While the nation is busy going mad for college basketball, we thought we'd express what makes us mad (or at least a little irritated) about marketing. We've got a hunch these gripes may bother a few of your customers, too.

After narrowing the list, here are our "final four" pet peeves and the reasons you may want to avoid them.

1) Sneaky ads and their disclaimers. There's a car dealership in town that uses its radio spots to shout about one of its "incredible" deals. The commercials end with a rapidly-read, low-volume disclaimer that states there are actually only two cars on the lot at that low price.

Takeaway: That's the kind of behavior that gives certain industries a bad reputation and perpetuates a general mistrust of advertising. Customers will discover lies and exaggerated claims. When they do, you may lose them forever. Use your marketing content to promote the unique truth about your company. If you don't have enough honest value you can promote, it's time to re-evaluate your product or service.

2) Advertising to attract new customers while under-serving current customers. This can be especially insulting to your long-time buyers if your marketing materials stress the quality of your service or offer special savings to first-time customers.

Takeaway: It's much easier and less costly to grow relationships with your existing customers than to always be on the lookout for new business. Convert your current customers into brand evangelists by serving them remarkably well and they'll advertise your company for you with online reviews and great word-of-mouth.

3) Misspellings and poor grammar. Blogs and social media have made it possible for anyone to publish original content, but because the pre-publishing process rarely includes the checks and balances of traditional media, the quality of online content often suffers. Most bloggers don't use editors, proof-readers or fact checkers. Copy errors are even common on many well-known websites. And, yes, they can make for a maddening reading experience.

Takeaway: Mistakes damage your reputation and may scare away potential customers. Readers might logically assume that carelessness with your public marketing content also signals lax quality control in the behind-the-scenes areas of your operation.

4) Reaching out to customers too frequently. Online tools make it relatively easy and inexpensive to contact existing and potential customers, but if you do it too often, you run the risk of alienating them.

Takeaway: True, you need to repeat your marketing message many times to get it to stick, but that doesn't mean you should inundate your audience with daily emails and hourly Facebook posts. Inboxes and social media pages are more personal spaces, and unlike many other media channels, the consumer can control which marketers have access. If you send too often, you'll get blocked or blacklisted, and earn a reputation as a two-bit spammer. Whenever you send or post content, make sure it's created with your audience's needs in mind.

BusinessVoice and its in-house website design, development and marketing company WebArt have been recognized once again for creative and marketing excellence. The agencies won two 2011 Gold MarCom Awards on November 8th.

The WebArt team received an award for its work on the website for Mountain View Tire, a 30-store chain of tire and automotive service centers throughout southern California. Since WebArt re-designed, built and has been marketing the new MountainViewTire.com, the site has generated 218% more phone calls from unique, web-only phone numbers, and a 100% increase in online appointments.

“Our approach to Website Marketing and our talented team have all contributed to the success of the Mountain View Tire site,” said Steve Timofeev, Director of WebArt. “We’re very proactive and take the initiative on many aspects of the site, but we also work closely with the client. Our processes work very well.” WebArt also manages Mountain View Tire’s social media and provides ongoing search engine optimization (SEO Marketing) and Website Marketing service to continually draw organic traffic to the site.

BusinessVoice also received a Gold MarCom Award for a humorous On Hold Marketing production it created for Walter’s Goodyear in Mission Viejo, California. (Watch the video version of the award-winner here.)

The agency has been acknowledged dozens of times for its funny approach to On Hold Marketing. “Often, callers will accept a company’s marketing information more readily if it’s mixed with humor,” said BusinessVoice Creative Director Scott Greggory. “Using humor on hold also works well because it’s not expected. It catches callers off guard, and then draws them in to listen more intently.”

The world does not arrive at a perception of your "personal brand" by accident. It's the culmination of all the output you present through your words and actions. Every phone call; every social media post; every presentation you make; they all contribute to your brand image.

So, if you haven't already, consider how you should convey yourself as a businessperson in order to best communicate what you have to offer. Determine which of your qualities are the most important and project them with clarity and consistency.

