Building an Effective Online Presence

1. Building an Effective Online
Presence
by Stephen Nagle Hingham

2. As one of the primary mediums linking consumer
and vendor, the Internet has become central to
the modern marketplace. Even long-established
brick-and-mortar companies with strong brands
have found it necessary to establish e-
commerce and online marketing strategies in
order to remain relevant and in the forefront of
public awareness. The same goes for small-
and newly-established businesses; if
prospective clients in and around your physical
location don’t know about you, your business
won’t grow. Take a look at the steps on the next
page for tips on building an effective online
presence:

3. 1. Research. With a virtually limitless number of venues on
the Internet, it can be tempting to take a scattershot
approach to marketing, placing advertisements or business
profiles without any forethought or strategy. Because
market dynamics differ among industries, it's critical to first
see how your competition approaches marketing.
2. Optimize. Because search engines like Google often
serve as the kickoff point for consumers locating a product
or service, find out what prospective clients are searching
for, i.e., what specific words do they use to engage in a
search? Build content around these terms.

4. At this point, the focus comes to continuously
developing quality content that engages readers and
has them returning on a regular basis, as well as
monitoring ratings and reviews on various websites.
Also, don’t underestimate social media; create profiles
on websites like Twitter and Facebook to connect with
your customers.
About the Author: As Vice President of Phillips
Hospitality, Stephen Nagle Hingham introduced e-
commerce to the Phillips Candy House.