As a business owner, the absolute best way to reach hundreds of potential customers is within the online space. It’s an area many brick and mortar stores choose to neglect, due to lack of knowledge or simply lack of time.
That being said, it’s an area that should have a large chunk of your focus. Over 58 percent of customers perform online research before making a purchase, so make yourself available in this space. If you don’t, you’re missing out on not only a bigger consumer base, put a platform that allows you to express your brand in a ton of creative ways.
This mini guide will give you a few handy tips and tricks in this regard, that you can use to better your online presence. More often than not, it won’t break the bank, and can be easy for even the most tech-shy of people.
Be active on social media
This is the one you probably hear the most people chattering about, but it’s true. With around 320 million active monthly users on Twitter alone, just why haven’t you created an account yet?
A pro-tip in the social media regard is to ‘boost’ your posts. If you run a Facebook page or Twitter feed, you can push your posts to more people than they’re currently reaching. There’s often a basic fee for this service, but it can help you target and engage the correct users.
Also, make use of social media statistics. Many platforms will have a page that details your most successful posts, and informs you where your traffic is coming from. Use this to identify what works, and what needs improving.
Produce relevant, consistent website content
So, you’ve built an awesome website. But what about your content strategy? It’s a pitfall many fall into, so don’t yourself. Producing relevant, interesting content on a regular basis can keep you fresh in the mind of the online consumer. Target your posts to coincide with current events and see traffic soar.
You could even look at sites that aren’t related to your business in any way, to glean some tips. Look at how IGN will regularly produce features to coincide with upcoming movie and game releases. While this isn’t applicable to you, the basic principle is there. If there’s an upcoming business event or summit, blog about it. People love to stay informed, so give them a timely source of information and opinion.
Digital marketing and brand building
Believe it or not, but digital marketing extends to more than just social media. Settling on a firm brand, logo, tagline etc. is all well and good, but it needs putting out there!
Use a digital marketing agency to up your online game and gain some help from the professionals. Marketing is a team effort, and other people will always notice things that you don’t. Most importantly, stay true to your brand across all platforms. Every tweet you send and every blog post you write must be representative of you as a company. Don’t ever change that.
Basic SEO practices
SEO is like that long-forgotten myth that people don’t believe in but still exists. If done right, it can catapult your online presence into the stratosphere. If not done at all, you can still succeed, but your chances are significantly lowered.
While there are some SEO rumors that aren’t always true, stick to the basics and you may see a small boost in traffic. Ensure all blog posts contain embedded keywords and relevant URLs and meta description. It’s the small things that create the bigger picture, so stay focused on the bits that you can influence.
Ensure your site is mobile-friendly
Many popular outlets have reported that mobile internet usage is up, and they’re right. People need quick access to information, and that’s where tablets/smartphones come in. Everybody always has their phone in their pocket, but not everyone carries a laptop around. Give people the ability to find you on the go, and you’ll be rewarded.
Google will also penalize sites that aren’t mobile-friendly, so stay on top of the game. Even basic optimization will do, so check that your CMS offers you this functionality. Most popular site builders, like WordPress, come with built-in mobile help so you won’t have to download anything extra.
As you can hopefully see, improving your online presence isn’t rocket science. It is, however, vital to the growth and success of your business. So the next time you forget to update that blog or send that tweet, ask yourself: how many customers am I losing?
