It’s high time that the average business owners re-evaluate what it means to have a robust web presence.
After all, it’s 2019. If you think that a web site, Facebook page and an email list is all that you need to succeed, you might be stuck in 2009.
Not only does have a strong web presence mean attacking multiple marketing channels, but also aligning goals and campaigns so those channels work in tandem. Likewise, it means understanding individual moments and touchpoints where prospect, leads and customers are interacting with your business in real-time.
In fact, there’s a good chance that your funnel is leaking leads and opportunities and you don’t even know it.
The good news? Optimizing your web presence doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel. In this guide, we’ll delve into the exact steps you need to take to fine-tune every nook and cranny of your online presence. From channels you control to third-party platforms where you’re being talked about, these tips will help you attract and ultimately convert more customers.
Pay Attention to Your Third-Party Business Listings
Bear in mind that your website and social channels are not the be-all, end-all of your web presence: not by a long shot. The numbers of leads you acquire from beyond your traditional funnel might surprise you.
From ratings and reviews sites, business listing sites and even avenues such as the app store, there are tons of opportunities to include keywords, compelling imagery and authority-building copy to entice people to check out your products and services. Looking into the fine details of app store optimization, you can better understand how a simple listing can lead to more conversions.
Simply having a profile or listing isn’t enough. The more cohesive and comprehensive your third-party listings are, the better.
Step Up Your Social Listening
Social listening is undoubtedly one of the most important marketing trends of 2019.
Customers and prospects are having more conversations about businesses online than ever before. This is especially through social media where people are more than happy to sound off on the brands that they support or, on the flip side, are unhappy with. Customers are likewise taking to social media to raise concerns to businesses that need to be addressed in real-time.
Businesses should strive to capitalize on these valuable, time-sensitive moments rather than allow them to follow by the wayside. There are plenty of social listening tools out there to clue you in on when people are bringing up your business and what the general sentiment is about your company online. Think of it as a constant ear to the ground that covers the whole web.
Automate as Much as You Can
Business owners should be empowered to focus on their strengths rather than deal with tedious tasks that eat up their schedules.
Thankfully, marketing automation and AI have come a long way to help us grow our businesses exponentially faster. Through third-party tools including email, social schedulers and your CRM, you can automate otherwise time-consuming processes such as…
- Lead nurturing: scheduling automated drips, for example, helps keep relevant customers in your funnel
- Lead scoring: rather than vet leads “by hand,” you can see at a glance whether or not someone is realistically going to convert based on data-driven behaviors such as time spent on a piece of content
- Content curation: rather than dig endlessly for content or spend forever crafting captions, many social schedulers can actually curate and publish content on your behalf based on an algorithm which determines what your audience is interested in
Just think about how much time you could save by having just one, let alone all, of these processes in place.
Personalize Your Marketing to its Maximum Potential
With so many businesses competing in any given space, giving your marketing a personal touch is a game-changer.
Consumers today crave personalization for the sake of not just feeling special, but also acknowledging that companies are actually listening to their wants and needs.
Some strategies for both providing personalization and learning more about your customers to create a better experience include…
- Ads that remarket to former customers and on-site visitors who are already familiar with you (think: Facebook remarketing ads)
- Email segmentation based specific lead sources, products they’ve previously purchased and so on
- Asking questions to identify your customers’ core needs through email or social media to create content and solutions that meet those same needs
Incorporate Analytics with Everything
The amount of data we can collect on customers is just plain crazy. In fact, it can be downright overwhelming.
However, that’s no excuse not to collect it.
Tracking your marketing efforts by the numbers is arguably more important than ever. Traffic, social shares and email clicks can all help guide your marketing campaigns as you figure out what’s resonating with your audience and what isn’t. We can’t stress enough how important it is to take a data-driven approach to automation, and analytics will help you do just that.
Even the seemingly smallest details of optimization can a huge difference when it comes to attracting and converting more customers. With these pointers covered, you can move your web presence forward in 2019 with some much-needed peace of mind.
