After now ten months of pandemic and two periods of total containment, it can be said that more than ever before, it is essential in 2021 that all companies have an online presence. However, currently, few First Nations businesses benefit from good online visibility. In this article, we present three ways to remedy this situation without leaving all your savings behind.

Various reasons can justify the absence of an online business, whether it is a lack of technological knowledge, a lack of budget or simply a lack of time. But nowadays, the vast majority of consumers do research online before going to a business in person, whether it is to compare prices, to find out the address of a business or its business hours. And that’s not to mention e-commerce, whose popularity has skyrocketed in the past year. If your business doesn’t have an online presence, it misses out on all these opportunities to be spotted by potential customers. Having an effective online presence does not necessarily imply exorbitant costs, which is why we present you with three ways that are within the reach of businesses.

Google My Business

The Google My Business listing is the listing that appears first in Google results when a consumer searches for a particular business or topic. It includes the name, address (geotagged on a Google Maps map) and business hours of the business, as well as a link to its website. In short, this fact sheet helps consumers find their way to your business or its website. You can create this listing for free, which will give your business better visibility in Google search results. Creating a listing is easy, following just a few steps. Learn more!

Social Media

Social media is one of the most effective ways to promote a company and improve its online presence. They allow a company to interact with its customers and promote its products and services, without intermediaries. Ensuring an online presence does not imply a monetary investment (unless you pay for an advertising campaign), but rather an investment in time. Indeed, to keep your customers engaged, you will need to feed your pages regularly and respond quickly to their comments and messages. A common mistake companies make is to think that they need to be present on all platforms. To optimize your presence in social media, it is rather preferable to start with a single platform, the one that is the most used by your customers and that applies well to your company’s mission. For example, if you own a restaurant, you could publish photos of your menu items on Instagram to make your customers’ mouths water. On the contrary, if your business offers accounting services, you don’t really have visual content to publish, but rather services to promote, which a Facebook page will allow you to do effectively.

Since social media can scare many people who are less familiar with how it works, the FNQLEDC will present a training session on February 23 and 24, 2021 on the use of Facebook and Instagram in a business context. Learn more!

Website

To begin with, it must be said that the website is the most expensive of the three methods presented in this article. However, a website should be seen as an investment for your business and not as an expense. The website will provide a showcase for your business 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No advertising investment will be more effective! And a website does not necessarily need to have multiple pages to be effective. In fact, a Web site created on a single page, but with a well thought-out structure and content that is well targeted and concise, will be much more effective than a general multi-page site that is overloaded with information. This type of website is perfect as a first site for a business, which can then enhance it as it grows.

To consult other articles on First Nations economic development, we invite you to consult our blog.