No Comments// Posted in Marketing, Website Strategy by Harley Rivet on 08.26.10.
This is a guest post from Derek Leverington who is VP, Interactive with Brown Communications. He’s also a professional musician, passionate about web technologies, and all around smart guy. Read on to learn more:
I learned how to play guitar about twenty years ago. And when I bought my first electric guitar amp, I bought one that used the most popular technology at the time: a solid state amplifier built with transistors. In many respects it was a superior amp to the old tube-style amplifiers. It was more reliable. It didn’t require any warm-up time. It was cheaper to maintain and was lighter and easier to carry around. At the time, I didn’t know any different and I played similar amps for some time.
I can still remember the day that an older friend of mine who had originally got me interested in playing guitar was telling me about an artist who recorded his album using tube amplifiers. As a young player, I just couldn’t imagine why someone would do that. So, I asked the obvious question “Why in the world would they possibly use those old things?”.
The answer surprised me.
“Tube amps sound better”.
He was right. And years later when I could afford one, I bought a tube amplifier. And it was heavy. It needed maintenance. It needed to warm up and cool down. It was a beast to carry around. And it sounded better. And that’s why I owned it.
It taught me something. Not everything that is new is better. And if it is truly new AND better, it takes some time and perspective to be able to make that call.
I recall several years ago evaluating other platform options besides a website to create an innovative online presence for a particular client project. At that time, I was evaluating Second Life and MySpace.
Cutting edge stuff for then to be sure. At the time, it would have taken quite a fearless client to seriously consider setting up a presence on such platforms. (This was of course long before the social media hysteria had gotten to the current level we find it at today).
I haven’t put any clients on Second Life or MySpace since that time. And as it turns out, I didn’t then. We ended up focusing our efforts on the website and were very satisfied with the results.
I don’t think being on Facebook is going to launch you or your brand to stardom any more than not being on MySpace held you back. In this day and age, what’s almost more important than WHAT you do is WHEN you do it. If you do something early enough, there’s a story there. If you do it when the herd is adopting it, there’s no story. And that’s exactly the reality for most brands adopting social media now. You’re now several years behind the early adopters. The good news is that you’re not likely to lose your job over it.
Digital marketing is such a game of timing that it’s important to be able to tell new from better. If you’re evaluating a potential platform, ask yourself some of these questions:
- Does this platform have any significant reach?
- What’s the reach we can confidently predict in the next 12-24 months?
- Does this platform do something that an existing platform doesn’t do?
- Will this satisfy some latent need or demand of my audience?
- Is what we’re doing interesting enough that there’s a memorable story here?
- Is there something about this platform that has a linkage to our brand?
If you find some positive answers, it just might be new AND better.
I don’t know exactly how many iPods are in the house but I got up to flip the record over more than once while writing this. I read an article just the other day that suggested that the LP will outlive the CD. I think I agree.
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Derek Leverington
As Vice-President, Interactive at Brown Communications Group, Derek provides leadership to the digital practice at the agency. A passionate consumer and advocate of web technologies, Derek brings over a decade of experience in website development, online advertising and digital strategy to his clients
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1 Comment// Posted in Marketing by Harley Rivet on 08.19.10.
Email is sill an excellent platform to reach customers and an email address is the most valuable of any contact information. The trick is to make sure you are using email marketing effectively. Below are five tips regarding how to get the most out of your email efforts as part of your overall digital marketing strategy:
Build a list: Having up-to-date contact information of your customers is something many companies struggle with, but it is a critical part of any business strategy. If you’re not collecting email addresses, start first thing tomorrow. The best place to start is either your address book or accounting records. Create a spreadsheet or utilize email marketing software to record emails of prospects, customers, and partners.
You can also purchase lists, but an organically developed list will usually be higher quality. Start creating the list with existing customers and then add new subscribers by offering a contest or giveaway in exchange for their email. Just remember that with a great list comes great responsibility; ensure it is maintained and never abused.
