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There are tons of marketing blogs on the internet, all sharing tips and best practices for digital marketing. But not everyone who writes about marketing is an expert.
With so much information out there, how do you know which advice to trust and which to ignore?
We’re here to help! In this article, we’ll uncover some of the worst pieces of marketing advice you should absolutely avoid in 2024. By steering clear of these online marketing mistakes, you can focus your time and effort on strategies that truly make a difference.
Plus, we’ll also share some effective marketing strategies you can get started with.
Let’s dive in and make sure you’re not wasting time on outdated or ineffective advice marketing.
5 marketing tips you need to stop following
Here are five pieces of marketing advice you should definitely NOT follow in 2024. First up…
1. You need to be active on every single social network
Social media marketing is an important part of online marketing. It gives you a great opportunity to reach your target audience or promote your brand. But there’s a big misconception that your business has to be on every single social network.
Not every social media site is right for every business. Monitor your engagement and stop wasting time and money on social media sites and platforms that don’t work for you.
Here’s an example: Statistics show that roughly 85% of Pinterest users are female.
So it doesn’t make sense to be active on Pinterest if your target audience and your customers are 50-year-old men. However, if your business focuses on fashion or beauty products, there are plenty of ways to use Pinterest to boost engagement.
Find the right networks and set goals for your engagement. Instagram can be a great starting point for any small business because it has a huge audience. Bear in mind that doesn’t guarantee that they will be the most engaging social media sites for you.
Ask yourself: Where is my audience? Where are they searching for information? And then, do some research and experiment.
There’s no rule of thumb that works for every business. By testing different social media marketing platforms and posts, you can learn what works best for your business.
To get started, check out this infographic from Shopify showing the most popular social media marketing platforms in 2024:
2. Email marketing is dead
“Email marketing is dead.”
I’m sure you’ve heard this one before, many people have been saying this for years. It goes in waves, first people say it’s dead, then it’s alive, then it’s dead again.
The truth is, email marketing is not dead. In fact, it’s constantly evolving as marketers create more targeted email campaigns. There are a number of email marketing platforms for using personalization and automation workflows to improve your results.
According to one ecommerce study, segmented and targeted emails generated up to 58% of revenue. Welcome emails, follow-up emails, cart recovery emails, and more can be used to engage your customers and visitors to your site.
Email marketing can be one of your best channels to increase sales when used effectively. We even wrote an article on how automated email marketing can grow your sales.
Here are some more statistics that prove email marketing is very much alive:
- 55% of companies generate more than 10 percent of their sales from email. (Source: Email is not dead)
- Email Marketing was the biggest marketing channel on Black Friday, driving 25.1% of all transactions. (Source: Custora)
- 89% of marketers said that email was their primary channel for lead generation. (Source: Mailigen)
- Email notifications about abandoned carts have a 40.5% open rate. (Source: HubSpot)
3. You should buy email lists
When it comes to your time, buying an email list is much easier than building one, and that’s true.
But think about it: those recipients have never heard of you or your company, so why would they open your email?
Quite often your message will pass through the email blacklist and be marked as spam and it will have a negative effect on your reputation. Not to mention the fact that you had to pay for it.
The best practice is to send emails to people who actually want to hear from you. There are plenty of options to build a great email list that will help your business. You can set up a special landing page for your newsletter subscription or just place it on your homepage.
When you offer deals and discounts to people who subscribe, people are more likely to sign up.
Another proven tactic is to offer a free eBook or white paper to encourage people to subscribe. If you don’t have an eBook, you can offer another giveaway. Most importantly, make sure it is something that has real value for your audience.
OptiMonk is another great option to build an email list of people who are interested in your business. You can create a popup that asks people to sign up for your list right before they leave your site.
Check out the example here that uses a simple form to request only the email address of the visitor.
Here are some popup templates that will help to build your email list quickly:
4. Don’t personalize
This is some of the worst marketing advice you will ever hear.
Customers love it when their shopping experience is personalized. Think about your favorite coffee shop or grocery store where the seller greets you by name. Don’t you love when you’re recognized and they pay special attention to you?
To provide a great user experience, you need to forget about the “one size fits all” approach and personalize your offers for each customer.
You can use dynamic content on your homepage based on specific data to customize your content and messages. For example, geotargeting based on location, or traffic source, depending on which site or ad platform a visitor used to get to your website.
With personalization, you can suggest products based on your customers’ previous purchases and create highly-customized emails to boost their engagement.
