Month: November 2020

The impact of digital marketing has forever changed the way companies operate and communicate with their customers.

The effect of digital marketing strategies had consequences on profit margins and the ability of a business to grow. Without incorporating this style of advertising into a broader messaging campaign, a brand severely limits its ability to be successful.

A business that doesn’t embrace digital marketing strategies limits the growth opportunities for its business. If you want to grow your business with digital marketing, let’s look at its impact:

1. Find customers that you would have never encountered otherwise via SEO
2. Understand what channels drive sales for your company
3. Communicate your message and better connect you with both current and prospective customers
4. Establish a presence online
5. Personalize your brand and control the messaging
6. Provide tools that better allow you to target your core customers
7. Provide value to your customers and showcase content that matters to them

1. Find Customers That You Would Have Never Encountered Via SEO

If you have even a basic understanding of digital marketing you have heard the phrase and acronym SEO. This abbreviation stands for search engine optimization. The objective of using SEO techniques is to increase where your content is ranked by the search engines. The higher you rank, the better your chances are of getting your website and other content in front of potential customers. 

Ranking is critical since 75% of searchers won’t go past the first page of Google search results. 

From your perspective, the more traffic that you generate to your website means a chance to increase your business. Each person who arrives at your site that isn’t an existing customer is a chance to grow your database. This visitor could end up joining your email list or making a purchase that day from your eCommerce store. 

While the customers you have are already valuable, every brand needs to grow its customer base to survive. 

Using SEO techniques allow you to do just that. 

Another reason why SEO enhances digital marketing impact on business is that it builds credibility in your site with Google. 

The more Google sees your site as an authority on its designated subject matter, the higher they will value it. 

This also boosts your chances of being seen by more web browsers. To help with this area, work on creating quality backlinks as one of the ways to increase your authority.

2. Understand What Channels Drive Sales for Your Company

One of the best things about the impact of digital marketing on business growth is that you can see results almost in real-time.

If you launch an ad campaign and you see a spike in sales, then you can attribute that spike to your campaign. There are tools you can use to see which channels and which ads bring you the most traffic as well. All of these are helpful in planning where to make your next ad buy and how much you should invest. 

The most important thing you will need to do before starting any marketing campaign is to decide what metrics you want to study and measure. 

Once you know the objective, then it is easier to create the ad to drive the desired outcome. If you want to drive sales, then you want to track how well your ad does in converting viewers into buyers. If you want to drive brand awareness by getting more followers to your social media channels, observe your numbers after your campaign launches.

Tools to grow your business with digital marketing

To make things less complicated, use a marketing program to help you monitor your ROI and track all your analytics. There are tools made just for tracking specific platforms or you could use a fully integrated CRM that can handle all digital marketing needs. 

• Hubspot is a fully integrated CRM that keeps all your data in one place and can handle multiple different types of digital marketing efforts. Their platform can help you track your SEO efforts, email drip campaigns, website traffic, and more. 
• GetResponse is an email marketing program that helps you create landing pages and email marketing campaigns. Their program can tell you precisely who opened your email at what time and tell you what links in your email they clicked. Their program also lets you segment your list for improved efficiency.
• Hootsuite is a terrific platform to use for tracking your social media campaigns and social listening efforts. It brings the data from all your social channels into one place and helps you see what audience segments respond to your campaigns. As a plus, it will also help you schedule your social postings.
• Google Analytics can help you examine your website traffic and where it is originating from. Since Google also has its own services like Google search and display ads, the ability to track and analyze that data is there as well.

3. Incorporate Social Media to Help You Share Your Message And Better Connect With Both Current And Prospective Customers

Social media dominates many aspects of the average person’s life. It should also play a large part in any digital marketing strategy you embark on. Social media channels are just one more way you can connect with new and old customers alike. They also offer you the chance to cross-promote your content from channel to channel. 

Here are some other powerful reasons you need a social media presence and strategy.

