Don't you love when you visit a website and you feel inspired!? You don't have to be a web developer, graphic designer or social media master to inspire your visitors too!
15 Tips to Freshen up your Website:
1. Get Social! If you don't have links to your social networks… time to add them. There are many plug-ins for wordpress and other platforms that can be easily integrated. Not only will they liven up your website with some color…most important they will enable your visitors to connect with you via other platforms you are using.
2. Get Blogging! If you don't already have a blog, add one! If you already have one, use it! Google and other search engines love fresh content. If you are a small business or entrepreneur and have an html site, you should consider using WordPress. It is easy to setup and customize. Many agencies can help you setup and install a basic blog for less than $1000.
3. Freshen up Your Color Palette. If you already have a branded color palette, are you using it? If not, get out the pantone colors you originally selected and start using them. You can select photos, treat fonts of headings, special interest text etc. A little bit of color goes a long way in improving user experience and click thru ratios. Use color to guide your viewers to the most important content.
4. Freshen up Content! If you haven't updated your content since you built your site a year ago… or even in the last 3 months.. it's time! Take a walk thru your own website pretending to be a member of each of your target audiences. Or ask a friend to do the same thing. Count the number of click-thrus it takes a user to get to the recommended content. Chances are you have content that could be removed, thus improving user experience. If your go to market strategy or product portfolio has evolved be sure to update content.
5. Add some photos! If you don't already have a Flickr account… get one! If you don't have pics of your team, your customers or your partners…take some! Link the Flickr account using your social media widgets I mentioned in #1. Photos are great to highlight your customers and give them some free visibility as well as help prospects and customers get to know your better.
6. Become a Video Star! You don't have to be famous or an American Idol winner to really leverage video to maximize your site search engine optimization and inspire your visitors! If you don't have a video camera, pick up a flip for less than $200! The key with social and viral videos is don't over plan them. Keep them raw, real and fun! Also link these from your site! If you don't already have one, setup a You Tube channel. Add all of your videos on You tube! Setup playlists and also subscribe to videos you like from other sources. I like to favorite them so my viewers can view them when they visit my You Tube channel.
7. Add a Survey! Get your visitors interacting and learn about them at the same time! Create a survey about a topic of interest to help people learn. I like to use Poll Daddy as it integrates well with WordPress. There are many others out there. Many email service providers also offer survey features.
8. Add Some New Buttons or Graphics. Download some new buttons, icons or graphics. I like ThemeForrest for graphics and icons.
9. Check for Consistency! This is a simple step you can take to improve the readibility and increase return visits to your website. If a site is inconsistent it is more difficult to read and often frustrates most viewers. Check for consistency with fonts, font treatments, colors, paragraph spacing, use of graphics, placement of similar graphics.
10. Optimize for Conversion. If you don't already objectives for your website, create them! Ensure your top objectives are being met. A top objective for most website owners is to build a subsciber list. Ensure your opt-in list is easy to see, works like a charm and doesn't take the user too much time or clicks. Whatever your top objectives are, they shouldn't be less than 1 click away! Top objectives should be viewable from home page if possible.
11. Get Real! Assess your tone of content. Do you sound too corporate? Just because your site is for business, doesn't mean it can't be inspiring. Again, focus on core objectives and ensure the tone of your entire website is reflecting the desired tone. I have seen many small businesses lately have sites that are far too formal for their audience. You can still be serious and talk to your customers like people versus robots. Use similar language as to what you would if you were talking face to face.
12. Add Audio. Record a short audio recording. It can be as simple as a weekly update or a generic opening to your company. In addition to adding to your website or blog but also post it to your other social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
13. Update your Website Theme. If you are on WordPress for example it's fairly easy to update your theme. Do a search on Google for themes. There are many great free and premium themes. Some of my favorite theme sites are Themeforest, Woo Themes, Thesis, iThemes in addition to several others. If you lack the skills to do such or don't feel comfortable taking on such a project, leverage the skills of an agency or consultant. Contact me offline if you need help.
14. Invite Guest Bloggers. Leverage your network of colleagues and business partners. Ask them if they can create a guest blog post on your website. This will add credibility to what you do while also assist in building good relationships with strategic partners.
