What do you do before you go to try out a new restaurant that you have never been to before? You grab your phone out and type their name in your browser and see what is popping up! Then You check their google Maps reviews, aren’t you? You check out their Social profiles and see what the place looks like. aren’t you? Especially on Instagram? So do your customers! They do the exact same !!
A Survey Conducted by Sales Force Shows that,
- 85% of consumers research a product or service online before making a purchase
- Web sites are used 74% of the time to conduct the research
- Social media is used 38% of the time for research
The information available online plays a huge role when it comes to someone making the final call. If your business is not out on Digital Channels yet, you are missing out ALOT! Being digitally available is a crucial part of businesses being successful nowadays.
What is Digital Presence?
In simple words, Digital Presence means how your business appears online. It is what your customers find when they type your business or brand name in their search engine. It could be your Web Site, Your Social Media Channel, or your Local Business listings such as Google business.
How do you Build and maintain a Strong Digital Presence?
What you put out their is what going to represent you when someone search you up !
Find what Digital Channels your Target Audience uses and chose carefully what you want to publish on your digital channels. Always plan out what when and where to publish.
Voice and Tone are essential parts of building a strong Digital Presence. Maintain your business’s Voice through the platforms and use the right Tone according to the which platform you are on.
I’ve seen many Businesses use the same caption on each and every social platform. Nothing wrong with it but what we need to understand is different social platform delivers different experience and what we looking for in each platform are different from each other. So understanding which type of audience is on different platforms and how they engage and behave is the key to success. Addressing the most suitable way that they should be addressed in each and every platform will be a huge game changer.
Even though you can create a free Page / Account on almost every major social media platform, Having a well-created Website is a Must! You have 100% more control over your website than you ever will have with your social channels. Since most people search for the product or service online instead of the brand you can make your website appear on the top search results with the SEO game.
As I mentioned above it is free to create an account or a page on all major social platforms but you should only create the platforms that you can consistently keep on updating. Having a Dead Social account can damage your brand way worse than not having an account.
Give to get. People don’t use social platforms to see brand promotions or advertisements. They use social platforms to engage with the people and profiles that they love. So Post something that can add value to their life along with your promotions. use the 80/20 rule when you plan your content calendar.
Keep updated with Social Trends and use them creatively when Publishing.
Content is king but UGC (User Generated Content ) is the cherry on top. Ask your Customers to leave reviews on your social platforms or encourage them to share their experience with your business, product, or services on their own profiles, such as Instagram Stories, Guest Posts, and Tik Tok Videos. Use the UGC on your page creatively to gain trust and attract more customers
Use a Content Mix. Such as Posts, Stories, Videos, Articles, UGC, Memes, Gifs, Shorts/reels, or Guest Posts. Find out which content type is suitable for your audience and which content type works on different platforms.
Conclusion
Being digitally available is extremely important to a brand’s success but it won’t overnight. It takes time and effort to build and maintain it. You make a plan and put your time and effort into it and it will give you results also With the help of an expert you can take your business to next level effectively.
Above are a few things about the digital presence and how to build and maintain it. Digital Trends and their new normal are consistently changing. Keep updated with those and never settle!