• Let’s a business have conversations with customers that may not have happened otherwise. This helps customers feel like they are a part of something and that a company values them.
• Social media is great for being able to react quickly to customer feedback and respond to questions.
• You can use your channels to keep an eye on the competition and see what they are saying & doing and how customers are reacting to their messaging.
• You can utilize social listening tools to see what people are saying about your brand even when you are not tagged in their comments.

4. Establish A Presence Online

In today’s world, if you aren’t online no one is going to find you. You must establish an online presence in order to see an impact of digital marketing on branding and business growth.

The modern customer doesn’t look through a phonebook; they use Google, Facebook, or ask their friends on social media. If you aren’t there, you are missing out. The average person spends over two hours on social media every day. When a person has the thought to look at a product or service, you must have a presence where they will be searching.

Creating your social media accounts is the first thing a brand should do when trying to extend the impact of digital marketing on business growth.

Social media is one of the first places a person will look to find a company. As an FYI – you don’t need to be on every social network. Only join the channels where your customers are going to be. Do your research on all the available networks and compare that to your ideal customer base.

One of the most important things a company must do is claim their Google Business listing. 

Since the bulk of searches happen on Google, you want to take advantage of every tool their search engine has. By claiming your Google listing, your exact location will show up in a local Google search and on their maps application. This will help bring customers directly to your door. These listings should include your address, website address, and your phone number. 

Without a social media footprint, a potential customer may think your brand has something to hide. Your company will also be viewed as less than trustworthy. 

5. Personalize Your Brand And Control The Messaging

Digital media is the one place where the company is fully in control of the message and its response to customer feedback. 

If a news story is posted online about your brand, you have no ability to counter any of the comments made by readers. But if you post a critique of your brand, along with any reflections or rebuttals you have on your own social channels, you are 100% in control of what you say and how you handle the responses to it. 

Google Reviews are a terrific example of this point in action. 

Individuals can post anything they want on a company’s Google Reviews. Smart brands make it a point to respond to these reviews, either as a chance to work through any issues a customer has experienced or to rebut a review that is unwarranted or false.

Here are some other powerful ways the impact of digital marketing can help you craft and control your brand message:

• When possible, personalize your ads and emails with the name of your customer or other specific details.
• Use your customer and buyer personas to help guide the types of content that you create. Make sure you create content that resonates with your customers.
• You can use the data that you gain during your campaigns to help you improve your future decisions.

6. Utilize Tools To Target Your Core Customers

There are a multitude of reasons digital marketing has a major impact compared to traditional forms of marketing, but one of the most obvious reasons is that it provides invaluable data to a company on its customers. 

The more you know about the people who interact with your website and your content, the better you can position yourself for the future. Through data analysis, you can know who interacts with your content and when. This means you can adjust your content and the channels that you use to display that content based on this information.

This chart shows some of the best performing channels for digital marketing. However, keep in mind the demographics of your core customer may not line up with this chart as it is an average. Figure out what works best for your brand and delivers the best ROI. 

Email marketing consistently offers the best ROI out of any digital marketing method for the sale of products, but this may not prove true for other industries.

7. Provide Value To Your Customers And Showcase Content That Matters To Them

A large part of any digital marketing strategy is content marketing. 

Content is more than just the words on a web page. Content includes web copy, blog posts, social blurbs and hashtags, video, and even photos. It is all-encompassing. By developing a strategy that includes these forms of content for your viewers, you can rest assured that you are providing your customers with what they want to see. 

For example, if you are a craft company, videos that provide demonstrations on how to complete a project or use a crafting tool would prove to be invaluable to your customer base. During the pandemic, some of the most popular video content has been how to make a cloth face mask. Craft stores and fabric companies who created videos around this subject matter or even took photos to show step-by-step instructions developed content that brought value to their customers.  

