15 Practical Tips to Gain a Strong Online Presence

In today’s competitive landscape, establishing a strong online presence is crucial for every small business to thrive. So it is vital to have a robust digital marketing strategy.

In this blog, I’ll be sharing invaluable insights and practical tips to help you develop and elevate your digital marketing strategy so that you can navigate the dynamic digital landscape with confidence and achieve exceptional results.

But firstly we need to do some housekeeping, as is important to assess your current position by running an audit and agreeing your goals:

• Assess the landscape – begin by evaluating your current digital marketing activities by taking a close look at your website, social media channels, email marketing campaigns, and content strategy. Identify those areas that are performing well and those that require improvement. This assessment will serve as a foundation for enhancing your digital marketing strategy.

• Set SMART goals – a business objective needs to be clear, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound (SMART). So define what you want to accomplish through your digital marketing efforts. It could be increasing website traffic, boosting online sales, or improving brand engagement. By setting SMART goals, you give your strategy a sense of direction and create benchmarks to measure your progress.

Supercharge Your Digital Marketing Infographic

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Supercharge your blog strategy

1. Consistent and valuable content – create a content calendar and commit to a consistent publishing schedule. Provide valuable information, insights, and solutions to your audience’s pain points. Consistency and quality will establish your blog as a go-to resource in your industry.
2. Engaging headlines and formatting – create strong headlines that ask a question, show expertise or pique curiosity and entice readers to click. Use subheadings, bullet points and visuals to break up the text, making it easier to read and digest. Don’t forget to optimise your blog posts for SEO by incorporating your relevant keywords.
3. Guest blogging – collaborate with industry influencers and thought leaders to publish guest posts on their blogs. This expands your reach and establishes your credibility within your niche. Likewise, consider inviting guest bloggers to contribute to your own blog, this will provide fresh perspectives and can attract new audiences.

Supercharge your website strategy

1. User friendly design – ensure your website is visually appealing, easy to navigate, and optimised for mobile devices. Incorporate clear calls to action (CTA) to guide your visitors towards desired actions, including making a purchase or contacting you. A seamless and smooth user experience will keep visitors engaged and increase your conversion rates.
2. Search engine optimisation (SEO) – conduct keyword research to identify relevant terms your target audience is searching for. Incorporate these keywords naturally throughout your website’s content, meta tags and URLs. Focus on building quality backlinks and optimising your site’s load speed for improved SEO performance.
3. Conversion optimisation – analyse user behaviour by using tools like Google Analytics to identify conversion bottlenecks. Optimise your website’s layout, contact forms and checkout process to reduce friction and encourage visitors to take the desired actions. Test different elements and strategies to continually improve your conversion rates.

Supercharge your video strategy

1. Know your audience – understand your target audience’s preferences and create videos that resonate with them. Whether it’s educational, entertaining or inspirational content, tailor your videos to address their needs and interests. Try to keep them engaged from start to finish and ensure you include a hook.
2. High quality production – invest in good equipment if you can, but mobile phone cameras are very good these days. However, you mustn’t neglect your lighting and audio as your videos need to have a professional look and sound. Poor production quality can undermine your message and deter viewers. Consider using video editing software to enhance visuals, add captions and incorporate branding elements.
3. Diversify video types – explore different types of videos, such as tutorials, behind-the-scenes glimpses, customer testimonials or product demonstrations. Experiment with live streaming or interactive formats to boost engagement. Be creative and find what resonates best with your audience.

Supercharge your email strategy

1. Build a quality list – focus on growing an engaged and targeted subscriber base. Offer valuable incentives, such as exclusive content or discounts in exchange for email sign-ups. Segment your list based on their interests and demographics to target them with more personalised and relevant email campaigns.
2. Compelling subject lines and personalisation – with the amount of emails sent, it is increasingly important that you consider your subject lines carefully and keep them short. Use personalisation to address subscribers by name and tailor the content to their interests. Segment your email list by level of engagement i.e. prospect, loyal or lapsed customer so that you can deliver more targeted messages to each segment for improved engagement and conversions.
3. Test and optimise – don’t settle for mediocre results. A/B test different elements of your email campaigns, such as subject lines, CTAs, layout and sending dates and times. Analyse metrics like open rates, click-through rates and conversions to identify areas for improvement and upgrade your future email marketing efforts.

Supercharge your social media strategy

1. Choose the right platforms – identify the social media platforms where your target audience is most active and then you can tailor your strategy accordingly. Focus your efforts on building a strong presence on the main platforms first and ensure you are regularly connecting with your audience on those platforms.
2. Consistent branding and voice – maintain a consistent brand image across all your social media profiles. Use consistent look and feel for all your logos, colours and messaging to reinforce your brand identity. Develop a unique and authentic tone of voice that resonates with your target audience.
3. Engage and interact – social media is a two-way street. Engage regularly with your audience by responding to comments, messages and mentions. Encourage discussions, ask questions and share user-generated content. Show that you value your followers and their input, and it will reward you.

A few final points…

• Analysing for continuous improvement – digital marketing is an iterative process. So you should regularly monitor your key metrics, such as website traffic, conversion rates, social media engagement, and email campaign performance. Also use web analytics tools and dashboards to help you build insights into user behaviour and enable you to identify areas for improvement. Adapt your strategy based on data-driven decisions and continuously refine your approach for optimal results.

• Staying up to date with trends and innovations – the digital landscape is constantly evolving, so it can be hard to stay abreast of the latest trends and innovations. But it is vital to keep your tactics current. So follow industry blogs, listen to podcasts and join relevant communities to stay informed. Explore emerging technologies, such as chatbots and assess the potential to enhance your digital marketing efforts.

• Collaborating with experts – navigating the complexities of digital marketing can be daunting. Consider partnering with a trusted marketing consultant or agency specialising in this area. Their expertise and industry knowledge can provide invaluable guidance, save you time, and help you achieve your digital marketing goals more effectively.

Digital marketing can seem overwhelming at times. But it’s a game-changer that you can’t afford to ignore if you want to stay ahead in the business world. I hope these points give you the confidence to adapt them for your business. 

Let me know if you have any questions. And here’s to your success in supercharging your digital marketing strategy!