Today we are going to talk about the three things you must do to be successful in marketing your company’s products and services online in today’s digital age. First and foremost, your online reputation can make or break your business today. With 92% of consumers now looking at online reviews before making a purchasing decision, you cannot ignore the importance of having your online reputation in order. Check out the graph below to see just how critical the star ratings are to how people make buying decisions.
One Star Could Cost Your Company 20 Percent
The difference between a 4-star rating and 3-star rating could be costing your company 20% in business. What is your rating today? If you don’t have a lot of reviews, you may be a risk of having a low score. Often times, the only time someone will go out of their way to write you a review is when they are unhappy and feel they received less than average service.
The solution? Put a process in place that surveys every customer that goes through your business. Next, monitor your company’s online reviews to ensure you are responding to customers in a timely fashion. Lastly, market out your positive reviews to search results, your website and all of your social channels. This builds TRUST among your followers that you are a great company to do business with and will provide a great customer experience.
Let’s Get Social
Secondly, do you have a social media presence? Are you communicating your brand and promoting your products/services through social media? The reason you may want to focus on this area is HUGE. The average user in the United States spends 3.1 hours per day on social media. If you’re not tapping into this vast marketplace, you may be missing out.
However, don’t make the common mistake most business owners make on their own social media channels. Don’t be all about sales and promotions of your products and services. The real opportunity that exists is for you to expand your relationships with your current customers.
If you’re always selling and promoting, you come across as pushy and obnoxious. Try and be more informative and entertain them with viral post. Be yourself and let your personality shine through. Let your fans know the face behind the brand. A social media marketing expert once told me “act as if you were out at dinner with that person (your audience), would you try and sell them your product the whole night? Or would you get to know each other and grow your relationship? People buy from people they know and like.” It’s the best advice I’ve ever heard and we preach it every day with our clients.
Tell Your Story with Video
The third strategy you must incorporate is video marketing. There is no better way to tell your story today than by telling it with rich video media. By 2017 over 75% of all internet traffic will be video. Every day over four billion videos are watched on YouTube. Are you tapping into this marketing resource? Do you have a video that tells your company’s story? This is the opportunity to become the expert in your field by establishing your authority and there is no better way of doing this than video marketing.
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