The majority of businesses now operate online through E-commerce websites. There are so many benefits associated with this, from reduced operating costs (as business owners don’t have to fork out for commercial rent, bills, or shop floor security) to extended opening hours (as your store will be able to operate around the clock, every day of the week), and a wider reach (as international shipping can put your products within reach of an international audience). However, this doesn’t have to be where your online presence ends. Sure, you should invest a whole lot of time and effort into your website and web design, as this will act as your main base. However, you should also focus on other aspects of your online presence. Here are just a couple for you to consider!
Branded apps
One aspect of online presence to focus on besides your website is apps. Apps are “applications” – or the small icons that appear on the home screens of smartphones and tablets. Users can tap these squares to quickly draw up software. Increasing numbers of businesses are developing apps, as they serve as a constant reminder of their business to customers every time they pull their phones out of their pockets. There are plenty of different types of branded app out there, so you should put some serious consideration into the type that will best benefit your business. Some apps act as forms of catalogue, allowing those who download it to browse the products and wares that you have to offer. Some will be a little more complex and serve as an online store, where items can be added to the basket and purchased. An alternative is to develop a loyalty app. This is preferable to loyalty cards in the modern day climate, as people don’t want to fill their wallets with bulky tangible loyalty cards and will frequently complain about misplacing their cards when they’ve emptied their wallets out. A loyalty app simply serves as a more reliable alternative, where points can be collected in-app and drawn up as and when the customer wants to use them in-store or online. Now, there are many levels to app development. First, you need to find someone to develop the app for you. Unless you have a complex and in-depth knowledge of coding and development, chances are you’ll struggle alone. So, look for an app developer who will be able to bring all of your ideas to life. You then need to consider quality assurance or (QA). To ensure that your app is fully working at all times, you need to understand best practices in mobile QA automation. This will help to prevent premature releases of apps that will be fraught with malfunctions and other problems that will give users a bad image of your brand. Remember that aftercare and maintenance are just as important as getting your app launched in the first place, so require just as much dedication and attention!
Social media
One of the most prevalent uses of smartphones nowadays is to access social media. Some would say that we are living in the social media generation! If you’re doubting this, just take a moment to consider how many of your friends, family members, and acquaintances have active social media pages. The majority, right? When you take a look around you in a public place, how many people are looking down at their phones, checking their social media feeds? Probably quite a few. As a society, we are spending increasing amounts of time checking our Facebook feeds, browsing one another’s images on Instagram, and keeping up with each other’s lives on Twitter. However, as a business person, you should take advantage of this. You can really use this to your benefit! While social media may well be within the realms of the personal, you can make profiles for your business too! As long as you manage your profiles in the right way, you can make a profit from this! Now, it would be impossible to address all forms of social media in just one post, so let’s take a moment to focus on Instagram in particular!
Exposing your brand to a wider audience
Instagram has around 800 million active users, so by engaging with this site, you are opening up the doors to a huge market of potential customers. You can use your feed as a form of online catalogue. The way that the app works allows you to upload multiple pictures, which then form a grid of 3 pictures across on your page. People accessing your page can then scroll through your posts, picking out which ones to click on and see large. In this way, Instagram can essentially act as a free form of online catalogue. There are new features for businesses where you can tag the products that are featured in each image. When users click the tag, it comes up the product name and price. They can then click this to be redirected to your web store where they can add the products to their basket and checkout. Using your Instagram as a form of product catalogue exposes what you have to offer to millions of people. Some are bound to be interested and link to your website!
Advertising
Though your page itself could be considered a form of advertisement, you can actually take further steps with advertising through the app. Your first option is to advertise through Instagram directly. This means that you choose one of your posts that you think will hold the most appeal, then Instagram will add it to the feeds of individuals who don’t even necessarily follow you or may not have ever clicked on your page before. This comes at a price, but it’s a great investment and a good way to get your posts into a larger number of people’s feeds. Another option is to collaborate with “Instagram influencers”. Instagram influencers are simply the “it” people of Instagram. They have a large number of followers, meaning that their posts are seen by large numbers of people. You can often contact them directly using the “direct message” feature or they may have an email address listed in their Instagram bio. Once you get in touch, you can often negotiate a way for them to post a picture with your products. If they like your goods, they may settle for the free goods that they use for their picture. Others with larger numbers of followers and a more profound presence may demand a fee of sorts.
Cultivating popularity
Remember that many people are heavily influenced by what the rest of the consumer market is interested in. If something appears popular, more people are likely to want it. Social media is a great way to show just how popular your brand is! As you collect more likes and followers, you’ll gain more attention. So, spend a little while making your presence known and encouraging more people to follow through competitions and giveaways that ask followers to tag their friends in your posts.
There are so many different aspects of your online presence that you should take into mind that you can quickly and easily begin to feel overwhelmed when taking it all into consideration. The key is baby steps. By tackling the aforementioned aspects of your online presence to start with, you’ll set yourself off in the right direction! A high-quality branded app and effective social media usage will help you to reach a wider audience and boost your profits!
Photograph by RawPixel