Pace Yourself. Online Marketing Messages: When Less is More.

April 29th, 2010 by Search Influence Alumni

“Everything in Moderation,” the saying goes. This can be attributed to everything and anything, almost. It’s important to acknowledge this, especially with such easy and immediate access to your audience. The only thing that comes to mind that this would not apply to in online marketing is link building and networking, if done sincerely.

Over saturation seems to be all the rage and it’s not helping anyone. Like that friend that talks too much- it starts off good, you’re interested and responsive… and then after a while, it’s just noise.  You nod, smile or frown accordingly and pray they shut up.

A few sources that come to mind immediately are Email marketing, Facebook and Twitter. Recently I’ve received so many messages from the same sources I stopped reading them. They are no longer effective. They are annoying. On the other hand, there are so many others that I never hear a peep from. This can be a challenging balance. You need to communicate enough to be seen but not so much that you reach that point of oversaturation.

Here are a few things to consider in the repetition of your message presented in the stylistic fashion an antiquated and overused joke:

You might be reaching over saturation if

1. You loose fans, subscribers and followers like your account was the origin of the plague

2. Your fans, subscribers, and followers walk in your place of business point at their phone and sneer at you (obscenities and other gestures count too)

3. The effectiveness of your message on a bar chart looks like a sliding board

4. You get public responses like “I don’t care” or “Stop it”

5. You can message something completely absurd and no one bats an eyelash

6. You’re used as an example of oversaturation in an article by some smart alec. (If you just looked for yourself in this article you’re probable guilty.)

7.     The folks that run the email blacklist organizations know you by name.

8.     The United Spammers Association nominates you as next years president

9.     Guy Kawasaki is jealous cause he can’t pump out as much as you.

Sincerely, it is a difficult task at times to understand at what point effectiveness weans off. With proper analysis you can get a better view of how to take corrective action. You are tracking everything, right? Hopefully you haven’t lost or lost the attention of too many fans, followers and subscribers.

Stay tuned for Part 2: How to Do it Right (title to come)