I know, you have a lot on your plate. Right now you are probably on lunch break scrolling through feeds and planning to quit reading this in three… two…. still there?
Good. Because in this short read, I want to convince you that, though it may be tempting, you should not put off marketing your business any longer. Whether you are a start-up or a mom and pop that’s just “always done it that way”, now is as good a time as any to amp up your marketing.
Here are some reasons people put it off as long as possible… sound like you?
1. You are “too new” to start advertising:
You feel there is just nothing to post yet and you don’t want to reveal any information until you are ready.
2. Not enough people:
Yes, this does make it difficult. When you have a mission to accomplish and you are just a one man band, it is hard and (sometimes uncomfortable) to market yourself.
3. Not enough money:
You want it done right, but you can’t afford to that right now, so why even do it at all?
4. You just don’t know what there is to market or who to market to:
You’re in luck! There’s tons of blogs (like this one), classes, companies, and local meet-up groups that can help you every step of the way!
NOW. We have addressed 4 of the MANY reasons why you might be putting off marketing. But what is the benefit of saying “today is the day!”?
1. First off, there is always something you can post.
There is something about your business people do not yet know, otherwise, what’s the point of starting it? Maybe you can’t share info about your product just yet, but tell us the story of why you are beginning this new venture! You will build a reputation and get others excited about you, which may lead to opened-doors down the road.
2. It may actually end up saving you time AND bring in new people to work with you…
Which will also save you time. When you are so busy running the place, you may think you do not have time to market. But the more people know about you, the more likely it is for people to reach out to YOU rather than you always having to make initial contact with your leads. There are many automation platforms out there that can automate your marketing so something is always getting posted to Facebook or the Gram. You can stockpile content on a slow day, and then when things pick up, your marketing is already going for you! Easy as pie.
3. It’s an investment.
It may cost a bit up front to get your own domain, buy a video, hire a photographer… but all of those things are going to make you look so much more credible and serious about the business than if you just select some free stock photos and videos and pop those up on your website that ends in a generic domain name.
4. You can always iterate!
Just like your business, your marketing can pivot too. Putting up a website with blue and green as your main colors, doesn’t mean that you can’t change that later on. Plus, if you are new, there will be less people to notice all of your changes, and you might even be able to get more personal feedback in the process.
No doubt, marketing may seem like a daunting and time-consuming task. But you never know what is going to work until you put somethings out there for people to critique. And it’s always great to delegate. If you know nothing about cameras, hire someone. If you don’t have the money, make friends! Bottom line- it might be scary, but the first step is to just start getting things out there. What kinds of things you ask? We will talk about that next week so stay tuned!