Put your audience first: Always respect your audience and give them a reason to want to read your messages. Resist talking about yourself (I.e organizational news, promotions, events, etc.) and instead lead with information that will provide value such as content that informs, educates and entertains. Of course, you will need to throw in promotional items and company news occasionally but just don’t make it the focus.
Be considerate of your audience by not bombarding them with messages since this will dilute the effectiveness of your efforts. If you have a blog maybe email subscribers once a week and if you put out a newsletter maybe do it once a month or quarter. Research what makes effective subject lines; typically “how-to”, “x tips”, and “best practices” are good at grabbing attention and also consider posing a question as your subject line since it will intrigue people.
Utilize email marketing software: I’ve mentioned the benefits of using email software in previous posts and can not stress enough how important it is to use a specific platform separate from your email client for sending bulk messages. Using your email client (Outlook, Mail, Gmail, Etc) to send bulk messages looks unprofessional and it can also subject you to penalties from your internet service provider. Bulk messages from email clients are more likely to get flagged as spam or plug up your email server preventing other mail from functioning properly. In addition, sending from an email client does not help you understand how many people open your message or allow you to easily analyze bounce-backs.
Consider affordable solutions like MailChimp, ConstantContact, Emma or Aweber – They are are feature rich and allow for professional looking template based emails. They will also allow you to schedule emails, provide forms you can embed on a webpage so people can subscribe to your list automatically, and provide reports regarding opens, clicks, bounces, etc. In addition, reputable email marketing software will often have controls to keep you on the right side of the CAN SPAM act.
Encourage engagement: When sending out emails try to include ways for people to forward the message, and also provide links back your website or social media spaces so they can connect with you in other ways. If you are using email software you will be able to host a version of the email as a webpage, so also consider sending out an update across Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to the hosted page where others not on your list can read it and possibly sign up for more. If you are using HTML templates for your email you may also want to include a picture of yourself or the authors since this helps personalize things.
Constantly grow your list: As mentioned earlier, an email address is the most valuable piece of contact information you will have for a client/prospect so set some goals and create initiatives to help encourage the growth of your list. Keep in mind that despite the best promotions to grow your list it will be the value of the content that will make people want to read it and share it with others. Stay golden.
What are your thoughts? Please comment below OR send me an email OR give me a call at 306 229 9437 OR request a free consultation. One more option, I offer an email subscription for receiving new blog updates.
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9 Comments// Posted in Website Strategy by Harley Rivet on 08.12.10.
Gone are the days when you could get by with a website built by your nephew in his basement. The web has evolved considerably and people are now much more savvy regarding what looks amateur and what looks professional. There are complex technical issues and marketing forethought that goes into a well designed website strategy. Knowing where to start and what to budget can make your head spin.
The good news is that the web is not exempt from the general rules that apply to technological innovation; What may have cost $10K ten years ago can now be accomplished for a $20/month subscription. Having professional guidance to help you through the process may still cost the same or more, but the tools available are now much more widespread and affordable. Below are a few tools to consider to keep your website strategy professional and affordable without sacrificing quality:
Designers, programmers, and writers oh my!
Traditionally, good talent tended to converge where the big jobs were (Toronto, San Francisco, New York), but in the age of the internet there are now a lot of talented individuals who decide to stay closer to home and use telecommuting. The brand new mom may have been a kick-ass designer in Toronto at one time but now she works from home in Brandon, Manitoba. There are tons of talented people available to provide freelance services and below are a few sites where you can find them:
oDesk – Whether you are looking for new talent or already have a remote team, oDesk offers a complete solution for working online. It provides access to designers, programmers, writers, and virtual assistants from around the world.
99Designs – A large online marketplace for graphic design, including logo design, webdesign and other design contests.
