SHOW YOUR TRUE COLOURS ONLINE
Where once having an online presence was considered a luxury and with society focusing it's attention to the digital arena, it has become an absolute necessity
A methodically crafted website and social media profile can now lay the framework for business success, and conversely, disorder and dysfunction will ultimately lead to disaster.
Your website and social media outlets should serve as the technological extension of your face-to-face efforts. If the goods and services you provide are in huge demand, your digital persona is the host that greets your patrons, and many a business has been ruined by a poor online first impression.
EASIER THAN EVER BEFORE
The constantly evolving online world may at first glance appear daunting. Today's technology makes it much easier for a business to create and maintain a formidable internet presence. While getting a website up and running seems simple enough, there's still much more work to do in creating an appealing and engaging personal online brand. There are five important components to building and maintaining a powerful online presence. So I ask - How are you doing with each of these?
(1) Your website should be branded, interactive, and engaging. A website containing a list of information, description of goods and services, and contact information isn't gonna cut it. To be effective you need to keep the viewer's attention so much so as to entice them to want to pick up the phone and want to know more about your business. To do this you truly need to know your target audience enough to "hook" them - and this means creating a website that echoes your expertise and the brand that you are creating. In short - make sure you are keenly in tune with your desired audience and customer-base.
It is your specific target market that will greatly influence your businesses online branding, from layout, to colour scheme, to functionality. If a clear disparity exists between your business goals and objectives and what it is you're attempting to promote, it will undoubtedly be reflected on your website.
(2) Demonstrate value. If your website, blogs, and social media outlets don't provide tangible value to your audience, they will be ignored. Use these platforms wisely to share breaking news, recent developments and products or services, and even provide helpful tips to your audience. Update your content regularly and provide exciting content that proves beneficial to your online followers.
(3) Email Marketing Campaigns. While social media is a great way to engage your audience - it can only work when they're online and using social media themselves. Email marketing provides the opportunity to consistently interact with your customers and your market so long as they are checking their email inbox.
However, if email marketing is over-used, it can be often times treated as spam. To avoid this, it's a good practise to post your updates on a regular basis - be it monthly, quarter annually and so on, so as not to make a nuisance of yourself..
(4) Gain Subscriber Attention. Freebies will always work in this case. One of the most effective ways to build a targeted email list is to offer free content. Examples might include cheat sheets, e-books, special reports, hints and tips, video instruction, and so forth.
All you need to do is require that your users give their email address in order to gain access to this much valued content. You can even promote these freebies on both your website and social media - and watch your email list begin to grow steadily.
(5) Use pictures and video to tell your story. You know the saying - a picture is worth a thousand words. A video is even more powerful, certainly in the case of instructional videos. So my advice - embrace it! Create a video introducing yourself and welcoming people to your website. Share pictures and video of your team at work - kinda like a Flickr Photostream. Post images of your latest products or services where possible. Failing to take advantage of visual media to engage your audience is often an overseen mistake.
IN SUMMARY
Guaranteeing that your internet outlets- from website to social media to email lists - are vibrant, functional, and continually updated with the latest information tailored to your target audience will ultimately breed success. Just give it time, patience, and a lot of work on your part and you will eventually reap the benefits.
Websites simply don't exist as undeveloped advertising boards; they are now an integral part of the 21st century marketplace and can determine the success or the failure of any business or organization.
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