Yes, you do! The Internet becomes more integrated into our lives with each passing day, and your business needs to keep up. Your customers are online, looking for your business on the Web. They want to read up on your business news via your company blog. They want to interact with you on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other popular forms of social media. You need to be there, creating and maintaining the online community that will help you maximize your business’s profits and attract investments from the small business financier of your choice, so you can continue to grow your business long into the future.
Make the Most of Your Business Website
The first step in maximizing your small business’s Web presence is building a website. No one looks at the phone book to find local businesses anymore. These days your customers are turning to the Internet to find out where they can purchase the goods and services you provide. Without a company website, fewer of the people you want to reach will even know you exist.
With a company website, your potential customers will be able to find out where you’re located, what products and services you provide and how to make purchases. Add a contact form so your customers can get in touch with their questions. Discussion forums and company blogs help your customers learn from you and one another about your products, your services and what your business does for the community. Blogs and discussion forums provide a fresh source of content that helps your business website stay near the top of search engine returns.
Your website needs multimedia content too, especially videos. Videos — like tutorials and demonstrations — encourage website visitors to stick around. Videos allow you to convey information in a short period of time, without asking your viewers to make a lot of effort, and they attract additional search engine traffic to your website.
Get Involved in Social Media
Over the past several years, many people have decided that social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook are the best way to communicate. If your small business hasn’t yet jumped on the bandwagon, you’re missing out on the opportunity to build stronger relationships with your customers. A social media presence lets you interact with your customers 24/7 and engage them by sharing the latest relevant news, videos and memes.
Today’s customers don’t pick up the phone to ask a question or lodge a complaint — they sign on to Facebook or Twitter. Having a Facebook page and a Twitter account will help you strengthen the loyalty of your existing customers and attract new ones through Internet word-of-mouth.
However, there’s a wrong way and a right way to use social media. One common mistake business owners make is trying to take advantage of too many social media platforms at once. You don’t have to establish a Web presence on every new platform that comes out; many of them won’t be successful right away. If you open a profile on a given platform and then use it only sparingly or not at all it’ll do more harm than good.
Individual customers prefer different social media networks. For example, if you open a Pinterest account, pin two things and then never use it again, customers who love Pinterest will be put off and you may lose their business. Choose a few popular social media networks that you know you can keep up with and then stay on top of updating them regularly.
A strong Web presence can help you serve your customers better, strengthen their loyalty to your business and increase your profit margin. In addition to building an engaging, interactive website, your business needs to leverage the power of social media to get the word out about your services and give your customer base another avenue through which to interact with you. Keep your finger on the pulse of technology to ensure your business evolves with the rapidly-changing times.