Website Content Management Systems
It used to be very expensive to get a decent content management system (CMS) that would give you control over basic changes in a website (pictures, text, pdf’s, forms, etc.) and there are still complex/expensive systems available. However, for most small and medium sized business you are better off with a FREE open source CMS. When speaking to an interactive agency be wary of those that offer a proprietary CMS since you may find yourself locked into an inflexible and expensive system that is not portable if you end up wanting to change agencies. Many open source CMS are widely supported and are constantly being updated by a huge community of developers. Below are some of the most reputable:
WordPress – Originally a blogging platform, WordPress has grown into a fully functioning CMS. It is probably the most widely used CMS and has thousands of plug-ins that allow you to build a sophisticated website with very little programming knowledge plus a robust blog. It’s free.
Drupal & Joomla – When your website needs are a bit more sophisticated, have multiple contributors, and require advanced database integration then you should check out either Drupal or Joomla. Both are free.
Blogs
Having a blog is a critical part of your website strategy. If used properly, they help position you as an expert, provide a continuous stream of new content that search engines lap up, and help build an audience you can engage with. Below are two super simple blogging platforms that allow you to set up a blog in less than 30 minutes:
Posterous – If you know how to send an email, you can use Posterous. It is an innovative and simple web-based service that provides a feature rich solution that is very simple to use. Post pictures, videos, audio, PDF’s, and whitepapers without having to know any programming.
Tumblr – Similar to Posterous, this service is also very simple and actually provides more slick designs you can choose from so that you have extra style. The user experience of using Tumblr is also quite intuitive.
Email Campaign Software
If you’re not using email software to send out mass updates to your clients/prospects then most of your messages are probably being blocked by spam filters. There’s enough spam out there so it’s in your best interest to use a tool that allows you to easily manage subscriptions, opt-in approvals, and utilizes technology to ensure your mail gets delivered while also looking professional.
MailChimp – It’s free for up to 500 contacts and 3000 emails per month. It’s feature rich, fun to use, and very powerful.
AWeber – This is the top choice for many internet marketers due to it’s advanced capabilities. It’s a bit more complicated than MailChimp but has some additional functionality.
Website Analytics
Google Analytics - One of the best kept secrets on the web, Google Analytics is very powerful and also free. It can be easily integrated into any website and allows tracking of traffic, content popularity, visitor paths, and even allows you to set goals you can measure against.
What are your thoughts? Please comment below OR send me an email OR give me a call at 306 229 9437 OR request a free consultation. One more option, I offer an email subscription for receiving new blog updates.
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4 Comments// Posted in Marketing by Harley Rivet on 08.04.10.
“Fall down nine times, get up 10″ is a saying that I have always tried to live by. If there’s an obstacle in the way, it only makes me more determined to get through it. If somebody says I can’t do something, it only makes me want to prove them wrong. Maybe it’s the Saskatchewan work ethic I’m born with or the fact I’ve made a career in digital marketing based in Saskatoon (Not exactly a hotbed for digital expertise). But I like a challenge and the hardest person I have to impress is myself. I’m not a perfectionist but I believe there is always room for improvement.
I think this is why I’m attracted to digital marketing and website strategy – There are always different things to try, new tools emerging, and constantly shifting behaviors. Things move hot and fast and I just happen to be attracted to fire. Sometimes I get burnt but things heal fast online – Here today gone tomorrow, literally.
Since the digital space, website design, and online marketing are constantly changing it thankfully affords one to make mistakes more often because it’s actually the norm. Everybody is trying to figure things out! There has never been a medium so flexible and forgiving as the web. If you haven’t made any mistakes yet then you aren’t trying hard enough. Just try something new, and if it doesn’t work out despite giving it your best then forget about it, move on, and try something else.
I wouldn’t recommend this advice so much for traditional marketing because the costs when making mistakes are far greater. The spelling mistake in a brochure you catch after 1000 have been printed is a lot more hurtful than a spelling mistake on a web page or in an email. Online it only takes tens of dollars and a few hours to fix a mistake as opposed to the thousands of dollars required to reprint a brochure.
