Ghouls and goblins prowl the spooky nights of October. For real estate professionals, however, something even more evil is the stuff of nightmares: poor marketing. Is your online presence the trick or the treat now that we've entered the Halloween season? Let's take a look at five marketing horror stories that should keep you awake at night.

I'm becoming a social media zombie. It's tempting to use tools and services that promise to save you time by tailoring your content and automating your posts, but this is one of the worst social media strategies you can employ. The more dynamic the internet experience grows, the more automated you appear. Instead of providing generic auto-generated material, implement a consistent content strategy. Make each day of the week a different theme: Motivation Monday, Homeowner Tip Tuesday, Community Friday, and so on. Maintaining a regular schedule allows you to curate more important information ahead of time, making it easier to be real and personal.

Being left in the dark. It's incredible how tough we make it for people to contact us. According to studies, if prospects do not discover our contact information within two clicks, they give up and move on. Even so, we continue to bury our details behind convoluted landing pages – or, worse, omit them entirely. You're letting yourself sink deeper and deeper into the internet's darkness. How do you think anyone will ever discover you? It's time to come out of the shadows with an online audit. Examine your social media profiles, websites, and advertisements. Can you quickly locate at least two ways to contact yourself for additional information? Otherwise, reconsider your online presence.

Being taken over by bad information. Our online presence functions as a public billboard, continually advertising who we are. There is so much stuff being published these days — millions of posts per minute — that it is simple to be misled by false information. We're too quick to click the "share" button without first double-checking the content's authenticity. It's not like you to provide unverified information. Have you transformed into someone... or something else? Remember that whatever you publish reflects on you, and regardless of your settings, the majority of what you share can be re-shared or commented on. Take the time to double-check the information you're posting with Snopes.com(link is external) or another trustworthy media source. When in doubt, avoid sharing.

Being trapped in purgatory. We spend a lot of effort attempting to get people to notice our marketing. We develop material and films, curate visual pieces, and work hard to build an audience. Then we overlook the most vital aspect: the call to action. It's rare to watch a TV commercial without being assaulted with messages telling you what to do next: Buy me! Call me! Look for me in the cereal aisle! However, our own marketing frequently falls short of that important next step. We abandon people with nowhere to go by providing listing information that lacks a price, an address, or even a contact link. Stop presuming your audience knows what to do once they've been captivated by your marketing.

Having vanished without a trace. Many of us believe that the more people we contact on the internet, the better. However, if you try to reach everyone rather than a targeted niche, you risk becoming invisible. Don't make the mistake of publishing things that generate a lot of noise but very little genuine conversation. This is known as "clickbait" on the internet - sensational or controversial content that serves no purpose other than to entice people to react. It's a nightmare for your reputation, and it might lead to others ignoring you as if you've vanished into thin air. Instead, concentrate on providing actual value to your audience with content that solves an issue, meets a need, or educates.

Nowadays, online marketing can be one of the least expensive and most efficient business techniques. The guidelines are the same online as they are offline: communicate with others as if they are actual people. There are no tricks here; just consistent value with a clear call to action.