Much like a photo with a horizon line that sits at 30°, the use of pixelated images in your marketing is inexcusable. There is literally no excuse for anything less than a crisp, high-quality image that is well-composed and tells some sort of story.
We are visual beings; if we don't like what we see, we won't buy, act or engage. This is the beginning of your brand's death. Yes, content is king and video is this omnipotent being, but the pixel is still god. Pay respect to it accordingly.
If you aren't yet using video in your marketing efforts, I question whether you should be online at all. This is the quintessential pivot of marketing in 2017. I don't dictate what format your video should come in but you best be using the bare minimum at least.
Video comes in the form of actual footage, GIFs (and please pronounce that with a hard "g" and not as a "j"), cinemagraphs, live streaming, live photos and stories. Again, we are visual beings. Your brand will lose credibility without the use of video as a powerful visual medium. Sure, maybe not immediately but that's the foundation of where all content is headed. Virtual reality? Augmented reality? 3D? Simulation? Go figure.
This is a rookie marketing mistake that your audience might not know or see, but the product of this error is a decline in quality of content and overall brand representation.
You are on a foolish endeavour if you think you can manage all your brand's social media accounts and online platforms manually. What do I mean by manually? I mean that it's nearly impossible to remember to post on the right platform at the right time, check the engagement on each platform and act accordingly.
It's 2017! Wake up! Short of robots running our lives (though Siri and AI bots are giving it a good shot), automated content management is next in line. Programs like Swydo, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, IFTTT, Nuvi, Tweetdeck and Sendible are tools that allow you to schedule and manage all* your social media accounts from a central location. You save time, ergo you save money. Yes, you have to pay for premium features and full functionality but it's worth it.
I saw a brand this week that had changed its logo and packaging and had failed to update it across all platforms and collateral. While you want your audience to see that you are evolving and changing with the times, you also want them to see a consistent message.
It's not a good enough excuse to say you simply forgot. This includes future events that have old imagery and the old logo. It's in the future so change it. It's absurd to expect brands to update every image and logo ever used on previous material that's been uploaded, but going forward you can't afford not to use the new logo or look and feel consistently. Rookie!
Why are diamonds so valuable? Why do people travel thousands of miles to see one of the wonders of the world? Because they're rare. Your content should strive to foster this same sense of awe and longing. How? By creating a content plan that has a frequency with a fine tension between supply (your content) and demand (your audience).
How much is too much? You have to answer that for your brand. What I can answer is "How little is too little?" Only posting content to your platforms once a week is too little. Not engaging with your audience or replying and liking simple comments is too little. Ignoring inbox messages is too little.
Online marketing, while it's a science, it's not astrophysics. And thank goodness for that or a lot of us would be without a job!
If you're making any of these mistakes, they're easy to fix. If you think you're doing ok but want to brush up your online game, then read 2017's digital trends here. If you have questions about where to go from here, message me, tweet me here or comment below. I'd love to hear your thoughts and your own brand experiences.
PS. If I were to add a sixth item to this list it would be the use of bad puns. So, stop it. Just stop it. Why? Because it's easy – that's why everyone is doing it. Be better.
*Instagram has only just opened its API to external applications. Read about it here.
