The online world is more important than ever before, especially when it comes to business. It’s the single best way to get the word out about your company and the items you sell. Think about it, you’re opening yourself up to a potential audience of millions, many of whom will be interested in what you have to offer. This post covers the surest ways to boost your online presence! Let’s get started.
Marketing Strategies to Boost Your Online Presence
While knowing that you need to get the word out about your product or business is one thing, understanding the best strategy is quite another. Yes, you can reach an enormous audience, but what’s crucial is that you reach those who are most likely to be interested in what you have to offer. That means finding the best strategy to achieve your aims.
Not sure where to start? Here are 12 tips to help you identify the best route forward so you can look ahead to greater profits, more connectivity, and spreading your word far and wide.
1. Get Inspired by Successful Companies
What is your competition doing? That’s the first thing you need to think about. Now, that doesn’t mean you should copy them; on the contrary, it means you should figure out what they’re not doing so you can jump in there and offer it yourself.
So, do a little research and identify the strategies your competitors are using. Is there anything in there that you can utilize and put your own personal spin on? There’s nothing underhanded here; most companies use similar strategies but tweak and tailor them to suit their own needs.
You can also do your research to simply become inspired. Check out the most successful companies in your niche and notice how they started small and grew into a mountain. If they can do it, so can you.
2. Give Your Website a Glow-Up
Think of your website as the first impression your business gives to potential customers. Not only do you need to ensure that it’s working correctly, but it needs to look the part too. The most important thing here is that your website reflects who you are as a brand and doesn’t confuse people when they look at it. You want to deliver a clear message to any guest to your site.
For instance, if you’re selling children’s toys, make your website bright and fun. It’s not going to work if it looks too business-like. Similarly, if you’re selling insurance, don’t design your site too playfully. It’s about knowing who you are and choosing a design that tells others that information too.
Of course, you should also check that your site contains all the necessary information, that it’s correct, and that all links go where they’re supposed to. It’s a great idea to make your website mobile-friendly; many people choose to surf the web on their devices these days.
3. Invest in SEO
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the number one way to get your business noticed online. Despite that, it remains quite a mystery still for many small business owners in particular. Did you know that only 49% of small business owners bother to invest in SEO efforts?
Failure to notice how important SEO is sadly puts you on the back foot from the get-go. Optimizing your site and any content you create helps you rank higher on Google and other search engines, meaning you’re far more likely to get noticed and people are more likely to click on your site.
The hope is that those clicks turn into conversions, i.e. they buy something from you. Without SEO, you’re simply floating around in cyberspace just hoping that someone sees you and decides to take a closer look. SEO makes it far more likely that you’re going to be on their radar from the start.
4. Create a Blog to Target Keywords
Creating a blog allows you to use keywords, which is another part of SEO. However, rather than simply relying on your website alone, a blog allows you to create a personal connection with your audience. Blogs are more relaxed, more informal, and you can speak directly to your customers, or customers-to-be.
By using targeted and high-ranking keywords naturally throughout the text, you’re going to rank higher. From our last point, we know that’s a good thing because it helps you get noticed. The difference with a blog is that you can also provide important information and help potential customers see that you can solve their problems.
If writing isn’t a talent of yours and words don’t come naturally to you, it’s a good idea to hire a blogger or freelance writer. This way, you can be sure that your keywords will be naturally distributed, and your blog will grab attention for all the right reasons.
5. Choose the Right Social Media Platforms
It’s about quality, not quantity. You might think that covering every social media platform gives you a better chance of being noticed, but, you need to work out which platforms your potential audience uses more often and prioritize according to the results.
From there, you should maintain an active presence and engage their attention. For instance, if you find that many of your customers use Instagram because they prefer a more visual approach, focus there. If you have an audience that’s more about debate, look at X or Facebook.
Once you know the platforms that your users focus on, post often and engage in discussions in groups. Remember to keep your pages updated and to come up with interesting and attention-grabbing posts. It’s a jungle out there on the social media scene and you need to be on the ball to keep up.
6. Add a Little Emotion
While you might think that business is just business, your customers want a connection. So, in any content you create, be it blogs, website content, or social media posts, make sure you add some emotive language. Show your readers that you know who they are and that you’re on their side, and make sure your voice comes through anything you publish.
