How to build a strong online presence when starting a new business

Building a strong online presence is critical in an increasingly digital world. Your audience, ie. your customers will connect with with you through your online presence more than any other media. Whether you’re building a blog, your business or your personal brand, there are particular online marketing tactics that will build you a strong online presence and therefore should be incorporated into your marketing strategy. The following article outlines the Four (4) key marketing strategies that will best generate an overall strong online business presence that will boost your followers, SEO (Google ranking), website traffic and social engagement.

 

1.  Website

Aside from setting your online business goals and determining your target customer audience, a website is essential for any business and online presence. Did you know only 50% of businesses actually have an online presence? This is an astounding fact in our ever increasing digital landscape.

Did you also know that a huge 80+% of all initial searches by consumers actively looking for products and services they are wanting to buy, start online from their mobile or tablet device?

This is also why having a mobile responsive Website Design is essential, ie. a website that displays correctly on any device, not just a desktop. With 80+% or more consumers ready to buy products or services doing their initial search for these items online you can understand why a website that best presents your offerings is critical to your ongoing success.  Not only does it generate additional leads and sales and give you an online presence, but it adds credibility to your business.

It is important however, that your website is fully search engine optimised (SEO) with thorough keyword research and competitor analysis to ensure your website shows up at the top of google searches for your selected keywords. There is no point having the most stylish, stunning website out there presenting the best product or service available, if nobody knows about it, and this is where good SEO Marketing comes in.

The following 4 points outlines the brief basics of good SEO.

Some basics on good SEO include the following:

1. First, make sure your page titles are unique and have clear terms. Your titles should include your focus keyword and ideally though not as essential these days, be in your web page’s url.
2. Second, avoid using a single title like “Signs” across all the pages; use specific names like “Main Street Signage”. This makes it easier for a search engines like Google to find the information.
3. Third, make sure your URLs of your website pages are user-friendly. Clear titles are a good start. A URL with relevant words is easier to find than one with complex and cryptic terms.
4. And lastly, make sure your site is easy to navigate. The user should be able to visit other pages and find his or her way home without trouble. This helps search engines understand what content is important. Social Media is part of the equation but more of this to follow further on in this article.

2. Content Marketing

Content Marketing, a fairly new type of marketing can greatly assist your business in building a strong online presence and in fact without it you don’t really have a presence at all.

What is Content Marketing?

Content marketing is basically a type of strategic marketing that involves the creation and promotion of online material, that is engaging and compelling, often search engine optimised and offers value to your audience ie. potential customers. It could includes videos, blogs, social media posts, educational articles and website content. It’s purpose is to drive profitable customer action.  A good mix of content assets is the optimum goal for building a strong online presence.

Social media is another very important avenue for businesses wanting to build a strong online presence and has a very real potential to amplify and supercharge your brand.

At least 78% of small businesses now get around 1/4 of new customers via social media.

There are 1.8 billion active daily social media members on the various social media platforms which opens up a huge potential of reaching a whole new level of additional customers for your business.  

There are many different social media platforms you can utilize to reach and engage with your audience and build your online presence.

Here are some TOP EXPERT TIPS For Using Social Media Successfully  to powerfully contribute to building a strong online presence for your new business:

A) Know your Target Market:

Do thorough research to ensure you know the complete profile of your ideal customers.  

For Example,

1. What industry are they in? 
2. What hobbies and interests do they have? 
3. What age group are they in? 
4. Where are they located?
5. What are their job titles?

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B) Only create Social Media Profiles for platforms suitable to your business:   

Not all social media sites are suitable to all businesses. Not all social media platforms are suitable for every kind of business. You need to research which platforms your customers spend their time on and focus on those. You are better off to only have say for example a Facebook account and a twitter account that are highly relevant and beneficial to your business specifically, than have a profile for every possible social media platform available.

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C) Create Content:

You’ll need to create regular, engaging and compelling content that is educational in nature, valuable to your audience and offers a solution to a problem they have. The purpose is to establish yourself as an industry thought leader, build your brand and over time build a strong online presence, if implemented correctly. You’ll need to do research to discover what your audience are currently searching answers for. Tools like Google analytics, Google keyword planner, Buzzsumo and Quora are some tools that can help.

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D) Analyse & Tweak:

Ensure you set up analytics for each social media profile you create. From Facebook insights to Google and Pinterest analytics there is a wealth of data at your fingertips. Take the information you cull from your analytics and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Get Started With Some Free Professional Expert Help

If you require assistance with any of these steps for your business’s Marketing Strategy, Schedule a FREE, No-Obligation 1:1  Marketing Consultation & Strategy Session with:

 

Write Marketing Corp, a Multi-Award Winning Digital Agency based in Brisbane Australia.

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4. Blogging

Lastly but very importantly creating and maintaining a blog for your business is a hugely beneficial and essential component to building a strong online presence for any business. It assists with defining your brand’s voice and builds trust since you’re creating and sharing useful content.

You can set up a FREE Blog on platforms such as WordPress, Tumblr and Blogger, however you must then regularly post to your blog to ensure you receive the benefits this powerful marketing avenue can produce. Current research states that 1-2 blog articles per week would be required for ultimate results.

If you would prefer professional assistance designing and creating a business blog that coordinates with your website and brand, Top Digital Agency, Write Marketing Corp offers low priced custom blog websites. Contact Write Marketing Corp For a Custom Quote on a Highly SEO optimised Blog Design For Your Business.  

Write Marketing Corp also offer powerful SEO optimised blog writing & marketing packages  including professionally written, custom blog articles for your exact industry, best keywords and Google ranking optimised with free high quality, relevant custom designed graphics or images for each blog article.

Key important components of blog posts you upload and share on your blog include:

• Content should be search engine optimised: with relevant keywords within the blog post and title.
• Blog posts should offer valuable, interesting content: to your audience that answers questions they are seeking answers to for problems they have.
• Each blog post should include a subtle, CTA :(call-to-action) to prompt customer to a desirable action (eg. complete a form or request a quote)  but your articles shouldn’t promote your products in a too “sale-sy” manner as the aim of a blog is to provide valuable educational information to your audience, gaining your business status as an industry thought leader and expert in your industry

Conclusion: 

These are my four (4) key, top suggestions for the best online marketing strategies to employ for building a strong online presence, when starting a new business.  If you follow these tips and plan, research and create an online marketing strategy incorporating all these, you will be well on your way to gaining a strong online presence for your new business that will also generate increased leads, sales and business growth.