SDH 418: How to Build Your Online Presence with Amanda Boleyn
Ready to build your online presence? If the answer is YES! Then you first need a domain. Your domain acts like your telephone number but for the web, it is how people find and contact you. Step number 1 is securing your domain. We recommend Hover. Hover makes finding a domain simple and easy to do. They provide a clean user interface so that you can drop the tech and overwhelm and get up and running in no time. Not to mention their customer service is best in class. Thank you to Hover for supporting the She Did It Her Way podcast. To check out Hover and secure your business website domain, head to hover.com/SheDidIt to receive 10% off your first domain. Again that is hover.com/SheDidIt to receive 10% off your first domain.
In today’s solocast I’m sharing some simple steps and strategies on how to build your online presence when you’re first getting started. I’ll be diving into how to prep for your online presence, two ways to get visible, and some specific action steps on how to get started.
Preparation:
If you’re in the beginning stages of building your online presence here are a few things you can do in the prep phase:
Secure your domain - Even though you won’t be building out your website right away, we still recommend securing your domain, that way when you’re ready to build your website, you’ve already got your domain. You can search and secure your domain online using Hover.com. You can head to hover.com/SheDidIt for 10% off your first domain.
Secure your social media handles:
Twitter
Facebook Business Page
Instagram
Pinterest
LinkedIn
Try to make it so that all of your handles are as consistent with one another as possible, including your website domain. Again, not the worst thing in the world if you can’t but bonus if you can.
Building your online presence requires you to get visible. Here are a few ways to gain visibility.
Consistency. Be consistent with your marketing and the pace at which you produce content. If you host a podcast, whether you publish an episode once a week or bi-weekly, make it as consistent as possible on the same days. If your audience is on Instagram, how often do you want to consistently publish content on Instagram? There are a few reasons you want to always be consistent:
You train your audience to show up on certain days and they see your content more consistently which helps build that know like and trust factor.
The more your audience sees you, the more you position yourself as an authority, or a thought leader, on that specific topic.
Depending on the platform on which you’re producing content, typically the more content you produce, the better. Social media platforms love when you post content regularly and consistently because it keeps people coming back for more. They also like it when you use new features they come out with. Instagram came out with a “Reels” and those who use Reels are being served up as “suggested content” in your feed, thus exposing them even more. Don’t let that stress you out when you’re just starting!
Partnerships. Partnerships are a great way to gain visibility with other audiences. These are great at any stage of building your business. Partnerships allow you to get in front of other audiences and expose yourself to them. Plus they’re fun!
Partnerships could be in the form of…
Guest blogging
Guest podcasting
Swapping interviews inside your Facebook group
Bonus! It gives you more practice at speaking and/or writing. With partnerships, you want to make sure you’re strategic with which ones you do because ultimately it is about you generating more leads for your business.
Action Steps:
Secure your domain
Secure your social media handles
Build out your social media handles (even if you’re not going to focus a ton of energy or time on them, at least set up the profile).
Choose the platform where your target audience shows up the most; LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, etc.
Build out a content calendar. Decide how often you want to post each week, brainstorm a list of content ideas, start writing or recording.
Schedule your content. You can use software tools like Meet Edgar for general social media, Planoly for Instagram, and Tailwind for Pinterest. Some of the platforms like Facebook allows you to schedule content directly inside your Facebook group.
Remember to engage; comment back, like, follow them, ask your audience questions. Build the relationship!
