In honor of Halloween season, we asked our team to share their best marketing “tricks” to avoid and “treats” to embrace. From terrifying tactics that should be left in the grave to clever strategies that bring sweet results, our crew has brewed up a cauldron of advice. Read on—if you dare! 🧟

Dawn

 

DON’T take a “fly by the seat of your pants” approach to your marketing budget. DO have a plan.

DON’T pick a budget number out of the sky. DO use a percentage of gross sales.

DON’T take your annual budget and allocate by month. DO align your budget with monthly sales.

DON’T try to handle marketing yourself. DO call Midwest Marketing and let our educated 5-star team help you.

 

 

Megan

 

This time of year is great for conducting a competitor analysis. Instead of being afraid of what the competition is doing, you gain clarity about your own strengths and where you can shine. A few tricks:

• • • • • • • • Stick to watching 2–3 of your “closest rivals” instead of the whole industry, otherwise you’ll scare yourself with too much info.
              • See through your customer’s eyes. Visit your website and social profiles as if you were a buyer. What feels like a treat? What’s just a trick?
              • Look for patterns. One flashy campaign is like a haunted house, fun but fleeting. Focus on repeated themes in their messaging and offers to find the real story.

Jen

 

Don’t direct all of your ad traffic to your website’s homepage! When people click on your ad, they want to see more information that pertains to what they saw and clicked on – they don’t want to be directed to a homepage where they have to figure out where to go!

As you develop your ad campaigns, you should also create specific landing pages for each ad that corresponds to the messaging and information that you want your customer to receive. This will not only help your potential customer find the information they need to hopefully make a purchasing decision, but it will also improve your Ad Rank and give your ad more weight at auction time.

 

Tabitha

 

When you have a plan, social media marketing feels fun, not frightening. Here’s a treat for your strategy: Embrace short-form video content for both organic posts and paid ads. These bite-sized videos grab attention fast, grow engagement, and boost your reach since all platforms favor Reels. Just be sure to keep it on-brand and tailored to your audience. This might seem tricky to accomplish at first, but nailing down the right approach will carry your content far!

Jenny

 

Cheesy, overused, stock images with stiff smiles and awkward staging can suck the life out of your marketing materials. It’s okay to use stock photos, but make sure you are selective with your choices. When searching for appropriate photo assets, remember the rule of thirds to keep it from feeling too static or centered, and instead make it more organic. Opt for more natural, candid expressions, choose images with tones and colors that complement your color palette, and edit photos with intention by adding overlays, filters, and cropping appropriately to make it feel like yours.

Allie

 

Do create a year-long marketing strategy. Planning campaigns by season or quarter helps you budget smarter, align messaging with customer needs, and avoid the stress of last-minute scrambling. A clear roadmap makes your marketing consistent, intentional, and measurable. While strategies should remain flexible and be able to adapt as new opportunities or challenges arise, having a plan in place gives you a strong guide to keep your efforts on track.

 

Bri

 

Don’t overlook your font choices within your brand guidelines. There are endless typefaces that can make or break your design and branding as a whole. Have 2-3 reliable font families that complement one another across all marketing assets, align with your brand, and speak to the consumer you want to attract. When utilizing fonts, it’s important to remember the rules of design hierarchy so that the most important information is seen first and naturally guides the eye to the other elements and information. Don’t forget to adjust the kerning, tracking, and alignment when applicable to ensure your messaging is clear and easy to read.

 

 

 

 

👻Looking for more marketing tips? Just say “Boo!” to these outdated marketing tactics! 👻