Online Platforms to Promote Your Business: Top 7- In a world that is being taken over by modern technology, the use of the internet as a platform to promote and market one’s business has become a custom. It is no longer new to find different businesses all over social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Asides from social media, other mediums will be helpful to a business. So, if you care for bigger ways to spread your business online, then let’s take a ride!
7 Online Platforms to Promote Your Business
1. Promote Your Business Through Business Websites
Creating your business website is essential to the success of the business. While searching for a business online, information found on Facebook and other mediums such as Google Maps may be helpful but are not always the most reliable sources.
Nothing is as reassuring as the business’s website, which users can be sure will always contain accurate and up-to-date information. A business website should list all of the important information including hours, location, phone numbers, and addresses.
In addition to this, the website should include links to any social media platforms created for the business. However, the purpose of a website goes beyond just sharing details; it is a way to capture clients’ attention.
Fill your home page with a mission statement and give visitors a clear idea of what services your company provides. If your business provides food, have a separate tab where the menu can be accessed. If you are starting a stock brokerage, say why clients should invest their money with you and review different types of investments. Business websites should be tailored specifically to the company in question, and the more unique and professional it is, the more likely the website will generate frequent visitors.
Many budding entrepreneurs do not know how to create a website from scratch. Luckily, several helpful websites allow individuals to create a site specific to their needs.
Lastly, when creating your website, pay attention to the site you chose to help establish your business. What was it about this site that set it apart? Did they list a variety of options or testimonies lauding the site’s value? These are important aspects that hook the viewer and make clients out of researchers. Study the characteristics that you find particularly appealing and apply them to your business site.
2. Promote Your Business Using LinkedIn
LinkedIn is the most commonly used forum for sharing business contacts. In many ways, it is similar to Facebook, in that it involves a mutual relationship between users in which one person will request to “connect” with another and need an affirmative response to communicate. In this way, business information is shared and contacts are made.
However, LinkedIn does not just act as a virtual phonebook for the professional world. On each individual’s profile, there is a picture of the individual and a list of their previous employers. In this way, LinkedIn acts as a sort of background check.
Unlike many other social media sites, LinkedIn is not meant to be a representative just for businesses. It also hosts the profiles of individuals, so that within one company, users can find out who holds the position of president, CEO, or another employee position. As stated before, each profile includes a form of the individual’s resume. However, the profile also conveys information regarding the individual’s education, skills, and interests, and features a summary of strengths. As you can see, LinkedIn quickly becomes a tool for networking, hiring, securing future jobs, and research.
If you are using LinkedIn to create a profile for your business, however, another door of opportunities is available to you. Similar to Facebook, users can post updates regarding the business, with like, comment, and share options at the bottom, so that those who visit the LinkedIn page will have the chance to promote and discuss the company.
Fortunately, LinkedIn is not meant for only one particular group of professionals. LinkedIn also hosts artists, craftsmen, teachers, and numerous other professionals that don’t fall under the category of suit and tie. Thus, it turns into an incredible tool that can be utilized by anyone with relative ease.
To sign up for LinkedIn, simply visit their website. Accessing most features is free, however, if you want a premium package, users are given the option to pay a monthly fee that will allow them extra benefits. Businesses who wish to use LinkedIn as their main source to find employee candidates may work with LinkedIn directly to create a specific and tailored experience.
3. Promote Your Business Using Blogs
Blogs are a unique Internet creature that has helped launch the careers of many individuals worldwide. Essentially, a blog acts as an online journal, in which the writer focuses on a particular aspect of life (food, travel, health and fitness, etc.) and writes on that topic several times a week, sometimes involving occurrences in the blogger’s own life.
The blog’s popularity often depends upon how relatable the material is to readers’ lives, how well the content is written, and how quickly the blogger can produce new articles.
It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to continuously turn out new blog posts. The Internet moves incredibly quickly and there is a relentless stream of information pouring in from all corners of the world twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
To stand out from the crowd, bloggers will need to be diligent in their posts and find a unique niche. It’s always best to follow one of the cardinal rules of writing, “write what you know.” Readers will be able to sense how well you understand the material you’re writing about and authenticity always has readers coming back for more.
Blogging is an attractive option not only because it can help company founders create a fan base for their business, but also because blogging can easily become a business in and of itself. There are scores of bloggers who earn over $100,000 per year just by blogging.
They do this in a multitude of ways; some bloggers create books out of their posts while others sell products they discuss or are paid to promote others; and some bloggers are paid to post advertisements on their blogs because they generate so many views every day.
Whether you use blogging as a platform for your business or as the business itself, it is key to find your niche and market yourself like crazy. Remember that blogging takes time and you will have to put in a lot of work before you begin to reap the benefits. Once you get there, however, the benefits can be incredible.
4. Promote Your Business On Amazon
If your business involves selling a tangible product like clothing, accessories, home goods, or a book, then Amazon would be a viable option. Amazon is a great place for selling to those who may not be well-versed in social media. There is a membership fee but there is no doubt that your product is reaching millions of people from around the globe when you become a member.
There are also options to upgrade your membership and have Amazon take care of packing, shipping, handling, and even returning your products. The big feature Amazon has that other sites lack, however, is the opportunity to sell books.
With the advent of eBooks, self-published and traditionally published authors alike can sell digital copies of their books online and receive reviews that help to boost sales. To sell on Amazon, click on “Sell” located just beneath the search bar.
5. Etsy
This particular website is a designer and craftsman’s paradise, best suited to those who construct things like clothing, diaper bags, and hard oak tables. You won’t find many corporations on this website and a majority of the products sold are handmade.
The sales and shipping of items are mostly conducted solely between the seller and buyer, with some rules and restrictions applied that are enforced by Etsy (i.e. return policies). Visitors have the option of selecting their favorite “shops,” and visiting the shop will take users to the business’ personal Etsy page, which will list all of the items they sell.
To start your own Etsy shop, go to the website and select “Sell On Etsy” at the top right corner of the page.
6. Pinterest
While Pinterest may at first strike many as an excellent hobby, it is a phenomenal marketing tool. Users create an account and can then browse through a variety of categories, which list anything (in photographic form with the option of a caption or short explanation beneath) from slow cooker recipes to sports. Not all images feature an item for sale, but many of them do.
When users click on a particular image and it is for sale, the price of the item will then appear as well as a link, which will take the user to the website of the business that manufactures the item. To post items on Pinterest, go to your account homepage and hit “Pin,” then “Add a Pin.”
You’ll be able to pin content from the web, which means if the item you want to pin is on your business page, you’ll be able to pull it straight from there.
7. eBay
Long known for its bidding practices, eBay is useful when it comes to sales, although it is less likely that users will find handmade goods here rather than on Etsy. It is important to know that when you sell items on eBay, you should begin by marking them at a slightly lower price while at the same time not devaluing the work (eBay will send you suggestions stating what price similar items are starting at).
Then users will begin to bid on your item, at which point the highest bidder will get the item after handling the final sale with you, the seller. If it makes you uncomfortable to leave the sale of your item from a brand-new business to the chance of bidding, then it may be best to take your sales in another direction.
Otherwise, eBay may be a good platform from which to begin your sales. To begin selling on eBay, go to their website and click on the “sell” button above the search bar.
I hope this page answers all your questions.
