How to Promote Your Business Online Without Regrets

Having your business online is one thing, but knowing how to promote it is another.

You don’t know where to start or what you should be doing.

This article will teach you how to promote your online business without spending a ton of time, money, or effort.

You’ll be able to reach new customers and grow with the help of these simple strategies.

But first, let’s talk about what digital marketing is and why you need it.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is when you make your company look fantastic online and creates a space for you to engage with people.

So, what does that mean?

Digital marketing can be anything from website design to posting content on sites like Facebook or Twitter.

This type of online business strategy is an enormous umbrella covering many types of marketing, such as email, social media, and search engine optimization. It also includes blogs and videos.

Online strategies aim to create a presence for your brand that people can see, interact with, and hopefully buy from.

It’s not just about having your business online anymore; it’s about how you keep in touch with the customers you already have and effective ways to find new ones.

Facebook or Twitter are great ways to connect with your existing customer base and reach new clients through posts and tweets.

Your website design will also help generate interest by driving traffic to where they can find out more information about what you offer.

These elements all work together to make up “digital marketing.”

Why You Need Digital Marketing

Today people want information right away about your products and services. They want instant answers about your business when shopping.

Technology has exponentially increased the number of opportunities for online business.

One such opportunity is online advertising, which you can use on every platform and across all devices to make an impression.

Technology has the power to help businesses become more efficient than ever before by giving them access to data, analytics, and insights.

Overlook These Trends or Die

Three major trends are impacting how consumers want to interact with your business.

The competitive landscape has changed dramatically in recent years.

Your online business will probably suffer if you do not satisfy customers or prospects who make up these trends.

Business Online Promoting Trend #1

Customers Want Instant Gratification

➡ Customers are accustomed to ordering products online and receiving them lightning fast.

➡ If they have a question about something, they search for it and have an instant answer.

➡ They want to watch their favorite TV show with no commercials.

They want to decide if hiring you or using your products is the right choice without going through a big hassle.

They want it simple, and they want it now.

And if you aren’t able to provide it for them, they hop to your competitor without blinking an eye.

“Oops, another one bites the dust.”

Business Online Promoting

Trend #2

Customers Rely Heavily on Reviews

When you are looking for a product on Amazon, what’s the first thing you do after reading the product description?

That’s right. You go straight to the reviews.

And what happens when you see a slew of bad reviews?

Right again—you bail for a different product.

Your customers are no different.

They want to know with a snap of a finger if you are worth their time and money.

If they don’t like your reviews or that you have only a few reviews compared to your competition, they are gone.

Business Online Promoting

Trend #3

Customers Want a Personalized Experience 

Think about the big box stores you visit physically and online. What do they have in common?

Faceless, impersonal, uncaring.

Now imagine if those stores had a more personalized approach.

You get a sense of who the owner is and the employees. You enjoy visiting these stores. You know what to expect and can always feel at home.

Your business online needs to have the same feel.

When people contact you, you want to make them feel good, that they’re special, instead of just another customer coming through the door with no connection to you.

Your customers don’t want any old experience with your brand; they want to feel that you appreciate and value them.

Business Online Strategies and Ideas You Can Use Now

These strategies may seem simple, but they’re highly effective at getting attention and increasing traffic for your small business.

BLOGGING

1) Publish Content Regularly

It’s not just about publishing a single article once or twice a year. You need to post regularly, or you are going to lose the interest of your readers quickly.

Publishing content is one of the most critical tactics because it allows you to establish authority and build relationships with your target readers.

Your posts’ frequency depends on what type of content you’re posting: long-form versus shorter articles, and how frequently people return to check on updates.

2) Post Relevant Content 

If you’re a local, small business, posting content about your new products or services is excellent.

But if your people don’t care about those things—or they don’t live in the same area as you—then your content will fail.

The ability to create and share compelling content determines success.

You know you’re on the right track with your campaigns if people are so engaged that they return to your website each time you post a new article.

You also want to include words to attract attention, using keywords like “free” that generate more clicks than other phrases.

And don’t be afraid to venture outside of your niche!

For example, posting an exciting event rather than selling your product is a great way to engage people.

3) Include Links

It may seem like common sense, but it might surprise you how many people forget about including links on their content.

Links are a critical step in online business because it helps the search engines index and ranks your website higher on their lists of results for those terms that apply to what you’re posting.

Besides the timesaving benefits of using social media updates, Facebook and Twitter also help you increase traffic because they keep readers engaged.

4) Add Images

Adding images to your content can increase reader engagement by 80%.

Images help break up the text and make it easier on readers with a shorter attention span (as we most all have now).

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING (SMM)

Humans need an emotional connection.

Social media is about sharing emotions with your tribe, making consumers feel important, and leading them back to you again and again.

Here are some strategies and ideas you can implement on social media to gain more business online:

1) Treat Followers Like Family

To talk to people like family, you need to be authentic.

But you don’t want to appear salesy or fake, which is why a small business needs to use social media to engage with its followers regularly.

