Digital Marketing for Rural Small Businesses: A Comprehensive Guide to Getting Found on the Internet

1 WALK THIS WAY

When you hear something, you will forget it.

When you see something, you will remember it.

But not until you do something, will you understand it.

OLD CHINESE PROVERB

Success is on the other side of You can't do this.

JAMES ALTUCHER

It was a day much like any other day. Well, I guess I should say it was what had become the new normal day. Business had slowed, and I don’t mean the ebbs and flows or cycle of busy and slow times. I mean, it was slow. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I could make a go of the business any longer.

I had left work and was driving down the road with a million things on my mind. Mainly, how was I going to keep the business afloat? I remember stopping at the red light at the busiest intersection in town. As the light changed, I gunned it, ready to run my errands and get home.

I got about halfway through the intersection and saw a car blasting through on the left. I knew I couldn’t stop, so I swerved to the right. Then as if in slow motion, I heard the screamin’ tires, the bustin’ glass.

The next thing I know, I’m standing in the middle of a strange digital city. It feels a little like my small town, but at the same time, it is vastly different. As I look around, it looks like a cross between something out of Star Wars and what people think the cities of tomorrow will look like.

As I walk down the street, I keep looking around, and I can see these thin wisps of lights running every which way, and I can hear faint conversations, songs, and scenes from TV shows and movies playing. I walk up to one of the businesses and look in one of the shop windows. I can’t see in the shop at all. It looks more like a digital screen. I can barely make out what appears to be someone scrolling down a page of a website, pausing to read, then quickly scrolling again.

I begin to wonder what this is. Then it hits me. I have no clue how I got here or, for that matter, where here is!

I wander around a bit more, trying to come to grips with where here is. As I round a corner, I realize that I’m not alone as there are people from all walks of life wandering around. Some are dressed in business suits and look like they belong on the streets of New York City, and others look more like me, simple hard-working folk. I tried to stop one of the suits, but he acted as if I wasn’t even there. I reached out to another and another and kept getting the brush-off. Frustrated, I walked over and sat down on a bench beside a gentleman.

I murmured to what I thought was myself, What is this place?

The man on the bench looks at me and says, Welcome to the jungle.

The jungle?

He replied, Yep, welcome to the jungle. You’re gonna’ die, in his best Axl Rose impression, and then burst out laughing.

I looked at him with curiosity.

Just kidding. I tend to quote random song lyrics, movie quotes, bad puns, and even worse, dad jokes. My name is Viator. He pronounced it like ‘Weatore’ and stuck out his hand to shake mine.

I introduced myself back, shook his hand. Where am I really?

"You are in the jungle, but not the jungle you might be thinking of. This is the online business jungle. You see all these people—they all own a business or are in sales or marketing."

He pointed to a guy and referred to him as the mad man because he worked for a major marketing firm in NYC on Madison Avenue. He won’t ever talk to you because you’re a small business, and he only wants to go after the enterprise-size businesses. Then you have the lady over there who owns a hair salon. The guy next to her owns a plumbing company. He continued, pointing out several people, both mad men types and people like me.

I was astonished at the wide variety of businesses represented around us. How do you know so much about these people?

He looked at me and smiled. I know them because I have been here a while. You see, I was able to help many of the small businesses here at some point to navigate the jungle. It’s what I do. I help small businesses grow, especially those in rural markets.

What do you mean to grow?

I help people grow their business using the power of the Internet. Reach into your pocket and pull out your phone. You have the power of the Internet right there. You are mere seconds away from the great curiosity engine, Google. You can Google anything you can imagine. People all over the world search for anything and everything, and I help small businesses show up for those searches. Try it yourself.

Pulling out my phone, I typed in Google and saw a thin wisp of light travel from my phone; within less than a second, the Google search bar appeared in the air in front of me. I typed in stuff about my business and watched the same light appear again.

I looked at Viator and asked, "Are we in the Internet?"

He shook his head. No, you are just seeing a visualization of it.

I sat there looking around, amazed by everything and still trying to take it all in.

Viator broke the silence that stretched between us. You live in a rural area, don’t you?

I nodded.

I bet you probably think you can’t harness what you see around you. But I’m here to tell you that you can—if you know how.

It was like he was reading my mind. Okay, tell me this: say I wanted to grow my business like you say you help people do. How would I go about it?

Viator grinned. "I’m glad you asked. In his book Traction, Gino Wickman said it best: ‘You have to be willing to be open to new and different ideas. If you don’t know something, you have to admit that you don’t know. You have to be willing to ask for and receive help. Most of all, you have to know your strengths and weaknesses and let other people who are more skilled than you in a certain area take charge.’ ¹

In other words, he said, think of it as these three steps.

Step 1: Specifically ask for help.

Step 2: See that what you have been doing might not be the best solution for your business. It’s not to say what you have done is wrong or you shouldn’t be doing something. You might just need to focus your efforts elsewhere.

Step 3: Be vulnerable, open-minded, and growth-oriented.

I thought for a moment and agreed with what he said. I then went on to explain to him the situation I was in.

Having listened to my plight, Viator stood and extended a hand down to me. Are you ready to grow your business and get out of the jungle?

I took his hand and stood. Most definitely. Which way do we go?

A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Are you sure you are ready and willing?

My excitement building, I nodded. Yes, let’s go!

Then I will help guide you on this journey, but you must take the first step, and that step is to ask.

Ask?

Yes.

I just told you that I was ready, I said in a frustrated voice.

He began to lower himself back onto the bench. You said you were ready, but you have yet to ask. Asking is the first step.

