Odds are your small business is looking for ways to get ahead by utilizing the internet. The wrong line of thinking may have you committing these four small business internet marketing mistakes:

Mistake #1: Thinking it’s all about the economy. Well it is, just not the one people typically refer to. Attention economy is likely to impact your business as much if not more than changes in the financial economy. With added stress people revert to basic needs, often trying to dial back on excess and focus on priorities. This can mean spending less time online searching. As their field narrows your small business has to work harder to win their attention.

Mistake #2: Thinking you just need to advertise more. You do yourself a huge disservice to waste money on promoting ineffective materials. If your internet marketing materials give the wrong impression they’re likely to cost you more than just money. Truth is people don’t want to be advertised to. They want to be entertained and wooed by your brand, make them want you as much as they need you.

Mistake #3: Thinking branding is just about your logo and a tagline. Customers want to understand and identify with your brand, not just after they meet you or use your service, that’s why they search online. Your brand has a personality all its own which needs to be reflected online. Even if you are an independent owner and the business is named after you, the business still has to have a personality that stands on its own.  You can’t expect potential customers to embrace your business, if even you don’t know how to.

Mistake #4: Thinking that internet marketing is about you and what you do. WRONG!! It’s about the customer, who they are, what they want, what they NEED. Not in the crotchety old who, what, when, where, why form, but in the OMG, I FrEAkING loooooooove these guys!!! They are sooo AWESOME,  hilarious/ clever/ caring… impulse driven, content sharing form that will bring you customer loyalty and new business. It’s your job to script a story that they want to be a part of.

Small business internet marketing mistakes galore and ONE BIG SOLUTION:

Stop being all insensitive and start wooing your customers. There is one big solution to eliminate these internet marketing mistakes.

Treat your internet marketing investment like an investment in the relationship with your customers. If you want their attention, earn it.

  • Be where they are web / social / print / broadcast media.
  • Optimize your website for search engines to find you.
  • Geo-tag your business location so customers can find you.
  • Update your about pages and social media profiles with character, so potential customers know you’re business is the real deal, alive and thriving, something to see.
  • Show your personality and professionalism by having content that makes them laugh, smile, and maybe even cry (tears of joy of course).

To grow your small business, you need to do more than just show up in search results, you need potential customers to pay attention long enough to fall in love with you. The more they get to know your business brand the more they look forward to using your products and services.