Here are ways that providing content with value to your viewers can pay off for your company:

• Consumers are 131% more likely to buy from your brand after reading or viewing educational content on your website.
• You can generate 3x more leads using a solid content marketing strategy versus paid lead generation. It also costs 62% less.
• After implementing a solid content strategy, companies found that the quality of the leads generated was better than before they had a content marketing plan in place.

Final Thoughts

Digital marketing has completely changed the way brands communicate with their customers and the way customers find a company to do business with. The impact of digital marketing on business growth will only continue to grow as more and more brands go digital.

If a company lacks a solid digital footprint, it severely hampers its ability to communicate with existing customers and find new ones. The lack of a digital presence also leads to a lack of trust in the brand. However, if a company implements a strong digital marketing plan that covers areas such as social media and content marketing, it can have a positive impact on a brand’s bottom line. 

Clear messaging and strong calls to action are staples of non-profite website design. A performance driven, yet beautiful website is key to reaching supporters and finding new ones. Ready for some inspiration? Check out how these non-profits perfected their web design.

1. Thorn

Thorn is a global nonprofit organization that tackles the growing problem of child trafficking and sexual exploitation. Their website is clear, informative and engaging with bold graphics, strong headlines and clear calls-to-action that get their message across and encourages the visitor to take action.

2. American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is US non-profit that funds cardiovascular medical research and educates consumers on healthy living. Their website puts the focus on information by providing multiple informational resources on the homepage that includes articles, videos and ways to volunteer. They also have strong calls to donate by using their brand’s red for the call-out button.

3. Do Something

DoSomething is a global non-profit organization with the goal of motivating young people to make positive change both online and offline through campaigns that make an impact. DoSomething hits their target audience just right with young modern color scheme, youthful photography and fun graphics. Their use of statistics right on their homepage is impactful, informative and helps showcase just some of the things the organization has accomplished.

4. SEEP Network

The SEEP Network (short for “Small Enterprise Evaluation Project”) is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to addressing the root causes of global poverty. There use of a slideshow showcase their constituents which helps put a human face to their advocacy work. Another nice touch is an interactive map that showcases their members across the globe to show their international impact.

5. Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctor’s Without Borders)

Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors Without Borders, is an international humanitarian medical non-profit of best known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. Their website is informative with an easy to navigate full screen menu and well organized information. Another nice touch is their left aligned social share button that makes it easy and encourages the visitor to share from their website.

6. World Wildlife Foundation

The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-profit organization that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. Their website is informative and provides visual reference for each areas they organize their work around. They have strong calls-to-action in their top navigation that encourages the visitor to either adopt or donate.

7. Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a non-profit charitable environmental organization. Their website is simplistic and clean with focus on stunning visuals and informative content. A nice addition is their callout on their homepage and throughout the site to sign up for their newsletter which ultimately will help bring in more donations and helps keep people informed.

8. UpStream International

Upstream International is a global Christian nonprofit organization that brings people together to challenge poverty in creative ways. With stunning imagery, bright color palette and full page imagery, this website immerses the visitor and engages them in this non-profits story and mission. Another nice touch is the strong calls to take action and providing child stories and profiles.

9. Acumen

Acumen is a non-profit impact investment fund with over 15 years’ experience in investing in social enterprises that serve low-income communities in developing countries across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and the United States. Acumen website does it right by utilizing their brands elements throughout with their strong color palette and using the A from their logo as added elements throughout. Another nice touch is their gallery of videos that helps the page feel even more personal and interactive.

10. Charity: Water

Charity: water is a non-profit organization that provides drinking water to people in developing nations. Their website gets straight to the point by adding a call to action on their welcome screen to join their movement and providing impactful information about their organization with hard hit statistics that help showcase the issue and what they’ve done to help.

11. Oceana

Oceana, inc. is a nonprofit ocean conservation organization focused on influencing specific policy decisions on the national level to preserve and restore the world’s oceans. Oceana’s website is easy to navigate with organized navigation, strong call outs to join and donate and easy to see dropdown to select your country. Their use of stunning imagery adds personality and helps visualize their mission.

