The new year is a great time to evaluate your online presence and renew the energy you put into your online marketing. You might have a website, but it isn’t getting you any sales? Or perhaps you spend a lot of time posting on your Instagram profile but that isn’t converting? Is your brand even recognisable?
The thing about running a business these days is if you do rely on an online presence, it’s a whole package, not small bits here and there. To really stand out from the crowd, you need to make sure you’re using all of those cogs, all of those bits and bobs to create the whole package.
What is the whole package?
- Your business and your brand
- Your website
- Your social media / digital marketing
Your brand
This is so much more than just a logo – it’s what your business “is”. Having a strong brand helps recognition online, it also helps with customer loyalty, as well as making your business appear professional and trustworthy. Your brand is your logo, the fonts you choose to use across all of your marketing, the colours you use, the types of photography, the language and tone of voice you use – creating overall a recognisable brand which has a strong and confident message.
Your Website
I often get clients ask me if they need a website, and my answer is usually yes. Having a website doesn’t mean forking out a lot of money, there are so many different ways to do this now. Firstly, do you need a website with more than one page? Or will a brochure website be enough? This is a very cost-effective way of getting a website for your business, as long as one page is enough. There are also build your own options, and even build your own options with companies like us, who you can also lean on for support.
The reason I always suggest that yes, you do need a website, is that by having one you add a very credible layer of professionalism to your business – you’ve gone and made this effort to invest in a website, no matter how small, to prove to your customers that you’re legit. Depending on your business, I often recommend utilising the blog as well – this is a great way to inform customers of your latest news and updates, or educating them about your business. Content is king after all, the more quality and helpful content you have to offer, the better. Doing this on your website is perfect.
As it is the new year, I feel I can say this – your website isn’t a case of pushing it live and then not thinking about it for many moons. Your website, like anything in your business needs love and attention. You need to take into consideration any updates it will need, how often should you blog, what about the search engine optimisation? Put aside time to give to your website, and it will definitely pay itself back.
Your social media
The final cog for me when it comes to a whole package of online presence is the use of social media. You’ve got your strong brand and your website to promote, so now it’s onto the social media. There’s a few things here to consider:
- What platform is for you?
- Who are you targeting?
- What are your goals – why are you using social media?
These three questions will help you formulate what you will be posting about (your content strategy), who you will be targeting (your audience) and on which platform(s) you’ll be on. I always recommend you make a note of the goals, so you can make sure you’re not veering off them (and also to help you with content ideas too). Do your research into the different platforms as well – each is different and works differently in terms of what your audience will expect, how often you post, how to post and more.
Conclusion
How confident do you feel about your online presence? Can it be better? Do you know where to start?
If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that we can achieve a lot digitally, and a lot of businesses suddenly turned to the digital world – fantastic! But it does make your job of standing out that little bit harder. Take a look at those three elements: your brand, your website and your social media. Are they optimised and working as well as they can? Or do they need a bit of TLC, perhaps a sit down and plan over what you can improve and when.
Now is the time! Let’s show 2021 what you’ve got.