24 Jul 5 Benefits of a Strong Online Presence

How robust of an online presence do you feel your business has at this point in time?  Do you feel confident that if people were to search for your brand name and services that you would be amongst the top search results?

Nowadays, people are turning not only to Google, but to social media channels such as Twitter and Facebook to see what people are saying about brands, but more importantly what their friends and family’s opinion is about them.  That reason alone should give you an idea of why it is important to have a strong online presence.  Not enough, eh? Well we’ve put together 5 benefits that should help motivate you to put more time and resources into bulking up your reputation on the inter-webs.

1. Clearly communicate your message to the people that matter

Your message is useless unless you get it in front of the people you designed it for.  You can have the most incredible message and cause but if you are blasting it out to people who have no interest in what you are saying then you are just wasting your breath.  On the flip-side, if you tell your story to people who share your enthusiasm your content has the potential to spread like wild-fire.  Think of online marketing as word-of-mouth on steroids, if the people see your content as interesting or valuable, they will most likely pass it on to someone who would likely feel the same.

Are you reaching the people that matter or are you just wasting your breath?

2. Establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry

One benefit of having a strong online presence is that when people start sharing your valuable content on a consistent basis, others will begin to see you as a leader in your industry and they will continue to come to you for answers.  This is why investing in your content is so important, not only does it improve your ability to tell your story and refine your knowledge of your industry, but it builds the relationship between you and your potential customers by not directly pitching them a sale, but by providing them with something they need.

Are you helping your fans and potential customers get what they want?

3. Improved customer service

Social Media provides you with a 24 hour connection to your online community.  Once you have a decent sized following you may begin to see people coming to your social media channels with questions or issues they need resolved.  This offers you a great chance to provide them with an excellent customer service experience.  By responding to them in a timely and professional manner resulting in their satisfaction will turn them from a normal fan into a RAVING FAN!  Chances are they will not keep this to themselves but tell those closest to them about their experience, or they might take it a step further and tell all their friends online.  If you can make it known that your page is a place where your fans come to get answers and information this will only strengthen the relationships between you and your fans.

Are you providing your online community with quality support or are they being ignored?

4. Grow a community of people passionate about what you have to offer

As we talked about above with providing your fans with quality content and targeting those who matter, a strong online presence becomes the framework for your to build a passionate community around your brand or service.  The brand that comes to mind is Red Bull, they have built a passionate community of fans and followers who support the brand and spread it’s awareness, regardless of the fact that it was once just an energy drink company. They have built an army of raving fans by interacting with them and finding out exactly what they need and delivering it to them in an outstanding way.

What are you doing to build your brand’s community?

5. Expand the reach and awareness of your brand

Once you have cultivated a passionate community who effortlessly share your content awareness about your brand can begin to snowball.  As your fans begin to share your content to their social circles that will result on more eyes on your brand.  It’s that simple, give people what they are looking in a way that is different and stands out from what your competitors are doing, then buzz about your brand will build.

In what ways can you build buzz about your brand?

Leave a comment about how you built a strong online presence around your brand!