What is online presence?
First off congrats on having your own business! Are you looking to build an online presence for your new business? or, are you confused as to what your business will need in this social media-heavy world? Let’s dive in on what it means to have an online presence.
Having an online presence means that your business can easily be found online. Whether that’s a website, Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, TikTok, Snapchat, Twitter, etc. Nowadays it is very important to have an online presence. You don’t really exist if you don’t have any of these. People might also think you are a fake business that’s only out to trick people.
The importance of having an online presence
In this day & age, it’s crucial for a business to have an online presence. That is how people get to know your business and your brand. Most people take a look at a business’s social media before making their purchasing decisions. They are looking at how you present your product, branding, lifestyle, and how the content you put out makes them feel.
Getting Started with building your online presence
CareerBuilder had a recent study that found 35% of employers will not consider hiring someone if they are unable to find the person’s website or social media. Do you think your customers will think the same? The first thing to do is establish an identity. Building a business is like creating a character that didn’t exist before. That’s why some people call their business their baby. Sit down and answer these questions:
- What does my business stand for?
- What are it’s core beliefs?
- Who is my customer?
- What does my customer like, wear, do, go, etc
As you can see the main important thing is to know your customer. The more you understand who your customer is, the better you can sell to them. You also have the power to show them what they like and in return, they are more likely to purchase whatever it is that you have to offer them.
Stay Consistent
When building a social media page, make sure you stay consistent with what you post. For example, if you have a vegan product, don’t post things that don’t add to your brand such as your new room decorations. This will likely make those who already follow you, unfollow you. Make sure you post similar things that your customers will like, in this case, maybe animals or health-related things.
Don’t do it all yourself
Unless you are very knowledgeable in social media content or have an eye for it, don’t do it. Hire a photographer for your product photography and maybe a designer to design all branding materials. Ps: We can help with that : )
Your goal is to make money and in order to do that, you need a great brand and great online presence. You don’t have to spend millions doing this, if you want to start out doing it yourself, I suggest you do lots of research. Maybe outsource things you are not good at. I recommend doing these 2 things:
1. Gain Inspiration
Get inspired by looking at other accounts similar to yours. See how they present their product, how do they shoot their photos, where do they shoot, etc.
2. Practice
Shoot your photos and post and see how people react. Do they like it? what are the comments? You can always go back and delete but my advice is to know your brand before posting anything.
A genius social media master I recommend is Gary Vaynerchuk. He might be cliche to some but I guarantee you will learn a lot about business from him.
These are my tips, let me know if you have any questions. One thing I suggest while growing your business is to work with influencers. Read all about Growing your Business by using Social Media Influencers.
