Small business owners are some of my favorite people. Tenacious, driven, clever, and wildly talented. And you wear so many hats on your quest for success in your sectors. It’s no wonder so many of you turn to DIY marketing, too.
No shade here—sometimes that really is the best choice!
Doing your own marketing can be quick to execute and cost effective. Plus you have complete creative autonomy. And done right, it really can get you the results you need.
There are some pitfalls to watch out for. Understanding the challenges associated with DIY marketing can help you avoid them and aid you in recognizing when to bring in some professionals.
Let’s take a closer look!
PITFALL 1: Lack of Strategic Planning
THE ISSUE: One of the biggest challenges with DIY marketing is the lack of a cohesive strategy. Without a clear plan, efforts can become disjointed and ineffective. You might end up focusing on trendy tactics without checking first that they align with your business goals. And spin your wheels on efforts that don’t work as well as they could if they were used in a more cohesive context.
ADVICE FOR DIY MARKETERS: Take the time to create a solid marketing plan. Outline your goals, assign metrics, define your target audience, and articulate your key messages. Create a content calendar to keep your efforts organized and ensure consistency. And use tools like Google Analytics to track performance so you’re sure to collect the data that will let you adjust your strategy down the line.
PITFALL 2: Inconsistent Branding
THE ISSUE: DIY marketing often leads to inconsistent branding. When you’re creating content quickly and sharing it across a variety of platforms, it’s easy to lose sight of your brand’s voice, visual identity, and messaging.
ADVICE FOR DIY MARKETERS: Create a brand guide that outlines your logo usage plan, color scheme, fonts, primary messaging points, and tone of voice. Ensure that all your marketing materials—from social media posts to email newsletters—adhere to this guide. This way, your marketing is consistent. And can better build brand recognition and create trust.
PITFALL 3: Overlooking Analytics
THE ISSUE: Many DIY marketers neglect to track and analyze campaign performance. Without the necessary insights from past deployments, it’s challenging to understand what’s working and what needs improvement in future versions of those campaigns.
ADVICE FOR DIY MARKETERS: Make sure to track and regularly review your marketing analytics. Check your email blast system, your social media metrics, and Google Analytics to find out how well your various marketing assets are performing. Use this information to refine your tactics and optimize your campaigns.
PITFALL 4: Insufficient Time and Resources
THE ISSUE: No way around it—marketing takes effort. Time, money, and manpower. Most small business owners I know are juggling multiple responsibilities already, and their DIY marketing suffers when they’re stretched too thin. It leads to inconsistent efforts and missed opportunities.
ADVICE FOR DIY MARKETERS: Prioritize your marketing activities based on what will have the most impact. Consider using marketing automation tools to streamline repetitive tasks. And if you find marketing taking up too much of your time? It might be worth exploring additional support.
PITFALL 5: Limited Expertise
THE ISSUE: Good marketing covers a range of disciplines, from SEO and content creation to social media and email campaigns. A DIY approach may lack the specialized knowledge needed to execute complex strategies effectively, not to mention, get all the disparate channels to function cohesively for optimal return on investment.
ADVICE FOR DIY MARKETERS: Educate yourself through online courses, webinars, and industry blogs. If you’re unsure about specific aspects of marketing, seek advice from experts or consider short-term consultations.
When to Consider Professionals Instead
Even the best DIY efforts may falter in some scenarios. Perhaps you’re being called to other areas of focus , maybe there’s a huge opportunity headed your way that you want to be sure to maximize, or maybe you’re just plain tired of doing SO many things on your own.
If you do decide to get professional help, here are a few benefits you can expect to receive:
Expertise and Experience: Marketing professionals bring a wealth of experience and specialized knowledge that can drastically improve your marketing strategy. And your returns. They’re adept at handling complex challenges and implementing best practices. Often with lower costs than you might think.
A Fresh Perspective: An outside expert can offer a new point of view on your marketing efforts, identifying opportunities and areas for improvement that you might overlook.
Your Time Back: Hiring professionals frees up your time, handling the marketing strategy and campaign execution so you can focus on running your business.
Strategic Guidance: Marketing experts can develop a comprehensive marketing strategy tailored to your business goals, ensuring that all efforts are cohesive and aligned with your objectives.
Results-Optimized Marketing: With their expertise, marketing professionals can help you achieve measurable results more efficiently, providing a better return on your marketing investment.
If they’ve got the time and peak efficiency on campaign performance isn’t a necessity, DIY marketing is absolutely a viable option for small businesses looking to save costs. Just steer clear of those pitfalls we discussed. Implement strategic planning, maintain consistent branding, and leverage analytics, and you can win.
But I hope you won’t hesitate to seek professional help when it’s needed. A marketing professional—or group of professionals like we have at our agency—can provide the expertise, fresh perspective, and strategic guidance needed to take your marketing to the next level. Balancing DIY efforts with professional support can set your business up for marketing success and long-term growth.
Curious to learn more about our services and how they might help a business like yours? Sign up for a free marketing assessment. We’d love to talk more about what we can do.
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