When you’re working hard to get your business up and running, it’s easy to think of your first day of trading as the finish line. After all, the journey from inception to operation is a real marathon and an emotional journey for the first time entrepreneur. They’ve taken the time to develop their idea, consulted with a business guru to help formulate a business plan that is both comprehensive and thoughtfully composed. They’ve carried out hours upon hours of market research, proving that there is quantifiable demand in the products and services they offer while also getting to know their target market so that they can tailor their business to the needs of their prospective customers. They’ve courted financiers, business angels and secured the necessary funding to build their businesses even after door upon door was shut in their faces.

But while the start of trading is the endgame, it’s really just the start of the entrepreneurial learning curve. And that learning curve can be steep and unforgiving. Let’s not forget that over 50% of startups fail within their first 4 years of trading. If you’re to hit the ground running, it’s not enough to bury yourself in the operation of your business. By all means ensure that your customers are getting the quality that they deserve and witch which you want to associate your brand, but make sure that you dedicate time to your office as well as the coalface.

In order to not just survive but thrive in an increasingly competitive and aggressive business landscape, you need to hit the brand running in terms of growing your brand. After all, what’s the point in putting so much effort into being the best that you can be if nobody knows who you are? Here are some ways in which even nascent businesses can expand their brand awareness like a seasoned veteran this year and beyond…

Get to know your SEO

Most digitally savvy entrepreneurs know the importance of search engine rankings in growing brand awareness. In an era where competition is rife, we can’t expect customers to scroll through pages and pages of search entries to get to your business. But unless you take the time to understand what influences search engine optimization, you can’t expect to master it and your business will be like an ancient society making sacrifices to a capricious God.

Let’s take a look at what influences SEO;

• • Keywords- Use of words that are included in common searches. These should be specific to your enterprise while avoiding the kind of jargon that would rarely be searched for by laymen.
  • Freshness- Web sites that post new content more than once a day are far more visible to search engines than those who post less frequently.
  • Site architecture- User experience (UX) and the composition of your site are also contributing factors. Pages that demonstrate more comprehensive use on are of greater value to search engines.

 

• Responsivity- In an age where most people consume content and make purchases through mobile devices, how mobile responsive your online presence is plays a large part.

• Security-  Google’s recent measures are particularly prohibitive when it comes to domains that are not secure. If your website doesn’t yet have a security certificate, now’s the time to invest in one.

 

• Title tags- Just like the title of a book should hint at its contents, search engines need title tags to identify the subject matter of your digital content. Thus, your page titles need to be succinct and accurate, making use of specific keywords.

Think Big

If your business is focused solely on the local market it could be seriously missing out. In an age of global interconnectivity with so many lines of communication open to us, it’s worth considering that the most lucrative market for your business may not necessarily be the domestic market. Check out this post on the Biz Latin Hub Group about international trade deals and the importance of PEOs. If you can find ways around the complexities of international trade you may well find it extremely lucrative.

Collaborate

Your brand will always be constrained if you treat your business as though it exists in a vacuum. In order to truly grow your brand it behoves you to reach out to other non-competing businesses to whose clientele your products and services may be of interest. Consider co-branding opportunities and working together on a product that would benefit both of your target markets. Attend a guest speaking event for their employees or write a guest post for their blog. If you can establish yourself as a brand of value to their employees and customers your reach may expand exponentially and you’ll also have made valuable contacts and friends.

Don’t be afraid to invest

It’s completely understandable for those new to the game of entrepreneurship to start out with a false sense of economy. They’ll keep their overheads low and scythe down costs in the hopes of insulating their profit margins. But this mentality may be detrimental to your business. There are some areas where an overhead cost is more than justified as it will help to facilitate the building of your brand. Investing in outsourced digital marketing, link building, content creation or Pay Per Click social media advertising are all acceptable costs which are likely to offer a significant return on your investment.

Keep your content constant… But quality!

As we discussed previously, the posting of regular content is essential in maintaining good Search Engine Optimization. This means that you’ll need to dedicate the time and resources to the posting of regular content. But don’t fall into the trap of posting any old garbage just for the sake of climbing the search engine rankings. An unfortunately large amount of businesses try this to give their SEO an artificial boost and it almost never reflects well on their enterprise. Your content must be well written, engaging and factually dense… And that just isn’t possible if you outsource to cheap overseas content farms. If you can’t handle the task in-house, at least outsource to a marketing company with a sterling reputation.

If you take the steps to grow your brand now, you’ll have the inside track on your competitors for years to come.