12. World Food Programme

The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization, the largest one focused on hunger and food security, and the largest provider of school meals. Their website is user friendly with a simple navigation, interactive world map and informative sections that showcase what they do and what their focus areas are.

13. National Geographic

The National Geographic Society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Their website pulls you in from the start with an impressive video showcasing some of our world’s greatest wonders. With their mission statement, the visitor knows right away who they are and what they do. Each section following has strong calls-to-action encouraging the user to dig deeper into their website.

14. MoMa

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of the largest and most influential museums of modern art in the world. Their website is just as lively as their brand with bright color blocks used for callouts along with strong art pieces from their collection. For a museum, this gallery layout is perfect for showcasing work alongside important information. Another nice touch is the use of large text which makes it universally user friendly and easy for anyone to navigate.

15. Global Giving

GlobalGiving is non-profit organization based in the United States that provides a global crowdfunding platform for grassroots charitable projects. Their website uses an interesting navigation setup with traditional layout on top and the bar below the hero with quick links to specific projects they have worked on. The gallery setup on their welcome screen showcases specific projects that you can donate to or learn more about.

Before going too far, let’s first define what a lead magnet is:

A lead magnet is a free (or low cost) offer extended by a business to collect information from prospective customers or clients that enables follow up marketing activities.

The classic example is a free newsletter. The information collected most often is an email. 

At Mediaboom, we believe there is still a role for a well-crafted newsletter. But the days of prospects handing over their contact information with the vague promise of “staying up to date on the latest news from company X” are long over (if that ever worked at all).

In this post, we’ll deep dive into what makes a good offer and share examples of what’s working now. 

Why Your Business Needs a Lead Magnet

First and foremost, the purpose of creating an offer is attracting new prospects for your business and collecting their contact information, so you have the opportunity to follow up with those prospects and convert them to paying clients.

According to a study by Hubspot, the average web form converts at 21.5%. (As the author’s note, that statistic should be taken with a grain of salt. It’s self-reported data that is prone to exaggeration.)

That statistic alone should motivate you to start offering content if you aren’t already.  

A well-designed offer can do so much more! 

Help Convert Your Prospects Into Paying Clients or Customers

Dr. Robert Cialdini is one of the world’s leading experts on the psychology of persuasion. In his book, “Influence – The Psychology of Persuasion,” he identified 7 triggers that make prospects more likely to become paying customers and clients.

Reciprocity

Conceptually, reciprocity is simple, you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours. Cialdini’s research demonstrates that this instinct to reciprocate is deeply ingrained in humans (and many other primates).

You must provide something of value for free (or nearly so). The recipient immediately feels they owe you something.

Commitment

We like people (and companies) who follow through on their commitments. 

When a company delivers a promise, they have already positioned themselves as a company that delivers on their promises.

Woe to the company who fails to follow through or delivers something that fails to meet the customer’s expectations. Commitment cuts both ways.

Fail to deliver, and the chances of follow-through sales drop to near zero.

Liking

People prefer to buy from people and companies they like. 

Who doesn’t like getting something free? Who doesn’t appreciate someone who solves a problem for them and asks nothing in return? 

Your content can also further build on that feeling by deliberately pushing likability triggers.

• We’re just like you…
• We get you…
• Your problem is not your fault…

Make sure the message is genuine. Customers have a well-developed sense for manipulation.

Authority

When you provide a solution to a customer’s problem or offer useful information on a subject, you are positioning yourself as an authority.

When the customer has further needs in the same area, they will naturally turn to a familiar authority.

Social Validation

People like the reassurance that they are making the same choice as other people in their tribe.

That’s why the Facebook “like” button is such a brilliant innovation. A FB post with many likes communicates the message, “people like me, value or enjoy this post.”

A lead magnet can communicate a similar message, “people like me use this company.”

One simple way is adding a counter to your signup page “This free checklist has been downloaded 2,368 times.”  

Testimonials and case studies are excellent social proof.

