Digital footprint for business explained: Why do you need one?

If you trudge through a fresh blanket of snow, you’ll leave visible footprints that allow another person to follow you. Just like those snowy prints, a digital footprint for business leaves traces of your company’s online presence — including your social media posts, customer reviews, and comments.

Having a strong digital footprint is a pillar of business branding nowadays, but if left unchecked, a negative digital footprint can snowball, causing major reputational damage that can be difficult to reverse. 

In this article, we’ll discuss what a digital footprint means for your business and walk you through a step-by-step process for creating a positive online presence for your brand.

What is a business digital footprint?

Your business’ digital footprint is an online paper trail that encompasses all of the information about your company on the internet. With the rise of “Big Data,” most individuals are looking to shrink their online presence, but when done correctly, having a solid digital footprint can actually be very beneficial for businesses. After all, the modern era is dominated by technology, so it is more important now than ever to have a strong digital presence. 

That said, not all digital information is good information, and it is definitely possible to have a “bad” digital footprint. Let’s take a look at the differences between a positive and a negative digital footprint.

Positive digital footprint

As you might expect, a positive digital footprint helps your business. When used correctly, your digital footprint is one of the best ways to spread the word about your company and build trust with your customer base. In fact, nowadays, it is a necessity for businesses in every industry to run various online marketing streams in order to reach their audience. A positive digital footprint can help your organization stay ahead of the curve and expand its reach.

Here are some examples of a positive digital footprint:

• 5-star reviews from past customers
• Consistent branding
• Solid social media presence
• Engaging and helpful blog posts
• Online mentions of your brand from other companies and publications

Negative digital footprint

The saying “there’s no such thing as bad press” doesn’t really apply in the real world. While having a digital footprint is crucial for businesses, it can work against you if it’s filled with negative information. Customers gather most of their information online, so an excess of critical commentary about your company can do a lot of harm. A negative online presence can drive potential customers away and cause your business to fall behind the competition. Think about it this way: If you are looking up a hamburger restaurant in your area and one restaurant has a 2-star rating while another boasts 5 stars, which establishment are you going to choose?

Here are some digital footprint examples that can harm your business reputation:

• Negative online reviews
• Controversial advertisements or social media posts
• Outdated business information
• Poor-quality website
• Unprofessional email practices

Why a digital footprint is important for businesses

The reality is that your business needs a digital footprint — otherwise, you’ll be virtually invisible to potential customers. A positive digital footprint can work wonders for your company in a number of different ways.

Increases brand recognition

The most obvious reason a digital footprint is important is that it can skyrocket your potential reach. Most consumers use online platforms such as Google, YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok to discover or investigate products or services. So, creating — and maintaining — a presence online can help bring in new customers and raise awareness about your company. 

Gives your company a competitive edge

Business is getting more and more competitive in just about every industry. Sectors that were once relatively easy to get into now require complex marketing strategies. A strong digital footprint allows your company to stand out in the crowd. A well-managed digital footprint makes it easy for potential customers to find your product and proves why your company is a better option than your competitors.

Builds trust and credibility

Around 60% of consumers in a recent survey expected companies to have at least 20 online reviews for them to trust the product. One consequence of the oversaturation of consumer products is that consumers no longer blindly trust products. When making a purchase, customers are faced with an abundance of choice from various companies. So, reviews and testimonials are very important factors in a customer’s buying process.

The more positive information and feedback your business has online, the more customers will trust you.

How to create a positive digital footprint for your business

There are many different ways to get the word out about your company. Here are some of the top methods for creating and improving your business’ digital footprint.

Establish your main objectives

First things first, you should create a marketing strategy that states the main reasons you want to improve your digital footprint. Examples include creating more website conversions, gaining more positive reviews, building a social media community around your product, or simply spreading the word about your company.

Craft a professional website

Your website is the foundation of your online presence and the major player of your digital footprint. This is the best place for customers to find information about your company and provides you with a great platform for showcasing your products and introducing your business to new audiences. A well-designed website builds credibility and gives you a powerful platform for showcasing what makes your business unique.

Your website should look good and include all the information potential customers may want when investigating your business. Beyond aesthetics, your website should also be user-friendly, optimized for mobile devices, and fast-loading. A slow and unprofessional-looking website is a surefire way to drive away new customers.

