Storytelling on the Homepage

By: Joan Koehne, Packerland Websites

From the beginning of time, storytelling has been a compelling way to entertain, educate, and inform. A well-told story is like a gift to unwrap. You don’t know what’s hidden inside until you open the box. Likewise, visitors coming to your website open a digital package to find out what’s inside. Essentially, they want to know your story. Does your company have the characters, setting, and plot to produce the outcome they desire?

Customers are turned off by anything that sounds salesy, but a well-told story gives them a reason to relate to you – and to be loyal to your company.

A good place for storytelling is the homepage of your website.

The homepage needs to get the audience’s attention, and what better way than with images. Children love picture books, and they’re not the only ones who like stories with photos. An effective photo on the homepage shows action, creates interest, and helps define a company’s brand. Visual information is easier to process and remember than words.

In essence, the homepage photos should show a solution to your audience’s needs. A campground website showing moms, dads, and kids jumping into a swimming pool tells the story of a fun place for families to be together. Compare this fun image to an image of an empty swimming pool, and you get the idea.

Photos, videos, and slideshows create visual appeal and hold a viewer’s attention. Videos are so popular that YouTube is the number two search engine on the internet, with Google as being number one. Someone watching a video on your website is more engaged in your brand, so they’re likely to take the next step, like calling, ordering, or requesting an estimate.

In addition to images, words are powerful tools on a homepage - not just the paragraphs of text, but every word that appears on the webpage. A navigation menu, headings, subheadings, and call-to-action button summarize your story for the reader. An easy-to-find phone number and address encourage visitors to act.

You worked hard to get visitors to your website, so don’t make it difficult for them to call or stop in.

From a technical standpoint, make sure to integrate keywords and key phrases into your story. Although your story is written for human visitors, it’s also written for bots that determine where your company fits on search engine result pages like Google. Bots can’t see images or videos, so text is their primary means of indexing. But be careful not to overuse keywords. Storytelling should speak to visitors, not manipulate search engine results.

Additionally, storytelling should be geared to the audience. You wouldn’t read your kids a chemistry textbook. Instead, you’d choose a picture book suited to their age and interests. Likewise, try to define your website’s audience.

This gets tricky, because you need to speak to different audiences: current customers, potential customers, current employees, potential employees, and lots of other people. Try narrowing it down to a primary and secondary audience, and tailor your story to each. Your company has something that no other company has – its very own story. Essentially, your story is what differentiates you from all of the other “books on the shelf.” Storytelling is a powerful tool. Words, images, and videos convey a message, create connections, and form bonds. Stories are the reason customers want to be loyal to you and your company.

Every organization has its own story. Tell yours with gusto!

Your company has something that no other company has –its own story.

Trout by Kerry Paulson Automatic

Fisherman: A well-told story on a website includes images that show the solution to visitors’ needs. Fishermen want to catch fish, and this image on the homepage of Automatic Fisherman shows a successful catch. Owner Kerry Paulson holds a nice trout, caught with an Automatic Fisherman hook-setting device.

Packerland Websites team

Visual information is easier to process and remember than words. Photos like these from the homepage of Rustic Timbers Door County campground tell a story: Camping with us is fun for kids and families.

From Software Developer to Owner of Cirrus Training Center of the Year

By: Charlie Smith, Pilotsmith

More than 14 years ago, I took an introductory flight sold by a local flight school in Texas and with that one flight, the hook was set.

I went on to get my private pilot’s license just for fun and started my professional life as a software developer for Walgreens. I soon recognized the freedom that having a pilot’s license gave me. First, the freedom to fly my family to visit friends, family, and to vacation spots and second, feeding my love and passion for flying.

I quickly realized the benefit of earning an “instrument rating,” an additional rating for a pilot, giving them the ability to fly in the clouds. Shortly after earning that rating, I purchased a vintage 1970’s aircraft and began flying all over the eastern U.S. with my family, making memories that will last a lifetime.

Time to teach

After moving to Green Bay, my insurance agent convinced me to get my commercial pilot’s license. Still in my software developer job and attempting to feed my flying habit had become too overwhelming, so I took the leap and decided to earn my Certified Flight Instructor rating. I began teaching students part-time in addition to my full-time employment. After several months of teaching, the opportunity for a career change came; to leave my desk job and open a flight school. Pilotsmith began in 2014 with just two employees and growing to 24 today, making it one of the largest flight schools in Wisconsin.

Joining the Cirrus family

In 2018, we became a Cirrus Training Center (CTC). I saw Cirrus as the #1 selling aircraft brand in its class worldwide and wanted to be a part of that growth. PilotSmith is now a Platinum CTC and was recently awarded the highly coveted Cirrus Training Center of the year for 2021. This award recognizes a CTC that provides only the best services and highest quality to its customers and has growth that stands out from its peers.

