Avoid These Marketing Fails...

We’ve put together a list of the most common marketing investment fails your golf business could make - to save you both money and time.

Generic email lists.

More is better, right? Not when it comes to your email list. Targeted is better! Avoid purchasing blanket email lists that tout qualified or guaranteed leads—using these lists will automatically brand you a spammer. Instead, work on building a solid list for your golf business. Provide opt-in options throughout your website and social media channels. Give your prospective and current customers a reason to share their email information, whether it’s special coupons, newsletter content, or a prize drawing.

Or, let us help! Golf Pulp has cultivated a list of dedicated golfers, expanding over 1 million subscribers in the US and another 250K globally with a bulk of those contacts in South Africa and UK. A partnership with Golf Pulp will directly connect you to these sources; powered by a network of Golf Pulp owned golf media sites that range from golf product reviews to video training websites.

Overall: Save your money. Understand the audience your golf business wants to target for optimal results. Provide opt-in options to build your specific list. Maximize email marketing results by promoting to trusted, golf-specific email lists.

Doing every social media channel.

While social media like Facebook, Snapchat, or Twitter are free, maintaining these channels (appropriately, with multiple daily posts) can cost a lot of time and dedicated resources. We’re not saying your golf business should avoid social media altogether, rather, evaluate each network. Understand who is using each channel (ex. The largest population on Facebook are those 18-29) and how they’re using it (ex. connect with friends and as a news source) to determine which channel is right for your golf business.

Here’s a good resource to help you get a better picture: http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/19/the-demographics-of-social-media-users/.

Overall: Save your sanity. Choose one or two social media channels, and do them really well. This will require testing and research to find where your specific demographic is spending their time - get a free analysis here.

Link building.

While some search engines look at link-related factors to analyze the popularity of a page and rank accordingly, that’s not all that counts. Forgo the expensive link-building campaigns (which have the potential to increase your spam ranking and result in penalties) and invest in building trust and authority—naturally. Some simple steps you can take include: targeted page keywords, limit the number of links on a page to two or three, and provide content in the form of blogs, images, or videos that are engaging and shareable.

Overall: Save your resources. Increase search engine authority by appearing in reviews, blogs, forums and media sites that are golf specific.

“Bells and whistles” on your website.

Sure, we all want our websites to be the coolest ever, but let’s focus on functionality. Keep it simple! In fact, in a recent report from HubSpot, it was found that, 76 percent want a website that “makes it easy for them to find what they want.” And, here is what your customers want: they want to know who you are, what your golf product does, they want validation that your golf business is legit (in the form of testimonials, reviews, etc.), price, contact information, and a simple e-commerce process.

Forget the heavy graphics and slow to load videos—most of your prospective or current customers will be accessing your site via mobile devices. Also, skip the slider—you know, that carousel of images or videos on the homepage of many. Not only do they result in lower click through rates, the likelihood that the content included here will be seen is limited. Here is one “bell and whistle” you should definitely consider, though—live chatbots. These customer service tools powered by artificial intelligence allow your customers to have a point of contact with your golf business at all times to make the online experience easier.

Overall: Save your creativity for marketing. Keep it short and simple!

Big-budget video.

Video marketing is exploding, particularly for small businesses. And, it works! According to a report from Vidyard, more than 70% of marketers say that video produces conversions better than any other type of content. Additionally, an Animoto survey last year showed that 73% of U.S. adults are more likely to make a purchase after watching an online video explaining a product or service. But, your golf business doesn’t have to drop a lot of dough to have great video—start small! Consider allocating a small budget for quality video, but nothing too extreme, and keep it practical (you're not a big-brand like Callaway—yet!).

While a number of production companies push for long version infomercials and will have you spending over $100k, Golf Pulp has built high converting videos for under $10k or even $5k, and we know golf! Hiring a production company that doesn’t “get” golf will result in a poorly produced, low conversion video. Start with small web-friendly content—maybe a golf tip for the week or month, or video testimonials of those who have seen success, and test the subject matter to get the messaging that resonates, and once you see it working, invest more in video marketing. Don’t forget to take advantage of any customer-generated videos (an improved swing in action or straighter putting lines, perhaps?) after all, your customers tell your story best.

Overall: Save your budget for testing. Start small, test content, and grow.

Is your marketing FAILING? Contact us today and discover ::: smarter golf marketing :::

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