Having a small business website is a great start toward building an online presence. Driving traffic to the website through ads and content marketing is even better. And, expanding your online presence to include Facebook, Google My Business, YouTube and beyond is better still.

But no matter how widespread your brand’s online presence is, it’s not going to help you reach your goals if it gets lost in the crowd. To be effective, your brand’s online presence needs to stand out.

How to make your brand stand out

#1. Get to know your competition

There are a lot of other businesses in your space, competing for the same customers you are on the same channels. If you’re going to stand out from the competition, you need to understand what they’re all about.

Take some time to research your direct competitors. Learn about the products or services they’re offering, the rates they’re charging and the ways they’re marketing.

Honestly compare yourself to your competitors, putting yourself in the customer’s shoes. Would you choose you if you were a customer? If not, what could you do better?

#2. Be unique

Usually, when someone is deciding between different businesses, they don’t just pull a name out of a hat. There’s a reason why they choose one over the others.

Maybe one business offers better rates, faster service or higher quality products. Maybe one has a satisfaction guarantee or a special promotion for new customers.

Think about the thing you offer that your competitors don’t — the reason customers choose you over your competition. And, highlight it on your website, Facebook page, Google ads and beyond.

#3. Identify your target audience

The first rule in marketing is that you can’t please everyone. No matter how great your product or service, there will always be people out there who don’t want or need it.

It’s a waste of resources to market to the wrong people, and you’ll get much better results if you market to a specific, targeted audience. In order to do that, you need to know who your target audience is.

Once you identify your target audience, you can learn about where they spend their time, what kind of messages resonate with them and how to build connections with them.

#4. Make customer service a priority

People expect great customer service. It’s part of the reason that Amazon has so many Prime members and Chick-fil-A has a line that wraps around the parking lot three times a day.

Great customer service makes you stand out from the crowd, helps you get great reviews and build a strong reputation, earn customer loyalty and repeat business, and more.

Remember, with online reviews and social media, every customer interaction has the potential to become public knowledge. Make every interaction count by making great customer service a priority.

#5. Be consistent

Building a strong online presence for your brand starts with establishing a consistent voice on all of your channels, from your website to your social media profiles, YouTube channel and beyond.

Are you upbeat and funny? Does your content educate and inform your audience? Do you share touching stories that evoke emotion or motivate viewers to take action? It’s much easier to make a name for yourself if you establish who your brand is and what your voice sounds like from the get-go.

Figuring out your brand and tone of voice will help to guide your future marketing efforts, and it will tell your prospective customers what to expect from your brand.

#6. Provide value

Like I said, there’s a reason why a customer decides to shop with or book a service through a specific brand. It’s because they provide value in some way.

The very best thing you can do to make your brand stand out and reach your goals is to provide value to your customers.

In everything you do, from creating social media posts to writing blogs, you should always ask yourself, “Am I providing value?” If you’re not, figure out what you can do to change that.

#7. Appreciate your team

Even if you’re the owner of your business, you’re just one person. You only have so much interaction with your customers, and only so much impact on the service and the customer experience you provide.

Your team has the most interaction with your customers. They’re the face of your business, and their happiness has a direct impact on the kind of service your business provides.

Hire people who are a good fit for your business — that share your goals and passions, and that buy into your mission. And, show them that you appreciate their work.

#8. Stay top of mind

Making your brand stand out is about so much more than simply attracting new customers. It’s also about building customer loyalty and getting more repeat business from your existing customers.

Stay top of mind with your customers with text message and email marketing. Automation makes sending the right message to the right people faster and easier than ever.

Plus, build strong customer relationships by using small business CRM software that can help you organize and find customer data and, ultimately, provide better service.

Marketing 360® is a singular platform that has everything you need to make your brand stand out, from an easy-to-use website builder to reputation management software, email marketing software, social media scheduling and beyond. See our plans and pricing.