Building an impactful online brand presence is essential for small businesses to reach new customers in the digital age. With the right strategies, even companies with limited resources can improve their brand effectively online. This article will highlight key techniques small business owners can utilize to improve their visibility and establish credibility through social media, search engine optimization, pay-per-click ads, public relations, blogging, online directories, and more. Whether you’re looking to a establish a new company or take your existing small business to the next level, implementing these online brand building best practices will help drive brand awareness, website traffic, lead generation, and sales.
Leverage Social Media to Connect with Customers
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok provide incredible opportunities for small businesses to build brand awareness. Creating business pages on these platforms allows you to reach targeted audiences organically. Regularly share valuable content like behind-the-scenes photos and videos, industry insights, special offers, employee highlights, etc. Respond promptly to comments and messages to earn customer respect. Run contests and giveaways to increase engagement. Use hashtags related to your industry to join larger conversations. Paid social ads can further boost your visibility and help you connect with potential customers, although this can be costly depending on your industry.
Optimize Your Website for Search Engines
Having a website optimized for search engines is crucial for small business success online. Perform keyword research to identify terms your ideal customers are searching for related to your products/services. Incorporate these keywords naturally throughout your site content. Write blog posts targeting specific keywords to boost traffic. We recommend targeting low competition key words to appear higher and solidify traffic.
Ensure your site loads quickly, is mobile-friendly, uses alt text for images, and has a sitemap. Creating schema markup that categorizes your content can improve search visibility. Stay active in keeping your site updated to give search engines fresh content to index too.
Get Listed on Relevant Directories
Getting listed on online directories related to your business type and location makes you more discoverable. Register your business on Google My Business, Facebook Business Page, and other top platforms. Claim listings on a decent UK small business directory to enhance your visibility. Provide consistent NAP (name, address, phone) details across directories. Add photos, videos, services, hours, payment options, etc. to profile pages. Encourage customer reviews to build credibility. Monitor listings to update info and respond to reviews.
Implement Pay-Per-Click Ads
Pay-per-click (PPC) ads like Google Ads allow you to promote your business to people as they search for related products or services. You only pay when someone clicks your ad. Target ads using precise keywords and demographics. Create compelling ad copy and link to relevant pages on your site. Start with a limited budget and tweak based on performance. Use A/B testing to determine which ads resonate best. Retarget people who previously visited your site. Expand into display and social media PPC ads. Integrate PPC with your SEO strategy.
Distribute Press Releases Strategically
Writing and distributing press releases when you have genuine news to share can grab media attention. Focus press releases on new products/services, business milestones, awards, events, etc. Optimize with keywords and make multimedia options available. Build a media list of relevant local publications, reporters, industry websites, and bloggers. Pitch your release personally in email campaigns and monitor the stats so you can see engagement levels. Post the release on free distribution platforms. Following up after distribution increases pickup likelihood. Monitoring press release results provides valuable insights.
Maintain an Active Blog
Consistently publishing new blog content improves website traffic and search engine rankings. Blog topics should provide value for your audience and align with your brand. Mix educational posts, behind-the-scenes looks, Q&As, etc. Promote new blog posts on social media and email newsletters. Allow visitors to comment and subscribe by email so you can increase your email marketing list. Link to related blog content within posts to keep visitors engaged. Guest blogging on other sites expands your brand’s reach. Repurpose blog content into social posts, videos, podcasts, and more.
