What a turbulent 12 months the world has had, but we’ve also been given a rare opportunity to stop, be present, and make health and family our first priority.
Since early last year we’ve seen exemplary examples of bravery and resilience shown by our incredible NHS and front line workers, people rubbing shoulders at karaoke parties, protesters filling the streets during a global pandemic, and watched a 99 year old war veteran become a resounding national monument.
Now the vaccine is being rolled out far and wide, and with the light at the end of the tunnel getting bigger and brighter, this is the time to take stock, and look at where we can safeguard ourselves for any future eventualities.
Businesses of all shapes and sizes have been dramatically affected by the shortcomings of the last year, and it’s important to evaluate where improvements can be made, and make sure we are as visible as possible to stay ahead of our competition.
It’s still surprising just how many businesses don’t even have a website when we live in such a digitally driven world, with 90% of consumers doing a product or company search before committing to any kind of purchase or business transaction. This means not having a website or digital presence in this era could spell disaster for someone’s livelihood.
A responsive website
But fear not, there are a number of ways in which you can dramatically alter the landscape of your business with minimal impact to your bank balance.
The first one, is by creating a simple but effective website that illustrates your products and services to give potential customers and clients a better understanding of who you are, and what sets you apart from your competitors.
Your website doesn’t need to be complicated, it just needs a few informative, aesthetically pleasing pages with a list of your products and services, along with perhaps some testimonials and examples of your work.
If you wanted that extra edge, you could also include a blog page, make sure your site is mobile friendly, and that the URLs are optimised. Having a mobile friendly site can offer you a huge advantage with so many people doing the majority of their browsing whilst on the move.
Email marketing
One of the most tried and tested ways of driving customers to your website, is a bespoke, well thought out email campaign with targeted information about your company to grab people’s attention. Whether it’s to existing clients to stay on the radar, and create recurring business, or an entirely new audience, email marketing is an incredibly effective way of reaching large numbers of people with minimal costs and impact on your resources. Another bonus with email marketing is the analytics you gain with each mailout, which in turn can drive sales through the organic leads that you’ve generated!
Social media presence
Social media platforms are a fantastic place to showcase your company and reach an even wider audience, with platforms like Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn helping millions of people all over the world drive their customer engagement through the roof. Making consistent posts with great imagery, video’s and engaging copy can easily help you start adding extra zeros to your monthly billing sheet.
Also remember that word of mouth is another key element in increasing revenue, and encouraging friends, family and employees to share these posts will instill trust in the viewer, and help put even more eyes on your business.
Content marketing
A blog page is a surefire way to not only increase your digital presence, but also give your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) a nudge by pushing you up the Google search engine. This will make you more visible to your desired audience, and increase the likelihood of bringing additional revenue to your business. Much like your website, a simple but informative blog post is all you need to get started, and give your website the additional boost it needs.
Pay-per-click (PPC)
PPC stands for pay-per-click, and although less organic than using social media and email marketing , is by no means less effective at driving customer engagement to your website.
Put simply, PPC is when advertisers pay a fee every time a person clicks on one of their ads, typically on Google. The position of your ad will be determined by something called ‘Ad Auction’ which is an automated process used by search engines to determine the relevance of your company and it’s services.
Your use of keywords is hugely important with PPC, as this is what determines how visible you’ll be and where you land on a page. However, done correctly, this is an incredibly useful tool, and can really jump you ahead of the curve by helping you reach 90% of the people surfing the web in a more time efficient way.
Ultimately, if you’re being charged for clicks, your ad is working!
These are just 5 simple ways in which you can broaden your businesses horizons, and all have a strong footing in today’s digital market space. Outside of these, there are numerous other avenues you can go down to elevate your digital presence, but for now, if you’re a small to medium sized business that needs help with any of the above……. we’d love to hear from you
