What is digital presence, and how should your business build one?

The average internet user spends almost seven hours a day online, either socializing with friends on social media, working virtually, or playing video games. With the dominance of online activities, pretty much all types of businesses must adapt to capture the attention of virtual audiences. Without taking advantage of a strong online presence, businesses will likely sink into anonymity. 

This article will give you all the tools you need to build your business’s digital presence in order to gain a broader audience's attention. Whether you’re an eCommerce business, brick-and-mortar, or both, our guide will help you boost your online visibility. 

What is digital presence? 

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You may have heard terms like “online visibility,” “reputation,” and “engagement” when trying your hand at marketing. But what is digital presence, and how does it relate to eCommerce?

Simply put, your digital presence is how visible you are online. In other words, how easy it is for consumers to find your brand and company when searching on engines like Google or Bing. You can have a website or social media page, but that doesn’t mean you have a digital presence. You need to actively take steps to increase your visibility, from building your brand to listing your company on Google. 

Building your digital presence is like shouting the loudest in a crowd. You need the tools necessary, like a megaphone, to stand out from everyone else. 

Eight ways your business can boost its digital presence

Now that you know what digital presence is, you’re ready to stand tall in the online world and increase your visibility. Whether you already have a website or are not active online yet, our eight tips will help you improve your digital presence. 

1. Create an engaging website 

Your business website is the center of your digital presence. It gives potential customers an instant impression of your identity and what you have to offer. The average time spent on a webpage is just 54 seconds, so you’ve got to make your first impression count. 

Your landing page content must convey your message with as few words as possible. Avoid large walls of text and complicated explanations. Consider hiring a professional website developer and copywriter to propel your digital presence forward.

2. Understand SEO

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Beyond knowing what SEO is and how it works, you need to analyze and understand what the best angle in your industry and for your products is. This needs to be done when building your SEO strategy, and it should be kept in mind when producing any kind of content. It goes hand-in-hand with building your online visibility. 

Search engine optimization gives your website content the best possible chance of being visible. It involves finding high-value keywords, that is, popular search terms, and adding them throughout your content. Search engines like Google will rank your content and push it to the top of search results, boosting your digital presence. 

3. Focus on building your brand 

Your brand epitomizes everything you stand for. It allows you to differentiate yourself from your competitors and shows consumers what sets you apart from the rest. Your brand isn’t just about your logo and color scheme; it includes everything from your tone of voice to your mission statement. A distinguishable brand not only allows you to stand out online but also helps consumers recall your products and improve your customer engagement in the long term. 

4. Focus on a smaller audience 

You need to be aware of who you should target as part of your digital marketing strategy. It’s almost impossible to reach the entirety of the internet. Because of this, you need to target a smaller, niche audience that directly fits your target demographic. 

Consider your target audience and create compelling website and blog content that appeals to them. For instance, if you’re a small car dealership business typically selling low-value, second-hand cars, your blog content may focus on “the benefits of buying second-hand vehicles” or “how to spot a good second-hand car deal.” 

Once you start down this route, you can go on to give customers finely-tuned personalization that makes them feel special and more likely to stay loyal to your brand. There are numerous personalization techniques you can use, so it’s worth taking a closer look to see how your brand might benefit. 

5. Set up an optimized blog 

Business blogs are a powerful way to boost your digital presence. They allow you to build your brand voice, generate leads with thought-provoking content, and use more high-value keywords to improve your search engine rankings. 

Setting up an optimized blog involves researching your industry to find relevant topics that appeal to your target audience. From there, you can begin to build a pool of high-ranking keywords. You must create a set posting schedule for your blog posts. Try to release content at least twice a week to rank on Google. 

If you’re a business with multiple employees, you should encourage all team members to collaborate on blogging projects. With cloud data sharing, you can access and edit content from anywhere. 

6. Take advantage of social media

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Building a digital presence isn’t possible without utilizing social media. With millions of people active on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok daily, businesses on social media have access to a large pool of potential customers. 

To build a following on social media, you must understand your target audience and behavior. For instance, if you’re an eCommerce business, Instagram allows you to showcase high-quality images of your product. If you’re a B2B business, LinkedIn will help you reach a professional audience. 

Once you’ve identified which platform to target, focus on creating high-quality social media content that directly appeals to your audience: think images, short-form videos, and short blog posts. As part of your social media strategy, you might also consider paid promotions, collaborative opportunities, and influencer marketing to increase engagement and expand your reach.

7. Consider paid ads

If you have a decent marketing budget, paid ads can offer instant visibility and a targeted approach to building your digital presence. You can set your daily budget and spending caps to better control how far your advertisements reach your audience. 

If you’re in a particularly competitive industry, paid ads can help you stand out quickly. You can pay to push your website content to the top of search engines to give you a competitive edge. 

8. Prioritize lead generation

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Lead generation is the lifeblood of growing your business. It involves finding potential customers, offering something of interest to them, and encouraging them to invest in your products or services. Without prioritizing lead generation when building your digital presence, you won’t have a constant influx of potential new customers. 

To boost your lead generation efforts, you need to actively engage your target audience with content marketing, social media, and even outbound calls to prospects. Consider taking advantage of an outbound power dialer to automate the process of reaching out to potential leads. 

Boost your digital presence with powerful strategies that work

Building your digital presence takes consistency and time. Without paid ads, you won’t see a jump in your engagement overnight. You must frequently make efforts to build your online visibility with niche content that specifically targets your audience. 

Whether you’re a solely online business or have a physical store, connecting with potential customers online is a must. By doing so, you’ll not only build your customer base but also entice consumers to use your products and services again.