Upping Your Digital Presence on a Small Budget

Professionalizing Your Digital Presence

We believe saving money is nearly always a good idea! If you work at a small nonprofit, run a small business, or are an artist, you’re probably interested in saving financial resources wherever you can, right? You want to be professional – and you are. So, you need to look the part online. You might be thinking: With so many free platforms, programs, and apps it’s easier than ever to set up a business website, email, or a social media account. So why not DIY my digital presence game plan and save a little money along the way?

But if you want to truly represent the professional you are online, it helps to move beyond using free applications to promote your work. Read on to see how you can make your email, website, and social media presence better promote you and what you do – and at a lower cost than you might think.

Email

Step away from the free, web-based email accounts! (For example, Gmail or Yahoo.) There are several ways to create a virtual mailbox with a personalized domain. No worries – you don’t have to know any advanced technology to do this. For around $20/month, you can hire a consultant to set up and manage a custom email account for you. Plus, if you want to keep using your old email address, you can. A consultant can connect that email address to your new, customized mailbox, allowing you to send and receive emails from another account.

You could also use Google’s G Suite platform. For less than $10/month, Google will set up a personalized business email for you that you access through the familiar Gmail platform. G Suite also allows a user to create multiple email addresses and provides increased storage.

Social Media

No time to tweet or post to Facebook or Instagram? Outsource it! It’s actually very common for businesses to outsource their social media. As a result, you’ll have consistently fresh content that engages customers and shows off your products or services. This doesn’t have to break the bank either – a consultant may be able to provide this service at rates starting at $300 – 500 /month.

Up Your Digital Presence on a Small Budget

Blogging

You know that blogging is a great way to market your organization or business. Writing a regular blog, even one post a week, can increase website traffic. But it can be challenging. Consistently coming up with ideas to write about can be frustrating. Perhaps you feel that writing just isn’t your thing. Or maybe you just don’t have the time.

By outsourcing your blog, you can gain valuable time to focus on other activities. There are also a few other benefits:

  • You can outsource more than just the writing itself; a consultant can help with content strategy and creating an editorial calendar.
  • A consultant can give you the often-needed “outsider’s perspective” of your organization and its work.
  • You’ll have more content and can get this content out faster.

Most important? It’s also cost-effective; you can outsource your blogging duties starting around $300 – 500 month.

Website Building

Free website building platforms like Wix or WordPress make it easy to set up a website. The downside? Your company looks a little less professional with their company name in the URL (e.g. yourcompany.wixsite.com). Not to mention, using these sites means you’ll be advertising their services, in addition to yours. If a website visitor clicks on certain items on your page, they can end up leaving your site altogether. That’s what you’re trying to avoid!

To get a professional-looking, optimized website, you don’t have to do it yourself. Just like with blogging, outsourcing your website development also has several benefits, including:

  • Saving you money and time.
  • Access to personalized support.
  • Working with consultants experienced in web design, coding, and content development.

If you’re not sure where or how to begin, contact your friendly digital marketing consultant. Your entire website can be built from the ground up, including design, content creation, and coding, starting at $10,000.

You can upgrade your digital presence, even if you don’t have time or a lot of cash. A consultant can help you customize your digital tools to have a more professional look. You can also create a better work/life balance by outsourcing your digital duties.

If you have questions about anything discussed here, or if you want to know more about digital fundraising and marketing, get in touch! We can’t wait to talk to you.

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