Gone are the days of traditional marketing, where a billboard on the freeway would generate enough exposure to produce a decent profit margin for you company. We undoubtedly live in a digital age, where the World Wide Web has 3 billion active users. Despite how aesthetically pleasing the branding is of the product or service you’re offering, if people can’t find you instantly on their smartphones you’re going to be left behind.

Now word-of-mouth is an effective strategy when your company is in its infancy. Hey, it may have even worked for your company for the last five years, but there’s no doubt without your own professional platform that customers can access 24/7/365 you are forfeiting multiple opportunities to capitalise on both local and international business prospects. Effectively, without an active and constantly accessible online presence you will remain stagnant in the shadow of your competitors.

To optimise your business and keep a steady inclination of profit and exposure your website and online presence must be developed in a way that will keep current clients happy and potentials intrigued. Executing and maintaining a prosperous digital presence for your business, consists of many intricate layers. It’s not only about having a well-designed website with quality content and imagery that portrays your company to users in the best way possible, it’s about being at the top of a search engine and providing potential customers with a call to action for your company over others. Continuous vigilance and market research is required to achieve this, as competitors will never cease to emerge.

Convenience for yourself and your customers 

Customers gain insight on your products and services with direct access to your contact information around the clock. There’s no travel inconvenience involved for you or your clients as they can cherry pick the information relevant to them from your website. While educating themselves on what you have to offer customers can also make comparisons with competitors, all from the comfort of their own home. Hence why it’s important you optimize your website and online presence in every way possible by personalizing it for your target market and offering testimonials, facts and visuals to strengthen your audience reach.

Rather than regurgitating the same information down the phone or in person to copious amounts of potential customers, your website will encompass material that is sequenced in a way that resonates with the customer. A great website allows customers to gain all the knowledge they require within just a few minutes of browsing your site. Remember usability is optimal when time is not on your side and patience is thin.

Less expensive form of advertising 

There are multiple, alternate platforms utilised to advertise businesses with the aim to generate more customers. This includes print media, television and radio, but in comparison to a website and a well-established online presence these forms are far more expensive and potentially far more ineffective for your profit margin. Website overheads are not costly in the grand scheme of advertising options and you’ll find your online presence and website will quickly become your most valuable tool. The only hurdle that may arise is if, due to your customers around the clock access, you may run out of stock or become overworked, and lets face it, things could be much worse.

Opportunity and credibility  

It’s all about gaining customers trust with your website through well sequenced content, design, imagery and usability. They should be able to seamlessly navigate and explore everything you have to offer with a strategically placed call to action alongside credible material.  Not only is your website an avenue for your customers, it’s the perfect place to welcome feedback so your company can continue to expand. Your website also serves as a platform for potential investors to explore, so be sure it indicates through both your website and other facets of your online presence, what your business is going to do in the future.

Fresh and timely 

Keep one step ahead of your competitors by creating a blog page that remains active and informative for customers and investors. Keeping a continuous flow of fresh content will build your business prospects tenfold.

Access to info

Once your website has been established it becomes an extremely powerful tool that is a window to tracking how many people are visiting your site. This works as a great foundation to test the value of current marketing strategies while allowing you to make updates whenever a great idea springs to mind (without the costs of printing etc.). Also, allowing customers the added convenience of emailing you directly from you site is a beneficial call to action for your company to implement.

Web development and establishing an online presence is intricate and rather obscure if you don’t know the tricks of the trade. It can be extremely time consuming and hard to pinpoint what works and what doesn’t, when you aren’t equipped with inside knowledge in both the computer and communication technology sectors. Don’t run yourself into the ground trying to do it all yourself, seek precise and professional help and watch as your business continues to snowball.

The post The importance of web design and development for your online presence  appeared first on Little Ripple Marketing.

Customers are able to provide comprehensive feedback to your business, which will educate you on the current pros and cons of the product or service you are offering. It is essential for the business owner to become aware of the public view their business derives. Social media platforms are the ideal place for customers to inform one another and in a sense build a virtual camaraderie that has the power to either strengthen or weaken your business dramatically. The objective is to enhance your company’s reputation and customer reach, so it’s vial that business owners have deep understanding and skills to tackle such a multi faceted form of marketing.

People want personal yet instantaneous information at their fingertips, and social media marketing does just this. It provides you with informative content and the customers organic thoughts, which double as testimonials. It’s amazing how many people will specifically search for feedback on social platforms like Facebook, twitter, Instagram. Whether you want local or global attraction, customer feedback on social media sites will always resonate with potential customers more than the content on your website.

We can’t stress enough how important it is to use your businesses social media platforms to paint the best possible picture of your company and for it to communicate your mission statement to customers while embodying your core values. A huge 97% of the global share of companies are currently using social media marketing to generate customers and gain exposure.

Generating web traffic 

Posting regularly on social media will drive targeted traffic. However, it’s all about strategy and your target audience. High quality visuals and content are primal if you want people to notice you in a sea of competitors. It’s important to get organic attention online, you don’t want to beg for attention by undermining yourself or paying for followers, likes and shares.  The aim is to be noticed by potential customers because you’re emphasising what you stand for. If you can’t deliver on what you’re posting, this should be a clear indication that it’s time to revaluate.

User will engage with your message 

Ultimately, sites like LinkedIn, twitter, Facebook etc. are understandably categorised by users as social media networks, not marketing conveyer belts, much to the dismay of some business owners. To resonate with users it’s important to use the correct language, timing and approach with your posts, so customers will view them as an inside tip that will benefit them, rather than an advertising campaign. The more interaction on your post the more trustworthy you appear to customers.

Social Media ad targeting is very handy

The beauty of social media ads is that they are very customisable. You can mould them to directly target a specific market. With Facebook for example, you can channel in and target users based on their recent search history, location (for local reach if necessary), age and even their level of education. You can install a Facebook pixel on your site, which will allow you to retarget users who have recently interacted with your page.

Humanisation equates to higher customer conversion 

People appreciate and religiously engage with social media, because it humanises a product or service for the user. Potential customers can see for themselves through video, audio, text or imagery how someone just like them, integrates a product or service they are interested in, into their everyday lives. Understandably, studies have shown social media has a 100% higher lead-to-close rate than alternate marketing. People become consumed in social media trends and are inclined to follow the online pack. If you can appeal to the masses by creating trust and creditability for your brand customers will multiply.

Interact with those who engage with you

Taking the time to interact with customers who reach out to you via a comment, message, hashtag etc. shows that you have genuine care for fulfilling their needs. This will instantly build your company’s reputability in the public eye. Interacting with followers or those who comment will cement longstanding ties with that customer and paint you as reliable to others.

Beat your competition by being the first to engage users

Get on the social media bandwagon early, because it’s much easier to rise above you competitors by winning users loyalty first, rather than trying to wean them off one of your competitors. Your brand essentially doesn’t exist online if you aren’t active on multiple social media platforms. Search engine ranking for your business and your online traffic will skyrocket if you are constantly posting and engaging with customers online.

Utilising these platforms, unlike other marketing tools, will allow you to engage in activities that will get people talking, such as celebrating a product launch, holding competitions, or setting up a poll to excite customers and build your overall brand awareness. People like to do business with other people, especially those who are in the same target market as them. Don’t ponder the thought of finally making that twitter or Facebook account for your company, in 2016 it’s a complete no brainer.

The post Why social media marketing is important for your business  appeared first on Little Ripple Marketing.