I am going to start this monologue with a question. Why do you want a website?

A lot of my clients contact me requesting a website. Not too weird, I guess, I do call myself a web designer. However, when I in turn ask my clients why they want a web site, they often give me answers like “because everyone else has one” and “because we need one”. Today, I’m going to discuss how a website shouldn’t be created just for the reason of existence, but to be the hub of your online marketing effort.

Throughout my work day, I stumble upon many failed attempts at online marketing. I look at websites that haven’t been updated with a single news story or blog post in ages. I follow companies on Twitter that tweeted twice the last year. I have “liked” firms on Facebook that hasn’t done a single thing with their followers to this day. In other words – a lot of wasted effort.

Many companies get stuck in this limbo where they have everything set up for them to make it big online – and no time to take advantage of them. They have a nice-looking web site, accounts on the social media networks and they have even set up Google Analytics to track the users that stop by their website. Often, in smaller firms, the person responsible for marketing is happy with his or her efforts by this point, telling her boss it now is just a question of time before customers will be clogging their inbox with orders and requests for their services.

Then times go by. Not exactly the response you were looking for, was it? I will be the first to admit that I have worked with clients that have gotten back to me after a few months, telling me that the web site I produced for them was a waste of money and time on their part – it’s done nothing to promote them as a company. So I navigate over to their site and find the newest blog post is “Welcome to our new website!” – the same one I put up ages ago. I ask the company about their marketing efforts, and they tell me this is it. Then I usually tell them what to do to make good on their investment, and a few months later, they are happy customers again.

So if you are a client in a similar situation – with a great looking website and no visitors – and no idea where to go from there, this is for you!

A website should be the hub of your internet marketing

That’s right – your company website should be the hub of your internet marketing efforts – not your only internet marketing effort. See – the most search engined optimized site in the world is not going to get you any visitors unless you get people talking about it! It’s great that you have a good looking website with all the newest bells and whistles, but without people knowing about it, it’s not going to do you any good.

What I mean with your website being the hub of your internet marketing efforts, is that it will be just that – where you want everybody to come. To get them there, however, is where the hard work lays. Think of your website as a shop – you want people to come in so that you can show them what you can offer! Here are some general tips on how to do just that:

Advertise!

Mind-boggling isn’t it? Advertising doesn’t stop being a useful tool just because you are online now – it actually became much better! Not only is online advertising cheaper, it allows you to advertise to a very specific group of customers. Let’s say you want to advertise with a search engine like Google or Bing! – your advertisement will only show up when people search for the keywords or terms that you have decided. In other words – you’re not marketing your luxury automobiles to 16-year olds, or your women’s shoes to men.

Another upside about online marketing is that it is very easy to update as time goes by. If you’re having a PPC (pay-per-click) campaign running, you can change the keywords and your ad itself as you go along with ease. If you need help putting a campaign like this – I’ll be more than able to help you out.

Use the social media

You might have noticed the increased presence of companies and brands on your favorite social network (read: most probably Facebook). There is a reason for that – it is a great marketing channel! Actually, it’s even more than that. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter allows the companies to interact directly with their customers, giving them special offers and even more special treatment as they went along.

Let me give you a great example. I stumbled upon a clothing brand on Facebook here the other day. I ordered some clothes from their website, and I wrote “thanks for your cool clothes and quick service” on their Facebook page. The next day, I had a friend request pending from their main PR guy, who wanted to thank me personally for my business. Today, this very brand is one of my top choices when it comes to clothes and the like. I guess I – just like most people – love attention :-)

Use your website (and others)!

When you order your website, and you request a blog, news features and what not, most web designers expect you to use them. Having a popular blog is a great marketing tool as well, because if you get a user to stop by your blog, chances are he or she will check out the rest of your web site as well. Give users great content, and they will pay you back with unpaid praise on their own blogs and social media accounts. The best marketing there is :-)

Another reason blogging on your website every now and then is a good idea, is that it gives your users a reason to come back – and by that re-expose them to your products or services. The search engines also like a web site that is updated every so often – so this is a win-win situation. The only cost is the time you put in – which can be as high or as low as you want.

Go multimedia!

This one is for the more ambitious companies, but then again, that often translates to the most profitable. Put yourself out there with a company video blog, podcasts, infomercials and funny twists on viral videos to promote your own business. YouTube and Vimeo is a great playground for these types of activities, and if you just invest in a handheld camera and some video-editing skills, you will get far. Perhaps your video will even go viral – with the right attitude, some good humor and a bit of luck, it might!

Use your customer base!

If you already have a solid customer base, using their information to generate repeat business is easier than you might think. If it’s a big group of people, invest some time and money in a newsletter. If your customer base is like mine – a select few – you might even want to write them personal e-mails from time to time, telling them about your new offers. Regardless of your approach, you will gain profits – sending an e-mail is pretty much free :-)

In other words, it’s a lot of hard work ahead of you if you want to play with the big boys of today’s internet. Whatever your goal is, you will reach it with the correct efforts and approach.

Good luck,

Kristofer