Do I Really Need A New Website & Interactive Strategy? Steps to Building an Effective On-Line Strategy
Table of Contents: Introduction - Page 2-3 Interactive Web Design - Page 3-5 Basic Interactive Website Tools - Page 6 Content Marketing - Page 7-10 Social Media - Page 11-12 Email Marketing - Page 12-14 Conclusion - Page 15
Introduction How to Build an Effective On-Line Strategy Today's business websites have evolved beyond what used to be the on-line version of a good brochure. The fact that new technologies have emerged to allow businesses to interact with their customers and prospects more effectively has allowed marketers to implement new and more efficient programs to brand their businesses, educate their customers and intrigue their prospects in ways previously unavailable. But the overriding notion among many small business owners is that the costs for website design and strategy implementation are prohibitive, leading them to stick with the old web designs while missing out on the opportunities available to them. That is simply not the case and there are partners out there that can alleviate the stress and aid in the evolution of your company's on-line persona. At www.bridgethegapmedia.com there are numerous examples of businesses that have embraced the evolution of website design and strategy to enhance their company's communication with customers. The main focus in today's business website climate is interactivity and engaging content that is relative and in demand. That, in addition to updated design elements that better reflect your company's image and quality of work are the key components to competing effectively and winning over customers with your web presence. This document briefly outlines how and why you need to build an interactive online web strategy. We use some real life examples to give you a feel for how other companies are communicating with customers and prospects to build stronger relationships and grow revenue. Your goal should be to review the below list, get an honest assessment of where you are in each area and then start to build a plan to strengthen your on-line presence. An effective on-line strategy consists of the following areas. See each section below for more detailed information on each on-line element.
Introduction continue: 1. Interactive Website development - Not a brochure site that never changes but an interactive site that offers content customers and prospects want to receive. Give them a reason to visit your site. 2. Content creation - Blogs, White Papers, Articles, Social Media Posts, Photography, Video, Audio, Sales sheets, Surveys, Newsletters and many other ways to create content for your site. This is the most critical element to driving revenue and interacting with your audience. 3. Social Media - LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Local community exchanges as-well-as other Social Media outlets 4. Email Marketing - One of the most affordable, effective and underused media and marketing tool today is Email Marketing. This along with other marketing and media tools drive your audience to your site to consume the content that you have created for them. Interactive Website Design Things have changed dramatically and will continue to change in the world of website development and strategy. Statistics show that up to 80% of all buying decisions are made before they talk with anyone from your company. This is eyeopening proof that we live in an interactive, on-line research driven society. You better give people the information they want on-line...if you don't someone else will.
Interactive Website Design Continue: Your website must be designed with the following focus. It's the only way to make your business come to life online? When choosing someone to design or redesign your website, make sure of the following... 1. Design your site as an interactive tool that properly engages your customers and prospects. (Pay close attention to the Content Marketing section below.) 2. Invest the effort and time into creating an online look and feel that matches your company brand and the quality of work that your company does. If you can t proudly say to prospects and clients, Have you seen our website, then it is time for a website redesign. People get their first impression of your business on-line. Don't make a bad one. You might not get the second chance. 3. Is your site easy to update? Old site designs were difficult to change and cost a fortune to update. Today, most sites can be easily updated by someone on your staff or an outside company can execute your change quickly and inexpensively. You no longer have to spend a fortune just to get someone to make a few small changes to your site. The below screen shot shows many modern elements of web design. Some of those include: This site creates a brand image that is fresh, modern and classy. The design effectively positions the companies 50 year history. Video is used on the home page slider to allow visitors to quickly see the companies work.
Interactive Website Design Continue: Customer focused menu system is designed to make it easy for their customers to read information that is relevant to them. Other design elements include home page Social Media integration, contact information in clear view and easy to find menus to photo galleries and other relevant content. You can see additional site designs by clicking here
Engage with your audience by using some basic interactive tools on your site Interacting with your customers is not a new concept. Any good business does so on a daily basis. What is relatively new is implementing interactivity within your website to replicate the same basic concepts on-line that businesses utilize offline. This is one of the most basic principals in modern website design and strategy that all small business owners should consider thoroughly. Interacting with your customers through your website is not as difficult as it may sound. Do your customers call you asking for directions to your store or office? You can easily add an interactive map with step-by-step instructions to your website that provides the same information your receptionist does. Do your sales and customer service personnel routinely answer simple, recurring questions for customers? Add a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section to your site that provides the same information. Both maps and FAQ's are very simple tools that may not wow marketers but they are very necessary and often overlooked. There are countless interactive tools available to you whether you are starting up a new website or redesigning an old one. When deciding which tools are best suited for your business's website simply ask yourself what your customers are looking for and you'll find the appropriate answers. Some other examples of available basic tools include: Calculators that factor costs, sizes, other meaningful outputs. Calendars that include upcoming company events, industry-related information, and other dates of consequence. Charts, graphs, or other interactive graphics Real-time trackers that can indicate volumes, traffic counts, or other data relative to customer needs.
