Making mistakes is embarrassing. But we’ve all done it. Failing is how we learn, right?
This year, Constant Contact employees and other marketing experts used their mistakes to help you learn what not to do with your digital marketing. We call it #FailFriday, and we’ve been sharing lessons on email marketing, social media marketing, event marketing and more on Fridays via Instagram.
If you haven’t seen our #FailFriday posts, here are our top 15 marketing mistakes that you can learn from as we move into 2015.
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Learn more: Just getting started on Instagram? Learn 10 things you’ll need to do first.
Happy #FailFriday! Have you made marketing mistakes? We have and we’ve learned a lot from them! Azure Collier, @constantcontact’s Social Media Education Developer, shares one of her mistakes from when she used to use Constant Contact as a customer: using too much content in her emails. “When I was a Constant Contact customer, I used to put 17 articles in my newsletters!” A photo posted by Constant Contact ✉️ (@constantcontact) on
Learn more: Don’t overwhelm readers with too much information. Keep your emails short, focused, and to the point. Learn Azure’s top tips for keeping your email content short.
A photo posted by Constant Contact ✉️ (@constantcontact) on
Learn more: Length is just one of the things you need to think about when creating videos. Here are 5 common video mistakes you’ll need to avoid.
Happy #FailFriday – it’s time for another marketing mistake! Today’s is from Miranda Paquet, a content developer from our Content Team. She used to think that blogs were purely self-indulgent. But now Miranda writes for the Constant Contact blog and a few others. Blogs are a great way to show your expertise and share helpful information about your industry with your customers. In fact, small businesses with blogs generate 126% more leads, according to Ignite Spot. A photo posted by Constant Contact ✉️ (@constantcontact) on
Learn more: Not sure if you really need a blog for your business? Find out how blogging can fit into your marketing plans.
A photo posted by Constant Contact ✉️ (@constantcontact) on
Learn more: Even if you’ve made some writing mistakes in the past, you can still create content your audience will love to read. Learn how to create great content (even if you think you’re a horrible writer).
Learn more: It’s never been more important to create actionable subject lines that help your emails stand out in the inbox. Learn 6 quick tips for effective subject lines.
Today’s #FailFriday is from @heatherkjackson – our New England Regional Development Director at the @agentsofchangecon. Heather didn’t tweet at events in the past. If you are attending an event, tweet photos, quotes from speakers and shoutouts to your fellow attendees. Make sure you use the event hashtag so the people involved in the event can see your tweets. They’ll retweet you and you will get some new followers! #aoc2014 A photo posted by Constant Contact ✉️ (@constantcontact) on
Learn more: Learn how to create an event hashtag to build engagement.
Learn more: Creating emails that look great on mobile is easier than you think. Learn 5 quick tips for mobile-friendly emails.
It’s time for this week’s #FailFriday! @juliacampbell77 shared her marketing fail with us during the @agentsofchangecon – she used to automate all of her social media posts! It’s not a good idea to automate everything because the way content is displayed and written on some social networks doesn’t translate well to other networks. They all have different tones, etiquette and photo display sizes. You can share the same content; just make it unique to each network. A photo posted by Constant Contact ✉️ (@constantcontact) on
Learn more: Do you auto-post from Facebook to Twitter? Find out how to automate your social media posting the right way in 2015.
Learn more: Don’t forget to take advantage of Facebook’s targeting features. Learn how to run a Facebook Ad to reach the right audience on Facebook.
Today’s #FailFriday features Content Developer, @RyanPinkham and a Twitter fail that happens quite frequently! If you start a tweet with @username, it’s a reply. And will only be seen by the person you replied to and people who are following both of you. Nobody else will see it in their stream! If you want all of your followers to see this ‘reply’ simply add a period to beginning of your tweet! (right before the @ sign) A photo posted by Constant Contact ✉️ (@constantcontact) on
Learn more: Adding a period before mentioning someone is a trick that’s often overlooked. Learn 7 more helpful social media tricks.
Learn more: Scheduling your social posts in advance is an easy way to save time on social media. Learn 3 helpful social media time-saving tips.
Learn more: Tagging others on social media is an easy way to grow relationships online. Learn how to use social media to create and grow customer relationships.
Learn more: Creating a successful social media strategy starts with being in the places where your target audience is spending time online. Learn how to find the right networks for your business and create an effective social media plan.
Tip: Use LinkedIn to connect with people who you know, like, and trust. Learn more about all the tools LinkedIn offers to help you build authority.