As the world begins to slowly recover from the COVID19 pandemic, there is a lot of pressure on companies to get up and running. Not just for the sake of their employees and for profit, but to help contribute to their local economies. The lockdown forced large and small companies to downsize or close in some cases, and now as they work towards rebuilding themselves, one of the key areas of concern is marketing. Since marketing budgets are strained, a lot of small and medium businesses will be looking to grow their presence online organically, and if you’re one of those businesses, then these tips will be extremely helpful.

Integrate your professional and personal accounts

The end of 2019 saw social media users grow to be approximately 2.77 billion worldwide. This indicates that there is a crucial requirement for visibility in a crowded marketplace. One way to make a dent is to combine your professional profile and your personal profile, allowing you to stand out. By allowing customers an insight into your own interests and passions, you display your personality and make your brand more relatable to your potential customer. Transparency and relatability are the keys to draw more customers and partners.

Mobile-first

We’ve talked about this before here at Creometric; a mobile-friendly website is crucial. People use their mobiles to conduct searches more than laptops or tablets. The number of smartphone users is expected to grow to almost 3 billion by the end of 2020, which means that mobile searches are only going to increase. In addition to having a website that is visually attractive, it needs to be optimized to mobile devices, too. Mobile-friendliness is an important ranking factor that Google uses, so it’s crucial for search engine optimisation as well. 

Focus on networking

It’s not always about what you know, but who you know.  An essential aspect of running a successful business is networking, as it increases your chances of success and improves communications. Social media has changed the game by removing the barriers that limit traditional networking. By removing issues such as travel expenses, time zones and geographical locations, you can use your resources more efficiently and reach desired results.

Regardless of how technology has changed, the basics of communication remain the same: finding some form of common ground. Establish connections by sharing your interests, hobbies and passions. This is not just for your personal relationships, but for your professional associations, too.

Create valuable content

If you haven’t heard the phrase ‘content is king’, then you’ve probably been living under a rock. Every nugget of content available on the internet today – infographics, videos or blog posts, they all contribute to the online presence of the website and the business that publishes them. Content marketing is a great way to introduce your brand and create a personality for the world. Producing content that’s relevant, engaging and informative should be a priority. Not only that, but your content should reflect your brand’s voice and your core values.

Google will always prefer high-quality content, which aids in SEO and improving your website’s chances of being ranked better. By listing on the top of the search engine results page (SERP), you can enhance your online presence, increase your brand growth and traffic and attract more sales.

Get listed on web directories

Finally, don’t underestimate the potential of web directories. Key directory sites allow businesses to generate more web traffic and reach their target audiences more efficiently. While these aid in ranking you at or near the top organically,  it is particularly relevant to local searches. The secret to gaining success with web directories lies with choosing the one that can add real value to your business. Not only should these web directories promote themselves to site owners like yourself, but they should advertise themselves to potential customers, too.

If you’ve never used a web directory before, you can start by looking into directories such as Bing Places, Google My Business, Yelp, and Yellow Pages. Building a formidable online presence is, by no means, an easy task. If all this seems too complicated, you can always get the help of a company that specializes in small business branding.

Companies like Creometric have been around for over half a decade now, and specialise in offshore digital marketing for international clients. If you’re a small business looking to get off the ground, or an existing company hoping to change the way you market yourself online, then get in touch with us today. Check out our case studies to know more about some of the clients we’ve worked with, or click below to learn more about Digital Marketing.