We usually try to focus our efforts on teaching our clients how to do the right thing, but when we read this list of 7 marketing gimmicks that can damage your brand we were left shaking our heads. We couldn’t agree more that these 7 tactics are a surefire way to hurt your brands overall reputation. It’s important to remember if you are just starting out as a small business that there are many marketing gimmicks out there that you may think are great ways to draw in new business and sales, but look before you leap, and make wise decisions for the future of your brand.
1. A misguided contest
Contests are an advisable strategy in general; they tend to drive lots of user interaction and sharing, and they may even give you some user-generated content — but therein lies the danger.
When you start a contest, you’re instantly turning control of your campaign over to your users, many of whom are constantly looking for a way to exploit your intentions for their own benefit or for the simple sake of humor.
Be specific in your content instructions, make sure a content filter is in place for the strategy, and keep the nature of your contest in line with your brand standards.
2. Hashtag appropriation
Take a look at any collection of social media “fails,” and you’ll inevitably see at least one company that used a hashtag it had no business using. Hashtags are frequently seen as a gateway to greater visibility, but you can’t take this function too literally.
It’s not enough to merely stuff a post with hashtags; you have to use those hashtags appropriately.
Too many brands see a trending hashtag, assume they know what it means and end up making a hashtag-stuffed post that offends the main audience they were trying to attract in the first place. Do your research, and use hashtags sparingly.
3. Newsjacking
Newsjacking is a brilliant and efficient way to commandeer a trending topic for your brand, but you’re playing with fire.
A simple way to use newsjacking is to cover the topic from the perspective of your own brand, sharing your own insights, opinions or experiences with a similar target audience.
However, if you don’t provide this alternative or additional commentary, you could be seen as a plagiarizer or a piggy-backer, rather than a thought leader in your own right.
4. Clickbait articles
Clickbait articles use sensational headlines to encourage users to click through to your main site. It’s a powerful way to drive new traffic, but remember that traffic isn’t the bottom line here — you don’t want more users in general; you want more engaged users.
If your content doesn’t live up to the hype you built in your headlines, your users will leave disappointed in what they found — which means you’ll be damaging your brand more than helping it.
Read it all here
It is so important to remember that there are ways to do every marketing strategy right for your business. Research, strategy, and planning are key in making sure that all of your campaigns are marketing en devours are successful and good for your brands reputation. If you’ve found yourself resorting to marketing gimmicks and are looking for a responsible way to represent your business and your brand contact Advantage Internet Marketing, our years of marketing experience and comprehensive planning and strategy are what makes us and our clients so successful.