Marketing matters – Building a website

Growing your business and building a website that attracts customers should be a priority for all business owners.

Investing in marketing is key to building a website and optimising your social media efforts. Without it you are allowing your competitors to get ahead of the game.

The history of marketing

Marketing can be dated back to the 1800’s when printing in ink was made available to the masses.

Advertising was at its peak during the 1940-60’s, where we saw the birth of the glossy mag, such as Vogue and Cosmopolitan and was a great platform for designers to flaunt their creations.

Then and now

Previously campaigns only reached local communities, leaflet distribution and newspaper advertisements were the only methods of marketing your business. However, for some, these tactics still work well and leaflet distribution can have fantastic results.

Since 1886, businesses relied on business booklets, such as the Yellow Pages. Yellow Pages was one of the most successful methods of marketing your business within your local community in the UK until the demise of the printed version in January 2019.

It was then that Yellow Pages recognised the power of social media and online presence, moving it’s business solely online.

The shift in social media

In recent years there has been an astronomical shift in the use of social media. Consequently, the ability to reach global shores and audiences that were previously out of reach, are now contactable within seconds at the click of a button.

The new celebrity amongst Millennial’s is no longer the movie or pop star, but the Vlogger, blogger or YouTube sensation.

Business are tapping into this phenomenon and using social media apps as a way of advertising their services or products.

I’m not confessing that i am an expert, in fact i am relatively new to marketing and have learnt a lot through a ‘just give it a go’ attitude. So although this doesn’t necessarily make me an expert, i can sympathise with those who find it a little daunting.

This article is just to give a brief introduction and i have created links for you to follow in order to gain more information. I hope it helps!

All about online presence

In 1990, computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, opening up a whole new world with endless possibilities, developing and evolving every day.

Love it or hate it, maximising your presence on the internet is a modern requirement for all businesses.

Even the most experienced marketeers are learning new techniques all the time as the internet introduces new and improved social media apps.

Marketing is continuously evolving skill that business owners should make themselves familiar with.

Where to start

Website

Before you get started on social media, you must create a website. A large majority of your social media and marketing efforts will direct prospects to your website.

Websites give a first impression, are interactive, provide more information and fundamentally are accessible any time, anywhere.

Websites can be created by professional web designers or, if you are more confident, you could create a website yourself. Companies such as GoDaddy, www.squarespace.com and www.wix.com are some of many agents you can use to build your website.

For confident users, a website can be created using WordPress , a content management system used by professional web designers and possibly by some of the companies named above.

WordPress is very user friendly, but some knowledge is advisable as it will involve an element of coding, installing plug-ins and general daily maintenance.

That being said, you could get someone to design the initial website then maintain and update it yourself, this may cut down costs a little in the long run.

Alongside WordPress you will need to use a search-optimisation plug-in called Yoast.

Yoast can help otimise your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). Please note, that many plug-ins are free, but in order to get maximum usage, a fee will apply. If there was a plug-in worth paying for, I would suggest Yoast.

Get the look

Research suggests that users spend less than 15 seconds on a website before clicking off, this is know as ‘Bounce rate‘.

Your homepage is the first page the user will see, so it needs to be attractive and direct. Therefore, it is vital that you grab audience interest immediately.

A great look can be achieved by use of effective use of fonts, graphics, videos, bright and interesting images or sound.

Fundamentally, you need to get your message across, who you are, what you do and importantly how to get in touch, otherwise know as a ‘call to action’.

A call to action must be made visible on every page, either in the form of a ‘contact us’ button or a number displayed at the top of the screen.

The aim is to make it as easy as possible for prospects to contact you quickly.

Linking your website and social media

To ensure all your post, blogs and updates are consistent, consider linking your social media pages to your website. Links on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can divert subscribers directly to your website.

Alongside that, any blogs and posts published on your website through WordPress will automatically upload to your social media sites.

This is fairly easy to do and will save time in the long as well as keep all your pages up-to-date and consistent.

Just the beginning

There is far more to marketing and to get the most out of it requires a bigger budget. Ultimately, you will need to come up with a marketing plan and a budget for the year.

Prioritise what areas need attention first and set out a yearly plan on what you want to achieve. Be sure to install analytics tools to your website so you can monitor your progress. Try using Google Analytics.

Watch out for more information on our website www.research-runner.com.