So, I guess what I’m saying is that if you want to be successful with your digital marketing and website strategy then don’t be afraid to fail. In fact, embrace failure. Learn from mistakes, learn from others, and try again. Things can be changed quickly, relatively inexpensively, and without killing nearly as many trees. In addition, your online efforts can be tracked far more accurately so when you do find a winning formula it’s easy to replicate and optimize. In Saskatchewan many of us have a pioneering heritage that overcame serious obstacles by making a lot of mistakes first. So, let’s pay honour to our ancestors and carry on the tradition - Fail fast. Fail often. Success will follow.
What are your thoughts? Please comment below OR send me an email OR give me a call at 306 229 9437 OR request a free consultation. One more option, I offer an email subscription for receiving new blog updates.
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No Comments// Posted in Marketing by Harley Rivet on 08.03.10.
On July 27, 2010 a survey invite was sent to 155 marketing and communication professionals in Saskatchewan to determine interest in the formation of a Marketing Association within our province. There were a total of 110 responses resulting in a 70% response rate! This poll is not scientific, but based on my experience a sample size of 110 completed surveys for a population of a few hundred is pretty darn statistically significant. The survey tool restricted completes to 100 so the below results are not reflective of all 110 responses. Overall, results indicate there is very substantial interest in the formation of a marketing association. Below is a summary of the results:
75 of the respondents indicated they would like to receive updates regarding the development of a marketing association. If you did not get a chance to complete the survey and would like update notifications please send an email to info[at]harleyrivet[dot]com and I’ll get you on the list.
What are your thoughts? Please comment below OR send me an email OR give me a call at 306 229 9437. One more option, I offer an email subscription for receiving new blog updates.
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6 Comments// Posted in Social Media by Harley Rivet on 07.29.10.
The following is a guest blog post from Mike Klein. Mike is an online communications strategist for the University of Saskatchewan. He’s an avid reader and he loves to write about marketing strategy on his blog: http://www.michaelklein.ca
8 Rules to Survive Social Media Adolescence
Many people struggle with how to add social media to their marketing mix. They aren’t sure of which tools they should use. And, more importantly they struggle with how to behave in this new space.
You can see how they are struggling in the way they annoyingly blast out their promotions over Twitter. You can see how they struggle with their new (empty) Facebook page filled with selfish posts. You notice how they sit befuddled as to why nobody watched their annoying corporate Youtube video.
But, who can blame them?
The web has only been publicly available for 18 years. And, ‘social’ has only been part of the lexicon for the last six. We are infants in this new world and we are all trying to figure it out. It’s inevitable that we will make mistakes as it’s part of the process of trial-and-error.
However, just because social media is new to all of us doesn’t mean it’s totally forgiving. Online days are a little like dog years (One day equals seven years). A lot can, and does, happen everyday. It’s a rapidly evolving system that is quickly becoming more sophisticated by the second. New tools and techniques emerge constantly and it’s tiring just to try to keep up.
The good news is that although the tools are important to learn, the more important lessons are learning how to behave. Provided below are eight rules to get you through your digital marketing adolescence.
1. Be brave
It takes bravery to embrace social media. The tools are often unproven and you’ll need to open yourself (or your company) up to public feedback. This can be a scary proposition. The good news is that no toddler ever died from eating a mouthful of dirt or two and you won’t die if you experiment a little. Instead of waiting three years to see if ‘the research’ says Twitter is going to work for you, why not dive in and see what happens? If you’re afraid of what people are going to say about your company you can rest assured they are already saying it anyway.
2. Be real
Don’t be a corporate drone. Be yourself and allow your employees to do the same. People converse with other people; not corporations. Keep it real and people will be real with you. When people realize that there is a real person on the other end of the line it changes their behavior.
And, for the love of God please don’t setup a ‘fake persona’. This is just lame. Sooner or later you’ll get caught and you’ll look like the toddler with the droopy pants.
