The Internet is something we cannot live without. Emails, social media, Skype – the Internet makes the world seem smaller and makes people easier to reach.

Businesses know that perfectly. But do you? If you’re unsure how to win new customers using your online presence, then this article is just right for you!

To win new customers you need to know them

First of all, if you plan to win new customers with your online presence, you need to exactly know who do you want to win over! It’s not called ‘targeting’ for no reason!

If you create a strategy designed to cater to everyone, then it will resonate with no one. You need to be extremely precise when determining what will actually constitute your online presence. Remember that it’s better for your business to have 100 devoted and returning customers than 1000 people who regularly put your emails into the trash folder and not engage with you at all!

Before you launch your online presence, you need to carefully plan it. Prepare for some long hours spent on that – don’t avoid them and don’t feel reluctant towards them! The more precise your online presence will be, the better.

A huge part of this plan is to set up your customer profile. Start from there. Below we’ll talk about how to do it effectively!

Creating your customer profile

Be as detailed as possible! In order to create a really effective customer profile, you need to look at it via a ‘magnifying glass’.

Let’s have a look at two different examples of customer profiles. Read them both and think, which one is better and why.

Example 1

Our customer is a man living in rented accommodation. He works a well-paying job and likes to relax after work. He drives a bike rather than a car.

Example 2

Our customer is a man between 25-30 years old. He lives alone in a rather spacious studio flat, which he rents, but not owns. He lives in a big city – from 800 000 inhabitants up. He uses a bike rather than a or public transportation to commute. He works a 9-5 mid-senior level job, which pays him between 27500-35000 pounds per year. His hobbies include sports.

The second one’s better, eh? You can actually go much further in determining the specifications of your customer profile – the slang your perfect customer uses or whether he shops at Asda or M&S. The possibilities are endless and they will all help you define the type of online presence to engage in.

Choose appropriate channels of communication

Once you’ve got your customer profile in place, you need to decide on how you’re going to communicate with them.

Social Media

Every business should use social media. Most often it is free of charge and gives you a possibility of tapping into a multi-million online communities of people.

The most important choice, however, is which social networks you are going to set up your accounts on. Good thing is, when you have your customer profile ready, you can make the choice more easily. Below, we’ll briefly talk about the most popular social networks and how they fit your audience.

Facebook

The largest social network of all, Facebook is a place where every business should be present. Everyone is on Facebook and thanks to network’s PPC Ads, you can easily target them using your customer profile.

However, because of recent algorithm changes, Facebook became a bit of a pay-to-play kind of thing. As organic reach is harder for brands to achieve, ads and paid exposure may be a necessity.

LinkedIn

It’s a bit like Facebook for professionals. It would be perfect for you if your business is more B2B-oriented. In such case, LinkedIn is a perfect place to gain some valuable leads!

Twitter

A social network perfectly adapted for quick consumption of content. With its (in)famous limit of 280 characters per post, Twitter is a great place to post quick, daily updates.

Instagram

Instagram is focused entirely on visual content. Photos, videos and Stories give you plenty of possibilities to create a highly personal and relatable brand – exactly something young, hip people want from businesses!

Snapchat

Snapchat has been having some tough times recently, yet still it remains a popular network within teenagers and young adults. Just a thought – we’ve seen Snapchat being successfully implemented by gaming companies with audiences between 14-24 years old!

Content, content, content!

It’s 2018 and you can’t simply buy some air time, record some pushy ads and get some billboard space to win new customers. You need to win them by creating meaningful relationships with them.

People don’t trust businesses – they trust people and content marketing is a great opportunity to show a more human face of your company. That’s the best way to use your online presence and win over new customers.

Think bigger than a blog

When you think of content marketing, the first thing that comes to your mind is probably a blog. While publishing articles is definitely an amazing strategy, there are more possibilities for you to reach new customers.

Video content, as well as streaming, are currently on the rise. True, not every business is capable or has the means to produce high-quality video content. Live streams are a good alternative. Audiences generally don’t require an extremely high, 4k quality of a live stream – a smartphone with a stable Internet connection or a webcam will do. Possibilities are endless – from a Q&A or showing some office banter to streaming professional conferences your business is a part of.

You may also consider starting a podcast. It’s like an audioblog and people can listen to it before sleep or during commute when reading an article can be problematic.

Some tips for your content marketing

Be consistent!

If you decide to start a content marketing campaign, you need to go all out. Create a content schedule and stick to it. If you want to post once a week, try to do it on the same day everytime.

A bit more about consistency

It’s not just the schedule. Make sure all your content has a similar voice, which suits your brand. The way your sentences and paragraphs are structured, the graphics you use, even the tone of your voice in a podcast – it all needs to click.

Summary:

In this article, we’ve talked about the ways you can win new customers using your online presence.

Get started by creating a customer profile – it will give you a framework to work with. Use it to create your social media and content strategies. These two platforms are amazingly effective at getting your voice out there and finding people who will listen to it.

Another important thing is making sure your website is up to the test. It needs to look good and be fast.

You can call our Design and Technology Team or use the form below if you need a new website: 
0333 014 2035

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