Spring is finally here. This is the time to throw open your windows, brush off the dust, and get started on spring cleaning…spring cleaning your website, that is. If the winter blues kept you from getting a fresh start for 2014, then there’s no time like the present to finally ramp up your website—and ramp up your brand in the process!
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1. Skip the Overselling
Your website is a great place to showcase what you do. A great website with a consistent look and feel will either entice people to buy right away—or at minimum, create a lasting impression that will bring that customer (and their friends) back to your website for more. The trick here: Don’t oversell, especially on your homepage. Don’t get me wrong; you should definitely make it easy for your customers to inquire about and purchase your products and/or services. However, today’s educated consumer wants to learn more before they buy and to feel in control regarding their purchasing decisions. Above all, you want to be memorable: a memorable brand keeps leads and customers coming back for more.
2. Be Present
If your website hasn’t been updated since the Hamster Dance was the most popular thing on the Internet, you’re going to want to invest in something new…now. Yes, we’re exaggerating—but it’s true: if your website is out-of-date or obviously hasn’t been updated in a year or more, it’s time to refresh your brand and your website. When you’re happy with your website’s modern new look, then it’s time to ramp up your online visibility. Add new branded content every week (like a blog post or an eBook) to entice your target market base, engage potential customers, and nudge them toward the sale. Being present is about communicating your message, but it’s also about building a relationship of trust between your company and your target market.
3. Tell Your Story
A great brand tells your company story. A great website also invokes a sense of storytelling. Use your About page to tell your story and the story of your company. Your customers are out there, looking for reliable products and services, sure, of course—but they’re also looking for passion, excitement and dedication; they’re looking to connect with your company and your brand. A great story offers multiple opportunities to directly relate to your customers’ experiences, and then really engage them on a very human level. Brand relationships are human relationships, and a great, engaging story is a fabulous way to build trust.
4. Engage Your Audience
Are you using social media to your advantage? Get that beautiful brand of yours on social media. Social media allows your loyal customers and brand advocates to share your content and your brand with like-minded peers and friends. Read: FREE advertising. But you have to be consistent and engaged, and you need to create content that counts—not just content for the sake of content. Including social media buttons on each of your posts and pages allows your potential customers multiple opportunities to connect and keep in touch with your business—and to share your content. Be sure your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts are well-branded with a branded header image and consistent language, always in line with your brand personality.
5. Set Your Strategy
BEFORE YOU BEGIN any website updates and improvements, it’s super-important to sit down and lay out your overall strategy with your branding expert, your marketing department and/or your creative team. Your website is an incredible marketing tool, but only when changes are implemented in line with your brand, and also in line with your big-picture marketing strategy. Your website changes will do nothing for your business or your brand unless you write out all your goals and the steps required to achieve each one.
Oftentimes just devising the strategy itself and writing out your goals will lead to bigger and better ideas for both your brand and your website. So what are you waiting for? Spring has sprung! Let’s get to it!