5 ways to grow
your business online

How to grow your small business online

As an entrepreneur growth is always on your mind, doesn’t matter how big or small your business is. The life of your business depends on growth. There will always need to be clear, defined sales pipeline. These days, with the amount of noise online, it can be overwhelming to find unique ways to drive traffic to your site that convert into sales. Below are our top 5 strategies to make sure you are able to compete in a world full of competition.

1. Have a kick-ass brand strategy and website

Want to hit a home run with your website? Think branding. A well-crafted brand strategy can give you the cohesive, sophisticated online presence that is working for your competitors. You think they designed their own website or created their own logos? Most likely not. Some things are best left to the professionals.  There are those that would tell you that you can use Facebook instead of a website. If you are brand new to business and are still building your brand, sure you could try it for a while. And sure a Facebook page is helpful and easily searched…but what kind of message are you giving your potential customers by not having a site?

In order for customers to find, trust and buy from you, it’s essential that you have an online presence that has all the elements of a well thought out brand. Gaining a customer’s trust is imperative and if your brand and web design aren’t up to date, people will click off your site faster than you can say lickety-split. Online sales are all about trust and nothing says “I’m a true professional that you can trust” more than a good lookin’ website and brand. If you want serious clients and serious sales, hire a professional branding and web design team. A professional site WILL lead to more sales.

2. Partner with other small businesses

Working together is a beautiful thing. There are literally hundreds of places online that you can list your business.

• Personal brands (coaches, therapists, trainers, solopreneurs) find industry related organizations that will let you list your profile with a link to your site. For example: if you are a therapist, get listed on Psychology Today. Personal trainer? Get listed as a certified trainer on the numerous sites out there for each accredited program. (Get more awesome tips on personal branding here)
• Those of you that sell products – A pop-up might be a great idea. Grab a few other business owner friends and host a pop-up or small market in your city. Maybe a giveaway on social media.
• Local businesses (restaurants, boutiques etc) – If your business relies on local traffic, who can you partner with in your area? Are there events that you can sponsor? Get listed in your local business directory.

3. Claim your social media pages

I know it’s often overwhelming to know where to start with social media. Take a look at which platforms work best for growing your small business online.

• Service-based businesses –  I recommend using LinkedIn as one of the essential platforms, make sure you list your professional resume, qualifications and get endorsements. I also strongly advise you to start a Facebook page to connect with your audience. If you are feeling really ambitious, YouTube and Instagram are the way to go. I’ve seen some of my clients have huge success with video, it helps build trust and people get to know you.
• Product based businesses – Get your butt on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook immediately. Product based businesses are perfect for these platforms because it’s all about the visuals. Take pictures of your process, new products and customers using/wearing your stuff. These social platforms are also great for holding contests and getting people to share your stuff with their networks.
• Brick and mortar/ local businesses – Local businesses need to get the word out on Yelp, Facebook, Instagram and possibly Twitter. Make sure people can find you when they google your type of business and the city you live in by getting listed on local resource lists also.

4. Boost your SEO by blogging

Blogging and SEO go together like Batman and Robin. Your SEO (search engine optimization or ranking) depends on the amount of content on your site. Blogging about your industry, products or services is hands down the BEST way to get found online. The more you blog, the higher you’ll rank. The more keywords you insert into your posts, the higher you’ll rank. And so on.

No matter if you decide to do your own SEO or hire a professional to take you to the next level, blogging and SEO best practices should be part of your online strategy. WordPress offers certain benefits that help boost your SEO without a ton of work. For instance, there are certain themes that have SEO features built in and there are plugins you can add to help boost your visibility online.

5. Keep customers coming back to your site

In addition to all the stuff I listed above, here are a few extras you should consider when growing your business online.

• Create an e-newsletter – Hands down the BEST way to build an audience for those interested in your products or services, even better than social media. Give people a reason to sign up for your list (free PDF or ebook) and then get busy creating fun content and helpful tools for your audience.
• Comment on other blogs, or do a guest post – These are great ways to get exposure and get clicks to your site.  Don’t underestimate the comment section, write a thoughtful comment and include a link to your site, people WILL find you this way. Another tip is to reach out to targeted blog owners with great traffic and pitch them a post idea.
• Keep visitors on your site – Even though you are tempted to include links to other people’s content, please please don’t do this. You worked hard to get visitors to your site, don’t give them a reason to leave. Some marketing experts I know, are against even listing your social media links on your site because once people click through its unlikely that they’ll return to your site.

If you’re serious about trying to grow your small business online contact us today to schedule your Distillery Session!