Clients always ask us what, in our opinion, can be done to make their business more credible and improve their chances of funding. As a small business, startup, or entrepreneur, the future success of your business rests in your hands. This fact can either be intimidating or empowering, depending on how you choose to look at it. One piece of advice we always offer our clients is to work on their web presence. We live in a world where virtual communication and branding are becoming equally important and equally commonplace in the business world. Building up your virtual presence in a professional way can be an effective means of attracting more customers, attracting funding, or increasing your networking reach. We first covered this topic in 2015 (https://www.ebhoward.com/aligning-your-web-presence-a-quick-guide/) and want to revisit it as it is still relevant when seeking funding (dilutive and non-dilutive funding).
Now more than ever, a good web presence is critical to making a good impression on potential funders. In an age where social media is prevalent and virtually every individual, and business has a web presence, one of the best ways to rise above the competition is to put effort into online branding and communications. Investors are googling you and checking your social media feed before they reach a decision.
If you are considering approaching funders for venture capital, impact investments, program-related investments, or other traditional funding, web presence is key. How you present your organization to that potential funder can make the difference between #funding and continued work on a project or having to scale back.
The quick and dirty of it is that everything, from print to web, should be integrated and leveraged and should be assumed that it will be viewed by your potential funder. A cohesive web presence will make it easy for potential funders to know that they are dealing with the same organization regardless of the platform.
It is essential that your organization maintain an accurate, detailed, updated, and aligned web presence. This means the organization’s website, social media platforms, and other relevant platforms should align (e.g., the logo looks the same, mission and vision is the same, contact information is the same, event information is the same, etc.).
This means developing a voice that speaks to your target audience, templates and color schemes that remain consistent across websites and social media, and most importantly, keeping all information across the web up to date. A cohesive web presence will make it easy for potential funders to know that they are dealing with the same organization regardless of the platform.
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We assist our clients in locating, applying for, and evaluating the outcomes of non-dilutive grant funding. We believe non-dilutive funding is a crucial tool for mitigating investment risks, and we are dedicated to guiding our clients through the entire process—from identifying the most suitable opportunities to submitting and managing grant applications.