Why You Need A Proper Website, And What to Put On It By Nick Bendel

You need a website. Not a Facebook page or even one of those free Google websites – but a proper, legitimate website.

You might think investing in a website is overkill, because why would customers care if their local barber has a website? But the thing is, if one of your rivals has a website and your shop doesn’t, they’ll immediately look more professional, which will make them more attractive to potential customers. Also, when customers do an online search for “[Your suburb] barber”, if your rivals have a website and you don’t, they’ll rank higher on Google, and will therefore be more likely to win the business.

So, yes, you really do need to invest in a website. There are a couple of options:

- You could pay a web developer to build your own unique website. This requires a sizeable upfront cost (at least $1,000) and means you have to take the time to find a web developer and oversee the project.

But once it’s built, you’ll be able to use this website for many years to come, and your only ongoing costs will be relatively minor annual fees for hosting, domain registration and security.

- You could use a DIY website builder like Wix or Squarespace. This involves a much smaller upfront cost and doesn’t require you to find a developer or oversee a website build. However, you will have to pay ongoing monthly fees, which will be more costly in the long-term.

WHAT CONTENT TO PUT ON YOUR WEBSITE

Once you’ve decided what type of website you want, you need to decide what content to put on it.

The basic option is to create a one-page website that’s basically just an online brochure. For this kind of website, you should include:

- A main image (showing the outside of your shop, the inside of your shop or your staff) - Some text that explains why your barbershop is so good - A list of services - Your address - Your opening hours - Your contact details - Links to your social media pages

The intermediate option is to build a multipage website that includes all the above information, as well as:

- An ‘About’ page - Staff bios - A booking form - Customer reviews

With both the basic and intermediate options, you need to do almost no ongoing work, apart from the occasional update to your list of services, staff bios or customer reviews.

The advanced option, though, does require ongoing work. That’s because an advanced website should not only include all of the above information, but also: - A media page (for photos and/or videos) - A blog

HOW TO USE PHOTOS AND VIDEOS IN YOUR MARKETING

One clever marketing tactic is to take photos and/or videos of your customers (with their permission). Here’s why it’s such a good idea:

- You can use before-and-after images to highlight the quality of your work

- You gain social proof – because if a customer’s friends and neighbours are visiting your barbershop, it must be good

- You improve your Google ranking – because Google rewards websites that regularly post new, relevant content

- You can republish the same photos and videos on social media

How often should you upload photos and videos? Ideally, every day. But if you can’t commit to daily, do weekly.

HOW TO USE BLOGS IN YOUR MARKETING

You should use your blog to educate customers. That means writing articles about:

- Hairstyles

- Hair trends

- Hair maintenance tips

- Grooming products

Here’s why publishing regular blog content is such a clever marketing tactic:

- You’ll establish yourself as a trusted expert

- You’ll improve your Google ranking

- You can republish the blogs (either in full or in snippets) on social media

But a word of warning – don’t start a blog if you’re not prepared to write new articles at least once per month. That’s because you’ll look unprofessional if a customer visits your website and discovers the most recent blog entry was from three years ago.

Nick Bendel is the director of Hunter & Scribe, a copywriting / content marketing agency that writes blogs, social media posts, website text and other content for businesses.