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Improving Your Online Presence In Business

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As a business owner you put your all into making your venture a success, and chances are you’ve poured your heart into your company. To do well and get ahead in such a competitive market, one thing you shouldn’t overlook is your online presence. It can be the difference between succeeding and failing- so maintaining a professional image so that customers see you as legitimate and trustworthy is so important. Here’s how you can go about it, and ensure you’re not overlooking anything critical.


Website
It’s no secret that any business these days needs a website. Even if you’re a very small business or mainly sell on another site like eBay, Etsy or Facebook your website is your main ‘base.' It will link to everything else and have all of your information in one convenient place for the customer. Everything should be clear and easy to find, a contact page with your physical company address and phone number should be visible. It should also have a search bar to make it easy for anyone to find information that’s not on the main page. Images should be clear and look professional, and everything should look aesthetically pleasing and load quickly. You could build a website yourself using premade divi layouts for a clean looking finish, or hire a designer. You should ensure that your site is well maintained, any errors or loading issues could have a devastating effect on your business. Research suggests that people won't wait more than three seconds for a website to load, and any issues could be enough to prevent them from returning for good.


Blog
The benefits of blogging for business are widely accepted, and this is one of the most beneficial things you can do regarding your company’s online presence. Writing an interesting and engaging blog will not only gain you loyal readers and followers, but it will also improve your site’s ranking in search engines too. The thing about websites is they tend to be pretty static, the information isn’t changed too often, and so search engines don’t see them as interesting. When you write a blog, new pages are being put out on a regular basis. It’s an inexpensive and effective way to boost your site in search engine results which can eventually lead to more organic traffic. Blog about things relating to your business that your customers are likely to be interested in, for example, if you sell clothes you could talk about fashion trends and other related topics. If you sell cloud-based services, you could blog about computer software or business tips. If you’re not much of a writer yourself, there’s no shortage of talented freelance writers you could hire on any freelancing site. Post a job with the specifications for the post, and you could have an engaging article written in a short space of time.


App
Research shows that around sixty-eight percent of all adults in the US own a smartphone. And let’s face it, most people are glued to the things. For this reason, the way consumers shop and view information now has changed. People now use their mobile devices to search the web twice as often as on laptops and computers, so business owners need to adapt to this shift. At the very least ensure that your site is optimized for mobiles and tablets, but better still have an app created. It should be responsive, interesting and look professional. The big brands of the world have all got on board with what an app can do for their business, but many smaller companies haven’t yet. Use this as a chance to get ahead of your competition- at some point soon apps will be as essential as a website but for now you have the upper hand as so many businesses are lagging behind in this area. An app can help to improve your brand and increase brand awareness making you look more reliable and therefore more attractive to new customers. Once you have an app on the phones of customers and potential customers, all of your information is available to them at the click of a button. You can send notifications of sales and discounts right through the app, and overall it will lead to more profits for you.


Branding
Your business brand is everything. It’s what makes you recognizable to customers and sets you apart. It makes your company more valuable, and also more attractive to customers too. As when they buy from a brand, they’re buying the good reputation of the company. You will need to spend some time getting the name and the logo of your company just right. You’ll also need to think about the message you want to portray to customers. Working with a designer or branding expert is your best bet to achieve great results.


Social Media
It doesn't matter what your product is and who you sell it to, social media is an excellent marketing tool. Not only does it help you to grow brand awareness but again it makes you look legitimate and trustworthy to customers. When they can see you have a good following and are responsive to messages, it can give them the peace of mind they need. Sites like Facebook have the option for the customer to leave reviews which are invaluable- when potential customers can see positive reviews left by real people it can increase trust and give them the push they need to make an order. As your business grows, it can be worth employing someone to take care of your social media accounts full time. Someone who knows the ins and outs of how it works to yield the best results such as connecting with customers and running advertising campaigns. Since social media is free to use (and twice as effective at leading to sales than traditional outbound marketing), it’s ideal for promoting your business and increasing your online presence.

How much thought have you given to your online presence in business?


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