What would you do when engaging someone in a business transaction or hiring them for the first time?
The best guess is that you would search for relevant information about them, check their reputation, previous work history, or anything else that would help you engage with them more effectively. This includes looking at their social media pages and personal or business websites. If you can gather enough information about your target, it means that they have a strong digital footprint.
So what is a Digital Footprint?
Your digital footprint is the trail of data you leave behind on the internet, and this includes everything you or other people have said about your company on the internet. It could be a published article, customer review, brand mention, or even a spot in an online directory. There are serious benefits to managing your organisation's digital footprint, and drawbacks to ignoring it.
Benefits of having a Business Digital Footprint
Managing your digital footprint is an essential step towards maintaining your online reputation. Building a reputable online brand isn’t the only advantage. Below, we highlight a few of the other benefits.
1. Create a positive online reputation
A digital footprint can help you build a positive online reputation. For example, if someone searches for your brand in a search engine, the search results may include positive references about your company. This can help you get new business opportunities.
2. Increase visibility
The internet presents numerous avenues to get seen online. Therefore, your digital imprint makes it easy for potential customers to find you right where you are. Statistics show that 55% of people will look online for reviews and recommendations before purchasing anything online. Thus, having a large digital footprint increases your visibility among potential customers. It may also help investors find you and see the value of investing in your business idea or project.
3. Build trust
Building a digital footprint allows you to create an online identity with which people can interact, allowing them to learn more about your business and gain trust. The more valuable content people can find about your brand, the more trustworthy you become. On the other hand, if a potential customer searches for you online and finds no social media or web presence, they won't be able to get a good sense of your company. That makes it increasingly difficult to initiate any business discussions with you. In fact these days, no digital presence at all is even likely to appear suspicious.
How to create a Business Digital Footprint
So far, we've shown that having a strong digital footprint can help you reach more customers and increase your company's online recognition. Now, let's look at the top 3 ways to improve your organisation’s digital footprint.
1. Get a professional website
Your website is the centrepiece of your digital footprint. Everything about your company ties back to your website because it's potentially the single most authoritative source of information about your brand. Therefore, you should strive to publish correct and detailed company information only.
Your website should be professionally designed, functional, and up-to-date. Having a blog section on the website also helps since it shows off your personality and helps you get found easily in search engines.
2. Enhance your social presence
Your social media activity will significantly increase your company's digital footprint if you pay attention to it. When people ask for your social handles, they're not only looking to connect. They also want to check your track record and weigh your credibility. That's why you have to post regular social media content and engage in social media conversations to increase brand awareness and loyalty, customer satisfaction, and website traffic.
Not only that, but you should also make sure that while you're posting, you're also responding to your customers' comments and messages to demonstrate that your company has real people behind the name.
3. Take advantage of Google My Business
Google My Business is invaluable because it helps you stand out and convert those searching for businesses like yours into customers. Aside from helping you get noticed, this app lets you respond to customer reviews, message your customers, upload photos, create enticing offers, and get real-time notifications to know when a customer connects with your business on Google.
According to Google, customers are 2.7 times more likely to consider a business reputable if they find a complete Business Profile on Google Search, are 70% more likely to visit your location, and 50% more likely to consider purchasing from businesses with a complete Business Profile.
Other ways to improve your digital footprint are capturing reviews from happy customers, completing online business directories, posting YouTube videos, and creating mobile apps for your company.
Every company must be proactive in shaping and controlling its online identity. As a B2B or Not-For-Profit organisation, creating a digital footprint that sells your brand helps you win in the long run. Following the steps outlined in this article will help you get off to a good start.
Are you interested in expanding your digital footprint? Get in touch with us today for a quick chat.