Internet marketing encompasses a lot of activities. From social media to having a state-of-the-art website to content marketing, there is a lot you can do to promote your business online. Many business owners are nervous to put their toes in the internet marketing water because of some fears about the results. Today we want to talk about three of the biggest fears about internet marketing and why they are not that big of a deal.

Results Take Too Long

 Most internet marketing does not yield immediate results. Often you are simply building awareness and putting content out to be consumed by potential clients. Because there is no specific timeline for results it can feel like it is endless with no measurable success, making it hard to justify the time and expense. When determining your online marketing measurements of success, look at each individual activity and determine how you can measure your ROI. Don’t lump all online activity into one measurement metric like lead generation. Different activities yield different results and to see success you have to look at them separately.

 Negative Feedback

 Negative reviews, poor social media comments and negative blog comments sound scary. Business owners have no control over what is posted and, on many platforms, little recourse to have them removed. For many business owners this is the #1 reason they opt out of internet marketing. While it is true that the internet is full of people who love to add their two cents on everything, there are many ways to manage a poor review that benefits your business.

1. Blog comments can be moderated to remove malicious or inappropriate comments. If a comment is left that is a legitimate concern, we would encourage a response to publicly address the concern rather than deleting the comment. Even if your response is a simple sentence stating that you will follow-up via email, this shows you want to make the situation right with the client.
2. Negative reviews on social media, Google or Yelp should be given a response. How you handle the poor review is often more important than the review itself. When prospective clients are reading online reviews, they will not be surprised to see a less than perfect review. They will want to know how you handled it and if the clients felt heard and the situation was resolved.

 Competitor Copying

One of the big things that is often worried about by business owners is that being very visible invites your competitors to copy your offerings, branding and marketing practices. Although it is extremely annoying when someone copies what you are offering, take comfort in the fact that no one can copy how you do it. All that being said, if your business has trademarks, patents or are being plagiarized there is legal action that can be taken. Contact your lawyer to find out what legal options are available to you.

Internet marketing can be a game changer for your business. If you are able to recognize that any potential pitfall to internet marketing can be managed, you can tap into the power of having a strong online presence that will propel your business success forward.