Joining a well-designed directory that is full of modern features is a key aspect to raising your business's visibility—and your sales along with it.
When it comes to raising awareness of your business, we hear a lot about branding and marketing, but one often overlooked aspect is visibility. From the views we get on our TikTok videos to the amount of people our post reaches, your business's level of visibility is the direct result of your efforts in marketing, branding, word-of-mouth, public relations, and more.
While visibility won't necessarily lead directly to sales, it plays a vital role in creating many different touch points for people to encounter your business and then remember it the next time they see it. Because visibility is achieved over time from a lot of different pieces coming together, it's important to cast a wide "net" and approach from different angles.
For example, let’s say there is a local event featuring multiple businesses.
There is one business that is on social media and is making a living from attending events primarily. That business may not have the best online sales but they have great in-person sales.
Then there is a second business at this same event that has been featured in the press, on directories, and all over social media. That second business will have a line that invites people to try their product because they have a lot of visibility and have built up some buzz..
You'd obviously want to be the owner of the second business, with all the attention—and sales—that come along with its increased visibility. One way we recommend to gain more visibility is through listing your business on online directories.
An online business directory is a website that lists businesses within niche-based categories and provides search tools like filters to let users narrow down their options and hone in on their best choices. These websites are great for your business to connect with customers who are ready to make a purchase. Here are some features to look for in the platform you choose to join:
The first thing you will need to do is make sure you have a profile. This is the most important thing because you want a page that is dedicated to you. It may be surprising to know that not all directories feature all your information. Your profile should prominently feature your brand's vital elements, including your logo, photos, and message—everything that you've created to entice your customers! This helps build familiarity with your brand and is something that many directories tend to overlook.
Next, look for options to search and filter that let browsers hone searches. because most people do not want to scroll endlessly to find what they are looking for. If you cannot find search and filter options that is a red flag because if your profile is near the bottom your visibility is low.
Check and see if the directory has lists and categories of businesses. These lists can look like “15 Black owned businesses” or “Latino/Hispanic Owned Businesses”. These categories play a vital role in assisting the visitor's journey to your business. By having your business included in these lists & categories it weeds out some of the other people they are not intending to look for. Don't be intimidated by this! Your unique brand will help you stand apart from the rest and spark interest in the right audience.
Another feature the directory should have is a map integration. These maps can come in many shapes and sizes. The importance of this feature is when a customer is looking in their neighborhood or in another state this provides them a visual representation of where you are. Let’s say they drive past you on a random day and make a $200 purchase on a slow day, all because they knew where your store was located. When you have a location, a map integrated into the platform in some way really helps your business become discovered out in the wild.
If you are a business with products to sell, there are directories that have the functionality to sell them directly from their website. This is a really cool feature that empowers customers to browse, purchase your product, and have it shipped to them. Not all directories support this feature, but you will see this from time to time and it can be a great way for you to have multiple avenues from which to make sales.
Yelp revolutionized public communication on how a business performed by adding reviews to profiles. A feature that not all directories support are reviews. Having testimonials of how great your service or product can do wonders for your business. If one person enjoyed their experience, it makes it more likely for others to be willing to give your business a try. Reviews build trust and reputation with your customers. If they know and love you, it helps others follow along because they feel welcome.
Finally, you will want to make sure that the directory works on your phone. It has happened to us all where we do research on something on our desktop and don't take a moment to check their mobile functionality. More and more, mobile browsing is becoming just as important as desktop browsing. Let us spell it out for you, if someone is not able to take advantage of all the things we have covered above on their phone, you will be invisible to them and the entire point of joining a directory is to be visible.
Conclusion
You'll need to make use of many different pathways to winning your audience over on your quest to raise your business's visibility, and a well-designed directory that is full of modern features is a key aspect of this.
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