15. Add Some Humor! Add some funny video, audio or even photos. Write a funny blog post, video tape a funny employee or customer. Why not get out your flip camera and create funny video series that makes people laugh a lot and educates them on your brand a bit.
Remember, the best way to build a brand and a loyal following is to INSPIRE and CONNECT with your target audiences. Don't just focus on the objective of ACHIEVING a sale.
Focus on how you make your customers feel with every touch including the visit to your website. Maximize each and every opportunity as if it were your first and last!
Don’t get bogged down by the details, have fun with it! You can make it a fun activity within your office, allow each department the opportunity to create their own video. This allows your customers the opportunity to meet your staff and will allow your staff the opportunity to let their personalities shine!
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Chad Johannesen and Danielle Uskovic, Pam Moore. Pam Moore said: Inspire Me Please! 15 tips to freshen up your website today! http://bit.ly/9LohZh #socialmedia […]
I discovered your blog through LinkedIn.
I appreciate the ideas you've presented as these tips can all make a website more dynamic, but I think it's important to point out that if the content you create isn't based on a clear objective or doesn't provide true value to your targeted audience, it can be a lot of noise (unless your objective is simply to create a following for your ideas and not to grow a business).
Blogs or videos that are created without “overplanning” might draw an audience, but not necessarily the one you are spending your time and money to reach.
I don't mean to be critical, as this is a helpful guide for marketing people who know exactly what they are doing. But since this might reach a wider audience, I wanted to add that warning.
Lisa, thanks for your comment! Glad you found us.
I couldn't agree with you more. If you check out some of our other postings and content we are all about planned and integrated marketing. We avoid “Random Acts of Marketing” and instead focus on making every activity produce a positive return.
This particular post had objectives of offering ideas for how to freshen up your website. By no means is it a web or business strategy. Instead it's a tactical list of ideas or tips in case you are stuck or haven't grasped the latest technology and capabilities of social media, web 2.0 etc.
There are many businesses that don't know where to start when it comes to marketing, websites, blogging, etc. If I can inspire them to simply get started then that's a bonus.
At the end of the day people buy from people. Connecting with the right people is the key. Inspiring them to connect in the first place and eventually purchase from you is an objective obviously. However, if you build relationships, build marketing materials and website content with only the focus on a business objective of selling you might miss your objective all together.
We had a 2nd meeting with a very strategic potential client just last week. At the end of the conversation he told us “you have educated me, you have inspired me. You are exciting and it makes me want to work with you”. This particular business had interviewed numerous agencies in the area. We are one of the first to make it to the level of our follow-up meeting next week. This didn't happen because of an objective of selling. It happened because we are “walking the walk” in social media, can help him integrate multiple marketing mediums into one cohesive strategy. It was the connection he felt with our content, our website, our Twitter feeds and our team as we met with him.
Authentic relationships are the key in social media and business. They are what will build your tribes, your communities and your business. My belief is success is achieved when objectives and relationships align. They both are more powerful together than they are as one.
Good points. I appreciate your insight and time!
Pam, I knew from your website that you were not about “random acts of marketing” and have a lot of great experience.
But because I was directed to this one blog post from another source and read it independent of any other information, I thought it could be misleading to someone with no marketing background.
Social media is a great tactic for making connections, but I think it's important to keep reminding both clients and those who want to get into this business, that if they don't have any idea what they're going to do with all their new connections, they aren't meaningful.
I'm seeing more and more people who do think that content marketing is nothing more than starting a blog or posting a video and going viral. To keep up with the newest developments with the technology, I've been “attending” the Social Media Success Summit 2010 that has drawn almost 2,000 people. And I'm amazed at how many attendees seem to be hanging out their shingles as e-marketing experts, ready to start selling their services as soon as the webinar series is over. Others are looking for ways to grow their own businesses. Many have never done any form of marketing. If they're going to be doing this and reading blogs to learn the industry, I think it's important to remind them constantly that there is more to it than simply being social. (Otherwise they wouldn't need professional marketing people to help them, and then where would we be?).
I'll look forward to your future posts, now that I've discovered you.