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Originally Posted On: 8 Smart Ways to Market Your Business Online and Increase Sales in 2021 and Beyond – Women’s Business Club (womensbusiness.club)

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything from socializing to working to shopping and ordering online. Therefore, if you want your business to survive in the current climate, you will need customers, and for you to get customers, you need to market your business. To ensure that your business survives the changing tide, take a look at some of the best ways to market your business online.

Build a business website

First things first, you need a website where potential customers can learn more about your business and what you offer. Ideally, you need a responsive website design that will scale the contents and elements of your website to match the user’s screen size. Such a website is more mobile-friendly, and it will increase the time people spend on your site. Additionally, a mobile-friendly website will improve your ranking in search engines like Google.

Create good-quality content

Now more than ever before, people are reading posts, consuming stories, and watching videos. How can you be a source of entertainment, education, information, or inspiration? Most businesses focus on showcasing their products and services. However, the best way to attract an audience and convert them into customers is to focus on the benefits of your products or services. Can your product improve your customer’s life? Does it solve a customer’s problem? How does it meet your customer’s needs? 

Create a Facebook group

A Facebook group is a forum that is composed of people with similar interests. The best thing about a Facebook group is that it is free to create, and you can communicate, converse and get instant feedback. A Facebook page is a simple but effective way to build an active and engaged community of your own.

Create explainer videos on YouTube

This is a great way to spread brand awareness. If you have launched an innovative product, you may struggle to get people to know what it is and how it will help them. This is why you should consider creating explainer videos and product tutorials. These videos will demonstrate to your target market what the product does and how it can be used. Therefore, if you have just launched a new product, you can create explainer videos on YouTube to pique your target customer’s interest.

Leverage Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is a cost-effective way to drive traffic to your website. When you optimize pages in your online store, you will be able to increase your ranking on search engines and get customers who will be more likely to purchase. The first step to optimizing your website is to research keywords and phrases. However, you won’t succeed by stuffing keywords all over your website. Instead, you should create engaging, unique, and quality content that tells a story to your audience.

People often type long-tail keyword phrases in search engines. For instance, a potential customer won’t just search for a “jacket” if they want to purchase a jacket online. Instead, they will search for a more specific product, like “a red leather jacket with a hood for women.” Therefore, you should consider using long-tail keywords as they’re more specific. Additionally, plan, research, and implement your keywords and keyword phrases to avoid keyword stuffing and other “black hat SEO” strategies that are considered unethical.

Write for intent and research keywords related to your products or services and use them in meta descriptions, URLs, page titles, and throughout your content. Keep in mind that every page on your online store should have its keywords and keyword phrases. Use a tool like Google AdWords to research keywords related to your products or services.

You can also use SEO to build links to your website. When your website has more links, it signals search engines that the content and information on your site is credible, and this helps increase your ranking over time. You may also want to utilize internal links on your website to build your rank.

Work with bloggers in your niche

Collaborating with reputable bloggers in your niche is an effective way to market your business. Therefore, if you identify a popular blogger who writes about a subject that is directly related to your line of business, you should reach out and find out how you can collaborate. One of the best ways to collaborate with a blogger is to guest blog. Of course, you should be an experienced writer to do this, and many bloggers will readily accept a detailed and helpful guest article.

But why should you work with a blogger while you can post content on your website? According to data from Social Marketing Writing, over 60% of people consider blogs with multiple contributing authors to be more credible. Therefore, if you want relevant links, authority, motivated leads, sales, and qualified traffic in your business, you should highly consider guest blogging.

Use Pinterest

Although social media platforms are great for generating traffic, the content you post on these platforms will disappear as soon as you post it. Unlike social media platforms, Pinterest is a unique search engine, and your pins won’t disappear for years to come. To get started, you should connect your business website with your Pinterest account and create pinnable images for all your posts.

Build trust and credibility on platforms like Yelp

Most online shoppers are reluctant to trust and purchase products or services from businesses that they have no knowledge about or know someone who has worked with them. According to Forbes, 90% of online shoppers read reviews before they visit a business and make a purchase. Platforms like Yelp help consumers to identify the right company to work with by increasing transparency through customer reviews. Therefore, listing your business on major directories will help to build trust and credibility with potential customers.

Final thoughts: you can effectively market your business online and make sales

The pandemic has accelerated some changing trends in how we do business, and this explains why more businesses are moving online. Therefore, ensure that you gather the necessary marketing skills to set your business apart from competitors. Start by using the above tried-and-tested marketing strategies to reach more customers, increase brand awareness, and increase your brand authority.