The online space is saturated with so many businesses that it can seem impossible to do what we all want to do with our brands: stand out from the crowd. You’ve probably asked yourself more than once how to get noticed online, and the reality is, there is no one magic step to make this happen.
BUT, there is a combination of actions and strategies you can put in place to get noticed (thank god). What’s the combo? Well, your online presence and how well you stand out against other businesses are determined by multiple factors in your business, like your branding, brand strategy, website, content, and more.
Let’s take a look at my top picks on how to get your online business noticed to help set you up for success and bust some myths and mistakes I see folks make all to often on their path to standing out.
How to Get Noticed Online
Build your Brand Presence
Mistake: Start a social media account for your business without anything else.
What you should do: Focus on your owned content.
I see a HEAVY lean on social media for a ‘brand presence’ far too often, , especially with new businesses. Your brand presence goes well beyond what you are putting on social media. Before you throw all of your attention and effort into your social media, you need to first think about your owned content.
What I mean by owned content is things such as your website, blog, podcast, and newsletter. This is content that is completely controlled by you and is vital when it comes to your overall brand presence. (Because if you didn’t know – you don’t own your social media followers or profile.
Now, I’m not saying you need to ignore social media completely, but it is important to be able to move people off of social media and have them engage with your content elsewhere. This will allow you to have a more stable brand presence and will also give your content more exposure.
In addition to moving people off of social media, you want a place where you can expand on what you post. Social media posts tend to be short little snippets of information or thougths, whether it is info about you, your services, education, portfolio pieces, or anything in between.
However, you aren’t able to include all the information that you want or that people may be looking for- you aren’t able to truly stand-out as a thought leader or with full authority either. This is why owned content like your website, blog, or podcast is so important. You can give people a small portion on social media and then point them to your owned content, where they can learn more about what you are posting.
To sum it up, it’s a bit of a dance to balance being on social media and building your owned content- but never lean only on social media- be sure to have a solid OWNED place for your audience to land when they hop off your profile page.
Create your Strategy
Mistake: Creating your brand by throwing together what you think looks good or what you like.
What you should do: Create a brand grounded in a strategy that is going to work for you, not against you.
Though the word “strategy” is thrown around often in the online space, it’s 100% necessary. Building your brand and your business without a strategy is like throwing something against the wall and seeing what sticks. You could spend a lot of time and energy building a brand that does nothing for your business.
Instead, you need to work to curate a strategy that you can form your business around. This includes a variety of aspects of your business, but one of the most important ones is your target audience or dream clients.
Before going any further with your brand development (like getting your branding done or creating a website), it is vital that you know who your ideal client is. This will help you as you work to create a brand that will attract these people.
What you like or what you want to see in a business isn’t necessarily what your ideal clients would want to see. For example, you may be a very colorful person in your everyday life, but your ideal clients may be people who like the more modern and minimalistic vibe. If you create branding that is bright and vibrant with lots of colors, your ideal clients may scroll right by because it doesn’t match the aesthetic that they are attracted to at that time in their buyers journey. .
To sum up, hire a professional brand strategist + branding expert as soon as you have the funds so you can be set up for attraction and not be ignored. Without the proper brand and branding foundations your brand could end up being a glossy piece of junk mail that people throw away.
Invest in one-of-a-kind Branding
Mistake: Thinking that a single brand photoshoot can be your ‘branding’ or you just have to type out your name in a Canva template.
What you should do: Invest in professional, one-of-a-kind branding for your business.
Having a strategic and complete brand is a must when it comes to how to get noticed online. Your brand visuals are typically the first thing that a potential client is going to see from your brand, so it is vital that you make a great first impression.
You want a brand that is going to stand out from the sea of other businesses out there and represent who you are and what you offer. A full brand strategy will help you not only do this but will also help you attract your dream clients more effectively.
Branding will also make your online presence as a whole more unified and connected. Your fonts, colors, logos, and language will all be the same across your social media, website, blog, and anywhere else you put out content.
Finally, you can use your branding as a guide for a photoshoot. While a photo shoot alone isn’t enough when it comes to your brand, having photos that match your brand colors and presence can elevate it and make it look even more professional.
To sum up, invest in the brand strategy, then the branding, and AFTER this you can do the photoshoot. If you want folks to trust you (and not think you are brand new)- this is a must have for getting noticed online.
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Create a user-centric Website Design
Mistake: Thinking you just need to put everything on a page; it doesn’t matter that much what it looks like.
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What you should do: Create a user-centric website design that is visually appealing and easy to navigate.
Just as you need to have a strategy behind your brand, you need to have one behind your website that makes it very user-centric. There are a few things that go into creating a website like this.
First, you need to make sure that your copy on your website speaks to your potential clients. While you are going to talk about you and your business a bit, you want to make sure that you are highlighting the transformation that you can create.
They should be able to relate to the problems that you are laying out, see themselves in your work, and connect with the promise and mission that you are laying out.
Then, you need to ensure that there is a clear user journey throughout your site. It should be very easy for people to find where to contact you or shop for your products. The pages should flow and encourage people to keep scrolling to the bottom of the page. You don’t want any of your pages to have a dead end, as this will automatically end the user journey.
To sum up, while you can DIY both your copywriting and a web designer, investing in professional services will help ensure that the final product is backed by strategy and uses your existing brand guide to connect your presence across all platforms.
Continue to Drive Visitors Through SEO
Mistake: Now that my site is up, there’s nothing more I have to do.
What you should do: Continue to drive visitors to your site through thoughtful SEO.
Once you have a strategic brand and site, you need a way to drive traffic to it. My go-to way to get this traffic is through blog writing. This is a great way to promote your services, show off your work, and educate your audience.
The key when it comes to writing blog posts is writing on topics that people are actually searching for (which may be a bit different than what you think you should write about). To do this, keyword research is a must. This will help you determine what keywords people are searching for and what you are able to actually rank for.
If you are new to blogging and want to start off on the right foot, Inkpot Creative has blogging services, including done-for-you blogging and a masterclass called Blogging for Business, going over exactly how to do this keyword research, write the post, and make sure it is SEO optimized. (They are the best blog writers I have ever hired, and I don’t say this lightlly)
To sum up, keep building that OWNED content (see how we went full circle) by targeting SEO blog posts.
Put Out Genuine Content
Mistake: Using ChatGPT to create ‘value’ education content only.
What you should do: Create content that has personality, presence, and voice.
I know that ChatGPT has been getting a lot of attention lately, but just using it to create educational content isn’t enough. People are not just investing in your business; they are investing in you and want to be able to connect with you on a more personal level as well.
A great step towards how to get noticed online is to show off your personality and voice throughout your content. People are attracted to authenticity and genuine connection, so don’t shy away from that in your business.
Another key factor in how to get your online business noticed is being a thought leader. There is a lot of content out there (especially the educational items since it is so accessible), and you don’t want to let yours blend into the crowd. Find new angles that you can highlight, put a spotlight on the things that make your business different, and create content that is going to make people stop and think.
To sum up, don’t post and share only educational content that ANYONE else in your niche could snag and drop on their page. Have your own voice make it unique and aim to have 40% of your content thought leadership based.
Final Thoughts: How to Get Your Online Business Noticed
When it comes to how to get noticed online, there is not one single thing that is going to make or break you. Instead, it is a combination of multiple aspects of your brand’s presence that will make your business stand out from the other businesses in your industry.
These tips will help get you started on the right foot. However, it is something that you will have to continually work towards as your business grows and develops. If you are still in need of a strategic brand to help give you a foundation to stand out, click here to get in touch and see how we can build a one-of-a-kind brand for you!
