Online Marketing…My Business Doesn’t Have Time!
Online marketing and strategy for business is more important than ever. That included everything from a brand new shop to long established businesses. The pandemic put the importance of a strong online presence and associated marketing into stark relief. As we slowly move past peak COVID that importance is only set to increase.
Yet many businesses remain passive, inconsistent or absent when it comes to their online presence. They desperately need a strategy and plan in place, but there are none. The year listed in their website’s footer is from the last decade. Virtual tumbleweeds blow through their Facebook and Google pages and Twitter and Instagram profiles. They have ceded fertile ground for new business on search engines and social media sites to competitors. The business may not even fully realize they have fallen into this sand trap. That begs the question: how do you know when your business needs online help?
It comes down to three central challenges businesses face. Where you come out on these challenges will determine if you should schedule a consult to discuss improving your business’ online presence. The first of these challenges is TIME.
Time
Time in business is precious. That is particularly true when the economy is growing. When businesses get busy, websites and social media are one of the first things to go out the window. Every day key tasks take up that that time marked off for online marketing. That means that new website or content does not happen or is delegated internally. Delegation leads to 3 outcomes…
- The Intern. Interns are great! We love interns. But we wouldn’t turn over our online marketing to one. This idea is rooted in ageism. The intern is given run of the business online marketing because they are under 25 and therefore must know online marketing. Even if there studies focus on business and it is a terrible decision. Some of the biggest online fails have resulted from a green intern in charge. It’s not the intern’s fault either, a business wouldn’t turn over traditional marketing that way.
- Keep It In The Family. Family friends pop up when businesses are pressed for time. They will tell you that they once designed a website, so must be an expert designer. They once received a Google coupon, so are an expert ads manager. Or it’s a son or daughter grudgingly pressed into service by a parent. The outcome is usually that nothing happens, but months are wasted as a result. That relation does not want to or cannot help you. If it’s been months since they promised you a new site or social media presence it’s time to move on!
- Referred To Another Committee. When people are too busy the online presence falls off of the table. Someone told someone in that last meeting that that one person who knows that guy/gal should get working on that website redesign. That is repeated at the next meeting. This loop means that no one person is involved. The online effort dies in committee (if it even meets) and no one is clearly responsible.
When time is limited you want to work with a company that does online marketing for a living. It’s not a side gig or a hobby, it’s what they do. They do not need to develop expertise, they already have it and provide clear costs, schedules and other scoping.
