It’s amazing how often I hear the same misconceptions and misunderstandings from prospects we talk to, clients we work with, or others when discussing Internet marketing.\u00c2\u00a0 While businesses have become more savvy with respect to the web, some still have\u00c2\u00a0much to learn.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
The following are\u00c2\u00a0five of the most frequent Internet marketing myths that I come across:<\/p>\n
It’s really about the latest and greatest trend.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>While technology continues to amaze, some things don’t change.\u00c2\u00a0 Content is still king and in order to engage you have to provide something of value.\u00c2\u00a0 The printing press probably wouldn’t have had such\u00c2\u00a0an impact initially if Gutenberg had decided to print a book\u00c2\u00a0of mutton stew recipes instead of the Bible.\u00c2\u00a0 In the end, technology can’t overcome bad design, poor strategy, inferior quality, or terrible customer service.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n I can handle\u00c2\u00a0email subscribers in the same was as my direct mail list.<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0 Direct mailers\u00c2\u00a0sometimes have a difficult time understanding the repercussions of emailing to subscribers too frequently or to those who didn’t provide clear permission.\u00c2\u00a0 Junk mail delivered by the United States Post Office, at worst, ends-up in the recycling bin, while unwanted email triggers spam complaints which in turn\u00c2\u00a0tarnishes your email reputation and makes it more difficult to get your communications to those who really want it.\u00c2\u00a0 Just because it only costs fractions of a penny to send an email to an email address doesn’t mean that you should.<\/p>\n I’ve\u00c2\u00a0implemented XYZ analytics application so I have done all that I need.<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Implementing a service like Omniture Site Catalyst or Google Analytics is a great start, but it is just a start.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Companies need to ensure that\u00c2\u00a0they have trained staff dedicated to analyzing the information provided by tools like Site Catalyst.\u00c2\u00a0 These applications have many wonderful reports but the ‘canned’ reports won’t tell you everything in you need (often they only provide a small portion), and you\u00c2\u00a0have to\u00c2\u00a0have skilled people focused on analyzing the data in order to\u00c2\u00a0gain the insights needed to improve results.<\/p>\n SEO is free – I can just have someone already on staff handle it.<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0 There are companies that handle search engine optimization in-house and are very successful.\u00c2\u00a0 But those companies will be the first to\u00c2\u00a0acknowledge that it’s not free.\u00c2\u00a0 SEO is still such an art and science that you need to dedicate real resources\u00c2\u00a0to truly understand\u00c2\u00a0how to succeed.\u00c2\u00a0 Also,\u00c2\u00a0because\u00c2\u00a0the rules are continually evolving, a\u00c2\u00a0considerable effort needs to be made to\u00c2\u00a0stay current and that takes time and commitment.\u00c2\u00a0 Companies who think they can buy a\u00c2\u00a0book and task someone without search marketing experience to handle SEO in her ‘spare time’ soon\u00c2\u00a0discover that approach is a recipe for failure.<\/p>\n I control the conversation.<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Companies can foster, facilitate, participate, and even impact the conversation but\u00c2\u00a0they can’t control what is being said about their organization.\u00c2\u00a0 Customers are having conversations about organizations and their products and services on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, blogs, Amazon (product reviews), etc.\u00c2\u00a0 There is nothing that a company do to stop it and attempts to only backfire.\u00c2\u00a0 Organizations must stop worrying about control and learn how to participate.<\/p>\n What Internet marketing myths would you add?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s amazing how often I hear the same misconceptions and misunderstandings from prospects we talk to, clients we work with, or others when discussing Internet marketing.\u00c2\u00a0 While businesses have become more savvy with respect to the web, some still have\u00c2\u00a0much to learn.\u00c2\u00a0 The following are\u00c2\u00a0five of the most frequent Internet marketing myths that I come 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