3. Be realistic
Social media is not a panacea. You won’t solve all of your ails by having a Twitter account. If your product sucks or your customer service is poor, then social media is only going to amplify those issues. So be realistic about your expectations and fix those other issues first. You need to learn to crawl before you can run.
4. Be patient
Despite popular belief social media is not free or instant. It takes a lot of time and effort to make it work. Let me repeat, it takes a lot of time and effort to make it work. Don’t expect your campaign to suddenly ‘go viral’ and solve all of your marketing problems. The Mentos/Diet Coke video or the Old Spice campaign are the exception, not the norm. You need to focus on the slow drip and build advocacy one customer at a time. Asking ‘how much farther’ never shortens the trip.
5. Be generous
Call them ‘small town rules’ if you will, but those who succeed in social media make friends by being generous. Be generous with your time. Be generous with your posts. Be generous with your connections. Help people and they will help you. Be the kid who is always bringing cookies to school instead of the guy who eats everything and never says thank you.
6. Be accountable
Social media is like HDTV for a talk show host; it makes your blemishes clearly visible for everyone to see. Instead of trying to hide your dirty laundry, be accountable for your mistakes. Nobody is perfect and we can all accept that fact. Try to seem perfect, or worse yet try to pull a fast one, and you’ll get called on it every time. Don’t be the kid pointing the finger when you’re asked, ‘who stole the cookie’.
7. Be relevant
There are just too many other great things we can spend time on over reading an irrelevant post or watching a pointless video. Content is expanding at an exponential rate, yet the time we have in a day is remaining constant. Social media is the ultimate milk separator and only the cream rises to the top. If you’re the kid that constantly ‘cries wolf’ then expect nobody will listen to you when you finally have something worthy to say.
8. Be social
This may seem obvious. But, social media is about being social. It’s about connecting with people and engaging on a deeper level. It’s about making friends and working together. You need to learn how to play in the sandbox if you want to succeed. If you’re a loner you may want to consider just sticking to advertising.
Can’t remember all of these rules? Hire Harley. He’ll keep you on the straight and narrow and ensure you make it to your social media graduation.
Editor’s Note: Mike Klein and I collaborated on a couple digital marketing workshops in May 2010 for Edwards School of Business, Executive Training. Mike is an excellent presenter and is available for speaking engagements – You can learn more by visiting his website at http://www.michaelklein.ca
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No Comments// Posted in Marketing, Website Strategy by Harley Rivet on 07.22.10.
I provided the below presentation to a group of marketing professionals at Saskatchewan’s leading research park, Innovation Place, on June 2nd and finally decided to post it to my blog. It’s best when accommodated with commentary but hopefully there is enough here to provide you some tips and tools for your own digital marketing purposes. If you have questions, let me know.
Digital Marketing on Prezi
Toot My Own Horn
If your organization is looking for a speaker, training or consulting regarding digital marketing I would be more than happy to oblige. I’ve been providing staff training for the past eight years and have also spoke at marketing conferences in Toronto, New Orleans, and New York. I have also contributed towards articles in numerous trade publications including Quirks Marketing Research Review, Marketingprofs.com, and Social Media Digest. To learn more about my capabilities please visit my experience page or connect with me on LinkedIn
What are your thoughts? Please comment below OR send me an email OR give me a call at 306 229 9437 OR request a free consultation. One more option, I offer an email subscription for receiving new blog updates.
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6 Comments// Posted in Life and stuff, Marketing by Harley Rivet on 07.15.10.
It’s a fact – Traditional methods of marketing (TV, Radio, Newspaper, Magazine Ads, Trade Shows, Direct Mail, Etc) have become less and less effective. These “push” tactics are intrusions that people have become numb to or developed defense mechanisms for. There will always be a need for some “push” tactics in marketing but it is giving way to the new paradigm of “pull” marketing. This new breed of marketing focuses on being interesting, informative, generous, and engaging to attract attention. It’s not about who has the biggest blow horn anymore, it’s about who tells the best story. The web happens to be the cheapest and most far reaching platform to do this.
