social platform, publish content everywhere, or try every shiny marketing trick that comes along. Focus on REALLY knowing your audience and using the social media platforms they like.

8) You haven’t adjusted your marketing strategy in years

Marketing evolves fast these days. While I just told you to focus on what works, I also recommend trying a couple new things every year.