Many consumers use the internet to help them find information or to buy products and services. It is fast, convenient, and it allows them to make comparisons. It also allows them to shop at a time that is most convenient for them. This is why your business must have a strong online presence. You need to reach your niche audience rather than being buried out there among other businesses.
An effort on your part to become recognized, to help consumers be familiar with you, and to establish your brand as a leader are all encouraged. This will help you to sell more products or services in less time. You have to be able to stand apart from your competitors. What can you offer that will entice consumers to buy from you and not one of them? These tips will help you to attract more customers and prevent your business from being lost in the shuffle!
Optimization
Everything associated with your business needs to be successfully optimized. This starts with your webpages and expands to your social media marketing and your sales pages. No matter how small your business is, you need a professional looking website. Statistically, just over half of all small businesses actually do so. When you consider approximately 97% of your niche audience is searching online, you can’t afford not to have your presence online.
You don’t need a fancy website, and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune to get one created. It does need to be visually appealing. The layout needs to be easy on the eyes and it needs to be fully optimized. Add some information about the business, show some examples of what you offer, and show photos of your products or services along with a detailed description of them. Testimonials from happy customers can also be a nice touch.
Everything needs to open quickly and the platform you use needs to allow it to open on mobile devices. It can be useful to hire a professional company to create your website and to optimize everything tied to it. If you already have a website, they can take a look at it and make necessary updates.
Social Media Marketing
It is essential to have separate social media accounts for your business from your own personal ones. You need to be selective about how you use social media so it can benefit your business. You want to be seen but you also want to appeal to your niche audience. Branch out and don’t rely on only one source of social media though. This ensures you can reach more of your target audience.
Don’t spread yourself too thin thought, you can’t effectively use all of them. Stick with few of the major ones including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. If you need to generate leads, consider adding LinkedIn to the mix. You need to add new information to your social media marketing regularly. Share information and create content that helps them see you as an expert in your given niche. Don’t just give them a sales pitch!
Take your time to read the feedback on your social media accounts too. This can help you to see what the business is doing well. It can also help you to see where you have some weak areas to improve upon. If your niche audience has questions, answer them to help them see you do care and you do want to connect with them.
Blogging
Spend about 20 minutes 3 times a week to keep your blog updated. This is a personal way to reach out to your niche audience. It helps them to trust you and to help you establish your presence online. It is a key step with branding your business and creating long term relationships with loyal customers. They are interested when you have relevant content to share with them. Their feedback on your blog and other social media can help you to generate new topics to share information about.
Since different consumers respond to different types of content, it is wise to diversity. This is true for both your blog and your other elements of social media. It also helps you to get ranked in the search engines if you fully optimize such content each time you add it. Getting to the first page of the search engine results is vital to your online presence and success. Some times of content to put out there include:
- Case studies
- eBooks
- Online courses
- Podcasts
- Webinars
- Videos
The unique elements of your content have to be there. Never copy from anyone else. Don’t just copy and paste in several areas either. You need fresh content for each of your outlets. The quality of your content is far more important than the volume of it.
Guests
Find experts in your same niche willing to assist you. They can be a great way to further promote your business. They should have an excellent reputation and your niche audience will be drawn in to what they have to share. You can also promote something they offer at the end, so there is something of value to entice them to work with you.
A guest for a blog or a podcast can be very exciting and offer a wealth of information for your niche audience. It can help you to gain more exposure and increase the amount of traffic visiting your website.
Marketing Via Email
It is simple, cost effective, and very easy to market via email. Make sure you only send emails to those who have given you consent to do so. Don’t buy a list from someone else and contact people, it isn’t going to be welcomed. Offer something for free such as an ebook or report they can access if they opt in. Then you will have permission to email them. Make sure what you email is quality information and of value to them so they don’t desire to unsubscribe.