We are currently living in a search culture; we’ve all become information junkies. Much of the world is at our fingertips and it’s almost unfathomable when we can’t find something on the web through a search engine. When is the last time you relied on an advertisement for researching a purchase decision? How about the YellowPages? You’re probably having a hard time remembering because it’s a rarity. Now think about the last time you used a search engine and scoured the web for information pertaining to a purchase or interest? It was probably sometime today. If your market is online then you better be as well – If you can’t be found online you don’t exist. Period.
So, what’s the implication of this emerging search culture on marketers and business, in general? Well, we all need to start thinking of ourselves as publishers. Every company is now a media company. The web makes the production of content easier than ever and there’s an almost insatiable and growing market for it. Having a static website isn’t enough; you need to start considering putting out product information, industry expertise, reviews, opinions, and how-to guides in the form of videos, podcasts, slideshows, photo galleries, webinars, ebooks, whitepapers, and blogs. Rinse and repeat. Maybe you don’t have to do all of them, but pick a few you can handle and get loose.
Next to “word of mouth” and “face-to-face” interactions people turn to the internet to aid their decisions. Marketing 101 states that your duty as a marketer is to meet the needs of your market. Your market needs information. In fact, a recent survey found that people will generally do 60% of their information gathering before even contacting a company! So, if you think providing limited amounts of information on your website will entice people to call and find out more, you’re mistaken. They’ll move onto your competitor who is more helpful because they’re generous with information.
In my opinion, there is the need for a new breed of marketer. One that is less steeped in marketing dogma, brochures, media buys, and trade booth exhibits and more saturated with tech savvy, analytical skills, creative content acumen, and a network of web influence. This new breed of marketer will need to be a digital citizen. An observer, joiner, collector, and creator of digital content. If you’ve ever dreamed of being a writer, film maker, radio broadcaster, journalist, or commentator then the web affords you the chance. “The medium is the message” has never been any truer. Thanks for reading.
What are your thoughts? Please comment below OR send me an email OR give me a call at 306 229 9437 OR request a free consultation. One more option, I offer an email subscription for receiving new blog updates.
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No Comments// Posted in Marketing, Website Strategy by Harley Rivet on 07.09.10.
No website is an island! Left alone, a website is not much more than a little billboard on the information superhighway, so for it to be effective it’s important that you weave it and other digital efforts frequently into your overall marketing activities. And like any marketing activity, the purpose should be to generate qualified leads. Your website might have other purposes beyond generating leads (I.e recruitment, investor relations, public communications, etc), but in any event it is likely still a mechanism to spur action or get a desired outcome from it’s audience (inform, empower, persuade, etc.). With this in mind, let’s discuss the three “must have” components of an effective website strategy:
Attract an Audience
The best way to attract an audience is by being attractive and available. Looks matter, but as we all know they’re only skin deep, it’s what inside that counts and for a website this means quality content. And when I say website, I really mean your web presence. The quality content required to attract an audience goes far beyond the borders of your website. Marketers must become digital publishers! Put yourself out there and spread the love – Blogs, YouTube, Twitter, Email, LinkedIn, and Facebook should all be considered publishing platforms that integrate with your website. Also consider the value of a reputable search engine optimization firm and the possibility of a pay-per-click campaign on Google, Facebook and/or LinkedIn. For more specific tactics check out my previous post regarding a social media game plan. Just make sure you’re putting your best foot forward by providing value to your audience as opposed to only hype and self promotion. Think Oprah and not PT Barnum.
Convert Visitors to Action
Have a call-to-action or a mechanism for engagement. It’s surprising how many websites and marketing efforts lack a clear call-to-action – This is marketing 101. It’s as simple as offering a download in exchange for an email address or a free consultation by telephone, newsletter sign-up, contest entry, RSS feed, Twitter follow, poll, or invitation to an event. Also consider tying these things in with a specific landing page and monitoring how often leads come back to your site so that you can track when it’s the best time to follow-up. I read an interesting stat that purchasers will do 60% of their information gathering before contacting a company, so it’s important to nurture these leads by monitoring their activity and reach out with soft touches along the way. HubSpot offers a pretty slick tool that allows you to track the repeat visits of visitors to your site and allows you to grade them so your follow-ups are laser targeted.
