The days of knocking on doors and cold-calling as marketing tactics are long gone. Statistics indicate that 97% of consumers now use the internet to search for products and services. So if you’re looking to build a marketing strategy, understanding what you need to establish a strong online presence would be your first step towards making it happen.
A Proper Website
This forms the core of your online presence, no matter how small your business is. Picture this: if you’re running a brick-and-mortar store, you obviously have a physical space that customers can see, right? Well, think of your website as the virtual brick-and-mortar premises — it forms the visible part of your online presence.
This means you have to create a virtual replica of your premises when building your site. It can be pretty basic, but it has to have prominent features that strongly link with your brand. If you’re just getting started with building your site, survey your existing customers to see what factors you should take into account in the process.
Social Media
Not every social channel will be relevant to your brand, but you cannot afford to ignore the medium as a whole if you’re going to have a solid online presence. It’s only after the advent of social networking that brands began to engage easily with their customers. With more positive social activity taking place within your profiles, you’ll have no trouble keeping in touch with existing customers and reaching out to target prospects.
Establishing a good social media presence begins with researching available channels to see what works for you. To kick-start the engagement process, try to get a good idea of what draws your target audience towards the sites. This way, you’ll be able to come up with content that’s more likely to trigger positive reactions from your followers.
Keep learning
New technology, tactics and information are always coming up, so you cannot afford to ignore this step. To stay ahead of the curve, consider investing in:
-Ongoing training: By signing up for webinars and LinkedIn lessons online, you will learn new ways to build your brand, generate quality traffic and optimize your online presence as a whole.
-An online presence coach: Having someone by your side as you build your dream will not only keep you updated, but your consultant can also audit your platforms to see what improvements you need to make.
It’s also worth mentioning that enhancing your brand’s online visibility will be a long journey, so be patient as you wait for the results to start showing.