8 Misconceptions About Internet Advertising and Your Business! |
Posted: June 17, 2012 |
1. Your Facebook Business Page Will Be Seen By Facebook's Millions of Facebook Users - Many people think that if you have a Facebook page for your business, you will benefit from all of Facebook's users. Much to the dismay of Facebook Members, this is simply not the case. There is no mechanism in Facebook to bring its Members to your page. It is your job to send out invites to your friends (who may already be customers as well or already know about your business). Since your business is not categorized and Facebook search is spotty at best, the only way you will get people to your Facebook page is through YOUR efforts. Sure some other people may stumble upon your page or catch your updates but the traffic to your page will be largely a function of your efforts. 2. Having More Facebook Fans Greatly Increases Awareness of Your Brand - While having more Fans on Facebook certainly doesn't hurt, there is no guarantee that any of your Fans will see your updates. Becoming a Fan is a one time interaction and there is no guarantee that your updates will post when your Fans are online or that they will bother to read your updates. A better way to keep you Fans informed is through direct contact or through Email. Again, updating your Facebook page can't hurt but the notion that whatever is published on that page is seen by all of your Fans can provide a false sense of security. 3. If Your Business Can Be Found On The Top of Google Search Results You Will Get a Ton of Business - Every Internet Marketing firm seems to promise that they can get you on the top of Google Search results. The implication is leave it to them and you will have it made. While appearing high on Google or any search engine search results is important, it does not guarantee business success. First of all, many businesses have no idea that the key words that the marketing firm may be ranking you high on are rarely searched. Second, consumers do some degree of investigation before picking up the phone and will look at your website and the other search results before making a call. Of course, ultimately how you handle the customer and run your business is absolutely critical in determining your business success. A business owner must carefully weight the cost of search engine optimization against the real benefit he derives. Internet Marketing is expensive and with Google's constant updates, makes Internet Marketing a constant expense so a business owner must make sure he is really making a return on his investment. 5. Your Tweets Are Being Read By All of Your Followers - Most Twitter users are posting not reading! Not only that, due to the volume of Tweets and the fact that so many people are not on at the same time, it is very unlikely that your Followers or even a small percentage of them are reading your Tweets! Again, more followers is better than less followers but tweeting may also provide a false sense that someone is actually listening to your Tweets! 6. Every Business Should and Must Have a Website - I meet a lot of business owners who feel that they cannot even begin to launch their business without a website. Business owners simply don't understand that when their website is live, they will get their second problem - how do they get people to look at their website and pay attention to it! Again, there is nothing wrong with having a website for your business. Just don't think that your website will replace meeting customers, networking, and ultimately doing a great job any more than having business cards. 7. Print Media is Dead and Consumers Only Search Online - A common comment is that print media is dead. However, I can't stop noticing the plethora of free newspapers, newspapers that cost money, magazines, brochures, flyers, disount savings books, etc. I believe there is more print than ever. If revenues are down, its probably due to competition from so many print vendors! This does not mean that online advertising is not growing. It's also growing. However, I believe that there are many valuable ways to advertise in print as well as online. The notion that print media is dead is simply not correct. A business should consider all options but again most important, build their customer base through networking and doing a great job! The best advertisement is a referral from a satisfied customer! 8. All Business Search Will Be On Mobile Devices - While mobile phones and tablets will continue to be more common, most business searches that are conducted are on established sites that consumers know already. Discovering and learning sites on a mobile device can be a headache. People tend to use mobile devices while they are on the go (hence the word "mobile"). Thus, it is still critical for all businesses with a website or websites to have a great site. Simply having a mobile application doesn't ensure any degree of success. It will, however, require website owners to maintain their mobile application as well as their website thus adding an additional expense. Again, while there is nothing wrong with a mobile application, a website must have a whole host of qualities to become successful. Recently, I read that only 12% of all searches are performed on a mobile device. The odds of a customer finding your mobile application that they never knew about before they searched is slim. Again, a business owner's emphasis should be on building their business first and foremost through a variety of methods. Summary Building Websites and Internet Marketing are big businesses now. Consumers are wary of pharmaceutical companies promoting drugs as the answer to every problem from weather related moodswings to not being able to fall asleep. Similarly, businesses have to distinguish the hype from reality when it comes to spending their money on Internet advertising. Spending money on a website, search engine optimization, Facebook fan pages, social media, mobile applications and other Internet marketing can help but by no means take the place of building a business the old fashion way - having a great product or service and getting referrals! David Waller is the CEO and Founder of Storeboard.com - A Free Social Media site for businesses that is currently ranked 16K in the world by Alexa.com and has thousands of businesses using its platform to increase their exposure and reduce their advertising expenses. Mr. Waller is also the Author of: 7 Ways Storeboard Will Change the Way We Do Business on the Internet
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