If someone posts about starting a new job or moving into a new home, offer congratulations and ask how things are going.

You’ll want to relate on some level while still clarifying that you’re there to sell something.

Also, post unique content that highlights the human side of your business.

What would interest people who know little about you or may not even be aware of your existence? How can you engage them in a common interest topic like puppies?

2) Social Media is a Two-way Street

It’s not just about posting an advertisement now and again; it should be a two-way street to get the most out of your online presence.

If users on your page make posts, make sure you reply! The same goes if someone comments on one of your ads or posts—always reply!

This kind of engagement helps build rapport between yourself and other people who follow what you do, which will make them more likely to purchase something from you.

3) Create Content for Readers, Not Yourself

One of the worst things a business online can do is create content solely to promote itself.

Self-promotion makes people feel like they’re being sold something all the time, which puts them in an “I’ll buy it when I want to” mindset and not a “Hey, this looks interesting!” mentality.

Suppose you have a clothing company aimed at teenage girls.

In that case, Instagramming photos from their favorite celebrities’ fashion shows might be more effective than posting pictures of your latest designs every day.

4) Stay on Brand

It’s no secret that a company needs to stay within the guidelines set by their brands to maintain a cohesive presence online, which is why it can be tempting and easy for them to post whatever they want without thinking about their choices.

However, this will only create confusion among followers looking for your usual posts or information.

5) Provide Value

You need people’s trust before you can sell anything to them. That’s where providing value comes in.

Companies need to be mindful of what they say and do on social media because it can impact the company image or even their bottom line if done poorly.

For example, a restaurant that posts pictures giving away free burgers would likely bring in more business than posting a simple menu item.

6) Understand your Audience

To create content tailored for one group, you need to know who they are and their needs.

So understanding your audience is of the utmost importance in this process.

The easiest way to understand someone better is to ask questions.

Send out surveys or post polls on your page that ask for feedback or opinion, and you’ll see what kind of content they want.

7) Use Correct Hashtags

Hashtags are a great way to connect with new people, but it’s essential not to use them too often to avoid spamming.

It would be appropriate if every few posts a company used one tagged tweet or post, as long as the hashtag applies to that piece of information.

For example, a cooking supply company could tag photos from a demo event so users who follow those tags can easily find more pictures related to the topic.

VIDEO

Videos are a great way to break up your blog post or social media feed to get people more engaged.

They are also effective because they allow you to show instead of telling: i.e., teaching how-to rather than just telling the reader what steps need to be taken or what the product is like.

An epoxy floor company could post a video about washing and caring for the customer’s newly installed floor.

Don’t Just Make Videos of Your Product.

Creating content solely revolving around products or services will only cause people to view you with the thought: “I’m being sold!”

The key here is to show what sets your product apart by providing real-life examples of how you have made a difference in peoples’ lives.

You can display testimonials, provide before and after photos, or even show how people use the product in everyday life.

INFOGRAPHICS

Infographics are a great way to break up your long list of data into an easy-to-read visual format.

They’re also helpful because they allow you to provide more detail about something succinctly without having to read through paragraphs of text on one screen.

Organizations could engagingly share their fundraising stats by breaking them down graphically so that people can see which areas have been most successful over time instead of just posting numbers.

POLLS

Empowering your community by giving them the chance to participate in the decision-making process is a great way to get more people involved in what you have going on.

For example, a carpet cleaning company can create polls with different reward options, so customers have more say in what they want rather than having no choice.

The possibilities are endless.

IMAGES

Only including one or two keywords on each image will not rank as high for keyword searches.

But using tags and alt text can help you take advantage of an opportunity that many other companies miss out on.

For example, a cabinet builder could upload original designs with “kitchen remodeler” tagged under the image. Therefore, those looking specifically for a kitchen cabinet designer might find their content more accessible.

USER EXPERIENCE (UX) 

You only have 5 seconds to capture a fish nibbling on your website.

Are you going to catch it?

That depends on what bait you are using.

When someone lands on your website and can’t immediately decipher what you do, the fish swims away.

And guess what?

Your website shouldn’t say very much about yourself.

Instead, provide the visitor with information about how you can solve their problem quickly.

Your website must be simple with clear messaging.

The fancy website design does not sell.

Helping someone who needs you does.

Here are some tips for a good web design that converts visitors:

 

Wrapping Up

A well-designed business online strategy is crucial to stay in business.

The most important thing to remember is that you need an business online strategy—not just a social media account or a website, but an entire network of channels and campaigns designed to reach your target audience.

It’s hard work, with lots of planning involved, but it can have tremendous results when it pays off!

A well-designed online business strategy will drive sales and leads more efficiently than anything else. It’s all connected.

That’s why we say without great content, SEO tactics are pointless.

If you don’t want to handle these strategies alone, we have a solution.

With our online business automation strategies, you will always be in front of potential customers.

The best part?

Our framework does all the work for you.

What do you think of these strategies? Have you tried any of these ideas before? What has been your experience?