4 Critical Online Assets Your Business Needs

The web is here to stay. Are you prepared?

It doesn’t matter the size of your company (sole proprietor or a multitude of employees), how long it has been around (just starting or been around generations), or who your audience (or ideal audience) is.

Your business, whether it is sells online or not, needs to have these four critical assets.

1. Website

A while back I addressed the question “Does My Business Need A Web Site?”.

The answer is YES!

Gone are the days of thinking you could get away without a website.

Think about the last time you needed a product or service. What did you do? For most people, they did NOT go to the Yellow Pages. They went online and searched. Your message and company can’t be found online unless you put them online. You might be found on a review site, but do you want that to represent you?

Some have argued that all they need was a social media platform. Well, Social media platforms are constantly changing and can kick you off their site for a myriad of reasons^(1,2).

So you need a website. And not just any kind of site.

You MUST have a mobile friendly website. In February 2015, Google did something very unusual. It warned web masters of all levels that their sites needed to become more mobile friendly or else.

When the 800 pound gorilla in the room tells you to do something, you do it. Google controls almost 65% of all search engine traffic world wide and 75% of US search.

In an article on the International Business Times, it reports that Americans spend about 60% of their “digital media time” using either a smartphone or tablet. Additionally it reported that 1 in 5 Millennials access the Internet exclusively through mobile devices. And surprisingly, mobile growth is being driven by older folks. The article reports that 74% of Internet users older than 55 years now use mobile devices, up from 60% from the previous year.

2. Social Media Presence

The second critical online asset you and your business need is a social media presence.

I know that I just talked about how you can be kicked off for almost any reason, but you still need to be there.

While it might be tempting to only go to the platforms you personally like or are on, but that is not the point of social media.

You want to be where your audience and those like your audience are.

If you are a head hunter company or offer HR services, Facebook might not be the best platform to be on, LinkedIn probably should be.

Does that mean you shouldn’t be on Facebook? No. It does mean that in this example, most of your time would be spent on LinkedIn.

Define would your audience is using both demographic and psychographic measures.

Once you have identified your audience, go to the social media platforms that fit the data you have.

At the very least you should set up a company page/profile on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr. That way you can claim your name. Compare the 2016 presidential candidates and you have Twitter.com/HillaryClinton vs. Twitter.com/RealDonaldTrump.

If you decide to only post to one platform, put something in the profile of your other social media platforms telling people where you hang out on social media.

Make sure all your social medial profiles link back to your site. In your posts, at least 20% of the time, you should link back to your site as well.

3. Email Opt-in

When visitors arrive at your site, hopefully they find the information they need and then buy your product or service.

What if they don’t?

How can you connect with them?

The simple answer is to offer a lead magnet for them to join your email list.

Email addresses are valuable. Offer something of value to your visitor and then you can continue the conversation via email newsletters etc.

Remember that email marketing is not dead. You can add life to your business if you do it correctly.

4. An Integrated Plan

The first three items here are just the beginning. Sadly, many business owners you a spray and pray approach to online business.

If they throw enough stuff against the wall, something will stick and they can claim some amount of success.

Doing that is both a waste of time and money. What you need is a plan.

An integrated plan will help make your website posts be shared on your social media platforms. You social media post will help drive traffic back to your site. More traffic to your site should add to your email list. A larger email list will let you communicate directly with your audience. Knowing what your audience wants should build your revenue.