Your Business Isn’t Invisible When You Have An Online Presence
There is nothing scarier than your business not having an online presence.
According to Hubspot, nearly a third of the world is online regularly yet some businesses still don’t have an online presence. If your small business doesn’t have an up-to-date website then you are risking losing potential business. Don’t go invisible and miss out on ways to grow your business!
The Not-So Spooky Stats
According to the Vendasta, 96% of small businesses said they use social media in their marketing strategy. Creating social media accounts for your business can help to increase exposure and traffic for your small business. Also, almost 90% of marketers said their social media marketing efforts increased their business’ exposure and 75% said their traffic increased. These percentages will only continue to increase as our usage of social media and the reliability of the Internet in our daily lives continues to increase.
Is Your Business Getting Ghosted? Build an Online Presence
An online presence is claiming your area of the internet so that people can find you. If you’ve ever searched for a local product or service on Google and a local business popped up, that is an online presence. For small businesses, an online presence can simply be having a website or social media pages.
Having an online presence is important no matter what size your company is or what industry you’re in. A whopping 97% of consumers use online media before they make a decision on where to spend their money. It’s essential for your small business to have an online presence even if your company doesn’t conduct business online.
Not an Apparition: Benefits of Being Active Online
With an online presence, you can increase your business’ online and in-person traffic. You have the ability to showcase your products and services so that current and potential customers can access that information even outside of business hours. A website is a 24-hour marketing tool, it stays awake for all the night-owls.
For example, if you own a restaurant then your online presence should include common things that potential customers look for before deciding where to eat which is your current menu, hours of operation, location, and contact information.
You can also build relationships with consumers. Over 80% of the United States population used social media in 2017. Your business can utilize social media to stay connected with your current customers by sharing news, photos, videos, and answering any questions and concerns. You can also target potential consumers with high rankings on search engines, the type of content you share, your online reviews and ads.
Another benefit is the ability to increase sales for your company. “ROBO” has become a recent growing consumer buying trend that stands for “research online, buy offline.” It’s where consumers read online reviews to qualify their buying decisions before they decide to purchase in-store. According to the Research Online Buy Offline Economy, 45% of customers read reviews before making a purchase. Categories of products researched the most online before being bought offline are toys & games, appliances, health, fitness, beauty, electronics, and baby products.
What Types of Online Presence Should You Create?
Diversified online presence attracts more traffic to your website and increases your visibility. There is more than one way to create your company’s online presence. Here are a few examples:
- Modern websites: We know just how important it is to have a great website, we make them every day! Your website is always available, even when you aren’t. So, it should be up-to-date with current information about your business including a list of the services and products you offer, the business’ address, and contact information. To keep people coming to your site and staying there, it needs to be mobile friendly and should be easy to use and read through. 55% of online traffic comes from mobile devices or tablets.
- Active social media: Social media is an easy resource to use to stay connected with your current consumers and a way to connect with your potential ones by sharing news, posting pictures or videos of your products/services, and responding to customer questions. Your small business should have a presence on sites that are relevant and beneficial to your business. The most commonly used social media sites are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Snapchat.
- Google My Business: It’s a free tool that’s easy-to-use for businesses to manage their online presence. It helps customers to find your business on Google Search and Maps by including your business hours, location, website, and telephone number.
- E-commerce site: An e-commerce website is simply a place to sell your products and services online. Consumers can make purchases at any time of the day from anywhere in the world. For consumers, it’s easier and more convenient than going in-store. They can order products and services without having to ever leave their office or home. Your e-commerce site should include details and descriptions of your products and services along with pictures if applicable.
Don’t scare away your consumers with an out-of-date online presence. Take control of your online presence with well-designed digital marketing assets to suit your needs. Start with a strategy session to help to guide your marketing efforts from the start.