With the endless clatter of marketing advice from blogs, consultants, and colleagues, how does the e-business know where to invest its limited resources? I’ve noticed 2 problems with a good portion of internet marketing advice:
It’s biased: If you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail. In other words, the SEO consultant believes that natural search is the key to your growth, while the social media guru says Facebook is the goose that lays the golden eggs.
It’s unprioritized: It’s easy to be overwhelmed by a mega-list of recommendations. I’m a fan of top 10 (or top whatever) lists, but they do have a tendency to produce unprioritzed advice that can easily swamp the small business owner.
With plethora of marketing options (e.g. email, SEO, PPC, social media) competing for your attention, how do you decide how to allocate resources? Here’s some guiding principles: (that are prioritized, of course)
Strategy before Tactics: You need to know where you’re going before you choose the vehicle to get there.
Some marketing vehicles are better than others depending on what you’re doing, and who you’re trying to reach. If you’re shooting for a 55+ audience, twitter probably isn’t the best place to start. If a consultant says you should be doing such and such, first stop to consider whether their recommendations gel with your strategy.