5 minute read
KEEPING YOUR DIGITAL MARKETING HUMMING PT.2
Keep Your Digital Marketing Thingmajig Humming.
Have you ever had that unforgettable date where everything was perfect? Maybe the stars were out, and the night was warm. Your date was dreamy. The words heard and spoken were just memorable.
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Come down to earth, honey. It never happens, but the experience of a firsttime visitor on your website should feel like that date -- albeit with your digital persona.
Like any date, perfection is the goal because you want the "getting to know you" phase to end with getting a lead. On the web, like in real life -looks matter, and words are farreaching.
Why looks matter
No one wants to look shabby in front of visitors. You want to look well put together. That is web aesthetics, the confluence of color, font, and design elements that affect the user experience in your website. Professional aesthetics will make your website very appealing to visitors. They will stay on-site longer and increase the chances of discovering the relevant details of your staging business. You want to engage with them, hence the term engagement (frequently used in digital marketing).
Design and color.
So let's talk colors and brands. Most of us associate a brand with color.
For example, we will always expect the Coca-cola logo to be red, and McDonald's is yellow. We know that something is wrong if Home Depot is blue.
Color selection is based on values and attitudes. For example, HSRA's shade of red tells of the passion of its members for home staging.
Have you identified your brand color, and most importantly, do you know why it is your color?
Snap Decisions
Your brand colors will combine with a few other colors to make up the color scheme of your web design.
The frequently used rule for color schemes is the 60–30–10 Rule. Everyone knows this-- 60% of the color scheme (palette) is for one color (on the web, a neutral color), 30% is complementary, 10% is used for accents (for example, bars and lines) All the elements that make up your website design, like the menu, fonts, content, and graphics (boxes, lines, bars), must be colored by the 60-30-10 rule.
The design is [in most cases] the basis for a snap judgment of your brand or staging ability. Every visitor has that tendency. In a study by the University of Surrey, 75% of visitors made snap decisions about credibility based on the web design.
Words are crucial
Words (others refer to it as messaging) are crucial.
Have you ever noticed how good friends talk? It may be at a noisy bar or while strolling a busy street. Between good friends, the conversation is always lively, with heaps of positive vibes. Even the tiny facial expressions confirm that they are full-on engaged with each other.
Talk to your visitor as you would your friend. You don't overpower a conversation with a friend. Try to avoid too much sales talk.
Engagement is the whole point of your digital marketing thingmajig. You do it by the words and the images and videos you use.
The former, however, will be pivotal to persuading your visitor to become a client.
Even with a fully developed website, you need to review your message periodically. Current events and circumstances happen and disrupt life and the way we do business. You must have some discussion (content) about this on your website. As an example, COVID, regardless of your views, everyone is affected by it. There might be people visiting your site--some coming off Google search. For sure, they have seen the COVID statements of other companies. Crisis management is a good indicator of a well-managed company. Why are they not seeing your statement?
Craft the messaging, engagement will follow.
You can also set aside a blog section and write content related to promos, holidays, and more. Blogs are the best way to increase domain authority. Omg, what is that? That is Google's fancy-schmancy way of saying -- hey business owner, update your website often if you want it to rank high.
Placing a comment section allows you to chat up your visitors. Google interprets every new comment as an update that positively affects your web ranking.
Do fonts matter?
Absolutely. The fonts you use on your website reflect the character of your business and the brand psyche. Do you use serif fonts? You are telling visitors that you are traditional and reliable. San Serif fonts like Helvetica suggests modernity and style. In her book, Why Fonts Matter, Sarah Hyndman said that fonts have different personalities that evoke trust or make a product taste better. Mix and match fonts so you look yummy to visitors. Design theory suggests you can use up to three font types.
Test always, young padawan.
Every Star Wars fan saw how Yoda tested Skywalker to near breaking point. On your website, you need to find the breaking point, if any. Yoda did say, “do not assume anything. Clear your mind must be.
In other words, your should test thoroughly. Every link should work. If you use a map, make sure you have a working link to the provider (like Google Maps). Sometimes the map can go blank, which is indicative of a browser cookie issue. Most importantly, if you use a fill-up form, it should store every information. Many promising lead conversions go bust just because of a failed fill-up form.
Display your certs on the website
Job recruiters usually favor people who include their professional license or certificates (certs) on their resumes. The same kind of distinction and prestige is placed on your business if you display certs, affiliations, or awards, if any, on your website. You gain a clear advantage over your colleague or competitor. No cert? HSRA offers Designations. It is a short course, and certificates are issued whereafter.
The real work begins after you build it.
My father once told me that when the work is finally done, the other work— the real work—begins and continues. The web construction project may be over but, now the maintenance of it begins. Also, do not forget the other half of your digital marketing thingmajig-- the social media baby. If you want it to grow, it will need some tender loving care. But, that is a topic for another time..
