No matter how hard I try to use plain English, all this website-Internet-social media-Google “stuff” is just plain confusing to a lot of business owners and salespeople. Their eyes glaze over when I talk about ranking well in Google or converting site traffic to email subscribers.
Confused people don’t buy – which might explain why about half of all small business owners still don’t have websites – and why most of those who DO have sites aren’t happy with theirs.
So let me frame Internet marketing in another way – friends, it’s just another way to advertise your business.
Wikipedia defines advertising as “… is a form of communication used to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners) to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services.”
When you print business cards or run an ad in Doormail or Columbia Marketplace magazine or buy space in the Yellow Pages or do TV commercials, you’re advertising. Your website is advertising too – and it’s an important way to advertise, since most people look online today to find products and services.
You don’t have to understand how the printing process works to use print media effectively. You don’t need to know how to determine the best radio stations and time slots for your commercials. There are experts to help you with that – you find someone you trust, who DOES understand how all that works, and they’ll help you make the right decisions to make the most of your ad dollars for that particular medium.
That’s how it works with websites and Internet “stuff” too – you find an expert you can trust, who DOES understand how it works, and let them advise you on how to use your advertising budget, online. It’s okay if you don’t understand websites and the Internet and the search engines and Facebook, as long as you work with someone who does. It’s just advertising, and you do it all the time.