Dildeep Singh — April 17, 2020 We hope that you are managing well in these testing circumstances. The coronavirus has certainly changed the nature of work and also made businesses consider their online presence. While things slow down on the business front, now is the perfect time to optimize your online presence and get ahead of your competition’s. Here is a quarantine checklist of all the aspects you can be optimizing while business is still slower than usual. Get your business in the best shape possible before the return of normality.
1. Make The Most out of Social Media
In 2020, social media profiles are more essential than ever. An estimated 2.95 billion people use social media regularly. It isn’t enough to have one profile that is barely updated; you need to have one that gets attention. You should be making the most out of the top social media networks to engage with your target audience. This quarantine presents the perfect chance to set up and optimize your business profiles for Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Social media is free, and through optimizing these pages, your customers will find it easier to find you. You can foster relationships, target your customers better, get a deeper understanding of your audience, and directly advertise to your base with ease. If you don’t have accounts already, add it to your quarantine checklist.
Producing Content
Once you have made these profiles, you can also start to plan the production of content. Certain ideas tend to work well on specific social media networks, which means it is important to research and experiment. This is the ideal time to experiment with different types of content to see what works and what doesn’t.
You can also start to schedule posts for the entire month, which ensures that your audience is able to get a regular stream of updates. Content that is entertaining, engaging, and informative tends to perform well. All it takes is one post to gain traction for your business to gain a new footing on a specific platform.
Engaging with Followers
Anyone that visits your social media pages can directly interact with your business. It is vital to engage with followers and answer any concerns that they may have. A swift and professional response shows that your business genuinely cares. Additionally, it can be wise to respond to criticism in a calm and helpful manner. Engagement is more important than ever, and this lockdown presents the perfect opportunity to build better habits for responding to followers.
2. Creating/Optimizing a Website
High on your quarantine checklist should be a website. For all businesses, having an updated website is more important than ever. The best website for small business owners is one that can accurately portray their brand. Most businesses will have a website; however, many do not bother optimizing to update it. The sad truth is that your business will be judged very harshly on the appearance and usability of the website.
So if your business does not have a website yet or if the current site is years old, now is the perfect time to refresh things and maximize your online presence. Take a look on what it takes to build a professional website from scratch. Website development can be done in-house, or you opt to utilize website development services that can give you a professionally tailored website. Below, you can view some of the most important aspects to optimize.
Optimizing for Speed
Speed is a key metric for all websites. Not only does it affect your ranking in search engines; it also creates a first impression for the visitors. If a site takes too long to load, then it is likely that a visitor will simply leave and visit your competitors instead. Even a 1-second delay can cause a 7% reduction in conversions. Make sure that your website is supercharged by checking all of the relevant factors. This includes reviewing the backend code, optimizing images, and making use of Google PageSpeed insights. A good website development company can identify issues, and help to make sure that your website is running at top speed.
Making it Mobile Friendly
You will not be surprised to learn that more than half of internet traffic comes from smartphone devices. This means that it is not enough to have a flashy desktop website; it must also be fully optimized for mobile usage. Making your website mobile-friendly involves more thinking than simply making it usable. It must be catered toward smartphone users so that they can easily navigate the website, and learn more about your business. When considering “how will web design change in the future?” one key aspect that is always evolving is the focus on mobile-friendly design. Make sure you have a team that fully understands the importance of designing a fantastic website for all devices.
Updating Content & Applying a Branding Strategy
The design of a website is important, but this goes to waste if the content is outdated. Now is the perfect time to go through and edit all of the content pages of your website. Aim to keep your content fresh and informative. It is also the perfect time to update your blog or to start one. You can use these avenues to apply a new branding strategy or to implement a current one. Your website is a representation of your brand, and this should be made clear to all visitors. We can analyze your current branding strategy and provide actionable suggestions to help target your core demographic more effectively through your website.
3. Create Informative Content
Since most people will be on their phones and computers, now is the perfect time to push through some engaging and informative forms of content. There are many to choose from; below, you can have a look at some of the best mediums for pushing out excellent content.
Blog Posts
In 2020, all businesses should run a blog. It is an easy way to provide regular content for your audience, and it can help to establish your business. Now is the time to devise a blog post strategy whereby you can plan for posts in the future. A weekly or bi-weekly posting strategy can help you to engage with your audience and build up more loyal subscribers.
It is key to make sure that blog posts are genuinely informative. A consistent blog post strategy can also be helpful for SEO purposes. You can share these posts through social media, and this will help more visitors to reach you.
Whitepapers
Another fantastic way to reach your demographic is through crafting whitepapers or ebooks. These are detailed papers that provide specific insights into your industry. You can make the most of your specific knowledge to provide this content for free or at a discounted rate. This is a great way to provide a useful resource to your core demographic, who will see you as a reputable source.
Infographics
Visuals are everything. Now more than ever, it is important to represent data in a way that can be quickly understood. Get ahead of the game by creating some stunning infographics that are useful to your core audience. This will help them to get a better understanding of why they should be using your services.
Walkthroughs
With remote working becoming a necessity, many people will be in search of walkthroughs. Using your industry expertise, you can create invaluable content that shows users how to solve specific issues. This genuinely helpful content helps to establish your business as a leader within the industry.
Industry Tips
This inside industry expertise can also be used to post exclusive tips and news. Your demographic will be interested in learning more about the industry, and you can help others to get started in the business. This will show that you are a business that is not solely motivated by profits.
Viral/Trending Topics
Don’t be afraid to jump on trends. Sometimes the viral topic of the week or month can be directly related to your business in some manner. There is no need to force things to fit, but at times there will be opportunities to provide content that is related to a trending topic. Be fast, and you will be able to reap the rewards that the viral buzz can bring. Need some tips on how to find trending topics? Check out our article on the subject.
5. Work on Your Digital Marketing Strategy
After this quarantine ends, one thing is for sure, the world of work may never be the same again. Now is the time to start working on your digital marketing strategy so that you can start to drive home the quality traffic that will grow your business once we exit this pandemic and head towards economic recovery. The businesses that thrive will be those that are well-prepared with their digital marketing strategies.
Paid Advertising
An efficient paid advertising campaign can bring your business many fantastic leads that will help it to grow. Now is the time to start planning and optimizing your paid advertising campaigns. It is important to learn lessons from previous campaigns in order to connect with your customers in a more meaningful manner.
Start considering which platforms are optimal for your business. It is vital to use your marketing budget in the most efficient manner, which is why it can pay off to get professional help to optimize your paid advertising campaigns.
Organic SEO
You could have the functional and aesthetically pleasing website in your industry, but what would be the point if no one could see it? The same goes for producing informative content and blog posts. They are only effective if they are able to reach the right people. Optimizing your website for SEO translates to long term growth. This means ensuring that off-page and on-page elements are specifically fine-tuned for search engines. SEO is an ongoing process, which means you must always remain alert and ensure that your target audience is able to find you.
Closing Thoughts
Even in the worst of situations, we can always try to find the silver lining. We know that now is a tough time for businesses across the country and globe. Quarantine has changed the nature of our lives drastically, and it can be difficult to know what to do. The priority should be on looking after yourself.
With so much time available whilst locked in, one of the most productive ways to spend it can be to go through this quarantine checklist and start to make the most of your business’s online presence. Sometimes productive tasks are the best distraction. And before you know it, we will be back and running, and your business will be in the best shape to navigate the new world that we will come into.
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