5 WAYS TO CATCH THE FISH
My family is bursting from the seams with entrepreneurial pizzazz, and, being a new biz owner myself, I have been a long-time front-row seat observer on how online marketing can affect a business. In short - a lot. Here are 5 tips on how you can boost your website presence and bring in the audience, i.e. catch the fish.
1. BE ASSERTIVE. Now is not the time to be coy or timid. You have a message you want to get out to the world, a service or product you want to sell, so let people know it! Word-of-mouth, email campaigns, social media, polls, surveys... there are several different ways that you can engage your audience and keep them involved with what you are doing.
2. CLEAR & CONCISE. When someone lands on your home page, this is your chance to make a great first impression, and it can often be a deciding factor as to whether or not they click through your site. Make sure you you are clear on what you are selling or doing and how it can benefit your client - not how it can benefit you. Just like a resume, your website should explain how you can help your client and why they need you.
3. BLOG WITH CARE. Blogs are a great way to reach out to people but don't fog up your website with a hundred cut and paste blogs that are not relevant to what you sell. It gets confusing and everyone will lose track of what is going on. People aren't dumb so try to write about what you know and what you are passionate about. If you are unsure, then do some research, but always create pieces that are uniquely you.
4. SEO. Search Engine Optimization. Everyone knows this is important but not everybody knows how to fully utilize it. In fact, many people don't, which is why there are companies out there dedicated to doing this. There are basic ways that you can learn on how to tweak your site but, if you are looking to grow your company large-scale, then it is usually worth spending a few bucks to have a professional tackle this.
5. READ THIS NOW! Including a call-to-action is a proven way to catch your audience and pull them into the depths of your site. According to Web marketing expert Seth Godin, a call-to-action is the "banana" and users are the “monkeys.” Perhaps not the most attractive analogy, but it gets the point across. The goal is for the monkey to find the banana in less than three seconds, before giving up and leaving. A call-to-action button should be easy to spot and include action verbs, such as "Read this now!” or “Sign up for a free”.
Please reach out to me if you would like to know more about one or all of the above recommendations. If you are struggling with online marketing and need help, then C3 can come to your rescue!
