It’s January … A new page, a fresh start. Whether or not you’re a fan of making resolutions personally, in business they are a necessary element for growth.
In the hectic pace of running a business day to day, we may defer tackling implementation of technology tools, engagement in self-development and adoption of process improvements. While forgivable, without reflection on how we can do better and purposeful discipline to stretch and grow, we risk being overshadowed by leaner, meaner and more innovative competitors. Time to step up.
Below, we offer five ways to improve your visibility and credibility online — along with guidance, context and links to articles to help you actualize your intentions.
1. Maintain a consistent blogging schedule
While blogging is one of the best ways to drive website traffic, keeping up with a regular cadence is a challenge even for the most prolific writers. Minimize “blank page syndrome” by separating the big-picture idea generation from the actual content creation. An editorial calendar offers structure to help accelerate the writing process in several ways:
- Provides general themes or topic categories relevant to your audience
- Utilizes a mix of blog formats to capture your creative energy and the attention of readers
- Includes source ideas for posts, including case studies, events and industry trends
- Serves as a repository for specific ideas to jump-start your writing
Maintain marketing momentum in the new year with systems to promote productivity. Follow these steps to create your editorial calendar.
2. Capitalize on enhanced email marketing functionality
Compared with a social soundbite, email marketing offers the opportunity for a more complete message. Consider the state of most readers’ email in-boxes, however, and resist the temptation to be overly prolific. Succinct content, a clean, minimalist design and an early call-to-action will serve both you and your subscribers well.
Unlike the “spray and pray” approaches of some marketing strategies, email marketing is targeted. Because recipients opt-in to receive your emails, they are warm leads who are likely to be more receptive to your message.
Honor that relationship by enabling subscribers to customize their preferences based on topic and cadence. And explore segmentation functionality to feed your readers targeted content based on their prior email opens and clicks.
If your emailed isn’t opened, all the effort invested in crafting the perfect prose is for naught. With most in-boxes a sea of unopened emails, the importance of a strong subject line to get yours to stand out can’t be overstated. Most email platforms include automated functionality to test two subject lines and use the better-performing one to mail to the majority of your list.
Take advantage of the efficiencies of your email marketing platform to improve your marketing performance.
3. Maximize social media effectiveness
Poking absently through your personal Instagram feed in the evening may be your way to unwind, but to successfully utilize social media as a marketing channel for business, you must be intentional, rather than reactive. Relying strictly on a platform’s news feed cedes control to the whims of that platform’s algorithms.
The growth in social media use has spawned availability of integrated platforms that provide the ability to view, schedule and manage multiple social media accounts in a single dashboard. Raising the bar, these platforms embed functionality to keep your pulse on specific keyword searches, curate lists of key accounts and highlight engagement notifications to facilitate your response.
Proactively maintaining cadence, addressing notifications and engaging in targeted outreach is eased with all information available at a glance. Improve your productivity and effectiveness in the new year with a social media dashboard.
4. Elevate the credibility of your website
It’s not surprising that new business owners find creation of their first website to be daunting. The time and energy involved just to select a strong and available domain name and secure hosting indicates the uphill path of technology challenges ahead. Creating a business website requires a variety of complex skill sets including an understanding of website technology platforms, search engine optimization, user experience, content writing, keyword placement, balanced self-promotion and more.
In attempts to shortcut the overwhelming tasks for an initial website, businesses may utilize web hosting companies that specialize in specific industry verticals. With promises of company-specific content and seamless integrations with industry software — such as real estate listings for realtors or patient software for medical practices — these websites sound like they’re too good to be true.
And they are. The personalized company content is generally limited to basic information like your company name, contact details and visual branding. The rest of it is canned content that is virtually identical to your competitors’ — not capitalizing on your unique value proposition, deep business expertise or proprietary functionality.
So while you may have taken this shortcut when you first established your business, it’s time to right the wrong and engage experts to create a website that differentiates your business, inspires confidence in visitors and helps your business grow.
5. And the last resolution … Grow your network strategically
The old adage “keep your nose to the grindstone” doesn’t obviate the need to continue building relationships that may benefit your business. Particularly if you’re a sole proprietor, it’s important to have business peers to serve as sounding boards and inspiration.
Engage in networking intentionally and focus on cultivating relationships with people you value for their insight, perspective or success. These individuals may be suppliers, vendors or industry peers — or they may work in entirely different industries. Consider these valued colleagues your inner circle of strategic partners, and prioritize intentional, focused and consistent interaction with them in the new year.
Make the new year a good one for your business. If you need a guiding hand, we’re happy to help.
This post was published previously on OnlineAmplify.com and has been updated for relevance and timeliness.
