For business owners, entrepreneurs, or marketers, it’s essential to remember that your online presence is only becoming more powerful and more critical in today’s digital world. In other words, your “digital footprint” is more influential than ever before.
But what is a business digital footprint, and is it essential for your brand? In this blog post, we’ll explore why having a solid digital footprint matters from a personal branding and marketing perspective. We’ll also cover tips on managing your own for maximum effectiveness!
What Is a Business Digital Footprint?
According to Techopedia, a user’s actions, activities, communications, or transactions in digital media leave a unique trail of data known as a digital footprint. Essentially, this is a data trace that exists on the internet, including on desktops, mobile devices, and other platforms.
Therefore, tracking the user’s actions and devices is possible with the help of their digital footprint. Additionally, a person can actively or passively leave a digital trail, but once transmitted, a digital trail is essentially irreversible.
Furthermore, a business’s digital footprint or shadow leaves a trail when employees do online activities, such as creating blog posts or subscribing to newsletters. Also, Security Boulevard mentions that any representations of your business or brand from stockholders, customers, or competitors also leave a digital imprint.
Active Digital Footprints
When a user knowingly shares information online, that user leaves an active digital footprint.
For example:
- using social media platforms to publish
- updating your website
- accessing social media accounts
- purchasing from online stores
- downloading documents or applications
- answering online forms, such as newsletter subscriptions or browser cookie acceptance
Passive Digital Footprints
On the other hand, a person’s unintentional online footprints are referred to as their passive footprint. Similarly, information about them or their company is gathered without the user’s knowledge.
For example:
- social media channels that target users with particular material based on their shares, likes, and comments
- websites that keep track of user’s IP addresses and collect data on how frequently they visit a site
- images and other identifying information given by friends, relatives, and strangers that could reveal places and activities that you or your organization haven’t explicitly disclosed
Related: What Social Media Platforms Should My Business Use?
Why Is a Brand’s Digital Footprint Important?
A business’s digital footprint is the overall online representation of your brand that goes beyond your website. Thus, your company’s digital footprint includes all your digital presence, including your blogs, social networking pages, online reviews, and even website mentions.
Your company develops an online identity based on all the information you offer online, allowing potential customers to learn more about you. Hence, having a solid digital reputation can significantly impact your success.
With this purpose in mind, let’s take a look at the benefits of a positive digital footprint:
1. Brand Visibility
Being visible in numerous locations is crucial in today’s online-focused business environment so that new customers may find you more quickly. Potential clients go to search engines and social media pages to find products or services they want to purchase.
So, your chances of being discovered by clients in search results increase if you have a sizable digital footprint. You can do this in various ways, including having several active social media profiles, informative blog posts, and a professional website.
2. Brand Reputation
Second, you’ll be able to present your best self on a variety of platforms if you have a strong social media presence. Of course, you have the power to influence how much public knowledge there is about your business.
Also, you can communicate with customers, highlight positive customer reviews, and share news. Your reputation will improve if other clients and potential consumers perceive you as attentive and involved.
3. Legitimacy and Trustworthiness
It seems strange for businesses not to have an internet presence in this day and age. Customers can’t truly get a sense of your business if they search for you online and discover that you don’t have social media accounts, an ecommerce site, or an active business website.
However, people will recognize you as a reputable, reliable enterprise if you post contact information about your firm across social accounts. By creating a digital footprint, you can create an online persona that people can interact with to learn more about your business and develop trust.
Related: How to Create a Social Media Marketing Strategy
How To Manage Your Brand’s Digital Footprint?
1. Do a Quick Brand Research
First, perform a quick web search about your business.
Ideally, branded content would appear on the first page of search engine results pages when someone directly searches for your company name. Branded content comprises webpages like:
- your own website
- an information panel
- social media posts or accounts
- positive or negative reviews of your brand on other websites
2. Make an Online Reputation Digital Marketing Strategy
Second, you might want to work with an expert in online reputation management depending on internet users’ perception of your brand.
A reputation expert will help you with the following:
- organize a site audit
- create an online strategy map to assist you in enhancing your presence and creating favorable search result listings
- control your brand’s reputation and internet reviews
- use search engine optimization (SEO) or digital footprint marketing techniques
- set up tracking and metric automation tools.
3. Establish a Holistic Security Program
Third, it’s crucial to have a holistic security program that protects both physical and digital assets. As physical security resources move into the cloud, attacks on both cyber and physical assets are becoming more common.
Thus, you can lessen the possibility of disruptions that interfere with your brand’s ability to produce goods or services by coordinating your company’s security activities.
4. Get Help
Finally, expanding your business’s digital footprint does, of course, take time and work. Creating social media material and maintaining your website takes patience and effort.
Therefore, the best way to improve your SEO is to hire a company that takes care of your social networks and websites so you can concentrate on running your business.
And here’s where we come in. As a brand awareness company specializing in social media marketing and management, we work with B2B, B2C, and small businesses to reach their target audience.
Also, we ensure that your business’ digital footprint is where it matters most.
Related: Are Facebook Ads Worth It?
Conclusion
If you’re not yet convinced of the importance of your digital footprint, hopefully, this blog post has given you some food for thought.
Remember — your online presence is only going to become more and more important as time goes on. So, keep in mind to manage yours effectively!
Still need help? Shelten LLC is here to answer your questions about social media. Give us a call today, and we’ll be happy to assist.
References
Digital Footprint from Techopedia
Your Corporate Digital Footprint Guide from Security Boulevard
