Key Pitfalls to Avoid When Building an Online Presence
Did you know that 27% of small businesses - art brands included - still need an online presence?
Astonishing, right? 😮
No wonder so many miss out on the enormous potential of organic web traffic!
You see, building an online presence is no longer optional.
It's an essential requirement in today's digital realm. Yet, it isn’t as easy as setting up social media accounts and calling it a day.
Missteps are common and can do more harm than good to your brand reputation and visibility if you overlook them.
Whether you lack a strategic content plan, are unsure about SEO rules, don’t have a website, or ignore how to maintain it, acknowledging the key pitfalls to avoid when building an online presence will pave the way for business longevity!
Today’s post will show you what these pitfalls are and how to tackle them so you take the guesswork out of the branding process and grow a digital brand that dominates the search results while enticing your ideal target market. 🥇
Let’s begin!
Pitfalls to Avoid When Building an Online Presence - Table of Contents
The Significance of a Unique and Appealing Brand
Five Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Building an Online Presence
1. Failing To Optimize Your Website and User Experience
2. The Dangers of Ignoring Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
3. Misusing Social Media Platforms
4. Lack of Consistency in Messaging and Content Generation
5. Neglecting Your Online Reputation
The Significance of a Unique and Appealing Brand
Creating a noteworthy presence online for your art business isn't only about showcasing your collections/services. It's also about how you present yourself to potential customers.
The first impression matters!
Just like an artist uses different colors and strokes to create a masterpiece, building your distinct and appealing brand identity entails differentiating yourself from the crowd with your “X factor.”
Which means the core values, mission, and impact you strive to bring to your audience (How do you help them? What transformation/solutions do you offer?).
Choosing a distinctive brand name is a crucial first step to standing out in the digital marketplace and becoming discoverable on search engines.
But then, it’s the creation of thoughtful, high-quality content aligned with your audience’s expectations that does the real magic!
Think deeply about:
Your audience’s recurring queries, interests, and challenges.
Your brand personality, core strengths, ideas, and purpose.
The best approach to use for lasting relationships and effective self-promotion.
Once defined, infuse these elements into every aspect of your online presence - from your website to blog content and social media posts.
And don’t forget consistency: businesses with consistent branding across all platforms can experience up to 20% greater overall growth and 33% higher revenue!
Finding ways to express uniqueness is challenging initially, but each step towards outlining a distinguished identity brings higher audience engagement, wider exposure, and more credibility (62% of people show long-term loyalty to a brand they trust).
On top of that, an authoritative and relatable web persona shows the audience your worth, spurring them to connect, share, and eventually buy from you - the ultimate goal of every online art business.
Five Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Building an Online Presence
Knowing the main pitfalls to avoid when building an online presence is paramount to dodge unexpected failures and set up your branding game for success.
Here’s how to sidestep them.
1. Failing To Optimize Your Website and User Experience
The foundation of your art brand's digital presence lies in the bedrock of website building, aka your content house.
A strong, user-friendly website is like a well-curated gallery - it invites visitors to explore, linger, and most importantly engage with your content!
Hence, it must be visually appealing, optimized for search engine marketing purposes, and designed to provide a seamless user experience, which is critical in attracting and retaining visitors.
Choosing the Right Web Hosting Service
Selecting an optimal web hosting service is hard - I spent weeks seeking the best one for my personal brand!
But one thing is certain: it has to ensure optimal performance, smooth navigation, and fast loading times for all users.
A reliable host also keeps downtime minimal (no one wants to stare at a "Page Not Found" sign) while supporting peak traffic periods without crashing.
Optimizing Site Speed
A slow-loading website is frustrating for users, leading to high bounce rates.
To bypass this, ensure your web pages load quickly by…
Compressing images before uploading them.
Minimizing HTTP requests by reducing scripts and plugins.
Using caching solutions.
Have clear menus or navigation bars with concise categories indicating what's on each page; and consider including a search bar to enhance navigability (if you’re not a techy person like me, Squarespace is ideal for easy and intuitive website building).
The attention to similar aspects will simplify the exploration of your site, motivating the audience to stay on the page longer and consume your content!
Ensuring Mobile-Friendly Design
One of the biggest pitfalls to avoid when building an online presence is to assess mobile optimization simply as a nice-to-have component on your website.
