If you are running a business then it is vitally important that you understand just how vital it is to have an online business profile. The consumer market is no longer solely on the high street and these days if you want to boost sales and grow your brand, you need to be doing so using the power of the internet. Some companies pay huge money for this, hiring artists like my buddy Jon Bunge to design sleek websites and campaigning hard on social media and whilst this can help, it is by no means a requirement. If you want to boost your sales and exposure, here is what you need to build an online profile for your business.
Basic Website
Your website is your shop window online and you should use this to give your customers information about who you are, where you came from and what it is that you do. Your website should be fresh and clean, easy to navigate around and most importantly, it should be mobile optimized because most people browse using their cellphone. Make sure that you do not spend much on the purchase and sign of your website, it should be simple and smart and informative, nothing more.
Social Media
Social media presents you with an opportunity that you will not find anywhere else in the world and there is simply no other media that can gain you access to so many people with such ease. In terms of what your social media should look like, you need to at the very least have a Facebook and a Linkedin page. You do not need to be active on the sites 24/7 but you should be on there regularly sharing high quality content about you and your business or even other important information about your industry. Th key is to build popularity so that you can drive sales and in order to do that you should be actively engaging with people across social networks. If you want to invest some money into a marketing campaign then this can have a great impact on your sales but it is by no means necessary to do so.
Reviews
Word-of-mouth has long been the best way of getting new business and this still exists, albeit in a very different way. Websites like Google, Facebook and Yelp all give customers a chance to leave a review about your products and services and if you are confident in what you do, you should sign yourself up to these sites and allow people to leave reviews about what they though about you. Not only does this give people a chance to see how good you are, it also gives you a chance to respond to any negative criticism and it gives you an idea as to what you need to do better in business in order to get great reviews.