Are you noticing that businesses are marketing their Facebook page more than their Web site? That shift is significant since it shows that even the best designed sites with their cool logos and Flash animations are hardly a match for social media.
Fortunately, it’s not an either / or proposition. You should have a Web site along with your social media sites and blogs. And yes, you need all of them to effectively market your business.
So let’s begin with your Web site.
In short, with the buzz around social networking, business Web sites are becoming less important.
But they are still relevant.
A nicely designed business Web site gives you legitimacy, can enhance your credibility and should reflect your personality and culture. Your site should integrate with your social networking sites so you can provide a rich, engaging user experience.
Do you need to have a business Web site as well? Yes (Or there will be a glaring ommission on your business card).
Should you be using these social networking sites? Yes.
Is it necessary to blog? Maybe not necessary. But close.
If the choice is to service the customer in line at your register, then, of course, smile, take their money and wish them well as they walk out the door. But to bring in customers tomorrow, you need to find time to maintain your Web site, blog and/or social media sites today.
Don’t worry. It won’t take long and it shouldn’t break the bank.
If you have little startup money for your business, you can get web site hosting for less than $10 a month and even signup for an online Web site provider you can find by searching Google.
Just type in something like “Web site Design” to find a local or national Web site development business.
Many of these have online, Web site businesses have nicely designed page templates which will get your site up-and-running in no time.
As for social media, you don’t have to pay a dime to use Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter. Account setup and usage are free on these social networking sites – unless you need premium services which can come later.
Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are free tools indeed, except for the opportunity cost necessary to post updates on your Facebook Fan Page, comment on a discussion group in LinkedIn, or tweet on Twitter.
You gotta love IT for that! What other industry continues to drive more and more value, but see it’s cost curve decrease?
Back to designing your Web site…Before picking up your artistic brushes and tools, determine what it is you want the user to do.
Your site should be designed and developed to accomplish those objectives. Social media sites exist to build your brand and reputation, highlight your strengths and build a rapport with your customers.
Your Web site should contain standard content and links, such as a well-designed “Homepage”, “About Us”, “Products and Services”, “Contact Us” and “Blog” pages.
You site might have a shopping cart so you can sell online, link to affiliate Web sties and perhaps show Google Ads you put up.
Essentially, Google is paying you to advertise other business related to your content. That doesn’t make sense if you are competiting with these companies. But it would make sense if you are a subject-matter expert blogging about a topic and have products available from affiliate sites. If you are an “Internet Marketer”, you might feature Google Ads that allow the user to buy books at Amazon.com on that subject.
Desiging a Web site is not probably going to cost a few hundred dollars, but be wary of someone selling your small business a Web site for tens of thousands of dollars.
Identify the right vendor only after you have checked out their portfolio, core skill set (e.g. design, e commerce, social media, etc.) and even checked references.
If you are tempted to design your site yourself, then you probably don’t want to design your own logo even if you have dabbled in Photoshop before. And while you may have taken an HTML class in college, you may have to resist the urge to design your own page from scratch.
The right approach may be outsourcing the logo and design, especially if you have professional clients.
The auto shop can probably get away with template-based Web site from Intuit.com, but the IT Services business shouldn’t entertain that for a moment.
Remember that your Web site exists to build the brand you are trying to create. It says something of your professionalism, presentation style and personality.
It also needs to accomplish a specific objective like generating leads, shop online or engage in a discussion with you . It’s not just about serving pages up to the World Wide Web. And remember, it’s not just your cool pages the customer sees, but the dirty laundry as well. Make sure you are ready before you press Go!
Your site won’t do you any good if you can drive traffic there, or convert these leads into sales at some point. You may have to contract with a design firm to do the logo and design but a different marketing company to assist with your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.
The SEO company registers you with different search engines and should have a strategy to have customers find you when they type a few keys words in Google.
Blogging and posting on social media site reglarly will help you gain credibility, find new customers and convert them into sales opportunities now or later.
These posts on your social networking sites are intended to drive user adoption and interest in your business and value proposition. Once you have earned the trust of these users, they will be more inclined to buy from you online or person.
Recent news articles suggest that too many businesses are neglecting these steps and finding that their Facebook Fans Page shows users “unfriending” them due to the spamming of offers.
Remember…the idea behind social media is to make people aware of your business and then keep that attention through regular posts, blogs and tweets.
We are all attention deficit because we are spammed through mobile alerts, a constant deluge of activity streams of friend’s conversation and advertising email spam.
They don’t want more of it from you. They want you to be real, authentic and share a piece of your knowledge for free.
Social media provides long term opportunities of sales based on relationships. For example, if you tweet that you contributed $5000 to the local library, people will begin to recognize your commitment to giving back to the community.
That’s what’s helped Costco, Walmart or Chick-A-Fil be successful. People like to patronize businesses who give back. If you can’t give back through large donations, you may be able to give away parts of your secret sauce – but not the whole part.
For example, an account could create a blog to provide tax tips or by starting a home-based businesss. And if these prospective customers think they can do their own taxes using TurboTax, then the accountant may lose the first deal only to find that customer comes back asking for fee-based help when they start their own business.
So don’t don’t be more interested in the golden eggs and kill the goose.
Blogs are similar to social media sites in that they are more conversational in style, and exist to build relationships with customers and educate them on your value proposition.
A well-designed site will arouse a person’s interest with a quick snippet on your business Web site page, or from a post on your social media site, and then link them to a blog so the user can learn more or drill-down deeper if they choose.
If the intent is to allow the customer to buy a product on your Web site or an affiliates site, the blog may serve to convince them to do so and seal the deal.
But don’t lead out your Web site design, social media posts, or blogs with a push to sell your product. Be patient and recognize people want first want to have a conversation, learn from useful tidbits you can give them and then buy later from their trusted supplier.
You!
