How to Build Your Online Presence in 6 Steps
Developing your online presence takes time and effort, but those who persevere and approach it with patience are rewarded with results. Use these ideas to learn how to build your online presence. Start communicating and connecting with your clients and potential customers where they are—online.
1. Start a Blog
Coined from the phrase “web log,” blogs began life as online personal journals. You can initiate conversations and build an audience around topics you care about by writing and posting articles on your own personal website.
Today, blogs for businesses are a great tool for sharing helpful information with clients and prospects. If you publish good content, it builds your credibility and reinforces your position as an expert in your field. Avoid posts and other content that only focus on selling your products.
Anyone can start a blog, and you can do it for free! Some popular free blogging sites include WordPress, Wix, Weebly, and Blogger.
Ideas for Blog Topics and Content
When writing a blog for your business, try to stay away from personal insights and reflections. Focus more on sharing helpful and relevant information for your clients and prospects. Here are some content ideas to get you started:
- Write articles about the industry and make observations on trends.
- Share tips and ideas for creative ways your products can be used.
- Spotlight your clients and their businesses. Share their success stories. Ask them to link back to your blog post about them from a post on their website.
- Compose numbered lists where you spotlight favorite, popular, or unique ideas for various niches. For example, “Top 9 Promotional Products Ideas for Your Next Golf Outing” or “5 Ways Calendars Work to Promote Your Business”. Try to keep the lists odd-numbered, as these tend to be clicked on more.
- Publish case studies and white papers on nationally recognized companies; identify best practices on how they use promotional products to market their business.
- Share local community events you are involved in or plan to attend.
2. Create a Business Website
Creating a website dedicated to your business is another great way to build your online presence. As part of the Premium Business Owner Package, you get your own business website hosted through Kaeser & Blair. Your personalized website features the best-selling products from our catalog and a digital copy of the current Best Buys catalog.
The website will include your company name, logo, and brand message on your About Us page. You can include your photo and even create personalized banners for the header of the home page. (Please note this is not an e-commerce site.)
3. Build an Email List
One of the most valuable things you can get from clients and prospects is email addresses. Using those, you can engage and communicate with them on a regular basis. Two of the most popular ways to collect email addresses are through either a form on your website or by offering a digital product (such as an ebook) in exchange for contact information.
A great way to use your email list to engage with your customers is to create an email newsletter. You can use this to alert customers to new products, sales, blog posts, and more. There are several tools you can use to build and send newsletters, including MailChimp and Constant Contact.
4. Consider Guest Posting and Podcasting
Being the guest author on another blog post is a great way to get your name out there and establish your credibility. This also gives you the opportunity to link back to your own website and share the post on social. Reach out to relevant businesses to see if they would be interested in having you write an article for them.
Although not technically “online,” being the guest on a podcast is another great way to market yourself and your business. Many podcast episodes are available on websites and YouTube, with “show notes” that include guest names and their websites. This means your guest spot on a podcast will still work to increase your online presence.
5. Use Social Media Platforms for Marketing
Social media offers a no-cost opportunity to efficiently expand your reach when you combine them with traditional, in-person networking activities. Developing your presence takes time and effort, but those who persevere and approach it with patience are rewarded with results.
Here are a handful of the most popular social networking channels, along with some tips on their features.
Facebook for Business
People want to do business with people they like. You probably already generate a lot of business through personal relationships. Facebook for Business allows your personal network to easily find and reach you and makes it easy for them to share what you do with their own connections who might need your services. Make sure to set up a Facebook Business Page with the name of your independent business identity, not “Kaeser & Blair”.
LinkedIn doesn’t just keep track of your business connections, it reveals how individuals in your network are connected to one another as well as how you may be connected (through them) to prospects outside your network. It also offers highly targeted niche discussion groups where new, relevant connections can be made. Often described as the “Facebook for business,” this tool offers you the chance to build a virtual Rolodex.
Learn more about using LinkedIn for marketing here.
This is a simple, clean photo-sharing tool that functions very similarly to Twitter and Facebook. Instagram combines Facebook’s commenting and “liking” feature with Twitter’s “following” and tagging features. Instagram offers another chance to build your personal brand identity and increase visibility. You can create traditional posts or utilize Instagram Stories or Reels, which are more video-based.
Learn more about using Instagram for marketing here.
Pinterest allows users to visually share and discover new interests and ideas by pinning to idea boards. You can use it to pin promo products and ideas, make design boards, and stay updated on popular ideas and products. You can also create Story Pins, which are short videos. These give you the opportunity to showcase your promotional products and ideas for how they can be used.
Learn more about using Pinterest for marketing here.
YouTube
Don’t ignore YouTube. This is the second-largest search engine in the world, behind Google. This is a powerful platform where users can upload and share video content related to their business. Plus, you don’t have to be a professional videographer to leverage YouTube. Today, even mobile phones come equipped with video cameras that take surprisingly good quality footage. YouTube also features YouTube #Shorts, which are videos 60 seconds or less in length to allow for quick scrolling.
Learn more about using YouTube for marketing here.
Among the social media tools, Twitter offers the path of least resistance for connecting with like-minded individuals whom you might otherwise never have met. You can create awareness and maintain relevant connections that can evolve into leads, generate sales, and word of mouth. Set up a robust profile that includes your name, a friendly photo of your face, an interesting bio that includes at least one of two keywords that speak to what you do as a Kaeser & Blair Business Owner, and be sure to include a link to your website or blog.
Learn more about using Twitter for marketing here.
6. Be Active Online
Building your online presence means being online yourself! Make it a priority to regularly post content on your blog and social media channels. Be sure to check comments sections regularly and make an effort to respond to valid comments and questions. Also, connect with prospects and colleagues by visiting their blogs and leaving relevant comments.
These are just a few tips for how to build your online presence. Use them to expand your network and build relationships, but don’t try to take them on all at once. If you are a Kaeser & Blair Business Owner, your first step should be to set up your website. From there, you can take advantage of our free Marketing Collateral Support. These include email samples and product catalogs you can use in conjunction with the ideas listed above.