TL;DR – Platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Squarespace are great marketing tools, but they can suspend your accounts at any time, without notice, and for no apparent reason. You need to have marketing assets that can’t be taken away from you.
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In today’s ever-evolving marketing landscape, businesses must embrace various marketing channels to stay ahead of the competition.
However, with the risks associated with relying solely on third-party platforms, it is becoming increasingly important for businesses to focus on properties that they own.
Owning your digital properties, such as your website, email list, and even your address list for direct mail, can provide numerous benefits for your auto repair shop’s marketing efforts. Here are some reasons why you should focus on digital properties that you own:
More Control Over Your Marketing Strategy
When you rely solely on third-party platforms such as social media, you don’t have as much control over your marketing strategy. Your efforts are subject to the whims of the platform, and your account could be suspended or banned without notice.
By focusing on digital properties that you own, you have more control over your marketing strategy and you can ensure that your content is always available to your audience.
Which Marketing Assets Can You Actually Own?
There are a lot of ways you can market using mediums that can’t be taken away from you. Those can include (but certainly are not limited to):
- Your website
- Your email list
- Your contact list of physical addresses and phone numbers
- Signage at your building
- And much more
Website
It’s essential to have a website that you own and control, rather than using a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) option such as Wix or Squarespace. While these options are easy to use, they don’t provide the same level of security as owning your website. If these companies decide they don’t like something about you or your business, they can shut down your website and you can lose all of the hard work you put into it. If your website is built on a CMS that you can host anywhere, you simply restore a backup to a new host and you’re up and running again.
Your Email List
The same applies to your email. For example, if your email provider shuts down or suspends your account, you can take your email list to a different provider and continue your email marketing campaigns.
It’s so important to have an email list that you own and control, as this is one of the most effective marketing channels for small businesses. You can use email marketing campaigns to promote your services, highlight customer reviews, and offer promotions and discounts to your subscribers. When you ask the best marketers in the world what their most productive marketing medium is, they will almost always respond “my email list”.
Your Database of Contacts
Your contact list with physical addresses and phone numbers is just as important as email. If you choose to use direct mail marketing, owning an address list is essential. While not a digital marketing channel, direct mail is still a powerful tool for reaching customers and promoting your business. In a worst-case scenario, you can also pick up the phone and start calling people.
Signage
This is an often overlooked marketing asset, but one of the most important. Obviously, local government has a say on signage, but for the most part, it is something that can’t be taken away from you. Invest in great signage and it will pay for itself for years to come.
In conclusion, while social media and other digital marketing channels are essential, it’s becoming increasingly important for businesses to focus on digital properties that they own. By owning your website, email list, and address list for direct mail, you can have more control over your marketing strategy, and enjoy a higher level of safety, security, and reliability in your marketing efforts.