Analyze Metrics to Optimize Efforts
Makes sure your website and digital marketing efforts are being measured so that they can be optimized. The big online companies eat this stuff up because they know knowledge is power and by evaluating stats and metrics they can have tremendous revenue impacts by making changes that impact their conversion rates. However, analyzing data is where most efforts fall apart because most SMB marketers don’t have time or an appetite for this work. Sadly, by ignoring this you are defeating a major benefit of digital marketing since it is more easily measured and modified than any other medium. Use Google Analytics or another reputable stat package on your website to track where traffic is coming from and what pages are most popular. Take full advantage of the stats made available through Pay-per-click campaigns and try variations of ads to determine what works best. It’s so easy to measure and adjust digital efforts, it’s silly not to at least try.
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What are your thoughts? Please comment below OR send me an email OR give me a call at 306 229 9437 OR request a free consultation. One more option, I offer an email subscription for receiving new blog updates.
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No Comments// Posted in Marketing, Website Strategy by Harley Rivet on 06.30.10.
I’ve been in the web business for over ten years and in that time I have seen way too many website design projects where money and resources were wasted because of over-engineered solutions that wouldn’t provide the client or their audience much benefit. This is the dirty little secret most web design companies don’t want you to know about. They’re agencies and like any agency they want to bill you for their time and often for building solutions they wouldn’t even consider taking the risk building for themselves. In addition, if a fancy solution is proposed most agencies are likely trying things for the first time and billing you for the time it takes them to learn how to do it. Sure, it’s cool to have an intensive site and pour tons of money into design…if you aren’t into making money.
Unless you have complex website needs that require integration with other systems, hundreds of pages, and/or eCommerce then you shouldn’t have to pay more than a few thousand for a website. For most SMB that have basic needs I advocate that only 25% of your website budget should go towards design/development and the remaining 75% go towards promoting it. A fancy new website is not a solution – Having a website strategy is.
You’re probably thinking “Harley, you offer web design services and have written previous posts about the value of good web design, so aren’t you the pot calling the kettle black?” You’re right, I do offer web design services and do value good design, HOWEVER, my definition of good design revolves around the effectiveness and efficiency of the solution to deliver results. This is very different than design from a “what’s cool” or aesthetic perspective and typically what web design agencies bill clients through the nose for. I’m a big fan of keeping things simple and as Einstein once said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Who can argue with that?
So, what is an effective website strategy? It’s simply three things – Attracting visitors, converting visitors to action, and analyzing metrics in order to optimize efforts.
Did you notice that neither website design or development were mentioned? That’s because they’re not as important as actually having a website strategy that gets results. In fact, a proper strategy may not even need to include the redesign of your website. Instead, you should focus on all the the activities surrounding your website. The state of the web is becoming increasingly decentralized; people spend the majority of their online time on search engines and participating in social networks. On top of this, it’s a generally accepted stat that 80% of website visitors only read 20% of a website’s content. So, instead of putting all your online marketing budget on a fancy centralized website you should consider how you can leverage the decentralized nature of the web by optimizing your current site for search engines and appearing in multiple places online. Use these efforts to drive people back to your website where you have landing pages or specific calls-to-action.
For a good example of this in practice please read the case study for Lexis Developments – This custom home builder redesigned their website for less than $5000 by leveraging the existing social media spaces they were operating in and optimized the website design for both user experience and search engines. Within a week of their site being launched they were being found in search engines and had prospects calling them!
What are your thoughts? Please comment below OR send me an email OR give me a call at 306 229 9437 OR request a free consultation. One more option, I offer an email subscription for receiving new blog updates.
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