This may include our email address, for business or personal purposes, as well as social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. It can also include messaging platforms such as Messenger, Viber, Telegram, and WhatsApp. Finally, it contains our websites, whether these are our websites or those of the companies and initiatives we manage.
This profile, along with the information collected for each, creates a unique snapshot of us that remains on the Internet for all to see. Even in cases where we lock down our security and take control of who knows what about us, we still have a digital profile. You can understand this profile by simply using Google or another search engine to search for your name and see what pops up. You will probably be very surprised at the number of accounts, pages and profiles that show up, including your photo and a large amount of information about you.
But digital profiles don’t just apply to the individual, every business has a digital profile as well. This includes the company website, company social media accounts, profiles on business directories, review sites, e-commerce listings and pages, and even in the media by the contribution and coverage bias. Like a personal profile, a company’s digital profile should also be carefully managed to ensure it promotes the right message and is locked down so that it cannot be tampered with in any way.
When working in the web development and front-end development industry, you need to have a good, strong, and secure digital profile. But why?
Why is this important?
Web and front-end development is a highly competitive industry. You have competing businesses of small startups, solo (or women’s) shows, and large international companies all offering the same services at different prices.
Your digital profile will reflect everything about you and demonstrate your ability, reputation, skills and competence to any current or potential client. It’s your face to the world, and it will directly influence how people perceive you, and ultimately it will play a big role in their decision to work with you or not.
Visibility
A solid digital profile on multiple platforms is crucial for your visibility. Most clients will want to do an internet search for your web development company before working with you. If they do it and find nothing, or very little, it doesn’t fill them with confidence. Having a strong website, social media sites, and other online presences will help you be more visible to more people in more places. This will help you stand out from the competition and bring more customers and revenue to your business.
Reputation
In a competitive industry like web development, reputation really is the key to your success. Most business is done by word of mouth, but others will want to know if you have already received rave reviews from other customers. Some sites do reviews from web development companies, forums, and of course Google reviews.
All of these contribute to your digital profile. In short, wherever your name is mentioned about good or bad service will be part of that profile. Therefore, managing it while ensuring that customer service is always at the top of your priorities will help ensure that it remains strong.
Trust
If you don’t have a good website or an up-to-date social media presence, it leads to a lack of consumer trust. They may even go so far as not to work with you because they may fear that you are not legitimate or that you are more likely to provide poor or inadequate service. The more platforms you have on which you are present and the more this presence is organized and carefully designed, the more they will trust you. This translates to more customers for your business.
Advertising
Finally, another benefit of having a strong digital profile as a web and front-end developer is that it will serve as another form of advertising. With good SEO, your website will attract more customers to your site. Social media platforms will allow you to reach people who may not have known you.
Source: Pexel
Articles, reviews, and other forms of digital endorsements will all help build your brand in multiple ways as another form of advertising. Don’t underestimate the importance of using various free digital tools to improve the image and reach of your web design business.
What are the pitfalls?
But there are a few pitfalls when it comes to your digital profile. None of these should stop you from developing one for your web development company, but they should be things you consider and try to mitigate as best you can.
fraudulent activity
Any business operating a website, whether yours as a web developer or one you develop for your clients, is at risk of fraudulent activity. It can come from hacking, spam and comments, and fraudulent traffic. A big bugbear for site operators is spam and comments which can overwhelm your site and cause great annoyance to those tasked with maintaining them.
Unfortunately, when you have a digital profile and a presence through a website, it’s hard to manage. But there are tools you can use to make sure that the traffic and those signing up and commenting are legitimate. This email verification software guide will guide you through some of the key players in the field, offering insights on which ones might be right for you. The tool is essential if you have a site and want people to visit it or if you are designing one for your clients. Spam traffic and fraud cost businesses hundreds of millions of dollars every year, if you can take steps to prevent it, then why not?
Expose ideas to competition
When you have a digital profile, you want to share your success, ideas, and profits with the world. This is great because it piques clients’ interest and increases the chances that they’ll want to work with you. But it also carries the risk that the competition will analyze what you do and try to take your ideas, or at least be influenced by them.
There is no natural way around it, and the only thing you can do is maintain your presence and be inspired by it as well. Find out what they do, their customers and what they offer, and identify any gaps. Then you can hook them up yourself with new ideas and services!
Negative Reviews
Finally, you risk getting bad reviews if you leave open Google reviews, Facebook reviews, and comment sections. Sometimes these can be legitimate or come from trolls or competitors. A single bad review has the power to significantly harm your business. You can take a few steps, such as improved customer service and the presence of a staff member to verify the digital profile to ensure that reviews and comments are moderated. They can also check media and spam comments outside of their platforms to see when intervention is needed.
