*This blog is part of the July 2023 Thought Leader newsletter
“It takes money to make money,” they say. On most fronts, ‘they’ are correct, but the handy-dandy internet offers a profusion of free platforms ‘they’ didn’t have pre-2000.
Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Google Business Profile, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat are just the tip of a Titanic-sinking iceberg of options available to aid in growing an online presence.
I’ve heard accountants like data, so to prop up my enriching marketing enlightenment, I offer supporting evidence:
Facebook was founded in 2004—and by 2007, 100,000 businesses were taking advantage of the free platform to promote their products and services. With 2.9 billion monthly active users as of May 2023, a fortune in prospective clients could be viewing your firm’s information if you’re maintaining your company page and engaging with your page’s audience.
Since LinkedIn’s launch in 2003, more than 58 million companies have created a listing. Imagine the lavish lifestyle you could be enjoying if you could snag a few prospect-to-client conversions from the 922 million members networking on this venue for professionals.
Google Business Profile
Google began Google My Business in June 2014. Populate your Google Business Profile (GBP) with reviews, maintain it with accurate information and you may receive seven times more clicks than a competitor without an optimized GBP. The ensuing gain with which this tool graces businesses gathers impressive numbers.
- 93% of consumers use Google Maps to find a business.
- A business can receive an average of 1,260 views per month.
- 56% of GBP viewers will visit the business’s website.
- 94% of calls from GBP viewers are made on working days.
Summing it all up
From the cries of newsboys on street corners heralding the latest headlines to algorithm-tracking technology that targets your niche audience, generating public awareness is a cakewalk compared to the effort required of a business before the information superhighway was born.
Should you still be budgeting funds for paid advertising? Absolutely. But why spend your hard-earned revenue on ads and stop there? Bolster your business for free across all online opportunities and bear witness to a bolder-black bottom line.
You’ve taken in these marketing analytics. I’ve convinced you it’s necessary to optimize your firm’s online presence, but you’re steeped in the old ways and believe you must invest dollars to get donuts. I can guide you on that, too. A service like Rootworks’ Marketing Solutions can help your firm stand out in the online world—and you can sit back while the digits of your firm’s online data roll upward.