You can cut your hair by yourself. I did it just the other day, armed with an electric clipper my wife and I bought just after the Coronavirus pandemic started.
You can do online marketing by yourself, too. By using Google, you can learn anything you want to know about social media marketing, pay-per-click advertising or Facebook Ads, and you’ll find tons of helpful, how-to articles. (You can find some on this site, too.)
The Clippers Have Paid for Themselves
But back to my haircut. I spread an old sheet on the back deck, set a mirror on a small table, stood in front of it and went to town. Considering I usually drop $28 or so, including tip, on my haircuts, the clipper set has already paid for itself after two self-administered trims.
My hair looks OK, but not nearly as nice as when a professional cuts it. When you cut your own hair, you don’t have the right perspective. You can’t really see what you’re doing. For some reason, I just couldn’t get to some long strands that are still dangling and flying off an awkward cowlick. Maybe I should have Googled “how to cut your own hair.”
Can You Afford an Amateur Effort?
Even if I had, I doubt the result would have been much better. I can live with an amateur, poorly done haircut, especially when social activities are limited by the pandemic. But what about your business? Can you afford amateur online marketing?
In the short-term, you might save money by trying to do it yourself. But can you afford the time to learn? Can you afford to spend time and money on marketing that may or may not work because you’re uncertain whether you’re doing it right? When you get busy just running your business, will you keep up the enthusiasm for doing your own marketing? On social media, inconsistency can be worse than doing nothing at all.
Options for Marketing Help
So when you know you need to be marketing online, but you don’t think you have the time or resources, what do you do?
What are your options?
- Spend more time on marketing and let someone else run your business.
- Hire a part-time or full-time employee to run your marketing.
- Work with an advertising agency that has an online marketing department.
- Work with an agency that specializes in online marketing.
- Contract with a digital marketing consultant.
- Not do much of anything, muddle through and hope you can keep up with your competition and the changing buying habits of your customers and clients.
I could punch holes in any of those options. I won’t because I’m biased in favor of hiring a consultant (like me!). What’s most important is that you find a solution that works best for you. You know your budget and your circumstances.
I can get away with cutting my own hair for a while because I’m working for home and as long as I’m facing the Zoom camera, nobody can laugh at the back of my head. How much longer can you get away with do-it-yourself online marketing?