As a Millennial, I’ve been brought up with the ever changing technology. First was the family computer we shared. Then it was the family cell phone we shared. From there, we all were able to access our own smart phones, laptops, tablets, etc. But as a Rhode Island Website Designer and Internet Marketing Specialist, I do not understand why business owners are skeptic of using new ways of marketing their businesses.
I was out to dinner the other day and I noticed that businesses still advertise on place mats. I actually contacted one of the businesses that paid to have a 3 inch advertisement of their business logo and a phone number (not even a website) on a place mat that will get washed out by a crayon drawing of the game tic-tac-toe. My point is, no one is looking at these advertisements and acting on them to benefit the business owner.
Next time you’re out to eat, take a look at what the majority of people are doing while waiting for their food.
I can tell you right now, it’s not the place mat. 99.9% are looking down at their phones.
So when I called this company to ask if they would be interested in developing a website and building their business through social media vs dinner place mats, the business owner was immediately not interested in what I had to say. I don’t know what it is, but when you bring up technology, the internet and their business they get very sensitive and think “it won’t work”. I don’t get it, do they think the internet is going away? The problem is, business owners are not educating themselves on these new ways of advertising. It’s the only way you should be advertising (in my opinion). You can measure your investment. You can target your audience and it’s so affordable vs traditional marketing strategies.
It’s time for small businesses to educate themselves on the importance of social media marketing. It’s also important to utilize the platforms in the right way. It’s not just creating a Facebook page and posting to it every 3 years. (Yes, I’ve had conversations with businesses that say they use Facebook, and when I go to their page, it hasn’t been updated in 2-3 years).
