It’s hard to deny how important the internet is to running a successful business in the modern world. The reality is that if your business isn’t online in the 21st Century, you’re almost certainly going to end up falling behind the competition and getting left in the dust. However, far too many businesses assume that you only really need to have some kind of online presence and then leave it at that. The reality is that if you’re not using your online presence effectively, then you’re never going to be able to get anything out of it. With that in mind, here are three ways in which your online presence might be letting your entire business down.
Shutterstock Licensed Photo – By FuzzBones
Pointless social media pages
A lot of people assumed that social media was going to be a fad that would eventually disappear, but it’s pretty obvious at this point that that’s not going to happen. But just because you have pages on sites like Facebook and Twitter doesn’t mean that you’re going to get anything out of them. Make sure that you’re using them in interesting ways. Cory Johnson of BCC Interactive says you can leverage social media contests to generate thousands of leads. And that’s just one way that you can use social media in order to connect with new customers. The direct interaction between you that it offers can be incredibly valuable in growing and improving your business’s relationship with its customers.
A lackluster website
With the rise of social media, far too many businesses are forgetting just how important their website is. Your website should be the central point around which the rest of your online presence pivots. This means that it needs to link to all of your other pages as well as being attractive and interesting on its own. Don’t end up going overboard with a bunch of different features and graphics, that’s just going to end up making it look dated very quickly. Focus on making it simple, elegant, and easy to navigate.
An unengaging blog
Your blog can be the secret weapon in your business’s arsenal. Content marketing is one of the very best ways to reach new customers in the modern era, and there are few better ways to deliver interesting and engaging content to your customers that through a blog. Not only does it offer an insight into the minds of the people who make up your business but it also allows customers a glimpse into the behind the scenes goings on that will help to create an incredibly strong sense of loyalty in your customers that you might never be able to create otherwise. Of course, that’s never going to happen if your posts aren’t interesting or engaging in any way.
You might feel as though the internet isn’t necessary to the success of your business. Perhaps you assume that because your business was doing just fine without it before, that you’re still going to be able to succeed without it now. However, the reality is that the world is constantly changing and without a presence on the internet, your business is never going to be able to keep up with it.