Are these outdated marketing beliefs hurting your business?
Photo by Christina Morillo
Marketing is full of myths, and some of them just refuse to die. Surprisingly, even some of the “best SEO strategies” that business owners should be doing are riddled with myths (well, SEO, even to this day, seems to be a bit of a guessing game to a degree since no one truly knows about the search engines’ algorithms operate. But business owners often cling to outdated, half-baked advice that actually holds them back rather than helping them grow. And the worst part? Well, these myths often sound so convincing that they get repeated over and over again until they feel like facts.
If you’ve ever been told there’s only one right way to do marketing, chances are you’ve been fed a myth. In fact, most businesses get fed that myth. Maybe someone insisted you have to be on every social media platform, or that SEO is all about stuffing keywords into your website like it’s 2005. But what’s the truth? Well, marketing isn’t a one-size-fits-all game, and what works for one business might not work for yours.
But what are some of the most common (and some lesser-known) marketing myths that businesses should avoid?
Not using certain website platforms because they’re “bad for SEO”
Some people will swear up and down that if you don’t use WordPress, your site is doomed to SEO failure. But in reality, that’s nonsense. Yes, WordPress gives you loads of flexibility, but platforms like Squarespace can be just as SEO-friendly when used properly. In fact, a Squarespace site (that’s been optimised) will always beat a clunky, neglected WordPress site.
Plus, there are plugins out there for SquareSpace (and other website platforms) that help improve SEO. For example, for SquareSpace there’s the SEOSpace plugin which helps take Squarespace’s SEO capabilities to the next level. But at the end of the day, Google doesn’t care what platform you’re using as long as your site is fast, mobile-friendly, and packed with valuable content (that’s not AI).
Believe a minimalist website is always better for SEO
Minimalism looks clean and modern, but does it automatically boost SEO? Not really. Search engines care about user experience, and if your website is too bare-bones, it can actually hurt engagement.
But a simple site that loads quickly is great, but don’t strip away all the personality. Well-placed interactive elements, engaging visuals, and embedded videos can keep visitors on your site longer, which, surprise surprise, helps with SEO. The goal isn’t to make your website a plain white box; it’s to make it useful and engaging for your visitors.
Believing you must show your face in social media content
A lot of business owners understandably hate the idea of plastering their face all over social media platforms. But there doesn’t need to be any worries, as you don’t have to. While showing up in your content can build a stronger connection with your audience, plenty of brands thrive without ever revealing who’s behind them.
But the key is making your content valuable, whether that’s through compelling storytelling, solid branding, or engaging visuals. Your audience isn’t following you because they want to see your face; they’re following you because they care about what you offer.
Thinking you can’t repurpose content across platforms
Do you ever feel like you’re stuck on a never-ending content treadmill, desperately trying to create fresh content for every single platform? Well, in that case, you’re not alone, but here’s some good news: repurposing content is not lazy, it’s smart. That TikTok you made? Well, it’s entirely fine to post it on Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and Pinterest Idea Pins.
You’ll just need to tweak the caption to fit the platform’s style. Your audience isn’t sitting around tracking where you post things, they just want good content. Plus you’re not necessarily punished for duplicate content either in terms of SEO (at least for social media).
Relying too much on AI for content creation
Now, there is quite a bit of debate when it comes to this, and yes, most business owners can agree that AI is great for brainstorming and speeding up the writing process. But that should be as far as it goes. So, if you’re using it to churn out blog posts and social media captions with zero human touch, people will notice. AI-generated content often sounds generic, lacks personality, and can feel a bit robotic.
Ideally, just use AI to assist with ideas and structure, but always inject your brand’s voice into the final product. People connect with people, not machines.
Thinking you need a huge following to make sales
It’s not about how many followers you have, rather, it’s about who your followers are. A small but engaged audience will always outperform a massive, uninterested one. How about ten thousand followers who never interact? Well, that can be pretty useless (and businesses will buy followers which is such a horrible idea).
Wouldn’t you rather have five hundred loyal followers who actually buy your products? That alone is worth its weight in gold. So, it’s best to just focus on engagement and trust over vanity metrics. Would you rather have a million followers or a million in sales?
Posting daily equals success
In terms of social media, this is pretty outdated, but at the same time, this myth is still pushed. So, posting every single day isn’t a magic formula for success. In fact, posting too much can dilute your content and turn off your audience. The key is consistency and quality. One well-thought-out post a week can do far more than seven low-effort ones.
Social media algorithms reward engagement, not just frequency. So, instead of stressing about daily posts, put your energy into creating content people actually want to interact with.
SEO is a “set it and forget it” strategy
If you think you can just optimise your website once and be done with SEO, you’re in for a rude awakening. Now, most businesses of all sizes know and understand this, but just in case; you need to know that SEO is a long game. Overall, search engine algorithms change, keywords shift, and your competitors are always updating their content.
If you’re not consistently updating old content, improving site speed, and tracking performance, you’ll eventually drop in rankings. You’ll need to stay proactive, not reactive, plus, Google loves fresh, relevant content, so give it something new to crawl.
Assuming email marketing is dead
Email marketing isn’t just alive, it’s still thriving. Unlike social media, where algorithms control your reach, emails go straight to your audience. But your emails need to be valuable. If all you’re doing is sending out “BUY NOW” messages, people will unsubscribe and maybe even mark your emails as spam. Instead, you need to offer exclusive deals, share useful content, and personalise your emails. A strong email list is a money-making machine when used correctly.
Paid ads will fix bad marketing
Throwing money at ads won’t magically fix a weak brand or a bad website. If your foundation is shaky, ads will just amplify the problem and burn through your budget. Before diving into paid ads, make sure your organic content, landing pages, and sales funnel are solid. Otherwise, you’re just paying for traffic that won’t convert, and that’s an expensive mistake.
Short-form content is the only way to get engagement
Short videos are everywhere, but that doesn’t mean long-form content is dead. If you check YouTube, people still enjoy watching long form content, and podcasts are technically versions of long form content, and those hold strong as well. There’s still huge demand for blogs, podcasts, and long YouTube videos.
Yes, it’s true that short content grabs attention, but long content builds trust and keeps people coming back. Ideally, just a mix of both is the winning strategy. Don’t let the TikTok craze convince you that deep, meaningful content doesn’t have a place anymore, it absolutely does.
Marketing is just about getting more customers
Of course, getting new customers is important. But you know what’s even better? Well, it’s keeping your existing ones. One thing business owners get wrong is not realising the value of retention. Overall, retention is often more profitable than constantly chasing new leads.
Plus, happy customers spend more, refer others, and require less convincing to buy again. If your marketing strategy doesn’t include nurturing repeat customers, you’re leaving money on the table.
High-quality content alone will bring you traffic
A lot of business owners believe that if they just create amazing content, people will naturally find it. Unfortunately, that’s not how the internet works. You could write the best blog post in the world, but if no one knows it exists, it won’t get any traction. Now yes, great content needs active promotion, be it through SEO, social media, email marketing, or even paid ads.
Relying purely on organic discovery is like opening a shop in the middle of nowhere and expecting foot traffic. If you want your content to be seen, you need a strategy to get it in front of people.