If you are just starting out in business or just getting your established business online, building your online presence is very important as well as time consuming and a little frustrating. Your online presence is how people in today’s market will find, interact with and build a trusting relationship with your business.
The team at Website Design Centre has defined the best way to get started, the right way:
- First understand that building a solid online presence isn’t something that is going to happen overnight. You will need to establish your presence and build a rapport and feeling of trust and this is something that happens over time. Done well, your online presence has the potential to reach a broad audience and can spread brand/business awareness, gain you fans, followers, customers, new staff, industry contacts and sales leads.
- Determine your goals and your strategy. Work out what you want to achieve both in the short term and the long term and how your online presence will help you to achieve these goals. Don’t just get online because everyone else is – have a clear goal of what and how the online world will help you reach your business targets.
- Build a solid foundation. Create a ‘hub’ platform from which to build your online presence. In most cases the best place to start is with a fully-functional, user-friendly, professional website. Ensure that you employ proven SEO techniques that will help people to find you – particularly important if your business is largely unknown or new. Remember to encourage visitors to return but providing fresh content on a regular basis. This is easily achieved by writing a blog with the added bonus of allowing your business to cement themselves as an expert in the industry.
- Get social. Once your ‘hub’ is established look to connecting with a wider audience. Social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, , YouTube and Google+. Each of these social media platforms offers something different so choose those that suit your business and target market best and focus on those – you don’t need to be everywhere at once. We suggest selecting two or three that best represent your audience and post regularly there.
- Track and engage. Get into the habit of tracking your online presence – your connections, comments, number of followers, number of likes etc. Use Google Analytics to track the traffic to your website and take notice of trends. And when someone asks a question or makes a comment, engage – this is your chance to build a relationship.
Building and maintaining your online presence can be confusing and time-consuming so if you need some expert help just contact the team at Website Design Centre. We can help you to identify your goals, formulate strategies, set up and maintain your online presence.
