The Importance of Mastering your Online Presence

We spend almost 8 hours every single day doing digital activities (here is a little note, this is more than the hours we sleep for a day.) Most importantly, we all carry different identities online, don't we? There are gamers, social butterflies, professionals, and most importantly, consumers.

Your customers are online, are you?

What does a thriving business feed on? The answer would be - through the generation of engagement. While all your customers are placing orders, engaging, and looking into products and services online, you do not want to be left behind - waiting for them to walk into the store. How long could you possibly keep advertising for them to show up in front of you? This is when your online presence will come to play. Be it on search engines, social media, and much more.

Why do you Need an Online Presence?

Let's drop the truth bombs; here are some factors that make online presence more of a necessity:

• Your customers are online, irrespective if you are or aren't.

• 85% of the buyers today conduct research on the product or the service online before they can actually buy it.

• If your competitor is out there with a digital presence, he is luring in some of the most potential buyers, and you are losing out.

• The Internet is today's most valuable tool for marketing and doing business.

• There isn't a better place to raise the bar on your brand and credibility.

• Online is where you get to showcase your expertise without a lot of barriers.

What Does it Mean to Have a Digital Presence?

To define it - it is the compilation existence of a business or an individual that is found online through searches. But, we can make this simpler; here is your online presence.

a) You - You involve your actions and your content.

b) The Internet - Where you stand on search engines and social media algorithms.

c) The Public - How does your audience perceive your business online.

Your business's online presence could come through:

• Social media

• Website

• Reporting and Publications

• Memberships Online

• And more

If you are stumbling in building your online presence or just want to get started off, there are ways for that too.

Swift Ways for a Great Online Presence

Nothing can possibly happen overnight, which is why you need to take one step at a time to make it, even if that is tiny baby steps:

1. Get Onboard with Mastering SEO

"On a broad scale - I see SEO becoming a normalized marketing trick, the same way print, radio, and TV are traditionally thought of as marketing tactics."

– Duane Forrester

Who was the founder of the TV, Something that every home has today? Are you typing it out on a search engine? It is not just used to find answers, but you would want to know that all of your prospective customers are searching for products and services that you have to offer on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and more. This is why you need to master SEO before anything else.

2. Don't Put Social Media On-Hold

"If you make consumers unhappy in the physical world - they might each tell six friends. When you make a customer unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends."

– Jeff Bezos

Why wait to reach a community with over 4.6 billion people. Did you know that more than half the world is on one or another social media platform? Social media is one of the greatest ways to build your credibility and your brand. It is a mass community, and when used right, it can bring you big benefits.

3. Your Website is the Digital Form of your Business

"In the information age, build a website before you build a workplace."

– Amit Kalantri

A website is a start to your business. Well, your website can paint a picture of how your business is and how it would serve all its customers. Your site is where you can portray your brand with creativity and, most importantly, educate your visitors about what you have to offer.

4. Produce Astounding Content

"Content Marketing provides 4x the ROI of our traditional marketing spend."

- Julie Fleischer

Let's just say your creative and original content is the voice of your business. You can speak to your niche through it. It is always a great way for you to release new products, announce the news, inform your audiences, and much more.

5. Be Active, Be Responsive and Show Up

"We have the technology - that for the first time in human history, it allows people to really maintain a rich connection with larger numbers of people."

– Pierre Omidyar

You need to be on the platforms your audiences are. If your target audiences are start-ups, you would want to look for them on LinkedIn and not on Instagram. It is only when you are active and responsive you can enhance your presence online and, in turn, grow more.

In the midst of a digital era - you cannot possibly think of not having a digital presence? Your business' growth counts on it.

" Your online presence is not just another strategy; it is more of a necessity. It can help to serve your customers right, and it can feed your business with better outcomes each year. It would take time and effort to get on board with a strong online presence, but you could also consult with market experts or get some help on getting it done."