It’s Back to School season! Even if you don’t have school-aged children, this time of the year is usually marked by Back to School sales, special sections in retail stores devoted to school supplies and equipment and the very specific understanding that, for better or for worse, the summer season is coming to an end.
We’re not bringing up Back to School with the intention of encouraging you to hold a Back to School promotion or sale – if such an event is relevant to your industry, chances are you’ve been preparing for your promotion or sale for quite some time! Instead, we’re bringing up Back to School because it’s the perfect time of the year to take your digital branding and marketing “Back to School,” which can help ensure that your online presence is designed, built and launched with plenty of time before the crucial holiday season.
What Does Back to School Mean To You?
What does Back to School mean? In practical terms, it means it’s time to start preparing for the new school season, which can include stocking up on equipment and supplies and setting your child’s schedule to prepare for the early mornings and evening homework sessions that accompany a return to the classroom.
As a business, it’s entirely possible that your digital properties and online presence have been out on “summer vacation” for quite some time, which is perfectly understandable – the pressures and responsibilities of managing a small business can at times be overwhelming. If you’re a novice entrepreneur or one that is attempting to own, manage and operate a business completely on your own, worrying about digital branding and marketing can feel like a distraction from your core business. However, neglecting your online presence can be holding your business back, limiting your revenue, future growth and even the future viability of your business. If your online presence has been out on vacation, even if your day-to-day professional life has been anything but, it’s still important to get it back on track, before the holiday season and corresponding shopping drag your business even further behind.
Where Should You Begin?
If you’ve completely lost track of the state of your online presence, or even if you’re still not entirely sure what your “online presence” actually is or why you should care, it’s important to start at the beginning. Sit down at your computer, open your web browser, and enter the address for your company’s website and your social media accounts. Next, clear your mind and pretend that you’re a prospective customer that just discovered your website and social media accounts. Ask yourself, “What does this online presence communicate to me?”
Your digital brand is telling a story to prospective and existing clients and customers, and chances are if you’ve neglected your brand and online presence, your story is inaccurate and possibly even detrimental to your business. If your website is out-of-date, overly basic or broken, your online presence may be causing visitors to associate those negative attributes to your business. Worst of all, you may be paying a marketing company to manage your social media presence, only to have your website be a “dead end” that is failing to funnel and convert your social media followers into clients or customers!
Act Now To Ensure Your Site Is Ready
If you’re unhappy with the current state of your website and online presence, but you’re not sure how to go about fixing it, don’t fret! You still have a few months to fix what’s wrong before the holiday shopping season begins. If you can recognize certain aspects of your online presence that are failing, or if you don’t feel as though the story being told by your online properties truly represents your business, write down your concerns and speak to a digital branding and web development specialist. Don’t wait until there’s no time left before the holidays – by acting now, you can ensure that your online presence is working for you and converting readers and followers into new customers!