listing in your local market,” says Smith. “That’s going to get you found more oen.” Once complete, businesses are en- couraged to customize their profile with business hours, photos, descrip- tions of products and services, and even special offers. This is also where customers can leave reviews that give a business social proof, the perception that a company is trustworthy and reliable. Encouraging and responding to reviews and regu- larly updating a profile can increase a business’ visibility in search results. SOCIAL MEDIA Social media is a great way to engage followers and conduct “social listen- ing,” keeping tabs on industry trends, consumer needs, and what your com- petition is doing. Consistency is crucial with develop- ing — and maintaining — a social me- dia strategy. Many businesses start out strong and pledge to maintain a steady stream of engaging posts only to quickly run out of ideas or get dis- tracted by the daily demands of run- ning a business. It’s easy for social media efforts to get hamstrung by a range of challenges. In addition to inconsistent posting, these include a lack of clear goals or objectives, not knowing who your target audience is, inconsistent or off- brand messaging, and a lack of follow through in responding to comments. A good social media strategy starts with understanding who your au- dience is and which platforms they prefer. It’s also important to be clear on what you want to achieve through social media, whether that’s brand awareness, lead generation, or en- gagement. Knowing this will help identify your SMART goals: efforts that are specific, measurable, achiev- able, relevant, and time-bound.
WEBSITE Websites don’t need to be extravagant to be effective, but they do need to clearly reflect who you are, what you do, and how customers can make con- tact. Having a website is important because it provides an anchor for most marketing efforts and can produce powerful data on customer behavior. “That’s today’s storefront,” says Smith. “You need a website so people can look you up.” User-friendly website builders like Wix or Squarespace make it relative- ly easy to set up a website, offering an assortment of templates and even assistance in designing a logo and selecting a color palette. This can be especially helpful if you need help de- veloping the visual elements of your business’ brand. Websites can go further to incorpo- rate an array of powerful tools and features designed to build and track your customer database. These range from pop-up subscription prompts, heat maps to see how visitors explore websites, email marketing, and SEO optimization. Worried you’ll get it wrong? Most website builders can connect you to designers who can assist in bringing your vision to life. This can be espe- cially helpful in optimizing the site to ensure customers can find you during an online search. GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE Setting up a free Google business profi le is a natural next step to launching a website. Doing so allows businesses to manage their online presence and makes it easier for cus- tomers to connect with services. While the basic set up is relatively easy to accomplish, it does require an addi- tional business verification process. “There’s a couple of tricks to get veri- fied, but once you do, you have a map
you can. Learning about basic de- mographics, such as age, education, income, spending habits, and inter- ests can inform about their challeng- es and needs. Knowing this will allow organiza- tions to develop a brand identity that speaks to those needs. The trick to developing a company’s brand is to keep it simple, clear, and authentic to who you are."
It’s best to start small. Commit to
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