I have heard from some small businesses that they don't need to be marketing. Small business owners have heard a variety of marketing myths that appear to be reality, but I am here to help set them straight. Small businesses have many opportunities to attract their ideal client if they can put some marketing myths aside and create a practical marketing plan that will work for their business.

Myth 1: My target market is older, therefore social media won't work.
Fact: According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, 52% of online boomers and 32% of online seniors are using social networking sites, the most popular being Facebook at 57% and 35% respectively. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to connect and build relationships with those who just may be waiting to find your business through social media.

Myth 2: A mobile website isn't necessary for small businesses.
Fact: If your website doesn’t support a mobile visitor, you will lose many opportunities to be seen by your ideal client. With the adoption of smartphones and tablets continuing to increase, a mobile responsive website and in general, mobile marketing is very important to small businesses, especially for businesses with a physical location. Responsive websites enable small businesses to deploy one website that responds to all devices, whether your visitor is on a browser, smartphone or tablet. This lowers your cost because you don’t need two websites and creates a better user experience for all users.

Myth 3: Email marketing is no longer effective.
Fact: Building your own in-house email list and providing a focused and well executed email marketing campaign is still very effective, especially when integrated into your content marketing activities. Learn how to create and deliver quality subject lines, effective calls to action and niche specific content right to your prospects’ inbox. Email marketing can enhance your relationship with your subscribers and drive your revenue.

Myth 4: I have a logo therefore I have a brand.
Fact: Logos are one component of a company brand identity, but your brand image is far more complex. Brand is the perception the world has of you. It communicates your personality and influences your prospects’ opinion of who you are and whether they want to do business with you. A brand is everything you are, the value you deliver and the total client experience. Every image you project needs to consistently reflect the personality of your business. Make sure your brand is consistently used across all of your social media sites and marketing activities.

Myth 5: My nephew can build my website.
Fact: Your website is the foundation for all of your inbound marketing activities and it needs to be created as a marketing tool and not the technology project. You certainly can create a professional WordPress website by using a premium theme, adding your logo, determining your color palette and writing quality content. But understanding best practices around content organization and user experience is critical to making sure your visitors find what they are looking for. By all means, if you can technically create your own website, do so. But invest in a marketing person to critique the site layout, content organization, on-page optimization, your call to action and landing pages.

Myth 6: Great marketing works instantly.
Fact: Although marketing creates visibility and some tactics can produce instant results, marketing is about sustained contact with your target audience to ensure they know who you are when they are about to buy. Content marketing is not instantaneous. In fact: “Days, weeks, or even months won’t produce results that you will be happy with. Be prepared to put in at least 1 solid year before you start seeing results from content marketing.” It takes time to create enough quality content your target needs to begin producing results. Marketing is an investment and like all good investments, they take time to achieve the greatest gains.

Myth 7: Messages need to be changed often, otherwise your marketing gets old.
Fact: Consistency and repetition is marketing’s best friend. Just when you are bored to tears with your marketing message or marketing campaign is when your messages may resonate with your target audience. Changing your message, brand or marketing campaign for the sake of change is a waste.

Myth 8: Marketing is Advertising.
Fact: Marketing is about educating your target market about your products and services and why they should buy from you. The medium you use to communicate these messages to your target market could include advertising, but for most small businesses, the cost of traditional advertising outweighs the value. Online advertising is more cost effective, but whether you use advertising in your marketing mix to reach your ideal client will be specific to your business.

Myth 9: Lower prices encourage more people to buy.
Fact: If that were always true, no one would buy a BMW verses a Kia. Buyers have their own idea of what is valuable to them and many believe that “you get what you pay for”. That is why it is so important to target your product or service correctly so that you can provide the maximum value at the right price.

Myth 10: Inbound and social media marketing is free.
Fact: Although it is true that you can create your web presence for little to no money, inbound and social media marketing do require extensive resources – people and time – to be successful. Inbound marketing requires the creation of quality, relevant content and being present on the social networking sites to build relationships. Blogging, monitoring your reputation, curating and sharing content, creating and optimizing your profiles, responding to posts and comments all take time. And although inbound marketing is time consuming, it is worth every minute you put into it.

Marketing is about making your business visible by educating your customers about you, your products and services, and how you can help them. Everything you do to accomplish this for your company is a marketing activity. Marketing is really an investment in time, creativity, resources and energy. The more you can invest the greater business success you will have.

Have you ever thought about what the colours you choose to represent your business mean? A couple weeks ago we ventured into the importance of branding your business. And part of branding is choosing colours to portray your company. Here are what some of the more popular colours say about you. 

Red- a physical colour which calls for action to be taken. It's high energy and strength draws attention to itself and demands to be noticed.

Orange- the colour of adventure which inspires and creates enthusiasm. It is optimistic and sociable and suggests affordability.

Yellow- an illuminating and uplifting colour which stimulates our analytical processes and assists with mental clarity. 

Green- associated with nature, health and healing. It balances the emotions and inspires compassion.

Blue- the safest colour to use in most applications, implying honesty, trust and dependability. 

Purple- implies wealth, quality, fantasy and creativity. It works well with many other colours.

Pink- inspires compassion and nurturing. It is a non-threatening colour used most often in feminine businesses. 

Gold- associated with value, luxury and prestige. It reflects wisdom, beauty and generosity. 

Silver- a modern, sophisticated colour, calming yet uplifting, with a degree of mystery about it. 

Black- the colour of power and authority. In excess it can be intimidating and unfriendly. 

White- a blank canvas for creative stimulation. It implies efficiency and simplicity, fairness and order. 

Grey- neutral and conservative but it does imply security and reliability. It creates a great background for other colours. 

Brown- a strong, reassuring colour that is comforting and reliable. It relates well to businesses that promote down-to-earth and outdoor products and activities.