Pilotsmith offers the total solution:

- Aircraft rental - Flight instruction - Purchase consultation - Aircraft management (once purchased)

Pilotsmith instructors even assist customers by going on trips and I’m proud that our team has made Cirrus aircraft training and ownership accessible to community members throughout Greater Green Bay and beyond.

2022 Chamber Events at a Glance

Learn more about events at GreaterGBC.org/events

Business Recognition Luncheon | Tuesday, June 7, 2022

The Business Recognition Awards Luncheon showcases Greater Green Bay business people and companies whose success and accomplishments have stood out in the community.

Chamber Golf Outing Classic | Monday, Aug. 15, 2022

The Greater Green Bay Chamber will host the 2022 Golf Outing Classic on the fairways at Wander Springs Golf Course in Greenleaf, WI. The event includes 18 holes of golf, lunch, and dinner, as well as raffles/contests on all holes.

Chamber Annual Dinner | Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022

Join us as we celebrate the Chamber’s 140th Annual Dinner. This special event honors the many volunteers who make the Chamber successful and celebrates recipients of the Daniel Whitney, Ambassador of the Year and ATHENA Leadership awards.

Find Your Inspiration | Wednesday, November 2, 2022

The Find Your Inspiration Experience provides the opportunity for eighth grade students and educators to be exposed to different industries and career fields in Greater Green Bay. Employers have the opportunity to showcase their industry and different career paths within their own organization.

View all Chamber events:

Celebrating One Year

of the Greater Green Bay Community Concierge Program

The concierge program was such a blessing to our family. We relocated from California unsure what this move would mean for us but trusting we would be welcomed into the community with open arms. Our concierge made us feel welcome and a part of a new community, as if we were her own family. Thank you, Green Bay. We are here to stay!

- Tracey Fuller T he Greater Green Bay Community Concierge program is designed to help your candidate or new hire discover the many facets of the area and jumpstart their engagement in the community. They are provided with the necessary information and diverse experiences to feel right at home in Greater Green Bay.

Since its inception we have:

• Partnered with seventeen local organizations in efforts to help attract and retain top talent • Provided thirty eight customized community tours with introductions to a variety of local businesses • Organized five community gatherings for our new residents to meet and connect with other professionals • Supported over sixty five individuals with their integration into the Greater Green Bay community • Implemented a Team-Up Community Tour (Coming June 2022)

To learn more:

Contact Morgan Doshi, Director of Talent, at mdoshi@greatergbc.org or 920.593.3418.

The Blueprint Green Bay

The second cohort of businesses in the Greater Green Bay Chamber’s Blueprint Green Bay accelerator are taking classes and nearing the finish line!

There are five companies in the program’s market validation segment: AppEase, FAVORYT Brand, Fridge Jerky, Unext, and the Urban Cultural Arts- Art & Event Center.

Over the last several weeks, these businesses have diligently worked to intelligently populate their business model canvas, understand how to articulate value, market sizing, turn assumptions into part of the financial model, and more.

Come out and see the companies pitch their progress to the community at Pitch Night on Thursday, May 26 from 6-8 p.m at the Urban Hub in Downtown Green Bay.

To learn more:

Contact Lamarr Banks, Urban Hub Community Manager, at lbanks@greatergbc.org or 920.496.2114.

INAUGURAL MEMBERS (140 YEARS)

Johnson Financial Group Sanimax USA LLC Associated Bank Green Bay

VIEW OUR MEMBER DIRECTORY

MAY 2022

40 years

Family Services of Northeast Wisconsin, Inc. Fox Communities Credit Union

30 years

The Volunteer Center of Brown County

20 years

H.J. Martin & Son, Inc.

15 years

Metzner’s Culligan Quality Water, Inc. CN Heartland Business Systems Apartment Association of Northeast Wisconsin, Inc.

10 years

Vandervest Harley-Davidson of Green Bay Rhyme

5 years

Oak Park Place of Green Bay Copper Rock Coffee/Copper State Brewing Company Green Bay Water Utility BConnected, LLC – Appleton

JUNE 2022

50 years

The Konop Companies

35 years

BE’s Refreshments REALTORS® Association of Northeast Wisconsin West Shore of Green Bay LLC

30 years

Clarity Care Curative Connections

25 years

Mc Dermid Accounting & Consulting LLC

15 years

Apple Creek Campground Fox Valley Metal-Tech, Inc. Perret Homes Inc. Seroogy’s Chocolates

10 years

Pizza Ranch Remedy Intelligent Staffing

5 years

Ashwaubenon Community Center Kewaunee School District Main Street Commons NEW Fusion Dance & Performing Arts Wisconsin Early Autism Project

JULY 2022

40 years

CliftonLarsonAllen LLP

30 years

Lakeland University, Inc.

25 years

Technology Architects, Inc.

15 years

Graymont Howard-Suamico Business & Professional Association

10 years

Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity ReStore

5 years

Duck Creek Vineyard and Winery Einstein Project Familia Dental NEWCAP, Inc. Pella Windows and Doors of Wisconsin