Emotive language, such as “Do you remember …” or add a few emojis (but don’t go overboard). Add some statistics that you know your users will find interesting, and write in a way they can connect with. Basically, you want your users to actually feel something when they read your site or any of your posts.
This is also ideal for sharing. If you post such things on social media, you can encourage your followers to share. From there, using this type of language can appeal to other users you haven’t yet connected with.
7. Be Active!
Your online presence needs to be constantly switched on. It’s for this reason that many businesses choose to have a dedicated social media department in particular, but this can extend to the entire online world in general. Keeping up to date with posts, comments, replies, and generating new ideas is very time-consuming, yet extremely necessary.
Your online presence can disappear within a matter of days if you let it slip. Allowing even a few days without a post can mean that you’re forgotten. That’s how fast the online world moves these days.
For instance, Hootsuite recommends that businesses should post no less than 1-2 times per day on Facebook. You should also identify the best time of day to post, such as during dinner when people are likely to be scrolling. This is especially the case for sites like TikTok which require short, snappy content.
8. Use Paid Search Ads
Paid ads work a little like SEO because the main aim is to get you to the top of the rankings. Consider these ads an investment that will bring you returns when your online presence skyrockets. A good tip is to try and get your ads to rank for both organic and paid results to increase your chances of being noticed.
Most companies choose to advertise with Google, and it makes sense to go there first. However, don’t overlook other search engines, especially Bing.
Set a budget per month that you’re willing to pay on paid ads and review your performance after two or three months. Then, see if you need to increase the number of ads you’re paying for, or whether you’re at a good level.
9. Don’t Forget Email Marketing
Most people check their emails a ridiculous amount of times per day. In fact, studies have shown that 99% of regular email users check their mail at least once per day, but more likely, multiple times.
So, not only do you need to appear on their social media feeds, but you also need to be in their inboxes. It’s really about being everywhere your customers or potential customers look. To do that, you can use email marketing.
Build your email contacts list and then send regular emails with strong subject lines to grab attention (be sure to not bombard your mailing list). Offer them something attractive, such as a gift, a discount, or news about an upcoming event. The sweet spot is to send emails once weekly, but no less than two times per month.
10. Add Some Visuals with Videos
Most people are visual learners and videos grab our attention more than the written word. So, when you send emails, create social media posts, or upload blogs, add some pictures and videos for extra pizzazz.
This is referred to as visual marketing content and half of successful marketers use videos in their posts. Within any type of visual content, videos are by far the most popular. So, what kind should you get out there?
You can use videos you’ve created in-house, e.g. tours of your office and products, interesting videos you want to create a discussion around, or shared content you’ve seen elsewhere that fits in with your brand. The list is quite endless.
11. Use Podcasts
People are busy and our fast-paced world means that sitting down and reading through a long post isn’t the done thing for many. However, podcasts have changed the marketing landscape. Here, you can talk directly to your audience and help to create a rapport and bond of trust.
It’s like sitting down and having a coffee with the people who buy your products or who you want to buy your products; they’re great for expressing that you’re a human wanting to solve a problem. You can collect ideas on the types of questions people have and the issues they want to know about, and you can speak about them directly.
Podcasts are a unique way to market your products and they’re very easy to create. People can listen to them while they’re on their way to work, sitting at home, or even in the gym. You don’t need to work out the best time to post a podcast because they’re available instantly, at any time.
12. Be Unique
Finally, one of the best marketing strategies to boost your online presence is one of the easiest. Simply be your unique, unapologetic self. People can see straight through a lie or an act, and they won’t want to buy from a brand that isn’t truthful to themselves or others.
So, while it’s a good idea to do some research into what other companies are doing and see how you can perhaps utilize parts of their plan, don’t copy them. Stick to what feels best for you and is most aligned with your vision, product, and business.
Remember that your customers are people with thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Ask for input and opinions from time to time; Facebook polls are an ideal place to do this. If your customers feel that you care about what they have to say and their experiences, you’ll cultivate a sense of loyalty.
In Conclusion
The online world is competitive, fast-paced, and something all businesses must keep a strong eye on. If you let your online presence drop for even a week, you run the risk of being overtaken by a competitor or new kid on the block.
In terms of attracting new customers, visibility, engagement, and building your brand, your online marketing strategies are vitally important. It’s a great idea to employ someone else or even a team of experienced support to handle your social media presence in particular if you feel it’s too much. Either way, the online world is sure to take your business to new levels.