For instance, are you a creative? Then you might want to make sure that all the images on your Facebook page support your unique style. Develop an expressive blog, and make an effort to spread your unique perspective in conversations with potential clients and the rest of your business network

Are you analytical and consistent? Re-affirm that by using a social media tool to check in at the local park every day for your morning run. Keep emotion out of your business conversations; maybe share your favorite baseball team's weekly stats online.

Got a minute? Then click here to watch one of social media guru Peter Shankman’s "Brand in 60 Seconds" video. It’s a quick little piece on why your company's social media efforts should always focus on your readers and current or potential clients – not you.

Once you watch the video, visit your company’s social media pages and browse the last several posts. Are they merely about an award you won? An event you’re hosting? A new product you’re offering?

Instead, consider a post that shows how winning the award will benefit your clients, what visitors will get out of attending your event, and how that new product will benefit your customers.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – the process of increasing the likelihood a web page will be found via Internet search engines - used to be all about adding specific keywords and phrases to a page as many times as possible. According to the theory, the more often the keyword was used, the higher the page was likely to rank.

This approach led to long paragraphs of extremely repetitive copy written only to attract search engine spiders, not for human consumption or understanding. But now, according to CopyBlogger.com, almost 85% of what determines how a web page ranks in a search engine is actually based on factors other than keywords and phrases.

This doesn’t mean that incorporating keywords within website copy isn’t important; it’s just that SEO involves more now, like the authority of your domain, what web surfers think about your content, links leading to and from your website, and the relevance of your content.

To optimize a site these days, you’ll need to write compelling content, share your information through social media platforms, link your site to others, establish yourself as an authority within your industry or market, and earn the trust of your visitors.

To do this, make sure you are:

1. Creating eye-catching and descriptive headlines.
2. Providing quality content that gives readers tips, how-to hints, and other information.
3. Including videos, links and social media feeds on your website that help keep your pages fresh and new, whether you’re changing your site’s written content or not.
4. Utilizing link building.
5. Writing easy-to-read copy that includes subheadings and bulleted lists.

Successful SEO requires an ongoing commitment. If you don’t have the time, skills or resources to take on the job yourself, have a qualified website marketing company do it for you.

Though Twitter and Facebook have been staples of the social media scene for several years now, many small businesses haven’t yet figured out how to leverage these platforms to communicate with their audience, develop their brand and, ultimately, drive sales.

But research shows that more and more people are making purchasing decisions based on things they read in social media. So, what’s a business to do?

Think about how you use Facebook. You may put up with the random ramblings of your friends, but when it comes to companies that post nonsense or information that’s irrelevant to you, you’re probably more likely to reach for the hide button.

On Twitter, the relevance and accuracy of your information is what makes your audience want to share your content. And, as with most other marketing tools, it takes time and consistency of message - not a hard sales pitch - to make it effective for your business.

Take a note from Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee). This is an excerpt from his book The Thank You Economy:

“When I first started Tweeting, I had no brand recognition; no one knew who I was. To build my brand, I started creating conversations around what I cared passionately about: wine.

I used Search.Twitter.com…to find mentions of Chardonnay. I saw that people had questions, and I answered them. I didn’t post a link to WineLibrary.com and point out that I sold Chardonnay. If people mentioned that they were drinking Merlot, I gave them my Merlot recommendation, but I didn’t mention that they could buy Merlot on my website.

I didn’t try to close too early, like a nineteen-year-old guy; I made sure to invest in the relationship first. Eventually, people started to see my comments and think, “Oh, hey, it’s that Vaynerchuk guy; he knows Chardonnay. Oh cool, he does a wine show - let’s take a look. Hey, he’s funny. I like him; I trust him. And check it out: he sells wine, too. Free shipping? Let’s try a bottle of that…” That’s what caring first, not selling first, looks like, and that’s how I built my brand.”

And that’s how social media works.
 

