Marketing Mistakes That Could Kill Your Business

We’re sure every day you come across marketing gurus pointing out marketing mistakes that would absolutely destroy your business if you actually followed through. But there’s something even stranger going on that no one’s talking about. The most dangerous advice is coming from the creators with the biggest followings. After 10-plus years of seeing what actually works for real businesses, we’re calling it out and naming names.

Let’s break down exactly what advice is going to help you grow and what could quietly kill your business.

Hooks & Content: What Really Matters

One video got two million views on TikTok this week by ignoring the usual advice. Here’s a list of things people are told to do but almost certainly do not matter if you’re trying to grow on TikTok or anywhere else in social media.

• Hooks. People are obsessed with hooks and hook templates
• Good hooks don’t save bad content
• Just say your thing, put the most interesting detail at the beginning, and you’re done

This is bad advice. Hooks are very important for a reason. The way we do our YouTube videos, we carefully script them. Most of our videos are pretty scripted, especially the hooks. That cannot meander. That cannot beat around the bush. It has to just go for the most important thing that someone wants to know in this video. It has to set the stakes. If you don’t have that planned out, what’s it going to be?

On TikTok, some creators think it’s fine to throw five or six things out a day and hope some hit. But we would rather spend twice as much time on the hook and then get twice as many views. Saying it doesn’t matter and the content will speak for itself is just lazy content creation.

How Gen Z Broke the Sales Funnel

Gen Z has completely changed how buyers behave. They broke the old assumption that purchase happens very linearly from awareness to conversion.

• A lot of brands don’t realize that social media has become the hub of existence for younger, more tech-savvy consumers
• Brands need to continuously be active on social to reach wherever these consumers are living
• The old funnel from 10 years ago is gone
• People are everywhere and need to see different types of content that meet them where they are

You don’t have to create content in order. Just make it all. The social platforms are smart enough to serve the right piece to the right person at the right time.

2 Things That Matter in Business

Who here knows how to grow a business? In the simplest terms, there are only two things you can do:

• Sell to more customers
• Get them to pay you more

That’s it. Literally nothing else. When you’re wondering if what you’re learning is worthwhile, just ask yourself if it’s going to help you get more customers or make them worth more. Want to build a big website? How is that going to get you more customers or make them worth more? A rebrand with a new logo? No. Unless it directly affects those two things, it’s probably not worth the opportunity cost.

It’s easy for people to get caught up in marketing mistakes like trends or getting sick of their current website after five years. But new customers visiting your site have never seen it before. Focus on what actually works.

Is Posting 30 TikToks a Week the Answer?

If we were restarting today, we’d post TikToks daily. Not even thinking about views or results. Just posting as much as possible.

• There’s nothing wrong with TikTok
• But if you’re going to do video, long form is better
• People need to spend about seven hours with you before they feel comfortable buying
• Video builds that connection

So ask yourself how many TikToks someone would need to watch before that adds up to seven hours versus, say, a weekly 10–15 minute YouTube video.

Rather than 30–35 TikToks a week, what if you made one great 10-minute video? That will get you so many more clients. Virality isn’t the goal. Getting in front of the right people at the right time is.

How to Go Viral the Right Way

If you’re aiming for virality, it has nothing to do with camera or microphone quality.

• Viral content is top-of-funnel marketing content
• Your first post should never be about selling
• Help your audience, meet them where they are
• Offer advice, relatable content, or DIY solutions

There are three rules to follow:

• Content must be controversial, relatable, aspirational, or a mix of all three
• No sales call-to-actions
• Speak to universal themes like relationships, success, failure, adventure, life and death

But it’s even better to make sure those topics overlap with what you actually sell. That way, you get in front of the right people and avoid wasting time on irrelevant marketing mistakes.

Founders Should Be the Face

Founder-led content performs best. That means you, as the business owner, need to be in front of the camera.

• People want to connect with a real person
• If you hire someone to be your brand’s face, what happens if they quit or start calling the shots? You lose that audience connection
• You should be the face of your business. Yes, it feels awkward at first, but like anything else, it gets better with practice

Avoid the marketing mistakes of hiding behind stock footage and corporate branding.

Why Email Still Wins

Visit any business website and you’ll probably see a popup asking for your email. Why? Because it works.

• It creates a direct line to your customers
• People check their inbox for deals and updates
• Social media platforms aren’t guaranteed to be around forever

Email marketing isn’t about constant promos. It’s about offering value and building trust. Send helpful content, then every fourth email, ask for a sale. It still works. Viral Omega has seen record-breaking course sales via email this year alone.

Why Educational Content Alone Isn’t Enough

Three years ago, you could post educational content all day and it worked. It built trust and generated authority. Not anymore. Buyer behavior has changed.

• Just providing value doesn’t build trust anymore
• People need to see you getting results for others
• Share stories about clients you’ve helped and the outcomes you’ve delivered
• Mention your clients and their results
• It plants the seed that you’re not just an educator, you’re someone worth hiring

Failing to do this is one of the most common marketing mistakes businesses still make today.

Marketing mistakes can be costly. The stuff that goes viral isn’t always what’s valuable for your business. Focus on what gets you customers, makes them worth more, and meets them where they already are.