Every smart brand has an online presence today, utilizing some combination of social media, business pages, websites and review sites. But with so much noise at each destination, how can a brand use web tools or its online identity to stand out in a way that attracts clients and customers?
These answers are provided by Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. YEC has also launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.
1. Optimize Your Website
“It’s said that after all the efforts of getting people to visit your website, more than half of them will leave within the first 15 seconds. Creating a brand impression that lasts starts with formulating a strong visual identity, which is why you need to focus on the look and feel of your website. A good website is one that is devoid of clutter and relies on a consistent style guide.”
Derek Robinson, Top Notch Dezigns
2. Offer Relevant Information
“Providing authentic and useful information helps in attracting customers to your brand. The information should be focused on resolving customer’s problems. Don’t settle for content quantity. Instead, write strategic, quality content. Writing highly-relevant, educational content and making it available when the customers need it will attract them toward your brand.”
Liam Martin, TimeDoctor.com
3. Leverage Influencers
“No matter how much content you post online while adhering to a strict/themed content schedule, you will never be able to reach all of your customers — at least not as well as running a paid promotion can. Roping in influencers allows you to leverage creative energy that you may otherwise never have had access to, while at the same time being able to dictate how you’d like the material to be produced. Utilizing content that has already been created by real customers is another way that you can attract new customers to the fold because it allows others to see that there’s a community of people just like them. This system of encouraging customers to post pictures, videos or Boomerangs of themselves (and their companies) using your products can give you an even greater insight into how to improve your product and CX.”
Cody McLain, SupportNinja
4. Be Visually-Oriented
“The evolution of internet content seems to be favoring longer essays these days. Granted these can be high-quality articles, but brands should very concise in what they offer online. We try to hold onto the goal to “be the expert” in our field and hope that bolsters our brand. We also try to present a consistent visual to the general public. In so many words, a logo that conveys the right message is a handy thing to have.”
Brandon Stapper, Nonstop Signs
5. Hire A Specialist
“A lot of businesses have someone from their marketing team posting on social when they have a spare moment, but if you really want to create an online presence that stands out, you need to give it the attention it deserves. Hire a social media specialist who knows how to navigate through all the noise and come out on top. A social media coordinator will be able to be a voice for your brand and get your company the attention it deserves within the socialsphere.”
Dave Nevogt, Hubstaff.com
6. Focus Your Efforts
Not only is there a surfeit of noise on every platform, there’s also an excessive number of platforms. Too many businesses feel obligated to have a presence on every channel. Creating engaging, relevant content requires significant resources, and to be effective it needs to be unique to each platform. Focus your efforts on the platforms most relevant to your business. For example, LinkedIn for B2B. – Thomas Smale, FE International
7. Guest Post Elsewhere
“When it comes to getting your name and brand out there, don’t be afraid to look beyond your own channels. Let’s assume you have a fully optimized website featuring quality content and a solid social media strategy in place. Now it’s time to explore other avenues. Guest posting is a superb way to position yourself as a thought leader in your field and help your brand gain access to new audiences.”
Ismael Wrixen, FE International
8. Target Your Audience
“I often talk about the “rule of seven” (touches) in brand-building. The idea is that once a prospect has seen your brand and message seven times, across various media, they are more likely to remember it. Branding is about building a mental path back to your business. Use targeted advertising (Facebook, retargeting, etc) to stay in front of your ideal customer, and forget the rest.”
Jeremy Brandt, WeBuyHouses.com
9. Creating Something Truly Unique
“Every single channel is so saturated, that brands should be truly unique and creative to stand out. Instead of creating dozens of small, boring campaigns, they should focus on a few truly authentic, unique campaigns that present information or content that has never been seen before. The era of regurgitation is over. To stand out now, it’s important to create something truly unique.”
Marcela De Vivo, Mulligan Funding
10. Amplify Your Offline Presence
“Being online is important, but it isn’t the magic pill. There are almost zero tools that will work for you online if you are not actively pounding the pavement and pushing your brand. An ad impression will never take place of a free T-shirt and a good conversation, so don’t get lost in the hype. You can be a millionaire with very few online followers or none at all.”
Jason Criddle, Jason Criddle and Associates
11. Segment Your Email List
“One way that you can differentiate yourself from all the noise is to do a better job than your competition at segmenting your email lists. You can do this by creating a different list of actions such as first time visitor, cart abandonment, customer and more. This will make your emails more relevant and targeted to each individual user.”
12. Research Keywords
“One well-proven strategy is to start a blog on your website to increase traffic to your site. Use Google’s keyword planner to find high-volume keywords with low competition and write blogs using those words. This will ensure you get consistent traffic to your site without having to break the bank on paid advertising.”
13. Use Video
“A lot of brands are still afraid of video, especially live video. Start incorporating more videos into your content marketing strategy to show a more human side to your brand. You can use sites like YouTube, Facebook Live and Instagram Stories to get started.”
Chris Christoff, MonsterInsights
14. Create Evergreen Content
“Online presence is not enough; you need evergreen content. Profile page, social media accounts and a website is standard, few get visibility and very few tap into the online marketplace in ways that increase their revenue. Fresh, quality, frequent and dynamic content requires a content process. Once you design your content process you’ll be able create enough content to make an impact over time.”
Matthew Capala, Alphametic
