The world is undergoing a fourth industrial revolution—a digital revolution. Everything is going digital—from work arrangements and online shopping to education and entertainment. Thus, most businesses now realize that their customers are online, which means they need to be online as well. Hence, online presence has become crucial for businesses today.
But it’s not just your customers that are online; your competitors are utilizing the digital space, too. Given the speed at which technology is evolving, your business needs to keep up with the changes to stay ahead of your competitors. An online presence is vital for that.
Let’s discuss online presence, how you can build it, and its importance.
What is an Online Presence?
The concept of online or digital presence has changed over the last two decades. Before the rise of social media, having a website meant having an online presence. A good website with an interactive interface represents a good web presence.
But today, online presence does not necessarily entail having a website; social media presence also counts. But having a website is still important as it lends your business more credibility. Moreover, other digital elements have also become necessary for building and maintaining a robust digital presence.
Here’s a brief list of elements that you need to incorporate into your digital marketing strategy:
- Website design and development
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Social media networks and marketing
- Blog posting
- Web analytics
- Email marketing
- Engaging content, particularly video content
- Use paid social media marketing
Building Online Presence
-
Website Design & Development
Building an enterprise web presence requires a good website for most businesses. It functions as an online store for your company where potential customers can visit and see your products and services. It is essential that you design your website correctly – a website with well-crafted and well-placed content helps attract more visitors and increase sales.
Moreover, consider a branding strategy for your business that aligns with and represents your organizational culture and unique selling point(s). Develop good mission and vision statements that are consistent with what you are offering. Your business name and logo are equally essential parts of your branding strategy.
Most importantly, don’t think that branding is an activity only reserved for medium- and large-sized businesses – all businesses require branding, no matter their size. Thus, website design and development are core components of an excellent online presence.
-
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Having a well-designed and properly developed website is just the first step in gaining a web presence. You need to optimize it if you want people to visit it. Optimization means making your website efficient. Search engine optimization ensures that people find your website when they search for specific words relevant to your business. These are known as keywords.
You need to embed these keywords in your website content so that a Google crawler can index and rank your page. The aim should be to rank at the top of the search results so that whenever a person searches for your relevant keywords, your website shows up in the results.
This takes time and persistent effort – hire an SEO expert to do it or learn how to do it yourself. There are many free courses available online that you can consult. You need to optimize all sorts of content on your website – images, text, and web pages.
-
Social Media Marketing
Many businesses operate only through social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, etc. But if yours is a business that solely relies on your website, it’s high time you developed a social media presence too. To put things in perspective, Facebook has over 2 billion users. Some of those users are most likely to be part of your target audience.
Thus, it is terrible business logic to avoid building a social media presence. You need it as it offers you another avenue to attract more customers. Choose the platform(s) you believe are most relevant to your audience and product/service. Create an account and start posting engaging content on it regularly.
Make sure you have proper community management mechanisms in place, so queries are promptly responded to. Also, you can learn the basics of social media marketing yourself. Check out Facebook Blueprint to help you navigate your social media marketing strategy for Meta platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram.
-
Blog Posting
Blog posting is an excellent way to engage with your target audience consistently. Use blog posts to inform your potential customers about your products and services. You can also use blogs to apprise your audience about matters they are likely interested in.
For example, if you are a technology company, you can write blogs about the technology solutions you offer. You can also write about emerging technologies, new trends, how-to-do guides, and case studies.
-
Web Analytics
Web analytics is essential for tracking your website’s performance. Google Analytics is an excellent platform for web analytics. It lets you see the kind of people who visit your website, how long they stay on it, the keywords they use, and the pages they view.
Using these analytics to mold your content strategy accordingly can significantly bolster your web presence and attract more visitors.
The Significance of Web Presence
There are many incredible enterprise web presence benefits. Here are some significant benefits you can expect from building a solid online presence.
-
Increased Accessibility
As stated earlier, a key reason for developing a digital presence is that both your customers and competitors are online. If you purposely choose to remain offline, you’re willingly giving away your potential customers to your competitors.
Suppose you make handmade rugs, and a person searches for handmade rugs and carpets on Google. They will definitely come across your competitors with an online presence, while you will miss out on a potential lead if you’re not online. Use SEO to optimize your website and make it accessible to a wide range of relevant audiences.
Moreover, a web presence makes it easy for customers to check and browse your products and services. But make sure that you make it as effortless as possible. Your website should load quickly and have relevant content that is easily accessible to visitors. Lastly, you should add an FAQ section and contact information.
-
Greater Reach
Another essential benefit of an online presence is that you can reach more people. Your target audience can find you online even after work hours when your store is closed. People from other cities and countries can also access your website and social media handles.
Most importantly, people can also purchase your products/services online. They can also share your website details or social media handles with others, thus contributing to greater overall business reach.
-
Robust Customer Service and Relationship Management
Digital presence enables your company to build solid and long-term relationships with its customers. People can visit your blog and social media handles to see what others say about you via reviews. In turn, you can engage with happy customers by offering them further incentives to purchase your goods.
For the unhappy lot, you can quickly enter damage control mode and address their concerns, thus ensuring that your brand does not suffer. By offering unhappy customers customer service par excellence, you turn them into raving fans, contributing to building a solid brand reputation.
-
Effective Marketing
Online presence makes selling your product much easier. There is no sales team continuously hounding your potential customers—they can visit your website and purchase without feeling pressured. All this is ensured by building an interactive website that is easy to navigate, properly optimized, and backed by a good marketing strategy.
Moreover, you can target your marketing campaigns with a lot more precision. By using demographic and other filters on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, you can ensure that you reach the right people. This translates into effective marketing for your company, where each dollar is well spent compared to more traditional marketing methods.
Conclusion
A good entrepreneur must recognize the power of online presence for a business. It’s a digital world we live in, and it only makes sense to make the best of it. Companies have a lot to gain by going online and nothing to lose. It’s a powerful and sure-shot way to gain more customers, retain existing ones, and grow your business.
Are you looking to build a digital presence for your business? Contact us at [email protected]. Xavor has made top-notch websites and other digital solutions for startups and Fortune 500 companies.
What are you waiting for? Drop a line!