Never before has it been so important for businesses to connect and engage with current and potential customers, especially online. Having a digital presence for your business is vital to its success. A survey conducted by Salesforce found that customers rely on the research they conduct online before making a purchase or scheduling an appointment with a company for service. The Salesforce survey found the following:

  • 85% of consumers research a product online before making a purchase
  • Web sites are used 74% of the time to conduct the research
  • Social media is used 38% of the time for research

Because of this, your business needs a strong digital presence to attract new customers and retain current ones. Whether you are starting a brand new business or revamping an existing one, a digital presence is key to its success. Below, you will find the reasons why you need to improve the digital presence of your business.

Improve the Ease of Showcasing Products and Services

One of the biggest benefits of having a strong digital presence is that it improves the ease of showcasing your products and services. It is very easy to showcase what your business offers because of online portfolios, social media photo albums, posting videos to YouTube and so much more. Becoming an expert in your field should not be a problem when there are so many avenues available to connect with the public.

Customers Can Easily Find You

When a business has a digital presence, it makes it much easier for customers to easily find you. More often than not, a customer will turn to the internet when looking for a company or a product. Even if you have a brick-and-mortar business, you need a digital presence to bridge the gap for your consumers. Some consumers will start their shopping experience online but finish it in-person, and others vice versa. Regardless, many new customers will not want to spend a lot of time looking for a company, product or service. Instead, they should be able to find you with a simple Google search. After they find you, will they convert into a customer of your company? Converting leads into customers online has a lot to do with your digital presence, such as the incentives you offer on your site or via your social media channels.

Help Market Your Company’s Brand

Your brand is what sells you to customers. It can be challenging to market your brand depending on its niche. However, if you build a strong digital presence, building your brand should come quite easily. It’s completely free to market your brand using the internet and social media. Now, this only goes so far before having to get involved in paid advertising and targeted advertising. The beauty of a digital presence is that people from thousands of miles away can find your business with one click of a mouse.

A Digital Presence Builds Relationships

The goal of using social media is to build relationships with friends and followers, and this is true for businesses and individuals. Your brand acquires a voice when your company regularly posts on social media, no matter the platform. This voice helps your company become relatable to customers and provides a human touch. Businesses can get to know their customers by using social media. If your business isn’t on social media, you are missing out on an untapped, free resource to build your brand.

How to Improve Your Digital Presence

Improving the digital presence of your business takes time. It won’t improve overnight, so don’t lose faith when you aren’t seeing the results as quickly as you’d like. You can explore some of these ideas to improve your digital presence:

  • Publish your Google My Business Profile
  • Only use the social media accounts you can handle
  • Post regularly to social media
  • Have a blog on your website that is updated regularly
  • Use social media SEO
  • Make sure your website has a smooth, easy-to-use design and meets SEO standards
  • Utilize paid search ads online
  • Use promoted ads on social media
  • Take advantage of email marketing
  • Create and share videos
  • Encourage employees to share the company’s content on their social media accounts

The Bottom Line

As previously mentioned, your business needs to have a strong digital presence. However, it won’t happen overnight. You need to be patient, put a plan in place, and set attainable goals.

Beau Peters is a freelance writer from the Pacific Northwest with a passion for purpose-driven business content.