Wrong!
Today’s rise in smartphone usage brings about 60% of total web traffic from these devices.
Therefore, your site must look great on small screens for a positive user experience and extended visibility. (A mobile-responsive design will automatically adjust the website layout without compromising functionality or aesthetics.)
This matters because…
Your ideal customers are likely to use mobile devices more often than not.
Mobile optimization boosts SEO rankings.
Good user experience affects customer satisfaction, with a potential increase in conversion rates of up to 400%.
For improved site readability and usability, make sure buttons aren’t tiny, the text is comprehensive without squinting, visuals have optimal size, and pages have a clear layout (using whitespace around text blocks, images, or other elements also helps with it).
After all, you're not just building a website; you're crafting the digital home of your brand where to grow and engage your audience - mobile users included - successfully!
2. The Dangers of Ignoring SEO
One major pitfall involves neglecting Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which leads to missed opportunities to attract hot leads and buyers.
Boosting website rankings through specific SEO-focused content strategies prevents this, ensuring your brand gets noticed - I wouldn’t have gained 50k impressions and 1.06k clicks on search results in one month otherwise!
Exposure and accessibility are at the core of good SEO.
When done right, SEO is one of the best tactics to market yourself online, drive ongoing organic traffic from people genuinely interested in your work, and generate potential conversions (websites with high search rankings in their niche generate 39.8% more click-through rates than those hidden deep within the SERP!).
Focusing on Local SEO
A specific element of this strategy is local SEO.
It focuses on improving visibility within your immediate geographic area - ideal if you're looking to draw local artists or art enthusiasts into physical events or exhibitions.
This implies optimizing for focus keywords related specifically to your location ("art gallery in Brooklyn" instead of just "art gallery") or ensuring that when someone Googles “art near me,” they see you at the top of the results.
Riding High with High Search Rankings
No one likes getting lost - not even Google.
Good site architecture lets both users and search engines navigate through your content (webpages, blog posts, landing pages, etc.) easily while boosting those much-desired high rankings.
But you're unlikely to rank high if your website is a maze of dead links and unrelated pages.
Instead, a well-organized site featuring…
Insightful content catered to Google’s EEAT parameters
Relevant keywords reflecting your area of expertise and users’ queries
Trustworthy resources and backlinks
Streamlined graphics
…will have better chances at SEO success and lead generation!
Content Quality Matters
Apart from keyword optimization, another important SEO factor is crafting high-quality content around your audience’s needs.
Your goal here is to provide accurate information and share value within your industry through enticing articles enriched with captivating visuals and helpful resources.
With this approach, my website visibility went up by almost 34% in a year, gaining position #4 on Google despite a small domain authority:
The more streamlined your site’s user experience is (especially content-wise), the higher your rankings will be in the SERP - guaranteed!
Don’t Forget About Backlinks
Link building (i.e., earning links from reputable sites pointing back at yours) is critical to improving search rank positioning.
It serves as an endorsement for credibility and relevance in your niche - which ultimately leads to maximized brand authority.
Effective link-building strategies include initiatives like…
Guest blogging on popular art blogs or websites.
Blog and social media commenting.
Mentions on peers’ email lists in your network.
Partnering with like-minded institutions, stakeholders, or influencers within artistic communities.
In other words, it’s about expanding your influence through external channels that redirect to your primary content base - your website.
Achieving high search rankings on Google isn’t an overnight process; it requires consistent effort and strategic planning.
But with the help of these SEO best practices, you’ll surely drive the attention of those you care to serve the most!
3. Misusing Social Media Platforms
Of all the pitfalls to avoid when building an online presence, the misuse or underutilization of social media platforms is probably the most common one.
93% of small businesses struggle with leveraging their social media presence.
That’s because they lack a comprehensive social media management strategy that enhances their online reputation - ouch!
Your art brand's success heavily relies on how effectively you interact with your audience and promote your offerings.
That’s where social media comes in, being an ideal platform to get noticed, build connections, and drive conversions.
IF you have a clear action plan in place.
Choosing the Right Platforms for Your Art Brand
To begin with, you need to select suitable social media channels for your brand.
