We live in an era of uncertainty. The line between fact and fiction, truth and lies, what’s real and what’s fake, has never been blurrier. Given this climate, it’s no wonder that so many myths take hold online and develop a life of their own. Unfortunately for small business owners, one practice that seems to generate a disproportionately large number of myths is marketing.
While most small business owners have –– at least –– a basic knowledge of digital marketing, there are many nuances to digital marketing that can easily be misconstrued, misunderstood and misapplied by inexperienced pros. With that in mind, today we’re going to highlight three myths about small business marketing so that you can learn the truth and build a better business as a result. Check them out here:
SEO Produces Immediate Results
It’s understandable why so many small business owners want search-engine optimization (SEO) methods to make a quick impact for their business. In reality, though, SEO tactics typically take a long time to bear fruit. Indeed, it can sometimes be months before a business’s SEO efforts start delivering tangible returns.
There are a couple of misunderstandings about SEO that are worth noting here. First, search engine rankings are relative. Just because a business begins to improve its SEO efforts, it doesn’t mean it’s going to overtake larger, more experienced competitors right away. Second, SEO is about maintaining SERP position as much as anything else. Without regular SEO maintenance, a company could risk falling in SERP rankings.
Volume of Content is More Important than Quality
Writing blogs and producing content is essential work for just about every business. However, there’s a misconception that the volume of content produced is more important than the quality of those pieces. This is untrue. The role of content should be to provide consumers and website visitors with meaningful information about a product, service, or industry trend. Businesses that are concerned only with churning out as much content as possible will, inevitably, create articles that lack depth and expertise. Because of this, readers will shy away from these blogs after a while, and eventually, search engines will demote these pages based on poor performance (e.g. high bounce rate, among other metrics).
All things being equal, two blogs are better than one. But one well-written blog could prove superior to a dozen articles that don’t impart any value. Remember also that search engines tend to favor content-rich pages –– like pillar pages specifically.
All Leads are Good Leads
Say one social media marketing campaign generated 200 leads, and another generated 50. Obviously, the first campaign is more successful. Right? Well, not necessarily. Gaining a lead is certainly a step in the right direction, but some leads are simply better than others. Let’s consider the previous hypothetical again. Imagine now that of the 200 leads generated by the first campaign, only 10 eventually made a purchase, and that of the 50 leads created by the second campaign, 20 converted into a sale. Now which campaign is more worthwhile?
Developing leads is great, but unless businesses are able to attract consumers who have a genuine interest in purchasing their product, all the leads in the world won’t help them make money consistently.
The Bottom Line
Small businesses are diverse; they produce a myriad of unique products, from 96 well ELISA plates, to customizable bed sheets. So while they may have little in common on paper, all small businesses share the common need to market themselves effectively. Without proper digital marketing support, most businesses will fail to expand their customer base, reach sales targets, or expand in any meaningful way. Thankfully, by learning the truth about these three serious marketing myths, you can help your company establish a foothold online and build for the future with confidence.