You may already be aware of the common mistakes in offsite marketing, such as focusing exclusively on driving traffic to your website or failing to take advantage of social media as a marketing platform. This article will discuss the less common yet equally important mistakes to avoid in offsite marketing. First, it helps to understand why these marketing techniques are so crucial.

Why Offsite Marketing Matters

Your website is the hub of your online operations. From your shopping cart software to your contact form, everything on your website is tailored to give customers the information they need to make a purchase or schedule a service. For this reason, it's easy to see why so many business owners focus on their website to the exclusion of off-page techniques. After all, on-page SEO and advertisements, when used correctly, are the driving force behind your sales efforts.

Identifying Mistakes in Offsite Marketing

The truth is that, while on-site marketing techniques are essential, your efforts will reach diminishing returns if you don't branch out to off-site avenues of marketing. These include social media, email marketing, search engine advertisements, guest posting and many others. While there is no one right way to begin offsite marketing, diversifying your efforts will yield benefits in the long run.

Abandoning the Lead

One of the worst mistakes in offsite marketing also happens to be one of the easiest to make. What does it mean to abandon a lead? Whenever a customer engages with your brand online, especially through your website, it is considered a point of contact. This point of contact presents a unique opportunity to showcase your customer service and close the sale. Most businesses miss the mark by failing to follow up with customers who have loaded items into their shopping carts, signed up for a company newsletter or expressed interest in a product through other means.

The good news is that you can use offsite marketing techniques to close sales once customers have engaged with you on your website. Newsletter management services such as Mailchimp and Aweber offer features that allow you to reach out to online shoppers at carefully planned intervals throughout the sales funnel. For example, a customer who loads an item into an online shopping cart but leaves your website before making a purchase may have been discouraged by an issue with the shopping process or simply not have had access to her payment information at the moment. In either case, you can create customized emails that are generated automatically when that customer takes a specific action. Sending an automated follow-up email to remind customers that they have an item in their cart not only reduces the rate of abandoned carts but gives you the chance to offer proactive customer service as well.

Losing Contact

Similar to abandoning the lead, losing contact with customers is one of the worst mistakes in offsite marketing. Your mailing list is one of the most valuable assets you have, so be sure to keep track of subscribers and stay in contact with them regularly to maintain brand recognition and relevance.

Failing to Guard Your Offsite Reputation

Another top contender among the significant mistakes in offsite marketing business owners tend to make is not paying enough attention to your online reputation. The most well-crafted website can't compensate for a negative or nonexistent presence on social media and review sites. There are brand management services that can help you respond to negative reviews in a way that showcases your customer service and integrity as a company, but you can also start by setting aside time each week to keep an eye on the overall picture of your brand's offsite reputation. Your company's Facebook page and profiles on review sites such as Yelp are great places to begin. While a few negative reviews are bound to occur in every industry, you can address potential reputation pitfalls by observing the overall trends on these websites.

Customers look for brands that are engaged on social media as well as their own blog and website. In fact, many people use Facebook and other social media platforms to search for brands rather than going to a dedicated search engine. Be sure to devote some time to answering questions and concerns on your business Facebook page, and try to offer solutions to customers who do express issues. Savvy marketers find ways to turn complaints into advertisements by offering five-star customer service on a public platform. Not only are you more likely to turn that unhappy customer into a brand ambassador, but your efforts are sure to impress other potential leads who may be watching on social media and review sites.

As important as offsite marketing is, these mistakes in offsite marketing are alarmingly easy to make. You can avoid them and put your offsite presence to work for your brand by working with marketing professionals who know your business. Call Brandgy today at (352) 578-2000 or contact us through email to receive a consultation on building your offsite brand today.