What Does Your Online Image Say About You?

Your online image is everything that’s on the Internet that’s associate with your business. Does your online image say “expert in your field”? Or does it say, “Clueless!”?

The consumer is social savvy, are you?

You might that think social media is not really important, but it actually is. In reality, the consumer is searching for information, entertainment, products, and/or services when they need or want them. What do they see when they stumble upon your Facebook business page, your profile pages on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest? What about your Google Business Profile page, or YouTube channel? Do you even have them set up?

Here are Some Social Media Online Image Blunders I’ve Seen:

Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business)

A local business that hasn’t been verified. They haven’t posted anything — pictures or promotions. Videos on YouTube are years old and they come up in Google searches! These things are huge. If you’re not a verified local business, you’re not going to come up in Google maps – hence you don’t exist. If you’re not posting regularly to your GMB page, Google may ignore you! Even if you’re an ecommerce business or a consultant who works from home, you still need to have a Google Business Profile properly set up. Plus, there’s a lot you can do with it to get Google’s attention!

Social Media Cover Graphic

The social media cover graphic is a free billboard. Take advantage of it. Folks should know at first glance what you do. That’s part of your online image. For example, this is a Facebook page cover image. What do you think they’re about? Gardening? Tropical vacations? Herbal products? None of those.

Beautiful tropical flower doesn't show what it is this company has to sell.
A beautiful tropical flower doesn’t show what it is this company has to sell.

They have a clothing line made from sustainable materials. Ideally, they should have pictures of the clothes, right? That makes sense.

You have 2 seconds to catch someone’s attention online! They need to know immediately what it is that you do!

Facebook:

No cover graphic says lazy, clueless, and unprofessional. A fuzzy graphic says doesn’t care. Again, it’s a free billboard — use it. In this day and age, with free tools like Canva.com, you can create a nice, branded cover graphic in minutes! There is no excuse for fuzzy graphics or images with illegible text. Facebook cover graphic dimensions are 820 x 312 pixels. Use Canva’s custom dimensions to create it.

Incomplete About Section not an expert in anything. This is free space to insert keywords and sell your product or service. Don’t use flowery language. Describe what you have to offer. Use up all the space.

Send Message call-to-action (CTA) & you don’t respond quickly or at all I don’t want your business. In addition, put a link to your website. That will help increase traffic. And, put “Learn More” rather than “Visit Website” — it’s more of a command — a better CTA.

Twitter:

Zero tweets. No picture or logo. That says newbie or a fake account. Bio with personal information on a business account — I’m not serious about my business. I don’t care how many kids you have (unless you’re a mom blogger) or that you love to go fishing. I want to see what expert information you have to share. Therefore, keep personal separate. By the way, you can have more than one Twitter account as long as you have separate emails.

LinkedIn:

Incomplete profile, no picture – unprofessional, untrustworthy, not serious. Read: How to Market your business on LinkedIn. No company profile page — you’re not legit.

People buy from those they know and trust.

Ignoring Your Social Media

Setting up social media accounts and not posting on them dailyyou’re not in business, you don’t care about your customers, you don’t want to connect with your customers. If you’re not going to use your social media accounts, close them. Furthermore, take off the links from your website. Additionally, check the links on your website to make sure they go to your social media profiles and open in a new tab or page.

Having an incomplete social media profile page is like having a sloppy lobby.

How about the Online Image on Your Blog and Website?

Frustrated potential customer who is not impressed with your online image

Blog: The last post was more than 1 month ago — Lazy, no longer in business.
No social media buttons – you don’t want to grow your following or you’re not up with today’s culture. Moreover, you make me work to connect with you — not interested in my business.
Free Blogger or WordPress site with no domain name this is a hobby and not a real business. Cheap. Above all, it doesn’t cost that much to have a domain name and a hosted WordPress site and blog.

Links that don’t work on your website (404 Page not Found) — incompetent, not tech savvy. You don’t care about user experience. Your website is way more than a pretty online brochure!

Don’t Skimp on Your Image.

In conclusion, take a step back and view your online image from your potential customer’s point of view. Does it make sense? Is it easy for them to get what they need or want? Is it enticing enough to get them to convert? That is, download a freebie, join your email list, schedule an appointment, or best yet, buy something.

This is just a shortlist! Check out all of the mistakes I’ve seen people make online…

Here’s a video that goes into more detail on branding and online image..


Overwhelmed? Don’t know where to start? Let’s do a free 15-minute Zoom call so I can analyze your business’ marketing efforts and guide you in the right direction.


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