Internet Marketing - Avoid the Excuses and Here are Some Tips to get You Started

When it comes to internet marketing, social marketing, websites, etc., many small business owners sometimes let their fears and feelings get in the way of a sound business strategy. Believe me I can relate, and I will give you two examples.

• Videos - Personally I do not care to view videos when I am searching for information, unless I am looking for assembly/disassembly instructions. I would rather read about the information I am searching on. But many people prefer to watch videos, and this is why you will see me linking to videos on my blog and site.
• Facebook - I do not like Facebook, and I do not use it in my personal life, but 500+ million users disagree with me. I am very familiar with how well Facebook can help a business grow through my personal business experience with business accounts in addition to advising my clients.

From a business standpoint, I would be foolish to stick my head in the sand and ignore these two internet business marketing platforms.

And here are some additional excuses I have heard from small business owners.

• The internet changes too fast. It is too complicated, and I am overwhelmed by all the options. - This might be the closest thing to a legitimate excuse there is, and frankly it is the reason many people start out working on the internet but then quickly give it up. The first thing I will say is you have already taken the daunting step to become a small business owner so nothing should be too scary or complicated for you. I always advise my clients to take it slow. For example pick one or two social marketing platforms and learn them first. Once you have mastered those platforms, you can move onto something else.
• I do not have the time. - No one does anymore. With all this new technology what used to take an hour, now takes two days... Ok that was a poor attempt at humor, but yes time can be an issue. But in reality you need to need to make time because internet marketing should be a strong and growing part of your overall marketing and advertising plan. And there are tools out there to help you manage your time more effectively. If you are using Twitter, use TweetDeck to more efficiently manage your account, Tweet, and stay in touch with others. If you want to know what people are saying about your small business in the social networks, use Social Mention to monitor your brand or your competition.
• I am doing fine without it. My competition is not doing it. I am only concerned about my local market. - There are a ton of rebuttals I can give for these excuses, but let me just share with you a recent personal experience. I recently moved back to the Middle GA area, and I am in the process of buying a home. There are quite a few things I will need to do including landscaping, cutting down some dying trees, electric work, etc. I long ago got rid of my cable/satellite TV, and I use internet TV so I do not see your local TV commercials. I cannot remember the last time I looked at the yellow pages or a phone book so I do not see your yellow pages ad. I do all my research online, and there is a large and growing community just like me. You need to be in front of this market.

Honestly there are no legitimate excuses for NOT starting an internet marketing plan today. And just because you do not use it personally, does not mean your clients are not using it.

Here are Some Tips to Help get You Started

• Register a website domain.
• Find yourself a hosting company. A small business can host a website online for less than $10/month.
• Find a website template online (they are cheap but look very professional), and talk to a company like mine to help you setup the website template or build you a website from scratch.
• As part of your website design, do not just bullet point your product/services, but explain them in some detail. Add your own pictures of your products and services.
• Add your business info (address, phone, etc) and a contact form for customers to contact you.
• Make sure your contact information link is prominently displayed and setup call to action links throughout your website directing potential customers to contact you.
• Check to make sure the hosting company offers a blog add-on as part of the hosting service, and setup a blog.
• Brand and track your blog RSS feed and setup a blog email subscription.
• Add social share buttons to your blog and website.
• Start linking your site and blog in online directories
• Social marketing - Focus on 1 or 2 social networks initially. If your target market is consumers, consider Facebook and some targeted forums. If your target market is businesses, consider LinkedIn and Twitter. There really is no magic answer, just pick one or two and begin to build your online social network.

Follow these tips, and you can avoid the excuses and get your internet marketing program started today. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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