Home topics small-business-resources sales-and-marketing Expert Marketing Small Business Expert How to waste money on marketing in 4 easy steps (and what should do instead) Steve Grant June 22, 2016 Let me start by saying that effective marketing is the lifeblood of any successful business, big or small. Having said that, smaller start-up businesses often don’t have a lot of excess cash to splash around so I hate to see their money go to waste on marketing strategies that are unnecessary. Based on what I’ve seen both from clients and my own journey of trial and error, here are some of the most common ways that people waste money on marketing, and how to turn it around. Using social media to build a following Social media is great, but too many small businesses jump in with no strategy, other than to “build a following.” Back in the day when Facebook’s reach was high you could get away with it, but thanks to Facebook’s constantly changing algorithm, only a tiny fraction of your followers ever see your content in their News Feeds, and you have to pay to get your content seen. Furthermore, if you do decide to go with the paid post option and you don’t target your audience correctly, you will most likely end up paying for clicks from people who are not relevant to what you are selling. Also keep in mind that there is a difference between building an audience and building a quality audience. Make sure your