Expand Your Online Presence

 

Now more than ever it is important to have a productive and powerful digital presences. Online activity is only increasing thanks to COVID-19. So, what can you do right now to improve your online presence?

Take a look.

 

First, gather some competitive intel and look at what your competition is doing.

Do research on:

1. Branding and design
2. Content
3. Media activities
4. Products or services and pricing

 

Social media makes it easy to see what kind of content your competitors are sharing and what resonates with customers. If you have a Facebook business page, set up Pages to Watch in the insights section this will allow you to easily compare how your posts stand up against your competitors. Review and consider what kind of posts get the most engagement, what is the size of their audience and what kind of promotions they run.

Continue your research by checking out your competition’s website. Pay attention to the user experience, content, overall look and feel.

Tip: use Google alerts to monitor the web for what is being said about your own firm, and it is also a helpful tool to keep abreast of new activity by your competition.

Next move your eyes to your own assets.

 

Start with the face of your brand, your website. Having a fresh, contemporary website will return huge dividends when it comes to a building an online presence. Take the time to freshen up headlines, update visuals, and improve content.

And don’t forget SEO. Over 40,000 Google queries are made every second. Make sure you are using the use the right key words sprinkled within your content.  Determine which keyword phrases you want your website to be listed for. Google’s Keyword Planner tool will help you choose your keywords; it’s well worth the time to set up an account.

Incorporate these direct search terms into your website content but don’t limit them to page copy. Include keywords in page titles, navigation, and URL addresses to improve organic search-ability. Note: Google algorithms hate redundancy! Be sure to make the majority of the content on each page as unique as possible.

Tip: if you’re unfamiliar with keywords, bring in an expert. Time (and money) spent on these tasks will benefit you in the long run!

 

Content generation is an easy way to expand your digital footprint and an integral part of your overall brand strategy. Great content builds brand awareness, demonstrates your expertise, enhances SEO, drives traffic to your website, and ultimately generates leads.

Develop a content plan that includes social posting, blog updates, and email marketing.

Do not neglect the importance of creating compelling content for your customers.

Take time to research and understand what your target audience is interested in or topics they are seeking information about. Tailoring your posts to what your audience wants will bring potential customers directly to your website and increase your online presence. Added benefit: you’re building community and credibility as a thought leader in your industry.

Tip: blogging is insanely powerful, but only if you regularly post. Develop a formula that allows you to routinely provide consistent blog updates. Don’t hesitate to bring in an expert to strategize, analyze, or even contribute to your blog.

Employing these foundational blocks will most certainly build your online presence, casting a wider net to your digital reach. And these tactics build off one another. For instance, social media can be used to promote the content that you post.  The content that you distribute can link back to your website and therefore help with your SEO efforts. Remember that a strong online presence is critical to your marketing strategy, but patience is imperative to success.