Enhancing Your Online Presence

Today, technology is accessible to everyone. If you’re starting a business, several options exist to make your company present in the virtual world—custom websites, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Blogger, Wordpress, etc. And evident by the friend request I received from my grandfather, these sites are not limited to only the tech savvy; however, what if your websites are not receiving the web traffic you desire? In this post, I will be examining the issues that could be affecting your business’s online success.

Through the use of my personal learning network, I discovered an article by Lisa Barone (2011), Co-founder and Chief Branding Officer at Outspoken Media, Inc. In the article “5 reasons your website isn’t attracting leads,” Barone addresses common problems that small and medium businesses face when creating their online presence. As you continue to read, take a moment and examine your website’s strength in the following areas.

Conversion Path. Barone says that many websites don’t have a “clear conversion path for their customers.” What does that mean? Have you ever clicked on to a website and been taken immediately to a “contact us” page, instead of the homepage? That’s a problem. I completely agree with Barone. When designing a website, you must envision what the visitor’s impression will be as they first enter the homepage, then proceed to the “about us” page, then to the “products” [or “services”] page. I would compare website development to designing a home. Do you really want your guests entering through the basement? Try signing up for Google Analytics for additional information as to from where your online traffic is resulting.

Reliability. This is mostly in reference to how often your website is updated. Barone states, “You can bet that when they [customers] land on your website they’re going to kick the tires a little to see if they can trust you.” Well said. A website that was last updated in 2003 is not relevant in 2011—doesn’t matter what you’re selling.

Focus on the customer. “Customers don’t head to your site to hear how awesome you are” (Barone ¶5). A customer is someone in need of something. If they are on your website, they are in need of something you sell, so you must quit selling yourself and focus on satisfying the need of the customer.

In closing, small and medium businesses often face the challenge of establishing a presence that will reach a sizeable audience. The best tip is to become as informed as possible and use as much information as you can to create the right marketing strategy for your specific company. 

I encourage you to read Lisa Barone’s article in its entirety by clicking this link.

Source

Barone, L (2011). “5 reasons your website isn’t attracting leads.” Small Business Trends. Retrieved on February 15, 2010, from http://smallbiztrends.com/2011/01/5-reasons-your-web-site-isn’t-attracting-leads.html

(Re)branding

Although I enjoy discussing the various aspects of creative and strategic marketing, my blog entries would lack relevance if the content deviated from my main purpose—providing information that helps you promote your brand or company. I recently read an article by Jacqueline Renfrow (2010), of Direct Marketing News, regarding the most important things to know when rebranding your company. In the article “Six ways to use strategic marketing during a rebranding,” Renfrow interviews NFI senior vice president of marketing Susanne Batchelor. When Batchelor joined the company, NFI did not have a cohesive brand. I am going to discuss Batchelor’s top tips to utilize strategic marketing in developing a brand.

The first tip is relevant to companies that have multiple brands or services. Batchelor stresses the importance of making sure everyone in each aspect of the company is in agreement about the new brand or marketing campaign. She elaborates by saying, “if everyone is not on the same page, you will have a significant amount of additional work (¶5).” Next, you need to be sure to equally market the brand internally and externally. The idea being that your employees will most likely be the ones interacting with your consumers—it is important to be sure the brand message is understood internally. Batchelor continues by addressing the target market: “As much as you want to, you can’t market to everyone… concentrate on your top 50 or 100 customers (¶7)." In regards to your company’s sales team, Batchelor recommends meeting with the sales department and emphasizing the importance of utilizing your new logo and not representing the new brand with evidence of the old brand. The last piece of advice Batchelor discusses is making sure you utilize social media properly. When you are using Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn (and I will be presumptuous enough to add YouTube) to market your company, you should be sure to design your profiles to represent one cohesive brand—uniformity.

If your company were to consider rebranding, I would highly recommend reading Renfrow’s article in its entirety—which can be accessed by clicking here.

As one last remark, I would like to extend a thank you to those who have tweeted links to this blog and mentioned my brand and myself. If you’re an avid tweeter or a company that is just beginning to use the service, go ahead and follow me by clicking here.

Happy branding, folks!

Source:

Renfrow, J (2010). “Six ways to use strategic marketing during a rebranding.” Direct Marketing News. Retrieved on February 1, 2011, from http://www.dmnews.com/six-ways-to-use-strategic-marketing-during-a-rebranding/article/191290.