Each one has its unique user base and style of content presentation, so picking the platform that aligns best with your target audience’s preferences will establish a stronger online presence.
Different social networks cater to different demographics, too - where Instagram appeals more to younger users and millennials who love visual content, LinkedIn serves professionals looking for industry-related updates and networking.
Whatever you choose, use social media primarily to know your audience, initiate conversations, collaborate with others, and nurture a supportive community (socials exist for this, after all!).
Doing so will bring genuine trust and wide interest in your activity.
Fostering Engagement Through Relevant Content
Now that you have your platforms, it’s time to create captivating posts for your audience.
Being human beats sounding too pushy or salesy.
And the “magic potion” to humanize your brand for deeper, lasting relations is authenticity combined with creativity.
Audiences crave authentic interactions with brands they follow - so give them what they expect!
Share behind-the-scenes snippets of your work, tell stories about your business and customers’ experiences for validation and social proof, run contests to extend your reach, or host live Q&A sessions to directly communicate with your following and get remembered.
Let your imagination soar and explore new ways to deliver engaging fresh content.
That and a consistent posting schedule will get people hooked long-term, positioning you as a valuable source to rely on.
4. Lack of Consistency in Messaging and Content Generation
The secret to winning over your audience's trust?
One word: consistency.
You need a harmonious message that reverberates across all your platforms - from your website to social accounts and even newsletters!
This doesn't mean monotony. It's more about having a strong brand voice that’s adaptable yet recognizable.
And the best part is…
With consistent, clear messaging, you strengthen your image (through your tone of voice, choice of words, and style, you express who you are) and encourage prospective customers to come to you repeatedly!
Crafting Quality Content Regularly
Avoiding stagnation is pivotal to building a brand message that elevates your presence.
To do so, publish regular, quality content to keep your audience involved and set an editorial calendar for better organization:
Pick themes based on market trends and the audience’s needs.
Create ahead of time to maximize productivity and avoid content burnout.
Combine your new content with repurposed content for better reach and engagement.
Use a scheduling tool like Asana or Airtable to manage your calendar.
This system will not only ensure regular posting but will also maintain the quality of your content.
The result?
You'll be on top of your audience's mind. Always!
5. Neglecting Your Online Reputation
Your digital reputation can make or break your art brand.
That’s why it’s important to stay active online and monitor what's said about you.
Keeping track of your brand performance in the digital sphere significantly impacts how your audience, collaborators, and existing or potential clients perceive you.
It involves what you post, including the information already available on the web, like comments from others, reviews, mentions in blog posts or news articles, and anything contributing to forming an opinion on your business.
So how do you keep a positive online image?
Constant vigilance and active management are the best approach.
You must be aware of everything said about your brand across different platforms and - when it’s the case - appropriately respond to negative feedback to protect your credibility.
How To Monitor Your Online Presence
One tactic to maintain a good online reputation is setting up social media monitoring tools that alert you whenever someone mentions your name or interacts with any content related to you.
This will allow real-time tracking so that nothing slips through unnoticed.
Another two strategic approaches are a regular check of ongoing conversations on social channels and Googling your name to monitor passive sources like blog mentions, forums, or review sites (Google Alerts can be helpful in this case to find information based on specific keywords like “your art institution/brand name” + “review”).
Beyond that, you can actively shape the public perception by sharing satisfied customers’ testimonials and uplifting stories about their relationship with you.
By curating your image consistently, both your audience and search engines will see you as a trustworthy brand with an engaging, active presence online!
Beware of These Missteps to Grow a Unique Brand Reputation
Identifying the core pitfalls to avoid when building an online presence?
You've got that down. ✔️
Understanding the importance of strategic branding?
Nailed it. ✔️
Creating a user-friendly website based on a thoughtful SEO-driven content strategy that skyrockets your visibility, brand awareness, and lead generation?
Yes, it’s all part of your “digital marketing toolkit,” not to mention the necessary guidelines for:
Producing quality content for boosted engagement and SEO rankings.
Amplifying your messaging with consistent planning.
Unlocking the full potential of social media for impactful connections.
Monitoring your online reputation for better performance and a steadier presence.
With this knowledge, no missteps will hinder your business growth.
The power to create a robust, error-free online business is now yours to finally achieve your digital success.
You got this! 💪
