Six Ways Design Will Make Your Business Stand out Online

Whether you’re just starting your own business or trying to establish a better online presence, it is important to make your business stand out online. This may mean creating or updating your online content in order to stay relevant and up to date. Keeping up with the online business trends, however, can be disorienting or confusing. To help your business’s online presence stay up to date, here are five suggestions that will make your business stand out and succeed online.

Create Social Media Accounts

This may seem like a simple step to creating an online presence, but many businesses fail to keep their various social media sites updated and relevant to their customers. Make sure to have your business be accessible across a variety of social media platforms such as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, etc. Having a wider variety of social media platforms will allow you to have a broader reach. If you are B2C (business to customer), then ensure that the social media platforms you choose match your target audience of customers. Additionally, if your business has a website, be sure that there are links to it on each social media site so that it is more accessible and that those who see your posts and are interested will go to your website. It is also important to designate your account as a business rather than an individual (for those social media sites that provide that distinction such as Facebook), because there are distinct features that will be helpful as you set up and update your various accounts. For example, setting up your account as a business provides more detailed analytics and offers you opportunities to promote specific posts or advertise your page as a whole.

Create a Well-Designed Website

Every business should have a well designed and easily accessible website. A good website for your business should be easy to navigate, visually pleasing, and informative. The current trend in website design has been minimalism and neutral colors, so if you want a modern looking website try sticking to simple and minimalistic website pages. You can either higher a website builder or developer, which will certainly help with the professionalism aspect, or you create one yourself. There are plenty of online sources, many of which are free that will help you design a website for your business and provide great templates. Some popular options include wix.com, squarespace.com, and domain.com.

Become Mobile Friendly

Today, more and more people are using their phones to access the Internet. Businesses that are on top of online trends are sure to optimize their websites and services for mobile phones. Again, this may seem like a simple step that wouldn’t make a large difference for your business, but it is important for any business with an online presence. Websites that do not have a mobile option can be difficult to navigate and look unprofessional. As you are creating your website, be sure to take into account what your website will look like for mobile users. Luckily, many online website builders provide Mobile Editor Review programs so you can know what your website would look like to a mobile user as you are designing your website. Some sites, such as wix.com, even automatically creates a mobile-friendly version of your website, which usually makes it easier to scroll through content, navigate through pages, and use buttons. Optimizing your website for mobile phones is a simple way to make your business more accessible and look more professional.

Advertise Online

Another way to increase your target audience’s awareness of your business is to advertise online. Whether this means pay-per-click, paid social, or sponsored content, it is important to get your business’ name out there and known. Sponsored posts, particularly sponsored social media posts, are becoming more and more popular in the past few years and may be helpful for reaching specific audiences. Online advertising is perfect for small or specialized businesses because it allows you to target a more specific audience and to receive analytics that will allow you to adapt your advertisements to reach more people and get more web traffic. There are many helpful websites and useful companies to look into if you want to begin advertising online, some of which even offer free trials or free plans. Some of the top advertising websites that specialize in online advertising are Google AdWords, Local.com, Yahoo! Local Listings, and CitySearch. These websites are all incredibly useful if you want to get more clicks on your website and get more exposure for your business.

Hold a Webinar

Though this may not apply to all types of businesses, many online businesses can benefit from holding webinars in order to get more exposure to your business’ products or services and to get more customers. In order to hold a webinar, you will need to create a webinar landing page which will allow people to join the webinar at a designated time. This allows people to interact over the Internet, to participate in a live demonstration or discussion, and to view how your products or services work. This is also a great way to provide more traffic to your website and create online interest around your business. For businesses that wouldn’t benefit from a webinar directed toward customers, webinars can still be useful in growing your business from the inside. Try using webinars as a way having meetings or training seminars online in order to reach more people.

Update Content Regularly

Finally, one of the most important ways to make your business stand out online is to keep updating your online content regularly. This applies to your social media accounts, your website, and your advertisements, as well as any other form of online content you may publish. This is important because it will allow your target audience to stay up to date and informed about your business. Overall, the best way to stay up to date with online trends in business is for your business to also stay updated in terms of online content. If you follow the suggestions above, as well as continue to update the content you have created, your business will have a strong online presence that will stand out from the rest.