Most businesses have got some sort on online presence. At the very least, most startups get themselves a website and maybe one or two social media accounts or pages.
But there are other places you can be online, which aren?t owned by you but can help to increase your exposure and drive traffic to your website. Here I?ll look at the main ones ? social media, video and photo sharing platforms, online directories and shopping sites, and give you some tips on how to use them to increase your business?s exposure on the internet.
Social media
Most of our clients, if they?re looking for something more than a website, want to move into social media or improve their existing use of social media. For some businesses, social media might even replace a website as the main way to do business online. Let?s look at the main social media platforms and what they offer:
- Facebook is best if you?re selling to consumers.
- Don?t use your personal profile for your business ? set up a separate Facebook Page instead.
- If you?re selling a niche product such as handmade jewellery or knitted monkeys, consider using a Facebook Page instead of a website. You can also sell via Facebook (see below).
- Create a buzz around your brand and/or product ? this works best if you?re selling something people like to talk to their friends about.
- Facebook can be used for business ? especially if you get referrals from friends or want to create inbound links to your website or blog.
- Use twitter only if your target audience is on it, otherwise it will take up a lot of time for little reward.
- Twitter users are generally younger, better off and more technically savvy than the average internet user ? so if this is your audience, here?s where you can reach them.
- Twitter is used a lot by the media and politicians ? great if this is your target audience.
- Update twitter regularly ? at the very least once a day, preferably more.
- Don?t just tweet marketing and sales pitches or links to your site ? engage with your audience.
- Use an app such as HootSuite to schedule tweets and manage your twitter streams.
- The great thing about LinkedIn is that users are thinking about business when they?re on it ? so you?re much more likely to be heard here.
- Make use of Groups to find like-minded people ? and consider setting up your own.
- Post relevant links to your blog and other resources ? LinkedIn is great for driving traffic to your site (but PLEASE, don?t spam!).
- Connect with anyone you meet in the offline world so you can keep in touch.
- Make direct contact with your connections every now and then to remind them about yourself and what you offer ? if you can personalise this, even better.
Google+
- Google Plus is small but powerful ? take time to investigate it and determine whether it?s right for your business.
- At present, Google Plus is still populated largely by geeks and early adopters ? ideal if they?re your target market.
- Links you post on Google Plus can have an impact on your SEO for those links ? Google likes links which have been featured in Google+.
- Set up circles for different topics you post about and use them to target people ? that way, your content will be more relevant to them.
Video and photo sharing platforms
If you create designs, products or images, or have something you can communicate via video (such as a manufacturing process), consider using photo and video sharing sites.
YouTube
- Use YouTube to stream video to your website ? it saves on storage space and bandwidth and ensures your video is compatible with all devices.
- Consider adding content both as text (in your website) and video (via YouTube) ? this will suit people who like to consume online content either way.
- Video should either be very professional or obviously amateur ? somewhere in between makes it look like you tried but failed.
- Record video on your mobile and upload it using the YouTube app ? if iPhone video is good enough for the BBC, it?s good enough for you.
- YouTube is great for SEO (it?s owned by Google, don?t forget) ? and make sure you add text with relevant content on your pages too.
- Customise your YouTube channel to reflect your brand.
- Pinterest is small but among its users (mainly women) it?s used very frequently ? identify if your target audience is using it.
- If you make or design something beautiful, put images of it on Pinterest, or ask your followers or friends to ? that way it can be shared.
- Add a ?Pin It? button to your website so people can pin images they like to Pinterest.
Flickr
- If you have images of your products, events or people, consider using Flickr to disseminate them more widely and let people share them.
- Integrate Flickr with your website ? a number of WordPress plugins will deliver images from your Flickr page to your website, for example.
- Make sure you?re aware of any copyright options you?re selecting when uploading images so people can only copy them if you want them to.
- Use the Flickr app to upload images from your mobile and manage them so people can see them immediately.
Online directories
Business directories
- Don?t overlook online directories as a source of leads ? as less people rely on them you have a greater chance of being found on them.
- ?Make sure you have a listing on all of the free directories that are relevant to your industry and/or area ? including the large national ones such as Yell and Thomson Local.
- Use community directories such as gumtree to increase your presence and advertise.
Freelancer directories
- If you work freelance, use directories such as elance to post your portfolio and profile.
- Keep and eye out for freelance job opportunities ? but beware of accepting very low paid work or, even worse, working for free. Your skills are worth something!
- Use portfolio listing sites such as carbonmade to increase your visibility.
Online shopping and e-commerce
eBay
- eBay is no longer targeting auctions of second hand goods ? its focus is now on ?buy it now? items that are mainly new.
- Set up your own eBay store ? you can customise it as much as you want and may find you get a bigger audience on your own website.
- Consider the costs of selling via eBay and the payment plan you?ll use ? this will depend on the number of sales you?ll make.
- Work on your eBay reputation ? ask buyers to give feedback and if you ever get a complaint, deal with it promptly and ask if the buyer will change their feedback.
Amazon
- Amazon doesn?t just sell books through its marketplace ? you can become an Amazon seller of just about anything you want.
- Amazon offers a range of options with regard to distribution and postage ? you can do it all yourself or they can do it all for you, which will cost more ? or something between the two.
- Again as with eBay, look at how much you?ll be paying Amazon each time you make a sale, and make sure you?ll still be in profit.
- Selling on both Amazon and eBay is unlikely to be sustainable ? find out where your target audience is and focus on one. Generally eBay is better for clothes, jewellery etc. and Amazon for consumer goods, IT and (of course) books.
- If you already have an audience on Facebook, this may be the best place to sell online.
- You can either sell within Facebook so all purchases are made there, or you can list your products but link to your own site to make the sale ? which will cost less but may lose you some sales.
- The great thing about selling on Facebook is that your customers can share their purchase with their friends, winning you word of mouth custom.
Summary
You could go out and implement every single one of the 50 tips above, but I wouldn?t recommend it. The most important tip I can give you is to do your research and focus on your target audience. This means:
- identifying who you want to communicate with
- finding out where they are online
- working out how much time/resources/knowledge you have available for online marketing
- starting slowly and working your way up.
If you take this measured approach you should see your online marketing increase your sales. Good luck!
Related articles:
- Why online marketing is green marketing
- The twitter @girlgeeks debacle ? implications for social media and online reputation management
- Facebook at Christmas ? 5 tips for seasonal Facebook marketing
- Social media marketing ? using Facebook, Twitter and Linked-in
- Using twitter for your business ? top 10 tips for success
Source: http://compass-design.co.uk/50-tips-increase-online-business-presence/
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