If you’re not online, you’re behind. Your company’s market share isn’t just about the physical product you push but the space you occupy in a digital space. If you want to find ways to expand your company’s reach, it’s time to diversify your approach to showing up online. Here are four ways to get started:
1. Diversify Content Channels
Most businesses have a website, but you need to think beyond the home page. Diversifying your channels for sharing content means that you have a chance to reach a broader audience—but not all channels are created the same.
Start by going where your audience is. For example, a business targeting GenZ audiences must be on TikTok or Snapchat. But for an older GenX audience, Facebook is the ideal place to share content. And if you want to attract business-minded individuals, why not try and post content on LinkedIn? No matter where you go, ensure the channels you use align with your target audience’s behaviors.
Don’t be afraid to try new things. And if you’re going for shareability, create content your audience wants their own audience to read, not just the brand message you want to say. And in an ideal world, you can find a way to combine both!
2. Tap Into Your Team’s Network
Your company’s leadership team are micro-influencers; they have a network invested in their expertise and the organization they represent. Tap into them as a superpower and encourage them to post on LinkedIn, join guest panels, share blogs, and host webinars. If your CEO or executives don’t have the time to post, outsource the content to an agency for extra support.
3. Cross-Post with Relevant Collaborators
Cross-posting with influencers, partner organizations, or outside collaborators is a great way to extend your listening audience beyond your own. Not only does this method increase overall awareness of your content, but it adds validity to what your company has to say. A vote of approval from an outside collaborator can give a consumer or client confidence to engage with your organization.
4. Create a Strong Backlink Strategy
Another way to spread your reach and extend your digital market share is by developing a backlink strategy. Backlinks occur when an outside website links back to your website in its content. This link could be in anything from a landing page to a digital report. Google search algorithms recognize these backlinks as an indicator that your content is high value, pushing your content above competitors, thus extending your digital reach.
You can think of backlinks as good reviews. For example, when you want to pick a restaurant for date night, are you more likely to go with a spot with a few reviews or a positive review from a close friend? Of course, you’ll choose to follow your friend’s judgment. Backlinks are like those close friends for Google search; they validate that your content is good by linking to it.
Now, backlinks don’t just come out of nowhere. You must create an intentional outreach campaign, sending your content to potential collaborators for placement. Some businesses will re-share your content if you’re willing to re-share theirs and create an opportunity where everyone wins. But whatever you do, remember that backlinks begin with one thing: good content! If you don’t produce high-quality material in the first place, it’s less likely to be included in an outside post.
Grow Your Company’s Online Presence
If you’re ready to grow your online presence, it’s time to do the work! Don’t worry if results don’t happen right away; learn from your mistakes and continue to optimize your approach. And if you feel overwhelmed with your marketing to-do list, consider reaching out to a digital marketing agency to handle your extended content strategy.
