As of last year, 73% of adults in the UK accessed the internet every day, up a huge 16 million from 2006. These figures show that in a matter of years, the Internet has become a very powerful platform that has changed the way we communicate, and more importantly the way we do business – since 2008 there has been over a 20% increase in the number of adults purchasing goods and services from the Internet.
Because of the internet, consumers have more information than ever in the palm of their hand, at the click of a button internet can search for a company, product or review and find all the information they need. When an internet user clicks onto your website, we have less than ten seconds to attract their interest before they go to another site. So how do we connect with our audience, let alone attract potential sales?
Here are 5 top tips for connecting with your audience on the Internet:
Be Creative
Okay, so this one is simple, content marketing isn’t just about the letters and words or videos and pictures, it’s about being a consistent presence in the lives of your audience. Be creative, be controversial, and use your skills and knowledge to get people talking about your brand.
Social Media
Social media is a real buzz word at the moment, and there’s reason for that, it’s important! Social media is not only an excellent way to improve SEO efforts, but it is also a terrific way to showcase your latest achievements and connect with your audience.
Social Media is the best way to interact with your audience and more importantly, see what they’re talking about. Consumers are bombarded by brand’s social media everyday, so instead of product pushing and talking at them, talk to your customers on a personal level. Social media is about making your fan base feel part of your larger community, so start conversations with your audience and create interaction.
Personalised Content
You know it’s important, but do you do it? Personalisation is about creating a unique experience for every customer, true personalisation will attract customers and keep them coming back. Take Amazon for example, when you enter your Amazon account for example, you’re greeted with a “recommended for you” section, which is compiled based on your previous purchases and searches, you also have the option to view what others bought or viewed before buying those products. Past purchases and preferences, demographics and real-time behaviours enable your marketing to be relevant and engaging. Target your customers with the right content, at the right time and for the right reason. That’s personalisation.
USP
Another way is to highlight your Unique Selling Point, a USP is what makes your business stand out from the crowd and tells your customers what is unique about you. Whatever your business might be, it is essential to highlight your attributes, to stay one step ahead of the competition. You need to understand what drives your customers shopping habits, look beyond traditional customer demographics, you need to understand your customers motives then ask yourself, “how can I highlight my businesses unique qualities and would I buy this?”
Be seen
With so many people browsing on mobiles and iPads having a fully responsive website design is a must. Mobiles are the device of choice for people today, mobile phone internet access has increased from 24% in 2010 to 53% in 2013, so it’s important to remember mobile. People who are searching via mobile phone are generally short for time, they don’t have time to access the information via desktop and need to find out the information there and then. If a site takes too long to load, or they need to resize the page or text there going to leave your site and move onto a competitor. Having a mobile friendly site will not only increase traffic but it will help your SEO efforts as it improves rankings on mobile friendly search engines such as Google.
Technology is ever advancing, so it’s essential that businesses big and small stay ahead of the curve.
