Over the last decade or so, the internet has taken over the world. With 3.2 billion people using the internet each day, businesses have also taken to the internet to take advantage of being able to get across to so many people. If you’re not already using the internet to grow your business, you could be missing out on an opportunity or two! Even if your business isn’t a large one and you don’t ever see it growing too much further, you can bring so many more customers to your business by simply using the internet. Here are 5 fantastic ways to help your business with it’s online presence.
Social media
If you haven’t signed up for social media accounts for your business already, then why not? You could be missing out on so much free advertising, and many chances to build up your fan base. If you’re not really sure on how social media can help your business, take a look at these tips and apply them to your routines so that you can make the most out of the world of social media:
- Run competitions through your social media accounts sending them back to your website to enter. Sites like Rafflecopter are free and super easy to use, and make sure that a winner is chosen at random – with proof for your fans too. You will find that people flock in by the dozens to enter your competition. Make sure that the prize is related to your business, or even a voucher to use within your business. You will also find that sending people to your website will encourage them to look around a little bit, and can certainly bring in sales from that alone.
- Post regularly on each social media platform. You can’t expect your followers to ‘follow’ you if you’re not appearing on their timelines. They may have already clicked the follow button, but they won’t see your content unless your posting regularly. You should research each platform’s algorithm so that you can find the best times to post on each one. Alternatively, to make your life easier you should consider using an app like Crowdfire which can help you schedule posts (so you’re not sat online all day) and also post it at the best time according to each platform. It can also help you grow followers and get in contact with like minded businesses.
- Reply to your customers. There’s nothing worse than seeing something online and asking a question, then the business not replying to your query. Make sure to have notifications on and to dedicate a small amount of time each day to reply to them. It will make the world of difference.
Your website
Your website is super important for growing your business because it’s the first port of call for many interested people. If you’ve heard about a company that you’re interested in using, you head to their website right? This is why you’ve got to ensure that your website is the best it can be with these simple techniques:
- Make it easy to navigate around. Websites that are too hard to use or find what you’re after will often be ditched to find an easier one. Choose simple yet effective navigation to help both you and your customers get what they want.
- Hire an SEO agency to help your website and content appear higher in search engine results. As mentioned earlier, if you want something, you search for it right? Having your SEO up to scratch means that customers will find you before any other competing companies, and that’s what you want.
- Keep the design simple. Too many colours or images can be hard to look at, and quite frankly, look scruffy. Keep the theme of your website simple with a touch of your business integrated for the most effective results.
- Make sure you include plenty of different ways for people to contact you, including phone, text, email, social media, or even by letter. Accommodating to everyone’s personal ways of communication will help you out no end.
Suppliers
Many well established businesses are likely to have suppliers that they have found manually, before the introduction of the internet. However, is this the right decision for your business? With a plethora of different supplying companies all over the world, you’d be mad not to check if you can be getting a better price. Using the internet to compare prices is now easier than ever because suppliers will have their prices listed out, so you can do the math and get in contact if you’re interested. Do your business a favour and at least check out other suppliers so that you can be sure you’re paying the right price for what you’re getting.
Easy communication
Having an online presence as a business immediately makes you that much easier to get in contact with. Whether someone has a query about what you have to offer, or whether someone wants to complain about something that’s gone wrong for them, being on the internet will make it so much easier for you to see these messages and respond in the right way, hence why the contact information was mentioned when it came to your website.
Not only will it help customers get in contact with you, but you could find potential clients online, and also communicate with the people that make running your business possible. This is all made even easier these days with the introduction of apps on our smartphones. We can now use the internet in the most easiest of forms, meaning that we are always in contact with the right people.
Marketing
One of the biggest ways that you can use the internet to help your business is by marketing via the internet. As mentioned earlier, 3.2 billion people use the internet each day, so your best bet for marketing is using this method, and there are many ways to do so:
- Social media. We touched on this earlier about posting at the right times, but did you know that you can also pay for advertising on social media? It’s a savvy and smart move to take because so many people are using social media these days, so you’re likely to be seen and heard. It’s surprisingly cheap to advertise on social media too, so take a look at each platform and give your business a boost!
- Link placement is another way that businesses get their name around. Bloggers and their blogs are becoming increasingly popular these days because they have a voice, and people listen to them. So, companies like Fat Joe offer services for businesses where a writer will write an article based around the bloggers and the business’ needs. As a business you will have a link to your website, an article about you, or even your social media profiles, and that will be included in the article that the writer produces to be put on a blog. You pay for what kind of blogger you want too. For example, you would pay more for a highly established and popular blogger than you would one that’s just starting out. It’s a proven and effective method of getting your name around!
- Advertising using Google Ads is another extremely effective way of getting your name around online. Google Ads works by showing the user an advert that’s related to things that they have searched for in search engines. So, if you’re running a repair shop for motorcycles for example, people who have searched anything to do with motorcycles and repairing them will have your advert placed in front of them. Perfect right?
- Email marketing is another option that you should consider as a business. Having a “sign up to our newsletter” function on your website will build you a list of interested people. You should send them frequent (but not spammy) emails to keep them interested and also potentially send them right to your website to purchase from you. Keep them updated with new products, price slashes, or even events that you’re holding. Email marketing should always be upbeat and interesting from the start, otherwise you run a risk of your email not being opened at all or even worse – unsubscribing. Check out these fabulous tips on how to successfully use email marketing so that you can reap the benefits of it too.
As you can see, being online with your business will do nothing but the world of good for your business if you are consistent with it. Remember to post regularly, be easy to get in contact with, and be clever with your marketing strategies and you will notice a boom in business, and faster than you think too!