Is your online store falling behind? You can still compete with competitors even if they’re ahead of the online game.
It wasn’t too long ago when businesses and organisations were in no hurry to maximise the potential of online tools available to them. Or even change the way they market their products or services.
A functioning website presence accompanied by a Facebook page, maybe an Instagram account and possibly a LinkedIn page was all that was needed. It’s not uncommon for local businesses or start-ups to only have social media as their primary online platform either. That was only in 2019.
But when COVID-19 hit Australia in early 2020, many of these companies, local businesses and start-ups that lacked digital presence, in-house digital marketing skills or budget were left unprepared. Many scrambled to get their online store up and running. But, the lack of resources and digital abilities left them significantly disadvantaged.
To survive, you either adapt with a digital path or die.
So how do you compete with competitors when they’re already ahead of the online game?
Well, you don’t. Not initially anyway.
Unless you have the budget to develop a website and hire a digital marketing specialist to improve your social media presence and searchability on Google, you won’t be able to, for now.
Right now, you need to adapt and set the foundations of your online presence correctly.
Search engine optimisation
A good start on how to increase online traffic to your channels is by improving your searchability with search engine optimisation (SEO). If you are new to SEO, it’s the little changes or tweaks made to website designs and technical stuff like sitemaps, meta tags and load speed. It extends to content on websites using specific keywords, phrases, titles and more. And in the middle of it all is Google Analytics or other database metric tools to analyse and help digital marketers improve website visibility.
Be seen on Facebook search
Have you recently created a new Facebook Page or revived an existing one to engage more with your audience? If you can’t see your Page on Facebook search, it may be because it needs traction, social proof or has issues with the Page setup. In other words, your page will need help to increase its visibility on Facebook search. Read here for tips on how to make sure your page is seen on Facebook searches.
Engage with your audience, share what you love doing
If you enjoy what you do, creating a social media content strategy for the week, or planning what to post in the next couple of months will come easy. Keep your content to what you know and love doing – your business or the service you provide. Most importantly, don’t forget to respond and engage with your audiences. If you listen to what they say on your page, post or similar pages to yours, you’ll be able to gauge the of type content or service they are looking for.
A handy tip for planning content and developing other business ideas 😉
Here are some simple but useful tips on how to improve your brand visibility on Facebook and Instagram.
Increase your visibility on Google
If your website isn’t showing up when a person searches for your service or product on Google, then you don’t exist. That’s harsh, but it’s true. Here’s how to increase traffic to your business on Google.
List your business on Google Maps
If you don’t have a website set up for your business or organisation, a Google My Business Account can serve as a mini Google website for now. Just like a website, you can list your services, contact details and hours, images and engage with audiences for free. A presence on Google lets your future customers know where you are and how to contact you quickly.
Leverage YouTube
YouTube is the second most used search engine next to Google Search, so it makes sense to have a presence here. If you can showcase your service or provide educational material by sharing how you create or build your product, this is the platform for you.
Here are a few tips to make the most of a single video shot and have it published across Facebook and YouTube
These tips can help increase visibility on your channels by making it easier for your new, and existing, customers find you on searches. There a lot more you can do to keep improving your ranking, but it’s a start, especially for those new to digital marketing and SEO.
Want to keep reading more? Get more tips on social media SEO here or find out how Google Search works for your business in this article.
