A strong online presence in the form of a social media page, a website, a blog and an e-commerce platform – preferably all four – is one of the best things you can do for your business, and for your customers. For your company to remain competitive, consumers need to be able to easily find your product and service information with just one click.
Here’s how your social presence helps your customer, and therefore your business:
Enhances accessibility. The first thing you do when you want more information about a product or service is to google it. The web contains endless information, and having a website for your business gives customers an effortless way to find you.
Enables your business to reach the widest possible audience. Now that we’ve established the use of your site as your online home, it’s important to provide various means by which people can find you. Much in the way some prefer using maps while others rely on memory, it’s all about providing a variety of options in the form of social channels so customers are able to access your information regardless of their platform preference. This exponentially increases inbound traffic and increase your customer base. This is because it makes it easy for your company to be found by people who don’t yet know about your business but who are interested in what you do.
Enables you to showcase your products and services. Word of mouth has always been the golden standard of marketing. Online reviews act as word-of-mouth on a global stage. Having an online presence allows a degree of transparency you can leverage. With a few simple clicks, your customers can see what you’re all about.
Provides affordable and effective marketing. It’s no secret digital marketing is much more affordable than traditional forms of marketing. The best part is, when done strategically, you can benefit from similar returns. Being online gives you the opportunity to advertise your products and services for free across social media sites and on your blog. An added bonus is the “shareability” of social media, which allows your customers to easily spread the word about your business to all their friends. If you don’t have time to execute a strategic digital marketing presence, there are services available to help you exclusively with this.
Helps build relationships. Social media is all about building relationships. It gives you the opportunity to connect and communicate with your target audience and to create meaningful relationships which help build trust, loyalty and confidence in your brand.
Improves customer service. Instant access to feedback from your customers helps you immediately address complaints and/or resolve any issues at hand.
Show you what works – and what doesn’t. The numbers don’t lie is an all too common saying. Tracking metrics of your site and social media accounts helps you gain valuable insights which will show you what works and what doesn’t. This gives you the unique opportunity to make improvements in every aspect of your business using analytics.
There’s no question about it – we are in the digital age. The sooner you begin using this immensely powerful marketing tool, the more leads you can generate and nurture and the more opportunity you will have for returns.