November 2019

When people are looking for a local business, product or service, most people pull up their favourite search engine to do some research, and there are endless statistics to demonstrate how important it is for businesses to have a digital presence. However, for business owners it can be overwhelming to know where to start.

 If you don’t do anything else, the three most important steps to establishing your presence online are:

Your website needs to be well-designed, user friendly, and set you apart from your competitors – for this reason make sure your value proposition is front and centre. Your website needs to grab a potential customers’ attention and guide them to the information they are looking for.

It is also critical that your website is optimised for mobile given that 74% of the Australian population access the internet on their phones.

There are lots of reasons to set up social media accounts for your business. Not only can it help drive traffic to your website and build customer loyalty, it also helps your website’s SEO.

However, there’s no point setting up a social account for a platform that isn’t used by your target market so it is important to know your target market and what platforms they use. Facebook is a good place to start, as it remains the most popular social media platform.

Your information on all your social media pages should be accurate, complete and remain up to date. Social media provides the perfect platform for you to share information about your business and create conversations with your current and potential customers.

Google My Business is a free tool for business owners to manage their online presence across the Google suite of websites, including Google Search, Mobile Search, Local Search and Google Maps. It allows you to create, verify and edit a business listing in Google, without needing to do any extra work to your website or implementing a search engine optimisation strategy.

Google My Business allows you to control the information that is displayed about your business – opening hours, products, services and even post photos and special offers.

It is also the place where you can manage and respond to reviews about your business. Positive reviews about your business will help increase your brand visibility and help attract potential customers.

The aim of digital (or online) marketing should be the same as your overall marketing plan – to reach new customers and engage your existing customers. As with everything, creating and recording a strategy and action plan, and making time to analyse and review it on a regular basis, is essential for you to stay on track and achieve your marketing goals.