One of the biggest questions business owners ask themselves is where they should market their business phone number. While it is relatively easy to get both toll-free numbers and local numbers, marketing the phone number can prove to be a challenging task. As more people and businesses move online, the importance of marketing your phone number across various digital channels is very significant.
Handing out cards at networking events and distributing brochures at conferences is always a great way to get your business out there, but it is crucial to have a digital marketing strategy. And, within your digital marketing strategy, you should also have a clear plan about where to market your business phone line.
Here are some platforms we highly recommend for marketing your business phone number.
Your Business’ Website
The first place you should consider is on your company’s website. This may seem obvious to some, but believe it or not, it’s commonly overlooked. When adding your number to your website be certain to have these three tips in mind.
- Your contact information is visible across all pages and is easy to identify. It can be at the top or the bottom of the page, but it must stand out. Don’t make is so your readers have to go searching for it.
- The phone number is correct. Entering the wrong phone number is an easier mistake to make than you’d think.
- A call-to-action or CTA button, such as “Click to Call” is available to provide your readers with quick and easy access to contacting your businesses.
Companies that don’t disclose their phone numbers or have contact forms hidden deep inside their websites won’t perform well in converting potential business. People like to talk to connect with a business with little hassle. Displaying your phone number boldly and creating clickable access to your company’s phone line builds an immediate sense of trust in callers.
Google My Business
When people look for businesses and services online, they’re most likely to type their queries into Google search. Google My Business helps you to manage how people view your business when it appears in their search results.
GMB is a free tool that helps you manage how the world sees your company. This tool helps you provide searchers with your business name, your location, your business hours, photos, customer reviews, and it can show you where and how people are searching for you.
If you’re just getting started with local SEO (Search Engine Optimization), building out your business page with Google My Business listings is a great first step. When people search online for a product or service near them, they’re usually very close to making a purchase. One in two people who conduct a local search, for example, “grocery store near me”, are looking to visit a store that day. So, it’s important that the information about your business shows up accurately when people search for it in Google. Your company’s phone number and address are also something that Google looks for to confirm that your business is a ligament one. You don’t want Google or your potential consumers to think that your company is fake.
Social Media
More and more people are researching organizations on their social media platforms than ever. This is a great way for individuals to verify a company’s contact information, read reviews, and learn more about a business in general. So, it’s important to have business profiles on social platforms that are most likely to be used by your target audience. Depending on your industry and services provided those social media platforms will vary. But, whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or some other social media platform you’ll be able to market and communicate with your target audience in a way that your website can’t. And, your consumers will be able to connect with you through a platform of their preference.
Facebook is universally popular and is a great platform for B2C businesses to reach your target audience. Display your phone number on your company’s Facebook Page and set a click-to-call button that connects callers to your business phone number.
Instagram is another very effective platform for B2C businesses. This is a picture-based social channel where people share and view popular images. You can create an Instagram business profile and set up your business phone number with a call-to-action button. Similar to the click-to-call button on Facebook.
Twitter is extremely popular among both B2B and B2C users. It’s a crucial social tool that will help you to increase your conversion rates. Be sure to include your phone number within your business profile details, so that your followers can call in. You can also display your phone number on top of your profile, as part of the Twitter banner.
LinkedIn is a social channel that is strictly business. It’s geared towards consultants and entrepreneurs and it’s a great location for your business phone line. Here you’ll add it to your profile’s contact information section. We highly recommend you create a LinkedIn business profile. It will provide you more freedom with respect to CTAs.
Online Directories
When business classifieds integrated online only a couple of decades ago online directories were born. Today there are specialized online directories for virtually every industry. Depending on your industry specialty, it’s important to create profiles on these directories so you can share your business phone number. This helps your specific target audience to easily find your company’s contact information. You can request many online directories to list your business for free. Some specialized directories may have an upfront fee to list your profile and number though. HubSpot created a list of local online directories for businesses to tap into local markets and industry-specific markets.
Digital Content
It’s pertinent to have a digital content strategy in order to drive traffic to your website and increase the rate of calls from potential clients. This includes writing relevant blogs regularly, giving away free content and advice via eBooks and White Papers, and marketing pieces such as brochures and newsletters. All these content channels should be branded properly to reflect your business identity. Be sure that all your digital content carries your business phone number, either as a CTA or within your contents layout. All of your eBooks and White Papers should clearly display your company’s address and phone number as well.
Make Your Business Phone Number Known
Marketing your own business phone number online is a lot more complex than most people think. Before you even begin, you need to have the following items set.
- Your business website has been created or updated to reflect your brand.
- Your social media presence has been established on the platforms that connect best with your audience.
Once you’ve built an online presence, you can then update all of your online profiles with your business phone number, clearly and concisely. The best place to start is your business website. Then move onto Google My Business and your social media channels. Ensure that your telephone is part of your brand identity and is reflected as such in all your digital content.
