The first step of developing your web presence whether it be from scratch or taking your online presence to the next level as with all business endeavors is to define where you want to be and develop a strategy on how to get there. You may want to spend a hour or two with your web consultant on the ideal strategy for you. Keep in mind, your efforts in some areas will differ from others depending on your target demographic. For example, a nursing home will have a far different strategy than a t-shirt shop.
No matter what kind of business you run, having a web site is an absolute must in todays business world. If you are just beginning to have a web presence, 90% of the time, you do not need to hire a web developer quite yet. There are tools and companies out there such as SquareSpace that will allow you to create and customize your site effortlessly for a small monthly fee, however, if you need something more customized or have quite a bit of content you want on the site, you may want to look into hiring a web developer.
My advice is to try it yourself first using tools such as SquareSpace and if you find it too overwhelming, hire a web developer.
Once you have your web site up, track its progress. If you are using a tool such as SquareSpace, chances are that they have tracking built-in, however, if you had your web site developed for you, ask your web developer to apply Google Analytics or another tracking system to your site. This will allow you to see statistics on how many people are visiting your site, where they are geographically and what other sites are linking to yours. This data is invaluable for determining if you are succeeding or failing in your web presence efforts.
Nothing is more frustrating to a user than to visit a web site and the content is several years old. If you want to keep your visitors coming back to your site, its important to always keep your site fresh. This can be a challenge for some businesses to come up with more content on a regular basis, however, there are ways if you give it some thought. For example, maybe its a weekly story about a new client you helped, or a problem you solved or a "tip of the week", there a tons of ways to consistently generate new content.
Well, as it turns out, social media is here to stay and is now the second home to most businesses online. The big difference between social media and your web site is that you can engage with your customers online directly with social media.
Although it is tempting to login to Twitter and Facebook and post about your services or sales everyday, the most successful businesses in the social media space have learned to promote their business indirectly. For example, a PC repair company could post daily or weekly tips on how to keep your computer healthy or a test prep business could post a word/problem of the day. With social media, you have to keep in mind, youre talking directly to people and if you sound too much like a salesman, 9 times out of 10 you will get the door slammed in your face.
Another key to social media is to listen and respond. If someone is trying to communicate with you on social media, the last thing you want to do is ignore them. A reputation can be severely damaged literally overnight if social media complaints are ignored.
Just like with your web site, you need to be consistent with social media and always be posting new content to constantly improve your following.
In reading this, youre probably thinking that social media is a lot of work and to be honest, if done the correct way, it is a ton of work on a daily basis! That is why most organizations appoint whats called a community manager to manage your social networks day to day. If you choose to do this, be sure that your community manager is an expert in your field, if not, they have the potential to damage your online reputation.
If testimonials speak one thousand words about your company, video testimonials speak a million and nowadays, they are simple to create. Just take your digital camera or even most web cams will do the trick, record your best customers talking about your company, do a bit of editing in Windows Movie Maker or iMovie, upload it to YouTube or Vimeo and you will be good to go!
The best way to keep people coming back to your site is to find a way to add value. If youre a type of consultant, post a how-to on a certain subject or even better, allow your customers participate in a Q&A where your customers submit questions and you either post them on your site or do a video response.
Another good way to add value is to offer discounts to your online following.
Finally, be diligent in your efforts. There is no silver bullet when it comes to online marketing so dont get discouraged if a certain strategy doesnt pan out for you, just try a different approach until you find the right fit for you.