3 DIY Online Marketing Mistakes Most Small Business Make

In pricing and reach alone, internet marketing beats traditional marketing and advertising platforms as the way to get more brand awareness. But as a small business owner, you don’t have the resources to keep up with bigger marketing budgets so you’d prefer somebody just show you how to do your own internet marketing… rather than paying for a service.

Mistake- Using Social Media to Replace a Real Website

If you think that having a Facebook page replaces having a website, then you are a strong example of why DIY internet marketing just doesn’t work for small businesses. The two are very different. Of course social media is free to set up and even a simple website can (and should) cost $1000 minimum, but social media is only half the equation.

Mistake- Using Cheap or Free Website Builders

Of all the things that make up a website effective, “cheap” or “free” do not fit on the list.

Websites that are branded (such as yourbrand.weebly.com) are very sketchy and unprofessional. It shows a lack of commitment that will reflect on how audiences perceive your business. On the same note, don’t let your nephew in highschool play around with building a generic site on WordPress either. The only thing worse than having no website is having an ineffective one.

Mistake- Diving In Over Your Head

There’s so much to do! Content marketing, PPC, SEO, Social Media… it can be overwhelming. Most small business owners dive in over their heads into just one thing: social media. Instead of creating several accounts (Facebook, Twitter, G+, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.) just focus on (a) what you have the resources to handle and (b) which networks your target customers are most active on. When you funnel all your energy into being awesome at just one network, you’ll have more benefits than spreading it all out between too many “stale” profiles.