The time when having a website and social media profiles was considered a luxury is long gone. Having an online presence is now an essential item on every startup owner’s checklist. Today’s customers have welcomed the digital age with open arms and businesses need to be ready. With powerful social media profiles and meticulously designed websites, the road to success is much clearer.
One of the biggest mistakes a startup can make is to establish an online identity but leaving it bare or boring. Think of your website and profiles as an extension of your face-to-face efforts. Don’t leave a bad first impression! While the digital world is constantly evolving, there’s no reason to feel too overwhelmed. It’s now fairly easy to learn how to start and maintain an active internet presence, but a lot of hard work is needed to establish your mark and engage with your customers online.
Your Startup Website’s Priorities: Engagement, Branding and Usability
So your website has a description of your products and services and a page with your contact information. Don’t think it’s over just yet. Try and include engaging content that keeps the reader’s attention on your page. Make them want to contact you and find out more.
Branding should be aligned with your startup’s goals and it should reflect on your website from the layout to chosen fonts and to the color scheme.
Don’t make the mistake of going for flashiness over user experience. No matter how cutting edge your website looks, it fails its ultimate goal if customers are unable to navigate it well.
Provide Value
Without any value to your customers, your presence will be ignored. You can have a profile on every social media platform, hundreds of blog articles, and the best-looking website on the internet but none of that matters if the content is full of fluff. Make the most of these platforms to provide practical tips, share important news, talk about industry developments and other information that your audience will find interesting. Schedule updates to publish on a regular basis to maintain your readership and increase your online following.
Engage with email marketing
What happens when your audience isn’t online on social media? You can still reach them when they’re checking their email, of course! As with your website and online profiles, providing valuable content will keep your customers engaged. Don’t overdo it by sending newsletters every other day—this is the quickest way to get your emails marked as spam. Send these out once a month to enjoy the best open and clickthrough rates.
Building and maintaining an online presence for any startup requires a considerable investment in time and effort, but it doesn’t have to break your budget. A SharedTEAMS membership can help you establish and maintain an online presence that will launch your startup to success.