If you’re hoping to reach an audience that’s larger than your local area, then there is no cheaper or more effective way to achieve it than by having a powerful web presence. However, while this sounds great, many people struggle to actually make it a reality. In the online world, your web presence is the single biggest contributor to how your brand is perceived. The main reason most people fail at creating such a presence is because it requires time, persistence, and effort. For those of you that are willing to put in the work, below are a list of top tips to help you create an enviable web presence.
Shutterstock Licensed Photo – By VectorsMarket
Have a Base of Operations
We’re not talking about a literal base, but an online one. While many companies are using social media sites as their web presence, and it is undoubtedly an important part of it, different social networks can vary in popularity over time and provide inconsistent results. A web page with your unique domain name will not just lend credibility to your business, but it will also provide a consistent platform you can collect data from.
While there are many free ways to create a business web page, investing a little in your own unique URL will give you more control. If you’re not the most tech savvy person, then there are plenty of well-priced hosting options with user friendly CMSs, such as Onyx, which makes WordPress far more usable, even if you’re not a web designer or programmer.
Customer Experience is Everything
Now you’ve got a unique domain and your online existence is secure, it’s time to think about how to lay out your site. How your customers interact with your site is crucial to their experience of your brand. You can see this for yourself when browsing other companies’ websites; note which you stay on the longest, what you like or dislike, and how easy and intuitive it is to use.
Be Social
Regardless of whether you’re a social media pro or avoid it all costs in your personal life, a consistent social media presence that presents your company to your target audience in the right way is crucial. Sign up to the social networks that are relevant to your target audience. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and a few of the more diverse social hangouts all have slightly different demographics that make up the majority of their users.
Spend a little time researching your different options, then set up profile pages on all the resources you think your potential customers use.
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Advertise Wisely
For those of you with an online advertising budget, it’s important to ensure you maximise your exposure. While getting your service or product in front of as many sets of eyes is good, it’s better to be seen by 1,000 interested parties than 10,000 people that aren’t interested. This is the reason micro influencers on social media are so popular in marketing departments now. If you find influencers that cover your niche, then in theory their audience should be highly relevant to your business. Choosing websites to advertise on uses the same principle. You’ll get more bang for your buck advertising on sites that have visitors that are more likely to be interested in what you’re offering.
Strike a Balance
Creating a powerful web presence can feel like walking a tight rope. A little too much or too little and you’ll start to alienate potential customers. You can usually get away with posting a little more often if you add some variety into what you post. Not everything needs to be an advertisement. You can help raise awareness of good causes relevant to your business or provide useful information or tips relevant to your sector. There are lots of ways to add value and engage your audience without ramming a product or service down their throats.
Conclusion
Creating a powerful and meaningful web presence is a continual learning process. This is partly due to your own insights that will improve as you collect data and feedback, but also because the web is not a stagnant place. Websites, trends, and what a user expects all changes with time. Keeping one eye on your analytics and another on what everyone else is doing will help you to stay abreast of most changes.