This post is for online and offline businesses looking to use digital marketing to grow their business. I’m sharing how to grow your business online so you can see an increase in leads and sales whether you’re a service based or product based business. So there’s no reason why these tips can’t work for you and your biz!
How to Grow Your Business Online
If you’re looking to take your offline business online or grow your online business then you’ve come to the right place! I’m going to talk you through my top tips to grow your business online so you can spend less time promoting and more time making money.
Create a Website
If you want to know how to grow your business online then the first thing you need is a website.
Whether you’re service based or product based you absolutely must have a website.
You know that great little feature that gives you product recommendations on Etsy and eBay? Yeah, that’s going to take people away from your shop and send them to someone else’s. You don’t want that.
Similarly if you’re service based and you don’t have a website to send potential leads for more information and examples of what you do, you’re going to lose that sale because there will be someone else who does have a website and they’re going to stand out in that customer’s mind.
The beauty of a website is that it can be whatever you want it to be.
Want to take bookings directly on your website? Want to set up a monthly subscription for your products? Want to have full control over your product pricing and how much profit you make? All of those things are possible and more with a website.
And I haven’t even touched on the powers of SEO for your business which you absolutely must have a website for. More on that below 😉
If you’d like to work together to create a website for your business, let’s chat. I work with a variety of businesses to design and build beautiful websites that convert, so I’m sure we can create the perfect solution for your business.
Join Facebook Groups
In my first month of business I was booked up for 3 months thanks to the power of Facebook groups.
Most groups offer self promotion days or threads where you can go for the hard sell and promote your products or services but I found the most success with offering my services in response to relevant posts from other users.
To do the same you should aim to join groups where your target audience hang out. As I work with female entrepreneurs, I’m a member of groups for creative females, mums in business, women in marketing and freelancers.
Whereas if I joined a group for web designers, as much as I would find the content useful, it’s not a great place to market my services. So keep that in mind when you’re researching groups to join to promote your business.
The goal with Facebook groups is not to be spammy or go hard on self promotion, but instead to join the community. So keep that in mind to avoid being kicked out or driving people away from your business by being too pushy.
Start a Blog
I could talk about this all day long but I won’t because you’ll likely get bored and I’ll just be yabbering away to myself.
A blog is one of the best things you can do to grow your business online because you are updating your website with new content (great for SEO, more on that below!), providing value to potential customers and further promoting your services or products.
You’ll notice in this post I am doing all of those things. I’m providing you with valuable information, mentioning my services where relevant and keeping my website fresh with new content. It’s a winning formula!
For product based businesses you can offer round ups of your best products (bonus points if it’s seasonal) as well as helpful related advice. Serviced based businesses can show off their expertise in their field with some free advice that would go great with their paid services. There’s a way to blog for every type of business!
If you’re still unsure on starting a blog for your business, check out this post.
Search Engine Optimisation
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a must if you’re looking to grow your business online, which is another reason why you need a website!
I’m going to give you a couple of real life examples of how SEO can grow your business online.
Scenario 1: You’re a florist based in Liverpool.
You’re smashing it in terms of followers and likes on social media but you aren’t selling any products or bookings because most of your followers aren’t local to your business.
This is where SEO becomes your new best friend. With the power of SEO you can target customers in Liverpool and surrounding areas so you come up on the first page of Google when they’re searching for “florists in Liverpool”.
Scenario 2: This time you’re a copywriter who provides professional copywriting services to women in business. You’ve been promoting your business everywhere which is so time consuming and you don’t think you can keep it up long term just to get eyes on your website
Enter SEO. With a solid SEO strategy you’ll double or even triple your website traffic with women in business looking for your services.
These are just two examples. In reality SEO works for every type of business.
If you’re looking for an SEO strategy that can guarantee you results, head over to my Search Engine Optimisation services and see how we can work together to boost your online presence!
Start an E-mail List
I used to work for a digital marketing agency where one of the most popular services we offered was e-mail marketing. That’s because it works.
Popping up in someone’s inbox is an incredibly personal thing and it’s a true privilege to be invited to keep coming back to talk about your services or products. Those are the sorts of people you want to be connecting with to grow your business.
The people on your e-mail list are considered to be ‘warm leads’ because they’re already interested in hearing from you and so are much more likely to buy your services or products. You know they’re interested in what you’re offering and they want to hear more about it.
The best way to start an e-mail list is to provide a free resource (‘freebie’) related to your services or products. Once you’ve made your resource, you can use a service like Mailchimp to manage your e-mails and subscribers. I recommend following up your freebie with a solid welcome sequence and regular e-mails to nurture our subscriber list.
Remember to provide value as well as promote your business!
Grow Your Instagram
Instagram works really well for service based or product based businesses but your approach will be slightly different depending on your business.
If you want to use Instagram for Business you’re going to need to spend some time growing your account first.
I recommend downloading my Instagram Profile Checklist from my free resources library and making sure you’re profile is properly set up to generate the right leads for your business.
In a nutshell, you want your profile and feed to show a beautiful snapshot of what your business offers and why they need it in their lives. From there, make sure your profile links your awesome website where they can book your services or buy your product and you’re on to a winner!
How did you find these tips? Do you feel confident in how to grow your business online?Â
