Every serious business should have an online presence, luring customers in. When people look for the kind of products or services you provide, your business name should come up in the search results.
The truth is, the world has long gone digital, and for any business to succeed in this age, an online presence is essential. That is not to say traditional means of advertising are no longer effective, but the internet provides a means to reach millions of people at the same time.
Here are 10 ways to promote your business online:
1. Get a Website
The first step to getting your business online is setting up a website. If used well, having a website would go a long way in promoting your business. Your website should be simple functional, user-friendly, and must provide information about your business, products and services in a professional manner.
Including a blog in your website would further help you get the word out about your business. It can be used to promote new products and services share flattering stories about your business, answer customer question, advertise job openings and position you as an expert in your field when you offer tips, advice and guidance to readers.
2. Optimize your Website for Search Engine
After creating a website, the next step is to ensure that your website is search engine friendly. Optimizing your website for relevant keywords is an important aspect of marketing your business online.
When customers search for what you sell, make sure your website comes up top in their search results by constantly fine-tuning your website’s SEO. Use keywords with local flavour such as “Yaba consultant” to attract local customers. If you’re not SEO-savvy, it can be worth hiring an expert to help out.
3. Develop a Relationship with your Customers Through Email Marketing
Email marketing is a great way to keep in touch with customers and regular readers, and it goes a long way in driving business success. You can send newsletters to inform about special promotions, new products and updates or new blog posts.
Keep in mind that over half of your contacts check their email daily. Whatever newsletter you decide you want to go with, plan to send them regularly. It will help your readers to get used to it, and maybe one day they will wait to get it.
When used right, email marketing is super effective. Services like like Aweber, Get Response and Mailchimp are effective for carrying out successful email campaigns.
4. Create a Branded Email Signature
One of the simplest ways that you can market your business online is by using a branded email signature. Placing your links into your email signature helps to passively promote your business to people that you’re in contact with on a daily basis.
Your branded signature should include social media links and any link relevant to your business. Also include a one-sentence catchphrase or tagline about your business and its mission.
5. Embrace Social Media
Set your business profile on as many social media channels as you can. Be sure to include a good description of your business, relevant keywords and a link to your website.
Participate in industry-related social media conversations that talk about your type of products or services.
6. Use Online Ads
To advertise online, you can use social media, google or banner adverts on top-ranked websites. Facebook ads, one of the most popular for social media offers a great opportunity to reach the right demographics for your business.
If you know your customers well, you can use metrics like interests, geographic location, marital status, age and many others, to locate potential consumers.
7. Leverage the Power of Social Media Influencers
With the power of social media, you can instantly reach droves of people from across the world at a moment’s notice. But reaching these people can be a challenge when you don’t have hundreds of thousands or millions of followers.
To reach those people, you need amplifiers, power users and influencers to help spread your messages. While this won’t be free, selecting the right social media influencer to help spread your message will give you instant access to a wide audience in your specific niche.
8. Don’t Ignore the Power of Video
You don’t need to show your face, or have super video editing skills in order to benefit from video. A lot of businesses are utilizing video not just to engage their customers or generate leads directly through the video but to also increase search engine visibility.
There are a number of free video-making apps and websites. When uploading, ensure you optimize the title of the video and description in order to increase your opportunity to rank the video.
9. Offer a free product or service to customers
Studies have confirmed that people are more likely to accept something for free than they are to pay a nominal price for it. So, why not provide a free service or product to your customers? Maybe you offer a free 15-minute consultation or an entry-level product that you want to give away. Giveaway can be publicised via social media or emails.
Whatever you offer, ensure you secure the customer’s contact details so you can get in touch with them later. If you’re giving away a service for free, you can promote your paid services to customers. People are more likely to feel like they owe you when they accept something for free as well.
10. Get Reviews
Purchase decisions are heavily influenced by peers and reviews. It’s critical to get as many positive reviews on review sites such as Google Plus. Facebook pages also provide a platform for customers to submit reviews.
Make review acquisition a part of both your online and offline marketing strategy. Have a section on your site dedicated to reviews, send emails soliciting reviews, ask customers at the point of checkout.
Did you find these tips helpful? Share your thoughts in the comments section!
