The European Commission’s Digital Agenda revealed earlier this month that only 14 per cent of businesses are selling their products online, despite over 70 per cent of Briton’s shopping online. With British businesses being described as “not keeping up with technology” we wanted to provide you with the top 5 tips for getting online.

Know your story

There are a myriad of brands online, all trying to sell to whoever will listen. The most successful brands online are the ones who have a story, who convey that story well and who find an audience who wholeheartedly love and believe in your story.

Understand Your Market Place

Once you know your story and you start to share your story it is important to find out where your audience “hang out” online – is it Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest? Are their niche websites and forums relating to your target market? Find out where your audience is and start engaging with them.

Use Free Tools

There are a significant number of tools online to help your business to grow online. Aside from Facebook and Twitter you can also use Kissinsights.com that asks your website visitors questions to understand what they want and mailchimp.com is a fantastic tool to email existing customers upselling offers and deals, to remind them that you are there.

Develop your social media channels

If you are not on Facebook and Twitter, as a business, then you should be. Facebook and Twitter are great tools to enable you to discover your audience, to find new customers and to engage in relevant conversations about your brand. You can use key search terms on Twitter to discover people who are talking about your products and engage in conversation letting them know that you are there.

Have the ability to meet demand

Having an online presence is a fantastic tool to help increase your sales. It is important that you manage new orders well make sure that you can meet demand, handle emails and have the resources to engage in online conversation. Remember that your website, social media presence and online customer services are the ‘face’ of our business on the internet. It is vital that you have the staff and the skills to support your new found sales channel.

Using our top tips will enable you to grow your business, to increase your sales and expand your knowledge along the way.

Image courtesy of Elvert Barnes