Don’t make these 5 CRINGE-y Mistakes! The 5 Worst Things Marketers Hate Hearing!

Don’t make these 5 CRINGE-y Mistakes! The 5 Worst Things Marketers Hate Hearing!

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Hey everybody! Welcome to "You Know Ted," where I share marketing lessons I learned over the last two decades running my agency. I hear a lot of things from clients that are cringeworthy as a marketer. Here are five that I never want to hear again. That last one, I still can't believe I was asked. Before we begin, remember to like, subscribe, and share this video. This really helps me create better content for you in the future. Let's dive in.

Marketing Cringe 1: "I want a viral video"

Really? The problem is that everyone thinks it's really easy to create a video or a piece of content and all of a sudden, boom, everyone's going to love them, and they're going to have millions of followers and they're going to be the next Mr. Beast. Unfortunately, it's not that easy. The most important thing is that, like any overnight success, it takes work, it takes consistency. So, the advice that I always give our clients is not focusing on something viral but focusing on creating consistent content all the time targeted at the right people, and then you're going to have success over the long term.

Marketing Cringe 2: "You people have wasted so much of my money"

So first of all, what do you mean, "you people"? But seriously, the problem is that people choose marketers that are typically technicians first. They're good at building a website or they're really good at blog writing or they're really good at SEO, and they don't think of it from a holistic standpoint. Every hammer sees a problem as a nail. The advice I would give any of our clients is that rather than having someone waste your money, focus on what your goals are first, and then from there, get that consistency, go for some quick wins, and over time, this effort can actually account for a large part, if not a majority, of your new business.

Marketing Cringe 3: "I want to spend nothing to get HUGE results"

Okay, look, at the end of the day, you get what you pay for, right? Everyone knows that. It's actually worse than cringeworthy number one. At least that person wanted to go viral and was thinking big. This person is trying to go really, really low and not again thinking holistically. In order for anyone to actually build a solid marketing program, you need targeting, you need planning, you need to do more than just one thing, and then you got to slowly build it over time. There's no magic bullet.

Marketing Cringe 4: "I have a great startup idea and want to spend all my money on it"

The problem is not the enthusiasm; everyone loves new ideas. But it might be a little shortsighted to spend all this money and time building something without product-market fit. This is not Kevin Costner in "Field of Dreams"; this is not "build it, and they will come." My advice for anyone that's starting something new is you got to A/B test it and you got to start small. A/B testing, testing different phrases, different logos, testing product-market fit. Does the market actually want your product? Test it first. It doesn't cost that much, but don't go diving headfirst paying lawyers for patents, software developers building an app, or marketers doing this huge campaign when you don't know if the market's going to be receptive to whatever you have to offer.

Marketing Cringe 5: "Just do what I say, because I've studied [social media platform]"

The problem is, studying academically like this is saying you know everything there is to know about Spanish culture by reading books, watching movies in Spanish, and then studying Duolingo. I mean, all those things are great, but do you really know the culture just by doing those things? I don't think so. So, my advice is this: You have to immerse yourself in it and get to know the platforms and how it works. You got to try and fail and try and fail and try and fail again until you get consistent and good at it. No one does this overnight, and you certainly can't do it just by studying it over a summer.

So, I told you they were pretty cringeworthy. What do you think? If you're a marketer, what cringeworthy things have you heard? If you're not a marketer, have you been guilty of saying a few of these yourself? Put it down in the comments below, and we promise, no judgment. And remember, if you like this video, please like, subscribe, and share. Thanks for watching. I'm Ted Lau, and this has been "You Know Ted." Bye.