Being more visible online will help drive traffic to your business, increase brand awareness, boost credibility and showcase your value and capabilities to a huge audience.

Google reports that consumers now largely tend to seek inspiration and ideas online as opposed to search for specific brands.

And, more than ever, they’re using the internet to look into products and services before parting with their hard-earned cash, too. According to Think With Google, 84 per cent of shoppers went online for pre-purchase research in 2020, compared to 76 per cent the year before.

This creates a great window of potential for your businesses to swoop in and get noticed by new customers.

The good news is that there is plenty you can do immediately to kick things off, without needing lots of investment. You can find more information and useful advice on the topic in our dedicated resource hub.

Your business goals

While it helps to look to competitors and influential businesses (we’ll talk about that later) for inspiration, bear in mind that there is no standard, cross-industry approach. What works for your business might be very different to what has worked for your competitors.

Before diving in head first and making decisions on where to invest your time and money, give some thought as to what outcomes you want from the exercise. Increased traffic to your website? More in-store shoppers? Better interaction from customers, so you can collect feedback and data?

To come up with a strategy and decide where to plough your efforts, first figure what benefits you’re aiming for, so you can target the right areas – be that creating more content, upping your social media game or getting more reviews.

The market you’re operating in

Similarly, the market you’re operating in and the kinds of customers you’re targeting will also steer your digital efforts.

Take some time to get to know what the online trends are in your field and where on the internet your prospective customers are hanging out before investing in marketing or ad spend, or signing up to new platforms.

While you do that, keep chipping away at increasing your presence through your existing digital channels and focus on growing naturally from there, recording successes to build up a picture of what works for you.

Who takes charge

Are you planning a DIY job or hoping to bring in external expertise? Will online activity be assimilated into existing workloads or taken on by a dedicated member of staff? Your plan for manning the project will dictate – to an extent – how you carry it out, the timeline and the benefits.

Not knowing when to seek support

While it might be a good idea to get going under your own steam, it’s important to know when the time has come to bring in an expert. It’s common for SME leaders to sink hours of their time into teaching themselves specialist skills and fiddling with (and perhaps subsequently breaking) the back ends of their websites before having to call in the pros anyway. Save yourself the time and effort by making the right call when it comes to external help.

Inadequate preparation for growth

Many SME leaders who are unfamiliar with the digital world understandably find it difficult to predict the reach and growth that their new digital presence will create. This can lead them to being severely underprepared for the increase in interactions, enquiries and sales that it brings, as well as struggling to keep up with the online maintenance it demands.

Analytics tools are key for proactively forecasting digital-related expansion and getting ready ahead of time.

Choose one area to focus on first

Just like there are countless benefits to having an online presence, there are countless ways to create one. So start by mapping out a plan for improving your online persona and visibility by focusing on one area at a time, rather than trying to do a bit of everything.

On the platform you’ve chosen to start on, test out a few approaches to get a good idea of what works, so you have a foundation to build on. For instance, pick a social media channel and start experimenting with different types of posts and content to see what gets you the results you’re aiming for – be that new followers, more interactions with customers or increased website traffic.

Or maybe focus on improving your ranking in search engine results by boosting website content and improving SEO.

Once you’ve honed that area, think about where to focus your attention next.

Research your competitors

Checking out what other successful businesses in your field are up to online can help hugely in terms of idea generation when you’re starting to experiment or mapping out a plan. Look beyond your direct competitors too and learn from brands that you admire which are nailing their digital presence.

Notice what kind of content, visual assets and voice they’re using to build their online visibility and community, and get inspired about how this might all translate for your own brand.

Just remember to avoid a copy-and-paste approach – make your strategy and content your own.

Change your digital mindset

A good digital presence isn’t just a nice-to-have any more – it’s vital. Finding new ways to drive traffic to your business, build credibility and increase sales are no-doubt already priorities for your business and your online presence is a major vehicle for all of these efforts.

When it comes to diving into the world of digital media, fear of the unknown is a common deterrent for SME leaders, but the sooner you get submerged, the sooner you’ll be reaping the rewards. So start researching, planning and weaving digital into all business conversations and targets.