The Internet is the medium through which the vast majority of customers today are introduced to businesses. That’s why it is so important for all businesses to have a strong presence online. It is not only an effective way to increase the reputation of your brand but also will establish you as an authority figure. Both of these will help more customers discover you along with the products and/or services you provide.
The question is, how is it possible to stand out from other businesses that are also trying to reach the same customer base online? Here are 4 simple strategies that will not only grow your online presence but also help you attract more customers.
1. Website Optimization
If you are currently in business, there’s no reason why you should not have a website. However, you might be surprised to learn that just 51 percent of small businesses actually have a website. That’s a major concern when 97 percent of consumers are searching for products and services online.
If you haven’t already done so, start getting to work on your website. It does not even have to be too complicated or fancy. Just keep it simple with pages showcasing your bio, work, contact details, testimonials, along with a blog where you can share your unique voice and expertise.
Whether you are updating an existing site or building one from scratch, ensure that it is optimized by making it mobile friendly, including a click-to-call button, optimizing the URLs, and ensuring that it loads fast, is easy on the eyes, and includes updated information (headshots, resume, work samples).
Depending on the size and nature of your business, it can be a good idea to take your site a notch higher by adding features such as a live chat or even creating a mobile app.
2. Use the Right Social Media Platforms
You have probably heard over and over again that it is important to be active on social media. Interacting and engaging with customers and influencers through social media is obviously an effective way to grow your online presence, but you don’t have to be on all social media channels.
Instead of spreading yourself a bit too thin, you should focus on just 1 or 2 primary social platforms that you can easily manage and grow. You should focus on at least the big 3: Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. LinkedIn is great for networking and generating leads while Twitter is ideal for conversations.
If you do find your preferred social media platform, spend about 20 minutes each day curating content that your customers enjoy and use tools such as Buffer for scheduling and managing your accounts. As a rule of thumb, you should implement the 80/20 rule when it comes to social media campaigns – 80 percent should be content created by others and 20 percent should be promoting your own content.
3. Don’t Just Blog
Maintaining your blog is not only important for raising your online presence, it helps you define your brand’s voice and helps build trust because you are sharing and creating useful content. However, it is important not to limit yourself to just blog posts when you create content.
It is advisable for businesses to develop multiple forms of content that customers find either informative or entertaining. Examples include:
– Hosting an online webinar, workshop, or course
– Publishing a White Paper or eBook
– Conducting and releasing a case study
– Creating an infographic
– Hosting a podcast
– Videos that are uploaded to Vimeo or YouTube
If you focus on creating quality and unique content, industry thought leaders in your industry will be more likely to pass it around.
4. Don’t Forget Email Marketing and Guest Posts
Today, there are numerous new tools and techniques out there all promising to help you grow your online presence, but there are still 2 tried and true methods that you should never forget/neglect; email marketing and guest posts.
Guest blogging, if done for the purposes of branding and not just for links, can help you earn credibility, increase traffic volume to your website, and help you gain targeted exposure. Let’s say you get the opportunity to be a guest writer for an established website or blog like Entrepreneur or Forbes.
Both of these websites have more authority and viewers than your website, which is a win-win for your brand. If that audience loves what they have read, they will be more likely to visit your sign and probably sign-up for your newsletter or follow you on social media.
When it comes to email marketing, it is still a significantly more effective way to acquire customers compared to social media. It is close to 40 times that of Twitter and Facebook combined. The key reason is that 91 percent of consumers in the United States still use email daily.
When you embark on an email marketing campaign, you should optimize it by segmenting your lists like new subscribers and engaged customers, sending emails at an appropriate time for your audience, crafting customized messages, and analyzing your data to better understand what tactics have been effective and which ones haven’t.
