When marketing to your customers, you already know you should utilize text marketing, social media, and other forms of communication and engagement. You may even have an awesome marketing strategy outlined for 2017 already. But do you know what you are doing wrong? Here are 5 marketing mistakes you should avoid this year.

1. Too short of content

One marketing strategy that is all too common is when companies post content on their site just to get rankings instead of actually trying to engage with the consumers. This often leads to short articles without substantial information. Another reason you might be posting short content is because you know consumers have a short attention span and aren’t interested in spending too long on any one page.

However, customer engagement affects your search engine rankings more than the number of blog posts you are putting out. On top of that, recent studies have shown that customers much prefer to read a long, well-written, informative article than short ones. They will spend over 10 minutes on one page reading the article and engaging with it. So focus on longer articles over 1,000 words.

2. Not optimizing web content

Surprisingly, a good majority of businesses trying to rank their websites higher don’t actually have it optimized for search very well. Every single page and piece of content that is written for your business needs to be optimized for search if you want to have effective results. Use keyword research to determine the best keywords for your site, and use those words in the titles, image tags, URL and a couple of times throughout the content to get the best ranking possible.

3. Avoiding social media

A lot of companies figure they don’t need social media. Sure, they have social media accounts, but they don’t try to engage with customers or post on it regularly. You may think it is unnecessary for the type of business you run. Maybe you are marketing to other businesses and don’t see the value in social media. However, even if you are selling to other businesses, you have to remember that ultimately you are still selling to individuals, and individuals spend a lot of time on social media platforms. Don’t neglect your social media accounts, and put time into making sure you engage with your customers through them.

4. Avoiding text marketing

It is amazing how many companies don’t use text marketing when it is literally your opportunity to market directly to customers. You are putting an ad in the pocket of every customer you have, and it will pay off big. Most people look at their text messages within the first three minutes, so you can be sure to get coverage and have your text viewed by the consumers. Don’t neglect this powerful tool.

5. Not personalizing content

We live in a world where getting information about your customers is ridiculously easy, and it makes it possible to personalize all the content they receive. By personalizing, you monopolize on what works best for each person and is more likely to convince them you have the right product or service for them. Personalize based on age, gender, or location to get the best results in your marketing.