PML Media

7 ways to make sure you give a good impression online

There is research that says that in order to trust you, a potential client needs to see your name 7 times, and then they’ll believe in you more. We don’t know if that’s true or not in the Web 2.0 age, but it does make sense that the more a client can find out about you online, the more credibility you will have in their eyes.

Most people will automatically ‘Google’ a new or potential supplier these days, so be sure that they can find you easily, and that what they see is good.

If you want to stick to the ’7 times’ adage, here are 7 ways to make sure you give a good impression online.

1. Your website – Unless you have a VERY generic company name, the first result on Google or any other search engine when a potential customer looks for your company name should be your corporate website. Make sure it gives a good impression, with a professional brand and image, and good, clean copy. Spelling errors, amateur design and old fashioned graphics won’t give a great first impression. If you’re not sure about your website, why not get an impartial thrid party to look it over and let you know how the outside world sees it?
2. Your blog – In this day and age, most websites are expected to have a blog – so make sure yours shows up well for your company name. Make sure it’s up to date, regularly updated, contains relevant information and advice, and isn’t purely a ‘me, me, me’ promotion-fest! Encourage people to leave comments, and reply to those that do, to show that you’re a reactive and interactive company online.
3. Your Facebook Fan Page – a facebook fan page allows you to interact with people on Facebook, whatever your business. More and more businesses are realising the promotion and branding aspects of having a Fan Page, upon which you can post links and offers, share discussions, and encourage traffic to your website, as well as sharing other information of interest in your industry.
4. Your Twitter account – run properly, your Twitter account can be a great source of information to a potential client. Don’t just use it as a broadcast channel, interact with followers, post details of things other than your website, and use it to ask questions and gain feedback on your services and products.
5. Online networking profiles – whether it’s LinkedIn, Ecademy, UK Business Labs or any other online networking forum, showing that you take part in the online world is a great way to give potential clients confidence. By browsing through your recent posts they can get a feel for you and your company, see if your values align with theirs, and gain a confidence in you that comes from knowing they can reach you in a number of places in the unlikely event that something goes wrong.
6. Customer reviews / testimonials – there are many customer review sites out there – encourage your customers to leave good reviews of your products and services, in order to show up well in a Google search. Positive reviews from a site like Free Index can mean the difference between someone becoming anew client and not – make them count.
7. Expert Articles – Writing and syndicating articles is a great way to show up well for your company name. The more articles you can place in various places, the more you will develop credibility and the sense of being the ‘expert’. Sites such as Ezine Articles allow you to submit articles for free, and show up well in Google searches.
   Remember, the more places you show up online, the more likely a customer is to trust and believe in you – and that could be the difference between winning the sale, or losing it to your competitor.

Search Google now for your company name – do you show up 7 times or more, in 7 different places, looking good? Tell us in the comments below.

Mike

Based in Kent, I work with companies and individuals to boost their online presence. As an Internet marketing consultant my work covers many areas of inbound marketing from strategy and planning, content creation, email automation social media and much more. Outside of this you'll find me with my 2 German Pointers on Ashdown Forest.

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook - LinkedIn - Google Plus