Written by a Contributor
The importance of establishing an online presence for your business cannot be underestimated, though as a business owner you almost certainly already knew that. This importance is often emphasized in online help guides, and can lead entrepreneurs to immediately seek to ensure their brand is as visible as possible online, as soon as is conceivably possible.
However, like anything in business, an online presence needs to be nurtured – and it needs to be done correctly. Just having an online presence isn’t sufficient; you have to ensure you have a beneficial online presence. In an effort to help you achieve this, below, we’ve put together a few “dos and don’ts” that you may want to keep in mind…
DON’T… increase your online presence without a distinct ‘voice’
An online presence can only be useful if it is cohesive. This cohesion is important in terms of visual presentation – for example, using the same color schemes and logos – but also in terms of the language you use. The ‘voice’ of your business should be consistent across every aspect of your online presence, so you need to determine this – and allow it to influence – as a first priority.
DO… focus on your website first and foremost
Your website is the heart and soul of your online presence; your modern-day storefront that claims your place online. As a result, it’s important to have the right people designing your site and conducting everyday maintenance. Without a strong website, the rest of your online presence – such as your social media accounts – are of little use, as they are not directing customers to a space that is genuinely useful.
DON’T… sign up for every possible account/forum/service you can
Every guide to establishing an online presence will tell you to register for accounts with a variety of social media sites, forums, and services. This is, of course, important; but also problematic – there is a huge number of social media sites, for example. Registering little more than an empty profile with every single recommended network, service, or forum is of little benefit to your brand; you have to actually build your presence on these services, rather than just owning an empty profile.
DO… target quality rather than quantity
Rather than just signing up everywhere and trying every single presence-building technique in the book, go slowly. When registering for social media sites, stick around, and seek to build an in-depth, comprehensive presence that is genuinely useful to your customers. The same principle applies to presence-building techniques like using forums or writing guest posts. Focus on the quality of your output, targeting one specific area at a time and ensuring it is as good as it can possibly be. One well-written, engaging guest blog post – for example – is far more useful than five throwaway, rushed posts when it comes to establishing your business online.
Think of your online presence like an 3D printer; you need to slowly add layers, bit by bit, until it builds until a complete, solid whole.
In conclusion
By ensuring your online presence is genuinely useful, you can be confident of enjoying all the benefits it is able to offer. If you take note of the points above, you should be able to streamline your business’ online presence and strengthen your brand as a result.
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