I thought for a moment and wondered, did I not ask? I told him I was ready, but then it hit me. I never said I wanted him to help me specifically. I said, Please, will you help me?

My pleasure, he said as he stood again.

I looked down the street and saw many people headed down the main road. I looked around and saw a few headed down a side road. I thought surely we would go down the main road and started walking down it.

Viator looked at me and gestured for me to follow him. "That’s not the way! You need to Walk This Way." The Aerosmith song started playing in the background. Was this really what it would be like? Would my random thoughts trigger something?

Either way, I looked at Viator as he took about five steps, and his right arm went up and formed a V then his hand was straight. He then placed his left arm behind him in a similar fashion. He began to pump his arms to and fro, which looked like the paintings in ancient Egypt. After about ten steps like this, he looked back and said, You’re not walking like an Egyptian! I told you to walk this way, and if I walk like an Egyptian and start singing the song, you had better do it too!

I don’t see how this will help the business. It just makes us look like idiots! I protested, refusing to make a fool of myself.

He looked back and dropped his pose. You are not ready, then. If you are unwilling to try and experiment, I can’t help you. With a disappointed air, he returned to his seat on the bench.

As I stood there dumbfounded, I knew I had to get out of here and back home to the business—and, more importantly, to my family and friends.

I tried Googling how to get out of the jungle—the digital jungle, that is—and get out of the Internet, but I couldn’t find any results. After a while of fruitless searching I gave up and sat on the ground. I looked up as Viator’s shoes came into view.

Are you done? he asked.

What do you mean, done?

Are you ready to go and grow?

I stared hopelessly at the dead-end results of my Google searching. I’m ready to get out of here, I know that much.

That’s not what I asked. Are you ready to stop wondering if the business can make it? Are you ready to stop wasting time and money on efforts that get you little or no return? Are you ready to see the business grow?!

I stood; Viator’s questions had begun to light a fire under me and chase away my hopelessness. Yes, I think I am!

He looked at me and raised an eyebrow. You know what you have to do, right?

Walk like an Egyptian?

Yes! He said, elated, and struck the pose while walking.

I did the same, following him for twenty paces. Viator stopped when he looked back at me. Okay, that’s enough silliness.

What?

I just wanted to see if you would do it, he said with a laugh.

Walking down the main strip, we turned down the road I had seen a few take before. As I looked down the road, it appeared to get rougher and rougher. I wondered if we were headed for the seedy dark side of town. I looked at Viator, concerned. Are you crazy? That can’t be the right way!

"Again, here you go questioning me. If I am to help you, I have to show you the good, the bad, and the ugly.

You have to trust me. I have taken many businesses down this path, it’s not easy, and there will be times you’ll question if this will work. It’s not an overnight success or a magic bullet. However, those who stick with it have been rewarded handsomely. The old main road we just left will only lead to failure, as you will eventually see.

I looked at him and shrugged. Well, what do I have to lose?

And so our journey began.

Failure Versus Prosperity

As we walked down the road, Viator explained that many small businesses fail. Fundera looked at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and found that approximately two out of ten small businesses fail within the first year and nearly four out of ten fail by the end of the second year. Furthermore, 50 to 90% of small businesses won’t make it past the five-year mark. ²

Small businesses also typically fail to grow past the point where the owner(s) can make a comfortable living. Unfortunately, they either give up hope that their business can be anything more than a low-paying, self-created job, or they accept this as their fate.

Viator reached into his laptop bag, pulled out a notepad and pen, and handed them to me.

I took it from his hand and asked. What is this for?

He said, You might find it helpful to take some notes so you can remember everything better.

Viator then gave me two examples: Captain Nemo’s Nautilus Nautical Tours and Chaz’s Charters. Nemo was working 12-16 hours a day, six and seven days a week. The problem was he was always running payday to payday, and never getting ahead. Then on the flip side, you had Chaz’s Charters, who had five boats, and 18 people dedicated to keeping the people on the fish.

The difference between the two is that Chaz realized that even though his passion was fishing and being a captain, he needed to work on the business and not in the business if he was to be successful.

You Have to Spend Money to Make Money

I know you have heard the old saying you have to spend money to make money.

I nodded. Yes, I get it. But what do you do when you don’t have it to begin with?

He looked at me and, without missing a beat, said, "You’re missing the point. You can either spend time trying to save a dollar or spend a dollar and get your time back.

"Think about this: In 2016, Netflix introduced the ‘Skip Intro’ button. Think about how often you have used it to skip over the recap and opening credits. While this might not seem like a huge deal, it bought you and Netflix’s members time. According to them, as of March 17, 2022, the ‘Skip Intro’ button had been ‘pressed 136 million times, saving members an astonishing 195 years in cumulative time!’ ³ The bottom line is, if you can spend a few dollars to save time, you should—because time is one thing you can never buy back."

When Times Are Tough, Maintain or Increase Your Investments

I sidestepped a pothole in the road and peered at Viator skeptically. I get what you’re saying, but what do I do when times are hard? I mean, it’s hard enough to spend money to make money, then you combine it with tough economic times. What would I do then?

Viator asked me if I had ever heard of a study by Roland Vaile and Reavis Cox that came out in a 1927 Harvard Business Review. And, of course, I said no, thinking only this guy would quote some article from a hundred years ago.

He winked. "I didn’t expect you to, so I’ll give you the ‘too long and didn’t read (tl;dr;) synopsis.

"Think about this: during the United States Great Recession of 1920 and 1921, Vaile and Cox discovered that companies that continued