Why Building Your Online Presence Matters BEFORE you Launch Your Business or Program
Should you build your online presence even if you don’t have a business yet?
Yes.
Are you planning on launching a new business? Then yes, build your online presence now.
Building brand awareness takes time, like a fruit tree - plant it now.
If you are planning to launch a business in the future, start building your personal brand now so that when you do launch, you will already have a group of people who are interested in what you are doing. Social media is where people go nowadays to search for services and information.
With a well-optimized social media presence, you can have 250 people following you in a year who are curious about your future work, who trust you, and who want to support you in your endeavors!
Your fans will share your work!
As you share what you are working on, people will be curious about your process, your behind-the-scenes as you build your business, and when you launch, they will be the ones who tell more people about your business. You can start sharing tips and building credibility by showing that you know what you are talking about.
Your followers may not be your clients (yet), but they might someday - and again, you are building your business ecosystem by being active on social media.
You won’t need to find clients when you launch if you create a space for them now.
We don’t launch our new business to “the market” - we launch our business to “our market”. Build your market now:
Who would be interested in what you are doing?
“People like us do ABC…” (answer that in your posts)
“You are in the right spot if ABC…”
“Before I knew ABC, I ABC - now I ABC…”
This is what’s happening behind the scenes as I prepare to launch my business next fall…
Tell stories that are related to your work, your journey, your foibles, these are the most relatable parts of being human and humans want to know they aren’t alone.
Offer tips and value if that is what you will be offering in the future - tastes of what you offer so it’s clear
Nurture your audience so they feel welcome and supported (or entertained - whatever it is you are doing)
Grow an online catalogue so people can “check you out” and see what you have to offer.
This builds trust, it builds familiarity - people are more likely to engage with people (purchase from people, book with people) who they have spent time with. Offer a catalog of content that offers curious people a chance to get to know you!
How to start building your personal brand now:
claim your business name (or personal name) on social media sites (even if you aren’t going to use them yet)
Start an Instagram profile and share posts (more on that later)
Set up your Instagram to clearly describe what you do, who you do it for, and how you support people.
If you are a writer, start writing posts that you can add to your website someday as blog posts and share them on social media now
Share your journey as you build your business - people love supporting others as they grow something new
Invite people to be part of your experience asking them what they want from someone who does things like you. “I’m a strength trainer, what do you find most challenging about building your own strength? What would be helpful to you?”
Ask people questions in your Instagram stories and learn more about what people are looking for
This is just a quick post to offer a few ideas - follow my Instagram for more tips as you prepare to launch your business!
Ready to prepare the foundation of your business so you can connect with and be booked by your dream clients when you launch or refresh your business?
