Every business owner wants to know what magical marketing tactic will get them the most return.
However, what often gets in the way of successful marketing is YOU!
Here are some myths in marketing every business owner should know.
We hear this all the time.
It seems logical, right? Not necessarily.
If your business is first in line, it looks like you are receiving the lion's share of clicks and phone calls. The truth is Google is cagey at best about the factors that determine where your link appears on a search page and why.
Wisely, most search providers' top priority is that which is relevant to searchers rather than businesses that can game the system to appear at the top. Google increasingly has chosen to mask how their magic is done, which evens the playing field and drives marketers to build customer relevance into their online presence.
Micro-segmentation — let’s call it “personalization” — also plays an important role in widening your online footprint. Google knows your search history (and a lot of other things about you as well), and can tailor a search return page to individual users.
Let's say you and I both type "beach vacations" into Google. Your results would probably vary from mine because last week I searched for "scenic beaches Hawaii" and you didn't.
Your location matters as well. If you're wandering around any medium to large city and say, "Siri, I need a haircut…," the No. 1 entry on the list will be the nearest salon. Driving to the other side of town will yield a different top-ranked result.
Can you throw some money at Google to produce page 1 results?
Sure. To be clear, money will buy ads that appear above the actual search returns. Depending on the competitive environment for your industry, it can take loads of money in addition to quality content, backlinks, consistent social media engagement and more (we'll talk about that later).
It does not take a genius to understand that publishing a great website falls among the best marketing practices category for any business.
However, if you don’t promote your website, you won't get anything in return except bills from the website designer. At United WebWorks, we have a saying, "You don't really want a website, you want revenue." A well-promoted, quality website pays for itself because it boosts your bottom line in unimaginable ways.
Failing to invest in strategies that enhance your website's performance — or not seeing your site as an important source of revenue — is like storing a Stradivarius in your attic with no intention of playing it, or parking a fancy powerboat in your driveway and never getting it wet.
In other words: what's the point?
Your marketing budget should also include ways that promote your website — such as direct mail or advertising in publications whose audience aligns with your target market audience.
When times are tough, the knee-jerk reaction is to retract the marketing budget. However, data can prove that pulling back on marketing during economic down times can have a negative impact to business. Buchen Advertising studied recessions in 1949, 1954, 1958, and 1961. They found that companies that reduced their advertising during those periods lost immediate sales and saw lagging growth when the economy later recovered.
If you want to get your money’s worth, there aren’t enough do-it-yourself articles or videos in the world that can produce the same results as a professional agency.
And adding online social media marketing to an administrative assistant's to-do list is just plain unfair.
Why?
Successful digital marketing means more than dabbling.
Beside learning a lot of new skills, DIYers often do not understand that there is everyday interaction demanded by best-practices for keeping your internet marketing on course for the long-term.
Everyone has seen memes of DIY fails — Pinterest cakes gone wrong, home repair projects that inflict damage instead of undoing it or make-up tutorials that produce undesirable results.
Is it really a stretch to consider Internet marketing an inefficient use of your time?
Social media posts can't be that difficult, right? Sure, you can throw a sentence together — some might even call you a wordsmith — but are you willing to plan out posts every day?
Can you produce supporting content that is new and relevant, such as regular blog posts?
Got your camera ready? This is a highly visual strategy.
Are you ready to respond to fans within 24 hours? Do you know how to craft the perfect response to a complaint while gaining fans in the process?
Do you know how to write and to publish content that is directed toward the primary audience of the platform?
Finally, can you consistently generate content for the long term that patiently builds your message that suits your customers?
Here's why we talk about content, content and more content.
It’s not uncommon to start their digital marketing with an erroneous notion of what marketing is.
Marketing is about constructing a sturdy strategic foundation before committing to tactics that will increase sales. It's about fully understanding your customers and their pain points. Then, position your company as the obvious, trusted and favored provider of solutions that fit their unique needs.
The tactics depend on all of these factors. The look and feel of your website, content of your social media posts, email marketing and trade shows should be customer-driven.
And that's why online content is King.
At United WebWorks, we focus our efforts on inbound marketing — where efforts are aimed toward earning a person’s attention with engaging and informative content that builds trust and improves their experience. Content marketing helps companies latch on to “crucial decision-making moments by offering consumers solutions to their potential concerns.”
Content does not refer to the occasional Facebook post. What United WebWorks has in mind are long-term strategies that drive appropriate content to relevant channels. Be the one company among the competition that consistently provides the best, most helpful content to potential customers.
And, yes, that takes time!
Our culture is so saturated with “BUY ME!” messages that when truly helpful and honest content comes along, we're pleasantly surprised. Crucial to succeeding in the world of online marketing are blogs that offer helpful and thoughtful information that give direction pointed at your customers' pain points.