These 8 Resources Can Improve Your Online Presence & Visibility — Today
Your online presence could use a boost. You’re just not sure where it’ll come from or how to harness it if and when it does.
Perhaps you’re looking in the wrong places. You know that you need a strong LinkedIn presence and a personal or company website and a Facebook profile and all the rest. But you also know (or suspect) that there are many digital platforms and resources you’re not taking full advantage of. Platforms and resources that could get you noticed ahead of similar people and firms.
No matter what line of business you’re in, these eight can help. Many aren’t particularly widely known, which may give you first-mover status in your niche. All are quite powerful when used properly.
1. FounderSuite
FounderSuite is a low-key online directory for entrepreneurs, executives, and investors. It has a lot in common with Crunchbase (which we’ll get to in a moment) but is more actionable because it’s designed to connect users with featured individuals rather than serve as a comprehensive directory-type database. Note the “Add to Investor CRM” button in this FounderSuite profile; simple yet effective segmentation for people who want to be found (and those searching for them).
2. Crunchbase
Crunchbase is a sort of master directory for people and companies in the broader tech space, to include investors, marketers, and other non-engineering, non-founder types. It’s rich with information, a veritable dossier of past fundraising rounds, key employees, and other critical bits of information. It also has incredibly high domain authority, so even if your Crunchbase profile isn’t well-and-truly optimized, the act of creating and claiming it moves the needle.
3. Wikipedia
Wikipedia needs no introduction, but it does deserve some explanation because it’s more of an odd duck than many casual users realize. To wit, one does not simply create one’s own Wikipedia page, at least if one wants said page to remain visible for very long. You need to be “notable” enough for someone to do the work for you — or, failing that, clever enough to create a semblance of notability strong enough to convince the site’s gatekeepers.
4. Other “Open Wiki” Platforms
Wikipedia isn’t the only wiki-style encyclopedia around. There are several others, and all are easier for less-than-famous people to utilize than the original.
Everybodywiki and Wikialpha are the two most useful for individuals. Wikialpha actually came about as a project to feature individuals who didn’t pass muster with Wikipedia, so you know it has your back.
5. ZoomInfo
ZoomInfo isn’t an online directory as much as it’s an online people-finder. If you’re more interested in reaching out to others rather than sitting back and waiting for them to find you, check out a ZoomInfo tutorial or two and decide whether it’s worth paying for. Spoiler: It will be as soon as your PR strategy involves cultivating earned media mentions, which will require a massive amount of outreach to people who aren’t always interested in speaking to you.
6. Pinterest
Pinterest: It’s not just for recipes and outfit ideas anymore. If you’re not convinced, look no further than this Pinterest ad from a well-known financial services company — then check out any of the dozens of similar pieces of content on here.
7. Hootsuite
Hootsuite is rocket fuel for your social media presence. It’s not the only social media scheduling tool, but it offers the best combination of user-friendliness and professional-grade power. Spend 30 minutes scheduling your tweets and posts at the beginning of the week and look forward to getting your evenings (or early mornings, or both) back.
8. Medium (And Other Creator Sites)
Longform publishing platforms like Medium allow you to stretch your creative legs and juice your SERPs with relevant, engaging content. If you’re interested in monetizing this content down the line, consider Substack or Patreon instead, but don’t let your choices paralyze you. The most important thing is to start publishing and build up that reserve.
Be Seen, Be Heard
You deserve to be seen and heard online. You also don’t have much of a choice. In a digital world that grows louder and more crowded by the week, your success — for better or worse — depends on your ability to stand out from the crowd.
These eight resources will help you do just that. They’re not automatic; you’ll still have to do work to harness them and maintain your presence with them, if applicable. But they’re better than the alternative: doing nothing.