A friend touched me for some free advice this week, asking: How do I go about revamping my website and marketing without it costing much?
I hear this kind of thing quite frequently from managers and senior staff at multimillion corporations as well as individual consultants, hoping to drum up a stack of new work.
Alas, I don’t have a free two-minute answer to that or a magic wand. Sure, I can sit down at a laptop and bash a few comments out, and I can surf around the web and point to what works and what doesn’t, but that’s not really going to deliver a quality response.
Communications and marketing strategies aren’t something you just knock off on a chilly January afternoon in an hour, I’m afraid.
I know most consultants and bureaus won’t charge you over the top prices to get going, particularly in the current economic climate, but we’ve got to eat. But without wanting to irritate people too much, he’s my Instant Guide to Web Marketing Success. In future I’ll just direct people to this post:
Do I need a blog?
Yes
Should I be on Twitter
Yes
Do I have to publish something everyday.
Preferably.
Do I have to write lots of stuff.
Yes.
More than once a week?
For your blog, yes. Several times a day on Twitter or Facebook Fan Page.
What! When do I do that?
You could hire an intern or get your Communications Dpt to handle that. Or sit up late at night.
What about a Facebook Fan Page. How important is it? Should I get one?
Yes, Good idea.
Tell me how to set it up and the strategies that make it convert to business, sales, etc. Please!
Post. Be nice. Respond. Answer questions. Don’t try to sell.
Then what?
Use it. Just like your Twitter account. And link them all together.Try and make friends with people online too. Really, be nice.
Back to my website. Do I have to worry about SEO?
Yes.
What is SEO again?
Search engine optimisation.
But Flash is good, right?
No.
What kind of web design works best for business?
It depends on your aims, customers, budget. There lots of variables.
Do I need to build an email newsletter list?
Yes.
I can bash out an email newsletter once a month over coffee. That’s how people do it, right?
No!
You mean I have to invest in this and actually think things through.
Yes. You got it.
It will only take a couple of days, won’t it? Fixing your website?
No. You need to review, plan and then implement changes.
Won’t that cost?
Yes.
And then we can put lots of banner ads up on a couple of key websites?
Well, not really. They don’t work that well.
Or an ad in the newspaper? Will that get people to visit our website?
Not necessarily. Probably not.
So what will get people to our website?
Quality content, regularly published. A well-coded website that knows plenty about SEO and is linked to by other people. Oh, and you need to build a network of “friends” or “followers” who are interested in what you do.
Can’t I just buy a list?
No!
How long will it take to get people interested in us?
6 months. A year. It depends on how well you engage and the content you provide. And whether or not you’re approachable, findable and friendly.
And I have to do all this if I want my website to attract visitors and get them to buy something?
Pretty much, yes.
So if you want help with your communications and marketing, just get in touch!
Related posts:
At the risk of sounding like a heretic, I actually don’t think a blog or Twitter is necessary for everyone … at least not yet!! But I love this cheeky post!
Spot on, Mark. You’re right. I don’t think everyone should be taking the same approach and Twitter, Facebook, etc, isn’t for everyone. It comes down to what the client is trying to achieve in the first place.
But thanks for joining in. Funny how sometimes the most hastily written of posts can nail something on the head!
Great post Jon! I totally agree that social media cannot be ignored or rushed! Though I’d second Mark’s comment. Not everyone can actually deal with all that at once. That’s why I suggest building communications organically to my clients. See what channel is best for them to use for starting and then getting deeper into it by adding others one after the other.
Just got a request the other day from someone crying for help with their business facebook fanpage.I saw they were already using Twitter in the comlpetely wrong way (advertising megaphone) and asked them why they wanted a fecebook page. Reply: Because everyone is there, no? – ARGH!
Thanks Annette. I think the client has to start out by identifying what or where they want to be in the first place.
My response here was primarily because the person who spoke to me already had a website and wanted to get in on Twitter and Facebook and, well, the whole shebang in one easy step. Which of course doesn’t exits.
I agree about growing organically. But each stage much be assessed for ROI. Data collection, strategy review and implementation of changes is essential. But then we know that; it’s the clients that need to be walked carefully through each stage.