People buy into big businesses for their experience, resources and security. If you want to succeed as a small business, you need to make people believe that you’re in fact a large and successful empire. Whilst it’s hard to cover up your size on the street, it’s easy disguise yourself as a big company online with a few easy online marketing tactics.
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Get an electronic email signature
The way you sign off your emails can affect the way others view your professionalism. Many email services such as outlook allow you to provide a handwritten signature in digital form. You can also go online and create your own logo to use in a sign off. This will separate you from the companies just using a standard sign off and make your business seem more official.
Make your website look professional
Content management systems such as WordPress are great for creating your own website on a budget. However, a lack of digital design skills can often show and leave your business looking less polished. Tackle this by hiring the services of a website development agency that can professionally brand your site. Alternatively, if you feel your tech savvy enough to make adjustments yourself, you may be able to hire a website tester to review your site and let you know of any changes needed.
Invest in SEO
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a way of increasing your rankings on search engines so that clients can more easily find you. If your company ranks lowly on search engines, clients may be less trusting of you or may simply not be able to find you whilst searching. You can outsource an SEO company that can naturally increase your rankings when specific keywords are entered into search engines. Having social media and a strong web presence can also help boost your rankings.
Encourage reviews and testimonials
Make sure that every happy client you have leaves a positive review either on a review site such as Trip Advisor or as a personal review, which you can then place as a testimonial on your website with their permission. This will show proof of previous clients, showing that you’re an established company – even if you have only been going for a month or two. You may get some negative reviews, but some sites may offer you the chance to write a response, which is a great way of diffusing this negative feedback and showing that you can respond well to criticism.
Boost your social media
If you haven’t got a Facebook or Twitter page, now is the time to start one. Social media can further increase your online presence and make you look more official. The number of likes and followers you have can however affect how people perceive your size. Buying likes is an option but isn’t advisable. Instead you’re best off inviting all your family and friends to like and follow you to give you a more natural following. On Twitter, boost your social media presence by following lots of other companies. On Facebook, post in community groups. In both cases, you can also run ads which will further increase awareness of your social media pages.