For example, let’s say you visit an online store, add a few things to your cart, but then leave without buying. A popup asks whether you want to sign up for a discount.
You like the brand and products so you give your email address. The next day, you’ll get an email:
“Hi Anne,
There are 3 products in your shopping cart waiting for you. They were really starting to get attached to you, and we don’t want to make them sad. So how about you come back today to finish the purchase and we’ll cover the shipping costs?”
As we’ve seen, these types of cart recovery emails can be highly effective, with a 40.5% open rate.
It’s no coincidence that the biggest brands like Amazon or Netflix use personalization too.
For example, Netflix designs a profile for each user based on their browsing history. They present recently watched movies and suggest 10 more movies that visitors may interested in, based on their profile.
When popups are used for ecommerce personalization, up to 15% of abandoning visitors can be converted into sales and leads.
For example, Kitchenware Direct created a rule based on location that displays a popup with the message “Now Shipping to New Zealand!”. This message is geotargeted and can be only seen by visitors from New Zealand.
They A/B tested the rule and found there was a big difference in conversions between visitors from New Zealand who saw the message and those who did not. The conversion rate was 5.1% among customers who saw the message, while it was only 1% among the control group.
Check out more ecommerce personalization strategies and tools here.
5. Don’t waste your time on SEO
Another one you might have heard like “Email marketing is dead,” is “Search is dead.”
Meanwhile, Google alone performs at least 2 trillion searches each year. Take some time to process that number – 2 trillion.
Now, think about how many people search for your products or services each day, and how many actually find your website. There’s probably a huge difference between those numbers – unless you’re Taylor Swift.
Here are a few quick facts: up to 75% of people type in a new keyword if they don’t find what they need on the first page. The first 3 results get approximately 60% of the clicks.
Considering all that, it’s clear that SEO is as alive as email – and it’s continuously evolving too. I won’t deny that getting to the first page for specific keywords can be difficult. It may take a lot of struggle and time but it’s worth it because organic traffic still has a huge impact on your overall digital marketing efforts.
5 marketing strategies you should follow
Now that we’ve covered what not to do, let’s focus on what you should be doing. Here are five effective marketing strategies that can help your business thrive in 2024.
1. Leverage content marketing
Content marketing is a powerful tool. Create high-quality, valuable content that speaks to your audience’s needs.
Blog posts, videos, infographics, and podcasts can all drive engagement. Share tips, how-tos, and insightful articles. This positions your brand as an authority in your industry and helps build trust with your audience.
2. Utilize social proof
People trust recommendations from others. Showcase customer reviews, testimonials, and case studies on your website and social media.
Share user-generated content like photos and videos of customers using your products. This social proof can significantly influence potential buyers and build credibility.
3. Invest in SEO
SEO is crucial for driving organic traffic to your website.
Start with keyword research to understand what your audience is searching for. Optimize your website’s content, meta tags, and images.
Ensure your site is mobile-friendly and has a fast load time. Regularly update existing content on your blog and publish fresh content to keep your site relevant in search engine rankings.
4. Embrace video marketing
Video content is engaging and highly shareable. Create short, informative videos about your products or services.
Use live streaming to interact with your audience in real-time. Share behind-the-scenes looks at your business or create tutorial videos.
Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok are great for reaching a wider audience through video.
5. Implement popups
Popups can be a game-changer when used correctly. They can capture visitor attention, offer special deals, or collect email addresses for your list.
Use popups to announce sales, promote new products, or encourage newsletter sign-ups. Make sure they are visually appealing and not too intrusive.
You can get started with these popup templates:
Wrapping up
We hope you’ve enjoyed some of the worst marketing advice we could share with you. By avoiding the mistake of following the 5 marketing tips above, you’ll be a step ahead of the game already.
Instead, focus on marketing tips that are proven to be successful. Leverage content marketing to provide value to your audience, use social proof to build credibility, and invest in SEO to enhance your organic reach.
Embrace video marketing to engage your audience, and implement popups to convert visitors into loyal customers.
Keep testing, learning, and refining your approach, and you’ll be well on your way to achieving your online marketing goals.
What should you do next?
Thanks for reading till the end. Here are 3 ways we can help you grow your business:
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Written by
Nikolett Lorincz
Nikolett is the Head of Content at OptiMonk. She is obsessed with content marketing and loves creating educational content for ecommerce store owners. She truly believes in the importance of quality over quantity.
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