Marketing Tips: How About Your Website?

For a million reasons, a website is a good idea. It gives your business, your brand, and your marketing a starting point. How does yours rank?

A website is more than a couple of pages with pictures. Unless your business is website development (and in most cases, you still need a LOT of help understanding what makes a website CONVERT visitors into buyers), getting help with your website is a good idea. My business is helping entrepreneurs structure their business and align marketing and business practices to make good money. I have not yet met a client who was not interested in making better money—and a good website is a smart place to start.

You have a website—now what?

The chances are good you already have a website. An employee, consultant, or maybe even a friend helped you get it together. Until you have time to optimize the site—it will do. So what does “optimize” mean?

Optimizing a website means different things to different people. Basically, it means making the most of your digital real estate. That is everything from the look and feel of your site, to the tools you use to analyze visits and conversions. Here are some steps to re-approaching your website as a marketing tool, and a placeholder in the digital world:

• What is your goal? A website may be largest part of your digital marketing campaign. Other channels include social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. While social media channels are a great way to interact with leads, amplify your brand, and drive traffic toward your products, your website is your institutional online presence. As you rethink your website—and your marketing—consider the overall purpose of your website, and how you want to allocate resources to keep your website, and your social media channels, fresh and up to date.

• Who is your customer? Your client or customer profile is essential to effective website design. How can you create and populate a website with interesting information if you cannot identify your customer? I work closely with small business owners to identify, and target—through marketing automation, online presence, and service—clients willing to pay more, for more value. Be sure you know who you are pitching at—it makes a lot of difference in your bottom line, and your profit.

• High quality content: Is your website one big advertisement? Splashy pictures, slogans, and product or services? Google places a premium on sites with a little more to offer—like free white papers, tip sheets, products, and other authoritative content that help users find the answers they need. A blog is a super tool for demonstrating knowledge of your business, and your product. In addition to offering free information on questions specific to your service or business, a blog is a valuable tool that establishes and demonstrates that you know what you are talking about, and can provide high value to your client, or customer. High quality content, through blogs, articles, video, and other freebies improves your profile, and oftentimes, your search engine rankings.

• Be compelling: Do you offer discounts, or periodic flash sales online? Have you solicited and posted recent, heartfelt testimonials about your service or product? Is there anything on your site—like passion for a charitable cause that sets your business—and you—apart as exceptional? Do you offer online chat during business hours? Few things gain respect more quickly than rapid, and reliable, customer service, whether in person, on the phone, or online. Is there any way for users to interact with your site—such as by commenting on a blog post, or offering photographs of their use of your product? Small moves to create personal engagement lead to big dividends.

• Social Media: Do your research, use the right channels—and keep it fresh.

Whether it is website construction, content, or social media maintenance, many small business owners make the mistake of trying to do it themselves. As I have said before—do not spend time learning something you do not want to do every day. If designing or writing high-end websites is your business—learn the ropes. Otherwise, do not spend every day trying to figure out how to keep your Facebook feed fresh—pay someone good to do it for you.

Talk to friends, get references, and find consultants or freelancers in the business of website design, social media, or blog maintenance. Use your resources, instead of taking your own time from the business tasks that only you can—or want—to do.

Effective marketing means more than a well-built and maintained website—but it is a good place to start.

When you are interested in making better money doing what you love—call me at 585-633-7563.

Yours in profit,

Bob Britton