What is online presence?
Your online presence is a huge factor in your sales and revenue. Having a better online presence than your competitors is of utmost importance in order to beat them. If you search for any product or service, the first ones are the ones that dominate the online presence in their sector. You can decide for yourself which you are most likely to click, the first one on page one, or the fifth one on page three.
In order to define your current online presence, think about how easy is it to find your company online. If you search for keywords associated with your company, where does it range, and can you find it all? Having a great online presence will help people find you before they know your business even exists.
How to build your online presence
Building an online presence from scratch is both time-consuming and may even cost you money. However, if done right, it will make up all of those hours and cover every cost associated with it. According to new statistics, over 95% of people order their things online.
Website. To appear online you need to have a website in place. A website is one of the first places people will go in order to find out more about your product/service and company. A website will also make you look credible, serious and legitimate. Your website acts as an anchor for your online presence.
Understand SEO. Search engine optimization commonly referred to as SEO, is the process of improving your site to increase its visibility when people search for it or keywords associated with it. You can categorize SEO into two, on-site and off-site.
On-site SEO is the content you post, and utilizing on-site SEO you can both improve your search engine ranking, and also help users quickly understand what a site is about and if it addresses their search query.
Off-site SEO is when you get other pages on the internet to mention or link your website. In essence, vouching for you and your page.
Social Media. Having a social media presence is a must in order to increase your online presence. There are a vast set of platforms and tools to increase your social media presence, all you should try to utilize. This is everything from creating an Instagram account to a TikTok account. Social media is also a great way to build credibility and showcase your brand.
Online marketing. This is one of the fastest ways to build up and increase your social media presence. If your advertisement is the top result this will drastically build your presence. You can utilize Google, Bing, Yahoo in order to appear higher up on search results. You can also utilize social media advertisements like Instagram, YouTube and so forth.
Before starting to pay for marketing online you need to have a clear plan, and make sure it is worth the money. Always do research and make sure your advertisement grabs the attention of your desired target group. If not it will go to waste and end up making zero difference.
Influencers. You can also try using influencers and content creators to promote your product/service. For example, a Minecraft YouTuber, such as TommyInnit, promoting your new Minecraft forum. This will work as "word of mouth" marketing, and the more people that talk about you, the more people will become aware of you.
Make content. Lastly, you should of course be making and producing content. The more content you make, the larger is the chance for someone to come across your product/service. Try making YouTube videos or blogs about topics related to your product/service. For example, if you own a server, make videos on your server.
You should also prioritize the platforms your target group is located on. If your target group is children playing Minecraft you should not prioritize posting on Facebook. Do research where your target group is, and use the data you have collected to find the best platform.
Try your best!
There is a lot of trial and error when it comes to building your online presence for the first time. Do your best and take note of any mistakes for future reference. Increasing your online presence will also not be done overnight, it is a long and often tedious process. Always remember to be patient, and do not rush decisions. Do your research before committing to anything. Hope this blog has given you an overview of how to expand YOUR social presence.