Marketing Trends Experts Want You to Avoid

Not every trick to boost visibility and engagement can stay in favor forever. We asked some of Entrepreneur's favorite experts in marketing and social media which trends folks can finally put to rest.

Rethink real-time marketing
Brian Honigman, BrianHonigman.com
"Yes, many people are active online during the SuperBowl, but that doesn't mean every brand and business needs to be chatting about the event as it happens. For many businesses, chatting about the SuperBowl makes no sense for their audience. The correct way to approach real-time marketing is to use the technique on a regular day and not solely focus on trying to have a killer moment of exposure during the big events like the Grammys or the SuperBowl. Try tying your business into the conversations your customers are having once a month around one of their particular interests, since you'll be able to stand out from all the noise that flood social media during those large events and you'll be able to more closely tie together the relevancy between a smaller event and your business."

Look beyond Facebook
Jason Falls, CafePress
"It disappoints me to see so many companies singularly focused on Facebook. It is a viable and fertile ground for communications, yes. But focusing so much on Facebook is like only advertising on the No. 1 radio station in town and not doing TV, print, outdoor or anything else to reach your customers. Even within social media marketing, many businesses ignore Twitter, Tumblr, Google+ and other channels that could be an efficient means to reach segments of their audience."

Remember: This is a time-honored craft
Ilise Benun, Marketing-Mentor.com
"I'm peeved most lately by all the people treating 'content marketing' like it's brand new. We've all been marketing ourselves with content forever! I've been publishing an email newsletter, doing speaking engagements and writing articles and books for more than 20 years with the goal of sharing useful information and positioning myself as an expert. It used to be called 'marketing.' Now it's 'content marketing' And everyone thinks they have to do it. Not true! It's not right for all businesses, and it's a lot of work!"

Related: 5 Ecommerce Mistakes to Avoid: A Newbie's Guide

Think before you share
Peter Shankman, Shankman|Honig
"Is it so hard to just think before you post, tweet, or share? If the answer to the question 'Will this offend anyone' has to even be considered, just don't post it!"

But when mistakes happen, be understanding
Jim Joseph, Cohn & Wolfe
"It troubles me when I see people and brands get in trouble for posts that were created in innocent human error. I hate to see when people lose their jobs as a result of a simple mistake. If it were more than a simple mistake, well then that's a different story."

Related: 4 Secrets to Multichannel Success

Deliver what you sell
Joanna Lord, BigDoor
"Link bait titles and content. Brands are looking for clicks and sacrificing the respect of their readers and customers. There is a really big difference between a catchy title that leads to great, unique content and shock factor that don't deliver. There's a lot of noise and this should encourage brands and marketers to find stand out in truly valuable and beautiful ways – not with overpromising and under delivering with sensational titles and poor writing."