Claim your business profile on Google

One of your first steps in establishing a digital footprint for your business — especially if you have a physical location — is to claim and optimize your Google Business Profile. This profile is your key to managing your online presence, and it allows customers to quickly find information about your business, including your hours of operation, address, contact details, and links to your website, all in one place.

For many businesses, their Google profile will be the first point of interaction for customers, making it essential to create a positive and informative first impression.

Take advantage of social media

If you aren’t already using social media for your business, you are missing out on a powerful resource. A 2024 survey by 5W Public Relations found that more than 60% of people aged 16 to 44 find out about new products or services through social media videos. Social media platforms — including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, and TikTok — are a pivotal part of modern marketing. This is because users can discover, investigate, and even make a purchase through a single platform.

There are endless ways to leverage social media for your business, but the overall goal should be to inform users about your product/service and “humanize your brand.” 

One great example of a company humanizing its brand with social media is Wendy’s. Wendy’s is known for its playful and witty interactions with followers on X. The company responds to customer comments and complaints with personality and even humor. This makes their interactions feel more authentic and less corporate. For instance, they’ll roast their competitors or engage in fun banter with followers, which shows a lighter side to their already very well-established brand.

Social media can also cause severe harm to your business’ reputation when it’s misused. For example, in 2021, on International Women’s Day, Burger King tweeted, “Women belong in the kitchen.” The company followed up the tweet with tweets highlighting gender disparity and that they were “on a mission to change the gender ratio in the restaurant industry.” But, the damage had already been done. Twitter (X) users accused Burger King of being insensitive and using sexism as clickbait.

Broaden your reach with blog content

Creating a blog is an excellent way to show that you are truly an expert in your industry and draw more attention to your business with organic traffic. Blog content is much more “evergreen” or permanent than social posts, so while social media posts can go viral, a single blog post can be more valuable in the long term.

You can use blogs to address frequently asked questions and share valuable industry-specific knowledge. To further boost your reach and drive steady traffic to your website, incorporate SEO tactics and keywords into your content for potentially higher search engine rankings. 

Social media posts are all about quick interactions, while blog content encourages deeper engagement. A well-thought-out blog offers a space for readers to dive much deeper into topics. This not only increases the amount of time a potential customer spends on your site, but it also provides opportunities to link to other parts of your website.

Invest in online advertising

Blogging and engaging with social media is perfect for gaining an organic audience and boosting trust, but advertising is the best way to make sales. Platforms like Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn allow you to target specific audiences based on demographics and behaviors, ensuring your ads reach the right people. Online ads also allow you to measure your success and adjust your strategy using data-driven analytics. 

When used correctly, advertisements are a great way to strengthen your digital footprint and spread the word about your company.

Continuously update information about your company

Chances are, the products you offer and other information about your company will change over time. The last thing you want is for a potential customer to call you only to find that your business phone number is no longer in use. This is why you should always keep your business details up-to-date and continuously refresh your website, social media accounts, and Google profile whenever changes occur.

Engage with your audience

Simply having a blog for your website or posting on social media isn’t enough. To firmly cement a positive digital footprint for your business, actively engaging with your audience or other industry professionals is essential.

When you engage with your customer base, you show a more “human” side to your business that prevents your brand from being viewed as overly corporate.

Here are a few different effective ways to engage with your audience:

• Respond to comments on your blog and social media posts
• Respond to customer reviews (both positive and negative)
• Create interactive content like polls or Q&A sessions
• Encourage user-generated content
• Join and participate in industry-related discussions on forums or Facebook groups
• Share and comment on posts from other industry professionals

Protect your data and implement strong cybersecurity

While having a positive digital footprint is essential for businesses, your data can also put your company at risk of a cyberattack. The unfortunate reality about having a digital footprint at all is that it can open the door for malicious cyberattacks and data breaches without the proper protection in place. 

The more information about your business that’s available — such as employee details, customer interactions, and financial data — the more targets cybercriminals have. Whether you like it or not, there is likely unwanted or sensitive data about your company floating around on the internet, so it’s vital to invest in cybersecurity measures for your business.

There are many different ways to protect your business from a cyberattack, but our top recommendation is to purchase a cyber liability insurance policy.

Cyber insurance transfers most of the financial risk to the insurer, so you can rest assured that your business won’t meet its doom in the event of a cyberattack. In a world where cybercrime is on the rise, investing in a cyber liability policy is a no-brainer.