Making the right choice – 3 things to consider when establishing an online presence
A common mistake made by many businesses is the dependence on the idea that an online website means people will flock to it. Whilst to some degree, users will find a way to your site, the question to ask yourself is ‘is the site attracting the right target audience?
Websites should work alongside your existing marketing strategies and add value to the overall objectives of your business. The following 3 suggestions should be considered when establishing a website.
- Determine the purpose of having an online presence – what do you want to achieve?
It is necessary to know what you want to achieve by being online in order to determine the best way to get there and establish predefined web goals. Various reasons may include taking local products to international market (e-commerce/online retail), establishing a community group for building relationships (blog, forum), providing promotional marketing initiatives or information resources for your clients/ customers. Whatever the reason, there needs to be a balance between where the company is going and your audiences desire to go there.
- Devise an information requirement plan – what type of quality content will you provide?
Determine your businesses available resources for ongoing maintenance of the website and how frequently to update content. Alternatively establish an ongoing service relationship with a web agency that can offer consultancy regarding best practice when it comes to the type of content and the frequency by which content should be added. Some things to consider include the type of target audience you have in mind and the tone of language to use. Other techniques include, determining the type of keywords and phrases to incorporate in your copy to assist with SEO strategies. Remember to use appropriate page titles and have someone proof read your copy – preferably someone who satisfies your target audience demographics. Consult Wiliam about how to maximise the potential of your site by writing the right copy.
- Integrating with existing offline strategies – Will this compliment your existing corporate marketing initiatives?
Integrating your key marketing message across different mediums such as a website seeks to reinforce your brand image that you have worked so hard to establish in the market place. A mixed message may cause confusion for online users who may have recently viewed a promotional campaign that is not in sync with the overall look and feel of your site. It is important to initiate a creative brief and discuss your current marketing strategies when you engage in developing a site. This is also a good time to note the type of functionality required on the site that will seek to compliment your ROI marketing goals. For example, establishing a contact form for generating leads online and tracking conversions.
These are just three basic things to consider when looking at creating a website. There are many other things to consider and as such it would be advisable to consult with an experienced and well established web agency such as Wiliam for further information to help you make the right choice.
