Branding 101: Cultivate a fresh, engaging online presence

Keep in mind the fact that 81 per cent of shoppers research online before making their purchase. They use search engines to do this research, or by simply reading product reviews.

A fresh online presence, be it your website or social media channels, can send out positive messages about your business. The opposite can also be true: a Facebook page with the last update circa 2013 won't help. To be safe, don't rush for daily or weekly updates if they don't resonate with your audience. Define a schedule with good quality and engaging content, preferably produced internally, without not only sharing other businesses' posts.