A guide to being found online

When starting up your own business it can be hard to attract customers. They need to know what you offer and why they should buy from you, but to do both of those, they need to find you first. 

But how do you get found? 

Well, it all depends on your audience. Different audiences hang out in different places online. Think about how you use the internet. If you’re looking for a plumber, you go straight to google. If you’re looking for something techy, you’d probably go to Amazon. If you’re chilling out for five minutes, you probably go to a social network. 

Now think about what your audience would do to find your product or service. Do they know it exists? Or are you appealing to an audience that knows what you do already? When you have an idea of what journey they would go through online when buying your product, you can maximise your visibility at the time they go looking.

While you’re thinking about how to get in front of your customers, here are a few ideas on how to get started:

Register your business with Google My Business 

This should be your first point of action into being found online by potential customers. By registering your business with Google My Business, this allows you to be found more easily on Google and will show up on google maps for customers in your local area. 

Startup your own social media channels for your business

Social media is an amazing platform to take advantage of because after all, it is free! However, due to their being many social media platforms today you will find very different audiences on each platform. To establish which accounts you should activate, think; what is your business? Who are your target audiences? Where can you find your audience?

For example, if you have your own bakery/cake shop you are best using Instagram and Facebook to connect with your audience, due to Instagram being predominantly Millenials and Facebook being a slightly older audience you are therefore maximising your reach and engaging with those who will be interested in ordering from your bakery. 

Connect with others influencers 

Influencers are very effective in promoting businesses and brands. Using influencers will sure to instantly create exposure for your business to become visible to a wide audience across social media.  However, make sure you are selecting the right influencers to help spread the message and promote your business online, soon enough you should see your growth in customers.

Hold a contest or giveaway

 One of the best ways to get your business name out there and create awareness is through hosting a giveaway or contest on your social media channels. People love a good freebie, by giving away a free product or service will sure to increase your followers and reach. Whatever you offer, make sure that you are securing the customer’s contact details so that you can get in touch with them later.

Be authentic and approachable

If you are friendly and authentic online, it’s likely your expertise will shine through when you create content for your website or engage with people on social media. Being someone who people can easily approach will benefit you massively.  

Start a blog

By creating online content that is both unique and sharable, you will entice and intrigue your target audience. By offering authoritative content that helps your audience, you establish your brand’s voice and makes you seem trustworthy.

Improve your online SEO

If you’re not entirely sure what SEO is, it stands for ‘Search engine optimisation’ and helps your business rank higher in Google.It can be a complicated process, but essentially it helps your services be seen by people searching for what you do. 

Use YouTube

YouTube offers a great resource for helping market your business online. By offering online tutorials or helpful tips that aren’t profit lead will help to reach and engage with your target audience. Make sure the videos you upload are of high quality and that you are including a link back to your website – you never know, your videos could prompt a sale!

Use trip advisor 

This site is a great resource for finding any online business, giving you the opportunity for customers to leave reviews and star ratings of their experience with your business, meaning your business will be more trusted by people looking online for what you do.

Join a relevant online community and contribute 

Joining an online community that is related to your field of work will really help get the word out about your business. By contributing and helping your network of people they will do the same for you.

Create Facebook ads 

Not only are Facebook ads relatively cheap, but you can target your audience incredibly specifically, meaning online social media scrollers will see your ad and with correct targeting, you are more likely to have a lot of click-throughs onto your website and perhaps more conversions.

Hopefully, by taking these steps, you will be able to conquer the online world and attract your target audience. Good luck!