Whether your business is just you or whether you have a team of staff supporting you, building an online presence is one of the best things you can do for your brand. These days more and more consumers are researching and buying products and services online so a business with no online presence is going to fall behind its competitors. As a small business, one of the best ways to build your online presence is to hire a local digital marketing agency Melbourne who can work with you on achieving your online goals.
What Actually is an Online Presence?
Online presence is the online representation of a company or individual. This can consist of a website, marketplace (such as an Etsy shop) or a profile on popular Social Media channels such as Facebook, Instagram or Tik Tok. Many small one person companies start with a Social Media profile, which is fine while your business is still small, you can hire a Social Media marketing company to help you set up your profiles to a professional standard. Social Media profiles build trust as customers can leave reviews or report unscrupulous business practices. At some point as your business grows, you will need to engage a web design agency to build a professional website where you can showcase your products and services. A business without a website is undoubtedly leaving money on the table in this day and age.
How Important is a Website for Your Online Presence?
A website is a gateway to the world for your business, you are no longer restricted to just providing services to local customers but you can reach customers anywhere in the world. Websites also enable your business to provide 24/7 customer support through the use of FAQ’s, chatbots, support tickets and more. A professionally designed website helps to build credibility and trust in your brand as it shows you have invested time and money into your online presence.
How Important are Social Media Profiles for Your Online Presence?
Social Media profiles give potential customers an insight into what it’s like to do business with your company. The type of content you post can show the type of service you offer, the level of customer service they’re likely to receive by reading other people’s reviews and even an idea of the company culture and values that are important to you.
Maintaining a consistent social media presence is extremely important for businesses, as it not only establishes authority, but it can also boost your business’s SEO score, increase brand engagement, and provide opportunities for marketing and brand discovery. Your social media profiles help you get found and show business credibility to your target audience.
Do I Need to be on Every Social Media Channel?
The simple answer to this is no, you don’t need to be on every social media channel. Just the ones that are relevant to your business. What is social media marketing? It is when you think about your target audience and where they are, are they professional business people who spend their time on platforms like Linkedin or are they more typical Generation Z’s who spend their time on Tik Tok and Snapchat?
Building Your Brand’s Reputation Through Your Online Presence
When you stay in touch with your customers, especially after sales, it helps to build trust and loyalty. Interacting with your customers regularly also allows you to find out where you can improve to serve a wider audience and generate more revenue.One of the typical rules in marketing states that potential customers need to engage with your brand at least 7 times before they will buy.
With more ways to find your brand then more people will notice it and see you interacting with your customers actively, they will also want to do business with youWhen you stay in touch with your customers, especially after sales, it helps to build trust and loyalty. Interacting with your customers regularly also allows you to find out where you can improve to serve a wider audience and generate more revenue.
Increasing Your Online Presence Helps You Make More Money!
The more ways that customers can find you and engage with your business, the higher the potential is of them actually buying something from you. Building a business takes time, effort and knowledge. Results are rarely fast and never instant, you need to commit to increasing your brands online presence through a number of different channels and techniques before you start to reap the benefits.
Should I Invest in SEO to Increase My Online Presence?
Ultimately yes, if your business offers products or services which people search for online then you need to invest in search engine optimization for your website. SEO involves researching relevant topics and keywords related to your business and making your website the number one resource for the answers your potential customers are searching for.
SEO is a professional skill and takes years to learn and perfect so don’t make the mistake of thinking you can do it by yourself unless you’re in a very low competition industry.
You will need to find out who your competitors are, which keywords they are ranking for and how you can create and promote better content than them to ultimately outrank them.
AX Digital, a local web design agency Melbourne offers a professional local SEO Service for Melbourne based businesses as well as premium Digital Marketing for nationwide and e-commerce businesses.
What can be Defined as a Strong Online Presence?
A strong online presence means that when prospects search for the products or services you offer, your website and promotional channels float to the top of the search and are very easy to find. A strong web presence increases your chances of being noticed by customers and chosen over your competitors.
If you would like to learn more about how AX Digital can help you to improve your online presence through SEO, Social Media Marketing or Digital Advertising book a free consultation with our team of Digital Marketing experts.
