Businesses today have an incredibly difficult time surviving without an online presence. Yet, developing that presence is time-consuming and can be painful when you have so many other things to worry about. Here are the four parts of building an online presence along with tips to help you build a better online presence than your competitors.

A Blog

Your blog is the perfect place to engage customers with well-crafted content. Ensure that your blog lines up with the goals of your website. Never write a blog post without having an end goal that you would like the viewer to complete in mind. Just like your products should help your customers solve problems, so should your blog. While you do not need to worry about using exact keywords, be as thorough as possible when writing your content. Think about the type of content that will connect with your targeted audience the best. You may want to incorporate a video, an infographic or some other item. Great photography helps bring your blog to life and pictures help to make an emotional impact on viewers. According to Whittington Consulting, your blog is also a great way to prove that your business is socially responsible. If you need help with your blog, then ask for help. We can help your blog posts provide insightful tips or encourage feedback or even incite action.

Google My Business

Google My Business should be an essential part of your online presence. That way, when a customer enters your company name, your contact information and your reviews show up instantly, covering about 50 percent of the search engine results page. Getting an account is as simple as asking Google for it and confirming your contact information. In fact, if you operate more than one brick-and-mortar location, claim the listing for each of your physical locations. While it may seem tedious, it is highly important to fill out your profile completely. Without stuffing, use as many words as you can that real customers would use to describe your business in the description. 

Additionally, you can post up to three short blog posts directly on your Google My Business. This is a great place to let your customers know what is new with your business. When you claim your Google My Business account, customers automatically see your reviews. According to Podium, a vast majority of people (84% to be exact) trust online reviews as much as recommendations from family and friends, so make sure that you are getting good reviews by offering a good product at a reasonable cost with great customer service.

Social Media

According to The Content Factory, your business needs to be on social media to be seen. Potential customers will read what others have to say about your business before they choose to do business with you. Your customers leaving positive feedback on social media is a very valuable form of word-of-mouth advertising. Make sure to engage with your customers by thanking them for their positive reviews. While you will want to keep arguments off your page, if you get negative or neutral feedback, thank those customers too. When possible, direct message them to see if you can do something to make them change their mind about your company. Since some websites allow users to edit their reviews, you could potentially turn a negative review into a positive one. 

Additionally, you need to constantly be active wherever your customers will be looking. This helps build your credibility. Great reviews on and off social media, a well-organized, active website, and an industry-wide positive reputation may help you find your way into Google’s Local Packs.

Pay-per-click Advertising

Your online presence should also include pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. You have full control of your budget when you use this form of advertising. Your ads are shown to targeted customers who are more likely to be interested in your services. PPC advertising often offers a great return on investment that can be easily measured. Start with Google, as your ad has the possibility of showing up on over 300 different sites. Then, you can expand to other options like Bing if you desire. Watch your character count on each line so that you can entice as many customers to click on your ads as possible. Always do A/B testing to prove which ads are performing the best.

Concentrating on these four items lets you build an online presence connecting with your target audience. You need to be consistent in your efforts to have the best results. Consider letting us help you create an editorial calendar today.
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