5 Things You Dont Know About Online Presence in 2019

If a company is to weather competition in this digital age, it must maintain a strong online presence. Whether it’s through a website, social media pages, a website, an e-commerce platform or a combination of four of them, maintaining an internet presence is the key to staying above competitors and reaping major economic benefits.

5 Things About Online Presence in 2019

And while it is true that many start-ups don’t have the time and financial muscle to build a credible online presence, it isn’t as complicated as many may want to think.

There are multiple software development companies that can help business owners build customized websites at a very affordable cost. Additionally, there are free web builders that allow you to create simple websites and spruce them at a later stage.

Click on this content to see how you can collaborate with a development team in building your online presence.

But despite the availability of such tools and services, many companies still continue to operate in oblivion. True to this, a recent report by Blue Corona indicates that only 51% of SME’s in the US have a website.

Even worse, only 32% use social media to market their business while a meager 25% are engaged in any form of online marketing.

In this article, we are going to shed light on how to build an online presence, the emerging trends to look out for in 2019, and how you can embrace them to strengthen your brand.

But before we do that…

Online Presence Definition

As the name suggests, online presence simply means a business maintaining online platform/s that allow it to be found through an online search.

Importance of Online Presence and Why You Should Practice It

A Wider Reach

Are you looking to get a global customer base? Online presence is the way to go. Marketing has shifted from audience generalization or painting the customers with one brush.

Nowadays, people loathe watching ads on TV, immunity against billboards is at an all-time high, and newspapers have been relegated to lining car floors. The winning formula lies in looking for a target audience and selling them what matches their interests.

Thanks to powerful online marketing tools and platforms like Facebook and Google, you have a wider reach compared to placing an advert in the local dailies.


As we have already hinted, maintaining a digital presence can make or break your business. For example, if you are operating a pedicure and manicure shop, a referred customer can search for your business online, find it, and book an appointment.

This means you secure a new customer at almost zero cost and it also enhances your brand’s credibility and image.

Allows you to Create and Control Your Business Narrative

Another great advantage of having an online presence is the fact that you are able to control your own narrative. You may not have control over what others say outside but you certainly have the freedom to choose what appears on your platforms.

As such, you are able to create a positive perception to your audience all which eventually help strengthen your business.

Instant Communication

Once you have established an online presence, you have a communication leeway with your customers where you can communicate instantly. News about new products and upcoming sales and can be placed on your social media profiles or website without having to mail them to your customers or print flyers.

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Effortless Marketing

The Internet gives you an effective platform to showcase what your business has to offer. Whether it’s customer testimonials, portfolio, or an album, all these can be placed on your website or Facebook page to be reference points for your potential customers.

With a simple click, they are able to see what you can deliver irrespective of the day and the business hours.

Builds Relationships and Consumer Trust

On your business website, you have the freedom to start a blog where you can connect with your customers to offer expert advice or solve any queries.

This could result in author popularity and recognition which eventually trickles down to a strong relationship with customers governed by trust.

As a business owner, it’s also important to read the reviews and comments left by customers on the blog section and act upon them.

This is because they allow you to see whether customers are happy or not, and help in resolving issues before they escalate to the extent of damaging your reputation.

Easy to Measure Results

Compared to traditional advertising where you had to wait for ages to evaluate the impact of your campaign, the success of a digital campaign can be ascertained almost instantaneously.

For instance, email marketing software helps you track the performance of your emails; Whether they were delivered, at what time, how many were read, and so much more.

On the other hand, Google Analytics allows you to measure specific goals that you need to achieve on your blog or website.

5 Trends that are Shaping the Digital Ecosystem in 2019

Here is a list of trends causing disruption in the digital presence and marketing ecosystem.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence is slowly becoming a major player in the digital marketing world. Statistics indicate that approximately 51% of the leading digital marketing firms have already adopted AI, with 72% planning to use this technology by 2020.

Why is Artificial Intelligence important to the future of digital marketing?

AI helps businesses personalize user experience by building customized solutions. As a result, brands are able to easily transform casual prospects into real, frequent customers.

Additionally, artificial intelligence is used to predict the future and decrease the turn around the time taken working on repetitive tasks hence making it the appropriate technology to conduct repetitive tasks.

Mobile is the Future

More than ever, more people are using mobile devices to interact with the digital world. The modern consumers are using these mobile devices to communicate, read the news, and even shop.

According to a report by SEO Tribunal, mobile services accounted for 52% of all internet traffic searches in 2018. In terms of emails which are the leading outreach methods for businesses, 61% of emails originated from a mobile device in 2017.

As an entrepreneur, if you are sending mobile incompatible emails to your prospect, chances are high they end up in the spam folder.

Similarly, companies are seriously considering mobile by embracing them as part of their digital marketing strategies.

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Animations and Graphics

A few years back, animations were a  sort of luxury in any digital platforms. Fast-forward to today, customer’s demand for better has led to the sudden boom of animations and intuitive graphics which dictates how to build a website.

As a result, developers are and will continue to build less static digital platforms that are compatible with different devices, browsers, aspect ratios, input methods, pixel densities, etc.

Minimal Ads

It is a well-known fact that people don’t hate ads. What they hate are bad ads. According to a recent consumer survey, pop-up ads have a 73% disapproval rating thanks to their annoying interruption of an otherwise great browsing experience.

Today, customers are more educated and result in using ad blocking technologies. To avoid this, ensure you focus on accurate targeting whereby you send relatable ads without appearing to stalk them.

Similarly, non-skippable video ads will soon be antiquated by more accommodating ones. It’s interruptive and downright rude to shove customers with an autoplay video ad. Very few will return to your website if a loud video pops up while they are on a subway train.

Personalized Content

We are living in a world where no one has a monopoly of information. Consequently, customers are now gravitating toward brands that offer relevant and easy to consume information.

This calls for businesses to use short and eye-catching visuals to grab the reader’s attention and compel them to take action. Going into the future, more and more businesses will start incorporating 10-30 seconds videos and GIF’s in their websites and social media profiles to communicate their message.

The Take Home

By now, you can see why it’s important for a business to maintain an online presence. It is the best bet to remaining relevant in this highly competitive business world and keeping your customers engaged at all times via different digital channels.

Business owners can also use these platforms to alleviate any misconceptions, address customer questions, and generate sales. The above-stated trends will have ripple effects on the way businesses conduct and interact with their customers in 2019.

The key lies in building a platform that will hold the customer’s attention for the longest time possible as you build a credible reputation to make them a loyal customer without appearing to be stalking them.

Miranda Clark


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