It’s been an interesting few weeks. I’ve had the good fortune of meeting many business owners lately. I’m active in the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, LIBA and early this week I had the good fortune of going to the first annual Stack Unconference in Omaha where I got to converse with other designers in my industry. One thing all of these businesses owners shared in common was the desire to make the most out of their marketing dollars. After listening to them talk I think some business owners have the wrong idea about what marketing, design and social media can do to help their business. Here’s some of the things I heard that I disagree with:


MISTAKE #1: Thinking that having a Facebook Page with nothing on it is better than no Facebook Page at all.

This got a lot of discussion at the Unconference. For designers we were pretty concerned with leveraging social media tools! We discussed how Facebook is a tool just like any other. It’s no silver bullet and if you aren’t using it to actively try and engage your prospects then it’s best to leave it on the shelf. But there’s the problem! What’s the best way to actively engage your prospects in such a way that it generates sales or brand interest?

You really can NOT treat these tools like normal marketing venues. Marketing is about spreading your message EXTERNALLY. People have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts for themselves and THEIR interests. Not to constantly be shouted at by whatever company happens to be having a sale that moment. It doesn’t have to be incredibly complicated or require expensive apps. Take a look at SmartyPig, they generate a ton of interest on their Twitter account with a contest, a gift card, video camera and YouTube account.

MISTAKE #2: Spending money on marketing and advertising before a clear and creative brand has been established.

One business owner I met with used to spend thousands of dollars on monthly print advertising to drive people to a website that was completely stuck in 1998. He was a good business owner and provided a great product but he had no clear creative message on his ads. His website did not reflect the quality of work his company did. Eventually he stopped advertising to save money but he could have had a website that stood on it’s own if he had saved a few months worth of advertising, focused his image and  spent the money on an engaging site. Advertising without something unique and clear to say is a waste of money. If people don’t know what you sell, and if you don’t do anything to stand apart then why would they visit your site or call you?

MISTAKE #3: Not doing your homework on businesses that guarantee “Instant First Place Listing on Search Engine Results”

It’s tough to run a small business. You have to be the expert on so many things, human resources, accounting, sales and marketing. It’s impossible to be the expert on everything. Unfortunately there are places that take advantage of that inexperience.

I talked with a business owner who was the sole employee of his business. He worked hard for his customers and relied heavily on word of mouth for sales. He told me he was about to sign with a company that promised first page search engine placement for a “mere” $250 a month. I told him that sounded fishy and asked for more information. After talking with him for a while it was clear this company was merely going to be purchasing advertising on search engines.

So while true, he was going to be on the first page, it wasn’t where he thought. The truth of the matter is that as old as the internet is, there’s still a lot that regular people don’t know about putting a site up and getting people to it. Plus he didn’t have a website to begin with so spending all that money was going to be an afterthought to having a solid, informational website. I told him that if he had $250 a month to blow, then to go ahead but it might be better off to save that amount up for a few months and create a website and really an image that people will WANT to go to on their own. I told him to not just think about quantity of website visitors but quality. Google Adwords can be a fantastic tool for promoting yourself but once you turn that advertising off, the visitors are going to stop coming too.

MISTAKE #4: Not paying attention to changing technologies and emerging tools.

Okay, you are the business owner, you don’t have the time to keep up with every new shiny toy that pops up online. Who does have the time? Remember MySpace? I know people who swear up and down Facebook will replace email someday. I may not agree with that but it does not hurt to keep your finger on the pulse of new trends coming through the gate.

Twitter and Facebook may not be right for every company but it doesn’t hurt to try. If you are a small business, you have the advantage of being VERY nimble when it comes to changing marketing courses. Want to try a blog? Awesome, do it. Maybe set yourself up a Blogger account that isn’t associated with your website. Then tell a few people about it. If and other people seem to enjoy it, keep it up! Maybe even redesign your own website to reap those juicy SEO benefits that many people have blogs for. The point is you can’t know what will fit your business unless you try.

MISTAKE #5: Not getting a professional opinion when it comes to all of the above.

I’m not saying you need to hire a creative professional full time. I’m saying getting an opinion from someone who uses new technologies and is constantly working with new trends can be a huge asset when it comes to making the most of your marketing budget. Designers can be an invaluable resource when it comes to keeping up with trends, staying relevant and finding new ways to interact with people because, after all, that’s their job!

Yet another business owner I met with had his business logo done by a local company that provided automotive graphics. This automotive graphics company did good work in their own field but were completely inexperienced with came to trademarks and threw together a logo that used clipart and suffered from readability issues. It looked decent on the van but wasn’t really suitable for a business card. In the end, if this business owner decides he wants a unique image that he can trademark, it may cost him thousands of dollars extra! Again, it would be impossible for him to know all this himself but working with a professional designer, if even to get a consultation and quote, could have saved him a huge hassle.

So there are five of the mistakes I’ve seen recently that business owners make when branding and marketing themselves. Is it a complete list? Absolutely not. But hopefully it will get you thinking about things you can do with your own business to improve your branding. Focus on the basics first and build the foundation to build your marketing plan on. In the words of Speak Human “Make great stuff and give people a good reason to care.” It goes a long way towards improving any marketing.