Let’s begin with understanding what is your “online presence”. This is, at the most basic level, how your brand shows up on the internet. A lot of this you have control over. For example, your website, social media pages, advertisements, and other various content produced by you.
You also have what is known as “earned online presence”. Whether it is a recommendation, a review or a mention of your company, your earned online presence can come in any format on any platform. These are factors you won’t necessarily have control over. Whether you respond to them or not, however, is something you have control over.
Small businesses may be hesitant to put their resources into building their online presence. But it can be vital to the success of your business in this modern age. Below are 5 reasons why it is important to have a strong presence online.
Brand Awareness
Most of your potential customers will research online prior to making a purchase decision. You want to be able to show up for their product searches and provide them with helpful information about your brand as well as the product or service they are searching for.
Brand awareness speaks to the timeless trust in community. Think about it: you are more likely to trust someone you already know and have experience with vs. someone you’ve never heard of before. This initial research may be a consumer’s first impression of your brand. You want to show a clear picture of who you are and how you can meet their needs.
Competitors
As consumers research online, they will inevitably come across other competitive brands that provide the same services or sell the same products as you. Therefore, it is important that you also have a strong presence. Without it, your competitors will capture 100% of the audience that was still in the research stage. As a result, you could miss out on potential leads or sales.
This could also be a threat to any current customers your business has. If they aren’t able to find you online when it comes time for them to make another purchase, they might convert to a competing brand simply for convenience.
Reach Your Target Audience
In 2019, there were 4.13 billion internet users worldwide – that’s a pretty large audience base to start with! There is unlimited potential for you to reach consumers if you have a presence in the digital space.
Through a multitude of marketing strategies, you can target an audience specific to the goals of your brand. This could be by location, demographics, interests, search queries, etc. This will help ensure your brand gets in front of the right consumers who have higher potential to find your information helpful or purchase a product or service you offer.
Generate Leads & Increase Sales
In 2020, 77.2 percent of the American population purchased goods online. This share is expected to grow to 82.2 percent in 2024, according to Statista. Even if you don’t sell goods online, your online presence can generate leads. Having a cohesive digital marketing strategy that makes it easy for consumers to find your website or other information about your brand has the potential to be very profitable for your business. Consumers are attracted to the convenience of being able to do research, compare products, and even make purchases all from the comfort of their home. Without a digital presence, you will miss out on this potential customer base.
Constant Communication with Customers
If you have any changes to your products or services, are running any specials, or maybe even offering something new, the internet is where you will want to go first for updates. You can quickly and easily customize the information on your website, as well as social media, to showcase any pertinent information you want your customers to see. The best part is these changes are going to update immediately. You can also advertise based on these updates. Or, implement other digital marketing tactics to easily push this message out to new and existing customers.
To be competitive in today’s market, it is imperative that you build and maintain a strong online presence for your brand. Digital marketing companies such as Shout It Out Design can help with this. Contact us today to learn more about our digital marketing solutions and how we can help your business be successful.
