The internet has changed the way businesses run. More specifically, it has changed how marketing and promotion occur. Your online presence is a necessity for success, however it can also hurt your reputation unbeknownst to you. How can you be sure that your online presence is not damaging your business? What can you do to maximize the power of your internet profiles? Let’s look a little bit deeper.
Take Control
The internet gets everyone talking. It seems like going viral is the biggest buzz word today. Having content go viral exposes it to millions in an incredibly short period of time. This can also hurt you if the wrong material starts spreading like wildfire. Business owners need to take charge of their online reputation. You can start by finding out what others are saying about you. Search your business name on Google and search out any negative comments. Dealing with them on a personal level can prevent them from spreading and creating a negative reputation.
Dealing with Posers
If your company begins to gain momentum, you may find some posers online using things like a nickname or part of your branding to steal your thunder. Registering any domain names that could be mistaken for yours is a way to prevent this. You never want a customer to mistakenly show up on a website that looks just like yours, but actually originates from a state or country far away.
Get out there to be Seen
Not having proper exposure online can also limit your business without even realizing it. Today, most forward thinking companies are utilizing every social media platform to reach their target audience and build their brand. Fill out your profiles on Twitter and Facebook entirely. Link both of them to your company’s homepage.
Keep your Profiles Unique, yet Relevant
Try and differentiate what each profile is posting about. You can use Twitter to update followers on something happening on your Facebook page, or a new relevant blog post etc. Why should you do this? Keeping things different enough will make sure people follow you on multiple platforms, rather than just one. Imagine being a user getting the same notification on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn every day. It would get annoying. The message across your profiles should be consistent to your company’s values and ideas, just keep the content varied enough to entertain your followers.
Find more Followers/Subscribers
If you neglect promoting your social platforms, their entire existence is more or less futile. Leaving links to your Twitter page in your email signature, or a link to your Facebook profile on your business card is a good start. The more people that you get sharing your links and content the better chance you have of reaching higher ranks on major search engines. Social media is an essential part of every company’s online marketing strategy.
Are your Webpages causing you to Lose Clients?
Are your social media profiles and web pages all designed to be user friendly? Is your text easy to read? Do pages load quickly? All of these play a role in negatively impacting your brand if they are not up to par. Think about user experience and test all of your webpages for functionality on multiple browsers. If part of your online representation is rubbing potential customers the wrong way, they will not spend time on your pages and are likely to make sure their friends don’t bother either.
Every action you take either helps or hurts your brand. A lot of these happens on the internet right under your nose. Your homepage and social profiles should be representations of your company. Keep everything honest, relevant and fun. If you don’t want to hurt your branding, make sure that your entire online repertoire is attractive enough to capture clients.