Building a Good Business Digital Presence

A strong digital presence is a necessity for any business that wants to thrive in the modern world.

No matter your size, the “first contact” between a brand and its potential customers often happens online. Which is why a well-planned digital strategy can help you build brand loyalty, connect with your target audience, and ultimately drive growth.

So where do you start? Let’s break it down into manageable steps.

1. Selecting the Right Social Media Platforms for Your Audience

The key to picking the right platform lies in understanding your target audience and where they spend their digital time. Not every platform will suit your business. For example, LinkedIn is great for targeting professional services, C-Suite individuals, and particular niches industries. Instagram is perfect for brands with a strong visual presence. But, Facebook – with its groups function – is the place to be if you want to build a community (especially if you’re a local business). For younger audiences, try TikTok – but make sure your video content is engaging and creative.

Having a good digital presence isn’t just about being visible – it’s about being authentic, ethical and sustainable in your approach. Consumers today are more conscious of ethical business practices, environmental impact, and social responsibility. Ensure that your brand’s messaging aligns with these values by being transparent, inclusive, and mindful in your social media content.

Remember, you can’t be everywhere at once, especially if your time and marketing budget are limited. Instead, focus on one or two platforms that align with your business goals and use those to nurture relationships. It’s better to have a strong, active presence on a couple of platforms than a weak, inconsistent presence on four!

2. Creating a Strategy

You wouldn’t drive somewhere new place without your SatNav, and you can’t build a digital presence without a clear strategy. If you try, you’ll get lost. There are two key questions to ask yourself: a) what will have the most impact, and b) what can you reasonably manage with the resources you have.

Call to action (CTA) – A CTA is the action you want the audience to take after reading or viewing your content. It’s the overarching goal of your strategy. Your CTA should be clear and consistent – whether it’s ‘Buy Now,’ or ‘Learn More’. Every piece of content should have a purpose that aligns with your goals. If sustainability or ethical business practices are part of your mission, consider CTAs that encourage responsible consumerism, such as ‘Shop Sustainably’ or ‘Join Our Green Movement.’
Campaigns vs. daily posting – How often you post depends on what you’re trying to achieve. Do you have a specific goal such as a product launch? Then you probably need to run a structured campaign with a consistent CTA across all your platforms. If you want to boost your brand visibility, try regular posts to keep your audience engaged. Don’t just push your products though – vary it with behind the scenes content and posts about trending topics. Additionally, if sustainability is a core value, integrate ethical messaging into your campaigns.
Be realistic about your time and resources. You can’t do it all and that’s ok. If daily posting isn’t realistic or sustainable, then don’t do it. Good business social media content should by minimising digital waste – aim for a few higher-impact posts instead, repurpose evergreen content, and ensure your messaging aligns with your values.

3. Crafting Impactful Posts

This brings us neatly to the next step – creating content that resonates with your audience.

Today’s internet users have become oversaturated by an endless stream of content. As a result, traditional salesy marketing is becoming less effective as audiences crave content that feels more authentic.

One way to be authentic with your own content is to harness the power of storytelling. After all, people connect with stories, not just sales pitches. So, try sharing behind-the-scenes stories, customer reviews, or glimpses of your business journey to make your brand more relatable. Don’t forget to keep the tone and visuals consistent so your brand is recognisable wherever you post! After all, trust is the key and consistency builds trust.

As a general rule, high-performing posts tend to include good-quality visuals, a strong headline, and a clear CTA. Posts that weave the brand values into the content in a unique way are also a big hit. Make sure you mix it up with educational content, promotions, and engaging questions to keep your audience interested.

#designtip – embrace content planning and scheduling – Regular posting helps build trust and also appeals to the social media algorithms. So, use tools like content planners and schedulers to help you decide what to post (and to post consistently) without the last-minute scramble.

4. Tips on Authenticity and Avoiding Greenwashing

Today’s consumers are sophisticated and nothing puts them off quicker than a brand that is clearly just paying lip service to key issues that they, the consumer, care about. We mentioned above that storytelling can help you make an impact and stay true to your brand values. Here are some other ways to stay authentic online:

Watch your language and tone of voice. Your audience can tell when you’re being genuine, and when you aren’t. So avoid using “corporate speak” and try to talk to your audience like actual people.
Avoid greenwashing. This is a key issue for any company promoting sustainability or ethical practices. For the unfamiliar, “greenwashing” is when a business exaggerates or makes false claims regarding its sustainability practices. One example would be a fashion chain that promoted eco-friendly clothing without disclosing its carbon-heavy supply chain. Another would be a firm that posted about planting a tree when its operations actually contribute heavily to local pollution.
The golden rule is: if you’re going to write about sustainability, make sure you have the evidence to back it up. Be transparent, and focus on the genuine, measurable impact of your actions.

5. Monitoring and Measuring Engagement for Improvement

Engagement is how you know when your content is working. If people are liking, sharing, commenting and watching your posts, then you know they like it and want to hear more. So how can you measure engagement? The easiest way to start is by looking at what works, and what doesn’t. Here’s how:

Gauge what resonates. Check which posts get the most engagement (likes, comments, shares) and try to understand why they performed well – was it the topic, the imagery, the humour?
Consider the wider environment. Trending news events, seasonal topics and key calendar dates will affect how content performs. For example, share your environmental efforts during Earth Hour to align with the conversation.
Use analytics tools. Platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram provide built-in insights to help you understand your content performance. Website analytics (such as privacy first platform Cabin) can track website traffic from social media and give you a rich insight into your customer’s digital journey. If you want deeper insights, paid tools like Hootsuite or Sprout Social can provide detailed analytics.
Pivot your content strategy. If a certain type of post consistently performs well, lean into it. Likewise, don’t be afraid to adjust your strategy if something isn’t working.

True engagement is about creating meaningful conversations, fostering trust and demonstrating a commitment to your subject. By aligning your goo business digital presence with values that matter to your audience, you’ll not only boost engagement but also strengthen long-term brand loyalty.

#designtip – A strong social media presence doesn’t happen overnight, but small, consistent actions make a big impact! Keep your visuals cohesive, post valuable content regularly, and engage with your audience to build trust and connection.

Up next is our article about networking with like minded people and businesses.

At Lil Creative Studio, we’re passionate about helping businesses like yours tell their stories through eye-catching, meaningful visuals. If you need help with your design project, feel free to reach out – we’d love to help.

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Photo by Vadim Bogulov on Unsplash

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