Elevate Your Business by Growing Your Online Presence
If you’re looking to reach increased volumes of potential customers, growing your online presence may be one of the most powerful tactics. Online presence is your company’s visibility on the Internet and may be measured by how easy it is for someone to find your business when searching online. For example, if a customer were to search for a type of product sold by your company and your business was one of the first search results, you would have a robust online presence.
A powerful online presence is vital for your growth. This will be one of the main factors allowing you to expand your customer base, especially since consumers are turning to the Internet to find products and services now more than ever. Not only will more individuals be introduced to your company, but it will also enhance your sense of authority and reputation.
However, strengthening your online presence may take a while and often requires significant consideration. Nevertheless, it’s worth it. Lin McCraw from McCraw’s Law group speaks on this importance, supporting the delegation of time and resources to strengthen one’s online presence:
“Getting Clients online needs to be seen as part of an ongoing marketing system that you build over time and care for and maintain for the rest of your professional life. Online presence in multiple formats is the billboards and TV of now. There is not a magic pill to dominate the tasks of getting new clients online. It is not difficult, but it is time-consuming and requires regular attention. You cannot defer attention to your online presence and become a leader or remain important.”
Figuring out where to get started to begin this growth while differentiating your company from competitors can be overwhelming. Luckily, we have a plethora of steps to get you started! You may want to consider a few things, such as optimizing your website, becoming involved with social media, and diversifying the types of content released.
How Can I Optimize My Website?
A website for your company is vital for growing your online presence and targeting potential end-users. Websites may act as a central location for individuals looking to learn more about your business and when seeking information to aid their purchasing decisions. If you don’t have a site yet, there are a few essential components you’ll want to consider. First, a few pages should display your work, products, and services that you can provide customers with. This is an excellent opportunity to capitalize on your unique skills and offerings to draw consumers in.
Additionally, including a bio and some headshots of your team members will allow others to get to know you better. If possible, adding testimonials from previous customers or clients will be an effective way to share your company’s strengths. Lastly, you’ll want to include contact information so that individuals may address any concerns or questions.
Once your website is where you want it, there are a few ways to optimize it:
- Check that your site is correctly displayed on multiple devices to ensure it is user-friendly;
- Ensure your site speed is relatively fast, so users aren’t met with negative experiences after waiting extended amounts of time for something to load;
- Keep all information updated, such as headshots, links, points of contact, and examples of your work;
- Design your site so that it is easy and inviting to look at. This may mean reducing the amount of flashy and bright colors or text; and
- Optimize the URLs by including relevant keywords broken up with hyphens, so it is easy to read.
If you already have a website and are looking to explore advanced features to add, you may want to consider a live chat function or even developing a mobile app!
Should My Company Use Social Media?
Using social media to connect with customers and engage with influencers is a highly effective way to strengthen your online presence. By building these relationships, you may be introduced to opportunities such as becoming a guest on their platforms.
In turn, you’ll be able to reach their audience and increase traffic to your site. Additionally, by being cited on other sites, your credibility may be strengthened. There is a multitude of different social media platforms, and figuring out which ones to use and how to use them may be daunting. The good news is that you can achieve successful results by only using 2-3 platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter are businesses’ three most popular social media platforms. Furthermore, creating content does not require much time; we suggest delegating around 20 minutes daily to create media for your sites!
When deciding what types of media to choose, there are many different types you can cycle through to keep things fresh! This may entail:
- Blogs or articles;
- Youtube videos;
- Infographics;
- Podcast episodes; and
- Current events related to your company.
Releasing content is also great for sharing value with your audience by utilizing your skills! This may look like hosting online courses, webinars, or workshops. You can also share content that has been created by other companies as well to further the development of those relationships.
There are tools that can automate posts you schedule ahead of time, such as Hootsuite, Buffer, and Sprout Social. The automation helps to ease the difficulties of managing multiple social media accounts.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a small business owner and attorney, it’s that consumers have choices. That’s especially true in...
Additionally, these tools can also generate analytics that provides greater insight into the performance of your accounts, so you know which areas need some support and what areas your audience loves!
Lastly, don’t forget to notify your audience of updates or new information regarding your business. Creating a mailing list is a great way to do this, as most consumers tend to check their email at least once a day.
With these steps, you’ll be on track to cultivating the growth of your online presence to target more users than ever!
