You never get a second chance to make a first impression! In fact, according to Forbes, your brand only gets 7 seconds to make a first impression, which is why it is vital for businesses to make a strong imprint on potential customers in today’s digital age. With just a few simple tricks, brands can significantly strengthen their online presence, leading to higher quality leads, satisfied customers, and a bigger bottom line.
Here are some often overlooked first impression opportunities your digital strategy for nonprofits or B2B brands can leverage to dazzle first-time customers with your digital presence:
#1: Business Listings
When researching different brands, a customer’s first choice may be a search engine. (44% of consumers, to be exact.) When our digital campaign development team audits a digital presence for a brand, we find that business listings are often overlooked by web-based and solopreneur brands. This often free tool is “low hanging fruit” that can generate real traffic numbers if leveraged properly. For instance, Google uses Google Business Profile information to rank businesses in location-based search queries, such as “bike shop Lower East Side.” This includes information like location, phone numbers, and descriptions to match search intent. Businesses with well-maintained profiles appear higher in search results and on Google Maps. Keeping your Google Business Profile up-to-date ensures your business details, such as hours and contact numbers, are current, helping potential customers find you easily. The profile can also serve as a bulletin board for announcements. Not sure how to get a Google Business listing or profile created? Click here for more information about Google Business listings..
Beyond Google, be sure your branded listings on industry specific and local community listing services are accurate, as well. These listing platforms are often highly ranked in search engine results pages so you will want your branding to be consistent and your contact information accurate. Pro Tip: Optimizing your Google profile with business hours, descriptions, photos, and special attributes can make your business 2.7 times more likely to attract visits, according to Hootsuite research.
Another item consumers are checking regularly is the reviews on those business listing profiles. Customer reviews build trust and credibility. Don’t be shy about that one crazy customer—a mix of positive and negative reviews is seen as more authentic and can improve rankings. Authentically reply where appropriate and keep your response to factual, calm statements when faced with poor ratings. Encouraging and responding to reviews in a timely manner further builds credibility. Regular updates to your listing profiles are crucial, and most listing services are free, effective tools for enhancing local SEO and attracting customers.
#2: Visual Branding
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Looks matter?” In the digital marketing world, this applies to a brand’s logo and website.
If you aspire to own a business, investing time and resources in a quality logo is crucial (more advice on what to look for in a logo here). Your logo forms the visual foundation of your brand and often makes the first impression on clients. A cheap-looking logo can make your business appear unprofessional, regardless of the quality of your products or services. A cohesive marketing strategy hinges on having a strong logo, which dictates your color scheme, fonts, and other design elements.
To ensure your logo is effective, it should be identifiable, memorable, and not reliant on fleeting design trends. It must be produced in a vector format to maintain high resolution for various applications, from business cards to billboards. Here’s a handy resource on file types and usage. A good logo should also be legible in different sizes and reproducible in a single color for diverse uses, like embroidery or printed materials.
Avoid amateur designs, even if inspired by hand-drawn sketches, and opt for professional refinement to ensure functionality across all media. Investing in a unique logo, created in collaboration with a trusted marketing agency, can yield long-term benefits. Your logo is your company’s first impression—make it count by conveying professionalism and reliability at a glance.
A poorly designed website can leave users frustrated and unable to reach you or give the impression that your brand is “low tech” or “small.” According to a recent study, 76% of people are checking a local business’s website prior to visiting a physical location. It’s important in the sea of AI-designed websites that fundamental website best practices are still honored. Here are some fundamental website aspects to consider when looking for a base design presence. Elaborate functionality or workflows can be built in to streamline user experiences and workflows, but don’t forget the purpose of your website is to serve as a space for consumers to seek information, make purchases, and connect with your brand. Functionality and user experience is a critical component of communicating your brand’s message effectively with users.
#3: Have Active Social Media Pages
In the digital era, businesses must embrace social media to avoid being forgotten. 67% of US consumers look at a brand’s social media pages prior to purchasing (according to a 2024 IZEA study). A critical mistake we see B2B brands make frequently is having social media pages that are inactive being presented to potential clients early on in the research phase of a sales cycle. Social media is crucial for brand-building and marketing as it connects businesses with customers who use these platforms to make purchasing decisions. Not being on social media or active on your social media pages not only hinders potential customers from finding you, it gives your competitors an edge as consumers will have the perception that they are more approachable and current.
Please note, we are not advising all brands to be present on all platforms. Your brand’s platforms should each serve one of your target audiences and can be leveraged for different types of outreach. Regardless of what the industry standard is for your brand’s field, it’s important to look “like the lights are on” when a potential collaboration partner or lead clicks on your business’s social media page. You wouldn’t turn on your store’s physical location sign, leave the front door unlocked and have no employees inside to greet customers—treat your social media pages similarly to how your in-person or offline customer service experience would be handled.
Feel ready to tackle your brand’s first impressions checklist? Watch the video above for specific digital presence items to double check when trying to make a good first impression!