Small Business owners have more inexpensive resources at their disposal to promote their products and services and to build relationships with potential buyers today than at any other time. For all the abundant avenues of promotion, most business owners still under utilize the various forms of media to promote their business for 2 reasons: time and know-how.
“I don’t have time.”
This is the most common reason or excuse that everyone gives on why they can’t do anything. I wish I could get paid $1 for every small business owner who said they don’t have time to blog, do a podcast, write a newsletter or join a social media outlet. Online media is the new wave for distributing content. Businesses are using it so that the public gets a better feel for who they are and the value that they can provide to them.  If you don’t have time to do this you can do 1 of 2 things. #1 Hire someone to do it for you. #2 Make time.
“I don’t know how.”
So you don’t know how to set up a blog on wordpress? Learn. If you don’t have the resources to outsource certain things as a business owner, that means you have to do it yourself.   Sometimes as business owners we are such procrastinators about doing things that seem like work that we just ignore it altogether. The sad thing about setting up a blog is that once you learn the basics it’s not that hard to work with or maintain. It’s not completely easy to do if you are not familiar with it but it’s not hard to learn it either and doesn’t take a long time to learn.  Blogging is just one aspect. I hear the same things with regards to video and podcasting as well. The resources are there if you look.
If you are not sure how to overcome the lack of knowledge. Start with your own personal Rolodex. I am positive, unless you live in a cave, you know someone who can help you with setting up a site, video and/or podcasting. You just need to find out who can help and then ask them. If you don’t know anyone, try Google. It’s the tool for the resourceful to find answers to the most absurd questions.
Don’t ignore or neglect this aspect of your business. It’s too important for building a following and building traction for your business in an inexpensive manner. What has kept from utilizing online media for your business? If you are using some form of it now, how did you get started? What advice can you give to people starting out? What are some other reasons that business owners don’t use online media?