Online presence is today’s winning tool for businesses online, consumers now rely on searching local businesses via the internet. Catering to specific areas as a real estate agent or agency makes building an online presence is even more vital.
Online presence is not just existing online. It’s far deeper and wider than mere existence that gives a full picture of your business in this dynamic:
- Your business – the intention, action, and content you make.
- The Web – your ranking relative to search engines and social media algorithms.
- The consumers – their impression of your business online, engagement and reviews, and feedback.
All your digital marketing goals must be geared towards the dynamic of the full picture. That’ll result in your visibility, credibility, and reputation. Given the full picture, here are the tips for building your brand and maximizing your online presence.
Here are 5 tips for building your online presence:
1. Create an eye-catching website
A well-designed and functioning website gives end users a good first impression. Consumers are more internet savvy. They know that a well-crafted site speaks loudly that the entrepreneur /owner is serious about the product or service it provides. A good quality website is equal to a good quality product or service. If you can’t afford a designer, there are web building solutions available that cater to specific industries, to focus more on the technologies business owners need. Example: An excellent website solution for the real estate niche is Real Estate 7, you don’t have to hire a designer to have an impressive and well-functioning site.
2. Follow SEO Best Practices
SEO is a time-tested and “free” technique to build reputation and ranking on Search Engines. Ranking is defined by being on the first search page. Although it is “free”, this will require due diligence on researching keywords, creating relevant and quality content, and link building. Give priority to localized SEO efforts. Local searches increased exponentially during the Pandemic; and will continue post covid with loosening of travel restrictions. Make sure your site is performing well on mobile devices. Google ranking is now mobile device sensitive, putting priority on searches through mobile phones and other gadgets. So “free’ takes time and extra effort but is beneficial for you in the long run, and great leverage if you decide to include paid ads later on.
3. Get Social
Choose the best social media platforms that can support the content of your website. You don’t have to be on all social media platforms to build your brand and online presence. You want to focus on platforms that will give you the best advantage in posting your visual and text content. For example, Tiktok may be the latest craze but would it serve the purpose of reaching target leads for real estate like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Linkedin in do? We say yes, but it is critical to use the platforms that represent your industry, niche, and locality. Include crowd-sourced review sites, like Google My Business, and Yelp as well.
4. Focus on Content
Content and keywords are still the king and queen of online brand building and online presence heart. As must as focusing on keywords and content on websites are vital to brand and online presence life force. This can be limiting. But if you add good content via a blog or even vlogs (i.e. house teasers or tours, explainer videos) postings you’ll be able to reach your targeted customers, wherever they are in their life stages or in their search process. The stronger you build the foundations of SEO, the more traffic you garner, which later on will be converted to credibility and customers. Blogs and keywords still wear the crowns for optimization and building brand credibility.
5. Use Landing Pages & Email Marketing
Landing pages and email marketing still lead the pack in getting to know your leads, customer behavior, and creating traffic. Traffic to your website or social media platforms is counted by Search Engines as a key indicator for robust engagement. You nurture this engagement by first introducing your product or service via a landing page and then personalized emails. Newsletters containing snippets of your blogs or videos beneficial to their interests. For example, again in real estate, email leads the listings that you think would interest them as indicated from their last visit to your site or inquiry via messenger/messaging apps. The Real Estate 7 CRM has Algorithm-Based Property Matching which allows you to quickly shortlist, and send matches to your leads with a couple of clicks. All based on their site activity, using searches, views, and saved listings.
Just the tip of the iceberg
These 5 tips are just the leading edge of what you can do to lay down the foundations for a strong online brand and presence. Why do you need to brand or establish a presence?
- The more target leads that come across your business from different platforms, the more they become aware of your brand, which improves reputation and credibility from Search Engines to your target audiences.
- Discovery. Online presence and branding will make it easier for those in need of your services to discover you. They’re the clients that are really looking for the kind of services you offer. Let them discover you online.
- The internet never sleeps, having a strong brand and presence is marketing your business 24/7. So while you are catching up with much-needed Zs, your website, platforms, emails, content, and keywords are working hard for you.
- Cost-effective digital marketing tools always come with analytics and KPIs (key performance indicators) that show efficiency in meeting your marketing targets. Thus, you can discard the ones that do not work and cut down on cost.
Building your brand and online presence is becoming more crucial in business; proven by the past 3 years. And this will continue to be the trend in years to come.
