As a small business, you want to position yourself wherever your customers are. Establishing a strong online presence can be the best way to do so; increasing brand recognition and promoting traffic to help you reach your business goals quickly.

Did you know that currently more than half of the world’s population are internet users? This means having a weak or non-existent online presence is causing your business to miss out on a significant segment of potential customers. It is likely that your target demographic is using the internet as a first stop to find a business offering the product or service they desire. By taking the initiative to improve how your business is perceived digitally, you will be that much closer to convincing customers to choose you. Nowadays, online presence is more complex than simply existing online. Instead, it is determined by the many actions taken to increase your visibility, combined with how search
engines and customers view your business. Here are 4 recommendations to help you get started.

1. A Website is Worth it

Having a website is paramount to a business’ digital presence. Many small firms are hesitant, but no business is too small to have its own website. A website is a great asset, as it is a centralized space for the information your customers want to know about you and your business. There are plenty of computer softwares or content management systems (CMS) available for your use when developing your website. Ensure you are choosing a relevant domain name, and make certain your site design is attractive and reflects your unique brand. Provide a sign up space on your website to gather an email list of your customers that can later be used for marketing purposes. Consider creating an incentive to increase sign-up, such as a discount code for one of your products. There are also some simple ways to optimize your webpage that can have a big impact.

2. Utilize Social Media

Social media has evolved from its sole purpose of social networking, to a remarkable marketing tool helping businesses to gain exposure, reach new customers and build brand reputation. If your customers can’t find you on social media, it decreases their trust in your brand and drives them away. There are many platforms available, but only focus on using those that are most relevant to your target audience. It is more beneficial to be active and engaging on one or two networking sites than to be on all of them and struggle to keep up. Prioritize the accounts that best fit your brand first. When you have the ability to manage more than one social media account, remember to stay consistent with your handles! This makes it easy for your customers to find, tag, and remember you. Lastly, don’t forget to answer your direct messages, and stay connected.

3. Create Valuable Content

Content creation is an opportunity to set yourself apart from your competition. The content you create is not only free traffic to your products and services, but is also owned by you! Create content that is valuable and high quality even if it means posting less often. Content can come in the form of blogs, videos, graphic art, podcasts, and more. You have the ability to choose the form of content that is most fun, and suits you and your business best. Content can also contribute to SEO through links and keywords. When posting content, make sure to provide detailed captions and use hashtags, specifically location-based and niche hashtags to target your ideal customers.

4. Consistency is Crucial

With an abundance of business operations taking place, it can be easy to throw the content creation task under the rug. Create a monthly content calendar to help with consistency. Include a description of the content you want to produce, the channels you will use, and set firm deadlines. This helps with accountability and keeps everyone on track. If frequently creating new content is not feasible for your business, take advantage of existing content to increase activity. Repurposing content invites new engagement from followers and attracts new customers. You can also share curated content from other creators on your profiles to stay active, because content is most effective when you’re consistent.

A strong online presence is free 24-hour marketing for your business and yields a vast amount of results such as discovery, growth, increased sales, and a stronger brand relationship with your customers.

– From the desk of Monika Mann, Economic Research Officer

If you would like to contact us with any questions, please feel free to comment below, call us at 250 563 2663 or email officeadmin[at]hubspace.ca