So you’ve got a business idea, eh? Maybe you’ve even started building a website, or thrown up a Facebook page for said business, but beyond that, you haven’t put much thought into your online presence. Or, maybe you have, but you don’t know where to start.
If this sounds like you, you’re not alone! Whether you’re starting from scratch today (congratulations!) or you’ve been working on building a side gig for a few months, there are certain steps you can start taking today that will help set your brand up for future success.
Let’s dive in!
Step 1: Build a website.
“Duuuh, Angela. Thanks for that useless tip, I already knew that!” you say? Well, to that I say, “Great! But, how much time have you spent building a plan for your website?” If your answer is “none”, then I’m going to ask you to take a step back, and answer these three questions before you start building your website, or before you start revising an already existing site.
- Do I need a full website, or will a landing page suffice for now?
It doesn’t go unnoticed that the first step in building an online presence can sometimes be the most daunting one to a lot of new entrepreneurs. Heck, it was for me and I’ve been working on website builds, many for major international brands, for years! Don’t let step one intimidate you into not starting. Many businesses ideas can do just fine for the first year or so with nothing more than a landing page.
What’s a landing page, you ask? A landing page is typically a single-page website, built with the goal of selling or promoting a product or service. These landing pages are typically where us “marketers” will direct traffic from paid ads or promotions, (i.e. this is the “page” where the traffic will “land” when coming from a digital ad).
If this sounds like something that will suffice for your business, then, by all means, take this route! It’s better to have something than nothing. Plus with landing page builders like Leadpages, building a landing page from scratch can be done in about an hour! For some design ideas, I always like to reference how some of the top online brands are building their landing pages.
2. What purpose will my website serve?
A useful website should be way more than what I like to call, an “online business card.” Most websites consist of a logo, some pretty pictures, some info about the business, an address, a phone number, maybe some social media icons linking to a Facebook page that hasn’t been updated in months… nothing more than an online business card. And while all of those elements are necessary to include when building a website, they’re just the beginning!
In order for your website to serve a purpose, you have to identify what action you want the user to take when visiting your website (whether it’s giving you their contact info, purchasing something, or subscribing to your blog). Then, you need to construct the website in a way that leads the user toward that action… which leads us to question three.
3. Is your website built to lead the user to take a desired action?
Whether it’s a single-page landing page, or a full website, the user should be able to quickly identify what it is your website has to offer and what desired action you’d like them to take. Some examples of this might look like the following.
- You want the user to fill out a form and give you their email address or phone number: do you have a visible and easy-to-use form on your site? Do you have a call to action that invites the user to complete the form? Or, do you have an incentive (product or service) that you can offer the user in exchange for their email address or phone number?
- You want the user to spend a lot of time on your site, and subscribe to your blog: Do you have a blog that is easily accessible and visible as soon as someone lands on your site? Do you have useful and relevant content? Are you updating your blog content on a regular basis? Do you have a call to action at the end of each blog post asking readers to subscribe?
- You want the user to make a purchase of a service or product on your site: do you make it clear to the user what you’re offering as soon as they get to your site, or do they have to dig around to figure out what it is you’re selling? Do you have an easy, convenient, and mobile friendly shopping experience? Do you offer the user a safe and easy checkout process for making a purchase?
Spend some time thinking about what action you want your website users to take, and how you can build an environment that will allow them to take that action quickly and easily. And, if you don’t have an action in mind right now, at the very least, you’ll want your website to have the ability to collect email addresses, so be sure to include a form with a call to action somewhere on your homepage or landing page.
Step 2: Collect email addresses in a CRM or email marketing system.
I just told you that, at the very least, your website should be collecting email addresses. But why? In digital marketing, email addresses are just about worth their weight in gold… if you know what to do with them.
It doesn’t do you any good to collect email addresses if all they’re going to do is sit in the back end of your website. Instead, you should be compiling lists in an email marketing system that you can later use to reach out to the user with a new product or service you are launching. So, start building your email list even if your product or service isn’t ready for launch. Throughout my years in the digital marketing industry, I have worked with several email marketing systems such as Constant Contact, or AWeber, but the options are endless, and there’s sure to be a solution for your specific email-collecting needs. 😉
Step 3: Set up your social media accounts.
I’m sure this step comes as no surprise, but it’s not as simple as you’d think. The world of social media has grown to far surpass what many of us ever dreamed it could become (I was born before social media existed, can you tell?). When I first started my career in marketing, it was an uphill battle to convince clients that they should be investing in social media marketing or advertising! Now, clients seek out agencies that are social media advertising experts, specifically, and are shifting advertising budgets from traditional media into digital or social media.
All of this is great news for marketing agencies, but what does this mean for you, the solopreneur just trying to get your business idea off the ground? It means your presence on social media has to be more thoughtful, smart and authentic than ever before, and crafted in such a way that will attract your target audience (I walk you through how to identify your target audience in this video on my YouTube channel).
Instead of setting up 10 social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Google+, etc., etc., take the time to ask yourself these simple questions:
- What social media platforms are conducive to my business offering?
- What type of original content will I have to share on my social media accounts?
- Which social media platforms does my target market tend to use most often?
- How much time do I have to dedicate to my social media marketing efforts on a daily, weekly or monthly basis?
- Which platforms are easiest for me to understand and use to get my message across on a consistent basis?
Not every social media platform is going to be right for your business. And, let’s face it, no one has time to run a business and manage 7 social media accounts on a daily basis! Instead, identify the 2 or 3 platforms that are going to best serve you, and start there. If you’re wondering which social media platforms you should be using for your business, check out my FREE Foolproof Formula for determining exactly which and how many platforms you should use for your business, specifically.
Congratulations! You’ve just discovered three steps you can take, right now, to start setting your business up for future success and increasing your brand’s online star power!
For more tips like these, check out my YouTube channel, where I share some of my favorite marketing “secrets” and walk you through how to implement them in your business!