Just a day after the horrific tsunami hit Japan, comedian and long-time spokesman for Aflac Insurance Gilbert Gottfried was tastelessly tweeting jokes to his personal account about the event. Gottfried didn’t tweet his comments as a representative of the insurance company, but Aflac fired him in order to deflect any association with the comedian’s comments.

This certainly isn’t the first time – or the last time – something like this will happen.

On March 9th, 2011, an employee from a web marketing firm hired by Chrysler to manage social media strategies posted an inappropriate tweet to the ChryslerAutos account cursing Detroit drivers for their incompetence on the roads. At the time, the Chrysler account had more than 8,000 followers, so although the tweet was deleted minutes after it was posted, the comment was re-tweeted over 100 times within three hours. The employee was fired and Chrysler issued an apology.

And in February 2011, an employee of the American Red Cross accidentally used the organization’s account to tweet about drinking. The Red Cross chose to handle the incident with its funny bone and, while the mistake gave the organization an awareness boost, it could have been very embarrassing.

It’s easy to point the finger at these faux pas, but the fact is that social media programs, like Twitter and Facebook, walk a very fine line between business tools and opinion platforms. Users are encouraged to keep things casual, fun and personal, and the buzzword is “share.” Yes, there’s professional networking going on, but there’s also gossip, journaling, and entertainment involved. Advertising Age author Bob Garfield has an interesting take on posting the truth in social media…even if it stings a little.

Do you participate in your company’s social media marketing? If so, how do you manage to be personal, conversational, truthful AND professional at all times?

The campaign is called "Rhetorical Questions" and it's designed to reinforce the insurer's "savings" message. Watch all four funny Geico spots here:

Geico has had success running multiple humorous campaigns concurrently. They continue to use the Australian gecko, the bug-eyed stack of cash, and the cavemen who can't get any respect. Each relies on a different style of humor, and all work to reinforce a specific message, whether it's about savings or ease of use.

Here's one of the nice benefits of using humor to market your company: If your audience expects - and enjoys - the humor in your advertising, they actually look forward to seeing / hearing your new campaigns. They don't change channels or hit scan when your spots air.

Instead, they mention them to their friends, share them on YouTube, and write about them in blogs. We've had great success using humor on hold for several of our clients. Check out some samples here, here, and here, and then let's talk about how we can get your customers laughing - and talking about you.

I was looking for client commericals on YouTube today and stumbled across this bit of food for thought. It cleverly addresses the fundamental communication problems with advertisers and consumers and the unpleasant aftermath that can result.

The days of advertising are behind us. Not that we should abandon our glossy ads, slick television spots and fun radio promotions. It's just that advertising is a one-way conversation. These efforts should be part of an overall marketing plan that helps us develop two-way communication with our audience.

Today's audiences need to be engaged and feel like they have an advocate. We have to reach them on their terms, where they spend their time. But it's not enough just to be there. We have to relate to them, understand them and offer them something relevant, whether it's content, goods, or services.

Most importantly, we have to have a dialogue with them - make it easy for them to contact us and leave feedback. (Don't fear bad feedback. That's what really helps us grow into the business our audience wants us to be.) And then we need to address each comment, complaint and request. That's the only way we'll create brand ambassadors who are happy to sing our praises.

You've see them in designer pet bags, their diamond-studded collars glinting in the sun. They were on their way to see their masseuse at noon and have a play date at the Treat Bar at 3:30.

What has happened to man's best friend? We've overly sissified our pets! But there's hope for the furry droolers.

Alpo's new campaign takes dog owners back to the days when a ratty tennis ball and a pile of dirt were the only things a dog needed to be happy. Check out the spot here: Quick, get that dog some Alpo!

The website is cute too, complete with a "Fido or Fifi" test, and a menu of what dogs would cook if they could. And Alpo sweetens the deal with a buy-one-get-one free coupon for your four-legged friend's next meal. Dogs get their "dogness" back, and their humans get a reminder to un-froufrou their own lives, which isn't a bad idea at all in this economy.

What can you do to un-froufrou? How will you get back to basics?