Aug 7, 2017

How to easily build a Web presence for your store

{Sponsored} You’re rooted in your store, the one place where customers can find you and what you offer in the flesh. But more and more you hear you need to be online because that makes you accessible to everyone, and accessibility’s increasingly becoming the name of the retail game. However, establishing an online presence doesn’t have to be as scary as it sounds and you can do it easily in a way that makes sense for you. Win-win!

A successful online strategy is one whose goal is to drive traffic to your store. People walking through your doors equals sales, it’s a tried and true business formula. The key on the web is to give people a sample of the experience you offer. Here are a few tools to get you started.

Let’s say you want to set up a website. You may not know the first thing about a building a website let alone an aesthetically appealing one. Luckily, there are professionals at a reasonable rate that do. Squarespace’s team of designers creates beautiful sites that once cost thousands for as little as $8 per month. It’s an easy, effective, and affordable way to dip your toe in the online waters and showcase your store to the world.

Looking to dabble in social media? Facebook is a great place to start. Upload pictures of your store and products, post events you’re hosting and promotions you’re running, and don’t forget to include your store’s address and hours so people know when and where to find you in the real world.

The good news is anything you post to Facebook can find a home on other social channels, too. Instagram and Pinterest are visual havens so any pictures used on Facebook will fit right in and the news and events you posted are perfect for Twitter. Moz provides a great (and free) tutorial for anyone just starting on social media to get a firm grasp of how to use it successfully.

If you’re feeling ambitious and want to sell products online, Squarespace provides the option of ecommerce capabilities. For those looking to dive headfirst into e-commerce, Shopify will build a fully functioning online store complete with inventory management, fulfillment, and drop shipping. It should be noted; making an impact in an endless sea of online stores takes a lot of resources. It’s the Black Diamond difficulty online. Simply creating a great website without e-commerce is an easier slope to ski and you can look really good doing it without killing yourself.

Whether it’s on a website or social channel, your goal should be to use these arenas to bring people to you. You can do this by giving people far and wide a taste of what you have in store. Chances are, if people like what they see when they walk through your door, they’ll like seeing it on the web, too. By using these tools successfully, you can create an engaged community reaching farther than previously possible.

Sponsored by The Grommet; view original article