Build your business by sharing relevant Content Marketing information that will help guide your visitors through the buying process. Your website design and strategy should also include a blueprint for content that goes well beyond basic interactive tools. Content marketing improves your web presence in a number of ways. First and foremost, search engines will rate your site higher if you have updated content that includes relative keywords. It is important to understand which keywords relate best to your customers as well as your business. Just because your competitors use certain words or terms doesn't necessarily mean they are well-suited to your site. Your customers will also prize your website and use it as a reference source if you provide good content. Such usage drives loyalty to your website as well as your brand, influencing purchasing decisions and awareness. To ensure the best results you need to be consistent with the content you provide, updating it at regular intervals and maintaining outstanding quality. Don't simply repurpose old content and expect your customers to reward your efforts. Lay out a plan of when you will update your site with fresh content and what topics to focus on. A good plan will often lead to great results. As for what type of content your website design and strategy includes, there are many choices. Blogs, white papers and informative videos are just a few of the options available. What is most important is to consider what type of content your customers want and need. Don't go to the effort of producing instructional videos just because they are trending upward, in general. Sometimes a simple 500 word blog about relative industry topics is all it takes.
Build your business by sharing relevant Content Marketing information that will help guide your visitors through the buying process - Continue. The main hesitation many small business owners have about implementing new content marketing strategies is that they are expensive to implement and maintain. But there are numerous options available that can limit costs and enhance content quality. Outsourcing content production is an option that can have great impact while limiting resource allocation within an office. When outsourcing you should consider not only the subject matter and quality of content but also the consistency of tone and candor being used. Another way to limit content costs is by partnering with industry sources and outside colleagues. Many insiders are dying to get their names out there and will be more than happy to provide great content for your website. Sometimes all it takes is a by-line and a link to their website. The most overlooked source of content is often already produced within your company's sales and marketing department. Sales presentations, marketing newsletters, and even existing proposals or advertising pieces can all be used as quality web content. It may take a little tweaking but the best materials are often right under your nose.
The below screen shows how to use photos as a Content Marketing tool to engage with a customers, prospects and partners.
Below demonstrates how to use Landing Pages for FREE downloads of relevant Content. Smart companies use Content Marketing to gather email addresses and contact information. Notice below that you need to fill out a contact form in order to receive free valuable info. For other Content Marketing ideas click here.
Social Media Integrating social media into your website design and strategy is one of the hottest trends in on-line marketing. In many industries social media is no longer an option, it is absolutely necessary. Depending your industry and the type of business you operate you may already have a presence on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or any number of other social media sites. Integrating those efforts into your company website is relatively simple and of paramount importance to your marketing strategy. The simplest approach to social media integration is just to link your social media sites to your own website. This is quick and very inexpensive to do. More advanced integration techniques include page specific links, interactive tools specific to social media platform and site-specific content. You can integrate specific social media accounts as well into your website design and strategy. The key is to maximize your return on the traffic you receive both from your site and the social media outlets you choose to use. The return on investment you receive will most often come in the leads provided by social media marketing, which tend to be highly valuable due to the quality of those leads and the limited costs involved. Your website can maximize that return by capturing quality customer data and aiding the follow up efforts of your sales and marketing staff. Another important area is integration of your site with your Social Media accounts. All your Social Media accounts should be integrated. When you post on one Social Media platform that information should be shared across all other Social Media Channels.
Social Media Continue See the links below to see how we use Social Media... Click here to see us on Facebook Click here to see us on Twitter Click here to see us on Linkedin Click here to see our Blog E-Mail Marketing A good e-mail marketing campaign can enhance your website design and strategy by driving customers and prospects to your site as well as improving brand awareness and customer loyalty. The first step is to capture and qualify customer information through various sources such as traditional marketing campaigns (print media, television ads, telemarketing, etc.) and social media. With that qualified data you can market to entire lists or target campaigns to specific groups. By utilizing e-mail marketing to announce company events or promotions you can effectively enhance traffic measurably (landing page statistics, social media hits, etc) and build great brand awareness. E-mail marketing typically reflects higher response rates than traditional marketing campaigns. And those pre-qualified leads are also less expensive to market to through e-mail marketing. Campaigns can be implemented extremely quickly and, by integrating with your website design, can often be automated with very little expense or effort.
E-Mail Marketing Continue Here is some other important information and ways to use Email Marketing: Targeting You can send emails to your entire list or you can segment the list and send the email to selected targets. Announcements - Email Marketing is great for announcing new products, services or events. Website, Landing Page or Blog Driver It is all about engagement. We will show you how to get people to engage with your company by driving them to your website for more information. Create the right offer for the right target audience and people will visit your site, landing page or blog. Social Media Email is a great tool to drive people to your social media profiles. Affordable and quick Unlike Direct Mail and other marketing options, you can quickly design and send Email Marketing messages to your target audience. Brand Building - When you regularly communicate with Email Marketing you stay top of mind with your target audience. Email is visual and it is a great tool for building your brand. Tracking Results One of the greatest benefits of email is the ability to track who has opened, clicked on and interacted with your email and brand. This is a great sales tool! Higher Response rates Email delivers higher response rates than other media.
Below is an example of an email marketing campaign that was used to drive people to a seminar. Campaigns like this tend to be very successful. For other Email Marketing ideas click here
Conclusion Whether building a new website or redesigning an existing one, implementing interactive tools can make a huge difference to your company's bottom line. There are a number of cost-effective methods that can provide a great ROI while enhancing company image and customer loyalty. Such tools as content marketing, social media integration, and e-mail marketing can all be assimilated into your website design and strategy in ways that will drive web traffic efficiently and build brand awareness effectively. For more information on affordably building your interactive website and online strategy go to www.bridgethegapmedia.com or contact us at info@btgmedia.com or call 301.337.8135.