4 ways to grow your business online

What are you doing to grow your business online?

A few years ago, the idea of running a business online was often viewed as a fad. Many business owners who grew up with the traditional business model didn’t see the need to invest their resources on the internet.

Fast forward to today, almost every business wants a piece of the “online pie.”

It pays to be an early adopter when it comes to certain business trends, and embracing the online business world has certainly helped a lot of businesses grow tremendously.

However, there’s always an obstacle lurking in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to leap on unsuspecting victims!

In this case, we’re talking about the rise in competition and market saturation within the online business arena.

That said, savvy business owners know the importance of applying a creative approach to their marketing and sales processes, and this has helped them surpass the setbacks that many are facing online.

In order to grow your business online, there are a four things to consider and also put into action. Let’s see what they are and how to use them:

Education based marketing

Based on how information is being shared across the web, it’s easy for users to get overwhelmed, and sometimes confused.

If you want to grow your business online, focus on creating solutions driven contents, and share them to your top networks. The more educative they are, the more you’re likely to gain attention, attract leads, and also get clients down the line.

What’s the best medium to use to convey your message?

In all honestly, I’d say it depends. I know that’s not the type of answer you’re looking for, but when it comes to content marketing, you may have to mix and match, and then decide on the most effective one.

In my case I like writing, so writing is usually my number one medium. If you’re good with videos, use that. If it’s podcasting or infographics, then give it a go.

The important thing is gaining the attention of your audience. There’s no point creating content that won’t get consumed (i.e. read, watched and/or listened to). Test things out and see what works, then sustain the process.

Note: this can also be applied offline, especially if you run events/workshops.

Advertising on Facebook

I could have titled this “advertising on social media”, but after testing most of the platforms, Facebook stands out as the most efficient in terms of targeting and data collection.

To get this right, your approach to Facebook Ads will determine your results. Boosting page posts has its purpose, but if you’re looking to generate quality leads, acquire clients/customers, and grow your business online, then spend time testing things out on the Ads manager section.

Users want to see something that will be of benefit to them on their newsfeed (or something that is within the context of the platform… goofy, news worthy, interesting… not salesy!), so craft your Ads to appeal to their needs/wants and/or genuinely connect with their emotions.

Regardless of the fact that your business may be the best in town, if your competition knows how to use a solid contextual approach within their Ads, then they’ll have the upper hand. That’s how Facebook works!

You can now run Facebook messenger Ads, and send automated messages to those who click on your Ads. This Ad method is very effective if you know what you’re doing, and you have messenger bots setup to enable to communicate with your leads.

Build your database of leads and clients

If you really want to grow your business online, then understand that you need to treat your website as a lead generation and sales machine.

In the past, owning a website and ranking on Google page one was just enough. SEO was a piece of cake for most businesses. That’s not the case anymore!

If people land on your website and spend less than ten seconds, then you’re losing out… something’s wrong! You can’t grow your business online with that type of setback!

That’s the reason I often emphasise, whenever I speak with a client, on the importance of setting up every page on one’s website to trigger some form of conversion… yes, even the “about me” page as well… you never know which page visitors will land on first!

When you start collecting data (e.g. emails), you’re building a community outside social media, which you can then use for more effective business communication, as you see fit (as long as you stay within the confines of the law as it pertains to data usage).

When people subscribe to your email list, it means they are interested in what you’re doing. Down the line, some people may drop off, but the important thing is to ensure you keep building and also keep your subscribers well informed as much as you can (education based marketing also applies here).

Scaling

This is usually where the most money is made!

When you’re able to build trust with the people in your database, then it’ll be a lot easier to offer them more of your services, and grow your business from there.

Some business owners prefer to form a mastermind group with just a few ideal (or like-minded) people, while some prefer to open it to wider audience who are interested in taking things to the next level.

For this process to be effective, it’s best to ask your community what they are currently struggling with and what solutions they’d like to have. When you get them involved, they’ll be more than willing to give you ideas for your next program, service, course, book, etc!

Conclusion

It’s understandable that these steps may not apply to every type of business, however, it’s necessary to look at the principles behind them and see where they fit, in your journey to grow your business online.

I hope this was helpful? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

To your success!