It is true we all make mistakes, but are you making marketing mistakes that are costing your company hundreds if not thousands of dollars? There are common marketing mistakes that companies make in every marketing campaign. They are so common that they almost always go unidentified. Learn what the top 5 marketing mistakes that businesses continually make are and how you can avoid them. Common Marketing Mistakes

Marketing Mistakes originally appeared on About.com Marketing on Monday, July 26th, 2010 at 05:15:49.

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Are you over communicating with your clients and customers?  This is becoming more of a problem as new communication tools are introduced to our companies.  We are using email, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and RSS Feeds. Have you ever considered how many messages you are sending out using all these marketing vehicles?  It may be time to consider that while technology has made us more efficient perhaps it has also made us less effective.

I've seen so many companies lately bombard their lists and followers with multiple messages on a daily basis.  This causes detrimental effects. When you over communicate with your customers you will find that your message is being lost, your audience encounters confusion and worst yet you will even begin to lose that audience one-by-one.

There is a balance between marketing, being informative and overwhelming those that receive your messages.  Have you found that balance? If not it may be time to consider the messages you are sending out, the volume of those messages and make a determination as to whether they serving as a marketing tool or a nuisance to those that are subscribed. Learn how much marketing communication is too much and how to find out what type of communication your customers and clients want from you.

Your turn: Have you found that balance in your marketing communication and have tips that you would like to share when it comes to balancing email, social media tools and RSS feeds?

Marketing Communication - How Much is Too Much? originally appeared on About.com Marketing on Sunday, July 18th, 2010 at 22:02:49.

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I don't know what it is about this time of year, but it always seems to be the time that people transition in their jobs. They get promoted or move to another company. My correspondence is flooded with marketing job questions. What kind of education do I need? Is this the right salary for this job? How do I find my marketing dream job?

Exploring careers in marketing is just half the fun. Our industry has such diverse opportunities for employment. Once you've figured out what job it is that you desire and you've brushed up that resume to market you I'd suggest contacting a marketing headhunter that specializes in finding jobs for marketing executives and professionals. You'll find Harry Joiner's blog filled with fantastic tips on not only finding, but landing that dream job.

Marketing Jobs: Finding and Landing the Right One originally appeared on About.com Marketing on Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 at 05:00:24.

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I love when we coin phrases and they become the buzz, but when it really comes down to it a lot of people don't know what's meant by the said phrase.  I'm going to pick on one of those phrases today and it's Integrated Marketing.

Our marketing world is shifting that is no secret.  Everywhere we look we see something about integrated marketing, but I still see companies that don't embrace that approach.  Integrated marketing is the holistic approach to communication in marketing. It's making sure that you are being consistent in your marketing both online and offline.  In other words - well it's important.

A few years ago there was a marketing campaign that was launched in my area and I was always amazed that they did not use an integrated approach to gain more bang for their buck.  I often use it as an example of how integrated marketing could of worked and creating a user experience that perhaps would have increased the companies overall investment.

I'm going to share that story with you today in hopes that you will learn what integrated marketing is and why it is important to your business - big or small it doesn't matter - integrated marketing can increase your overall impact.

Side note:  I purposely left out the names of the parties involved in order to avoid any embarrassment.

Your turn: How are you utilizing integrated marketing in your business?

Integrated Marketing - What is it and Why is it Important? originally appeared on About.com Marketing on Thursday, July 8th, 2010 at 16:11:54.

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I'm going to ask that you allow me to step up on my soapbox for a minute this week. When I hear of companies that have suffered from brand sabotage at the hand of an employee or employees it infuriates me. I suppose it's because I've been an entrepreneur most of my career and in that career I have worked hard to help companies establish and build their brands. It's a bit hard to swallow when an employee's video posted on YouTube has the ability to shake a 50 year old brand like Dominos.

The great thing about social media is its transparency and that transparency works well when marketing your brand. Transparency is what consumers crave. They want to like you before buying from you. It's about connection and engagement. The bad thing about social media is that same transparency. Social media transparency has the ability to throw your company in crisis and recovery mode because of an employee's actions.

In today's world of social media It only takes a YouTube video, a Facebook status update, or a misguided Tweet to throw a company into crisis mode. This truth has created fear in the core of companies. They are afraid to delve into social media marketing because what if an employee says the wrong thing or a customer complains? Their biggest fear is that of their own employees. They cringe at the thought of what their employees are posting on Facebook or what photos they are posting on Myspace. Why do you think most human resource departments Google candidates before calling them in for an interview or handing them an official job offer?

You can't stop individuals from participating in social media and truth is you don't want to. Social media is a viable marketing tool that is growing daily. The more you participate the more you can be aware of what's being said about your brand. However, with that being said it's also important to create guidelines and a code of ethics for your employees to follow. They are your brand ambassadors everyday 24/7.  Do they understand that?   They need to and hopefully they have just as much passion for your brand as you do. A social media policy will help them understand what's expected of them and what you tolerate or don't tolerate in the social media realm.

A good social media policy will be a win-win for both you and your employees. You will know that you are successful in creating your policy if the final draft allows employees the opportunity to be themselves online, but yet at the same time protects your brand.

Do yourself a favor and don't put off creating a social media policy even though it's daunting, you don't want your brand to be the victim of the next public relations disaster. Social media disasters caused by networking sites and employees of companies is happening too often. Learn how to create a social media policy that will protect your company's brand and offer guidelines to your employees.

Protect Your Brand From Employee Sabotage With A Social Media Policy originally appeared on About.com Marketing on Monday, July 5th, 2010 at 05:00:22.

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In a discussion with a colleague we began to talk about the importance of the way a company treats their employees and how it affects how they then treat the company's clients. He has seen the truth of this principle in the company that he works for and today that company is experiencing ultimate success.

This conversation reminded me of an article I wrote during an epiphany moment called Internal Branding. Truth is marketing starts from the inside out. It' important to realize that if you try to start on the outside first your endeavor will fail.  Branding is not only skin deep it  starts with your employees. If they are not reflecting your brand this could be diminishing your marketing efforts.  It's important to get your employees involved and behind your brand.

Your turn: What are you doing to brand from the inside out?

Branding From the Inside Out originally appeared on About.com Marketing on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 at 05:00:18.

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