Segment Your Prospects

The kinds of offer a prospect signs up for tells you a lot about that client. 

People no longer hand out their email IDs easily. They need a compelling reason. When a customer downloads your content, you know immediately that something in the pitch for that content speaks to that prospect.

As an example, check out one of these examples from our site:

When our prospects download that lead magnet, not only do we get their contact information so we can follow up with them with an email sequence, we also know at least two important things about that prospect, 

• They have a website which they suspect may need improvement.
• They need more sales.

Guess what pain points our follow up will target?

Ideally, it would be best if you had multiple lead magnets that target entirely different pain points. You send the resulting prospects follow up marketing messages customized to their specific pain points.

What Makes a Great Lead Magnet?

1. Low Friction – Prospects don’t want to give you their contact information. Their inbox is already full. 

If you have a compelling offer, they will share their info, but only if you make it as painless as possible.

2. Make it valuable – We’ve said it several times already. Your content should provide real value to the customer. Ideally, your content should solve at least one customer problem.
   
3. Provide Immediate Results – If your content is a 1,000-page treatise, chances are your prospect is not going to read it.
   
   If it is an action plan that takes 6-months to execute, they will not do it. 
   
   A great offer is easily consumed and provides an immediate positive result.

4. Be Specific – Your content should speak specifically to your ideal prospect.
   
   Suppose an accounting firm in Memphis has a great lead magnet for planning retirement, and a person in Los Angeles downloads it. In that case, that prospect in LA has zero value. (Unless they offer their services nationwide.)
   
   To better attract meaningful prospects, this hypothetical firm might call their tool “Retirement Planning Calculator for Memphis Retirees.”
   
   They will get fewer signups, But the signups will be local prospects.
   
   Even better?
   
   “The Must-Have Retirement Planning Calculator For Easy Retirement In Memphis On A $1 Million Or More Portfolio.”
   
5. Demonstrate Your Expertise – As mentioned earlier, one of your goals  is positioning yourself as the authority. Provide content that clearly supports that conclusion.
   
6. Highly Relevant To The Follow On Sale – The ideal lead magnet provides real value and leads naturally to the paid service or product.

What Types of Lead Magnets Work Best?

Everyone’s inbox is full. Prospects are increasingly reluctant to share their real email ID.

The days of the $1 off coupon or generic free newsletter are over. 

Here are some examples of what’s working well now.

1. Tools

Digital tools that help calculate or track something are excellent lead magnets. They are useful, and the prospect uses them multiple times instead of an e-book they may read once.

As an example, check out the Vault from Guardian Jet.

The Vault tracks aviation assets for private jet owners and helps them plan for replacement when appropriate. At which time, they’ll surely remember to reach out to Guardian Jet.

2. Discounts and Coupons

Discounts and coupons are the oldest strategies in the book. They still work. Just make sure it is significant enough to catch the prospect’s attention and highly relevant to the final sale.

This coupon from Qazi Clinic is an excellent example.

The prospect can see the value immediately, $108, and it’s substantial. It is directly relevant to the sale, and (bonus) the prospect can only realize the value IF they buy the service.

This positioning is more powerful than if they had offered the same discount off the service itself.

A discount off the service, would communicate that the service was worth $108 less than advertised.

This coupon for a related product is perceived as a generous bonus.

They’ve also effectively segmented this customer. Because she’s interested in Lip Filler procedures, their follow-up should focus there to start. If she doesn’t convert right away, they can expand the offerings from there.

3. Free Demo / Free Consultation

Sometimes a prospect doesn’t understand how your offer addresses their pain point.

That disconnect may be resolved with a demo lead magnet.

Healthcare Software provider Clarity pulls off the free demo flawlessly.

Their demo signup is longer than most, but it’s clear and to the point.

4. Join A Community

The rise of social media proves that everyone wants to be part of a community of like-minded people with similar aspirations and needs.

Creating and hosting a specialized community of your prospects is a golden opportunity to build a database of leads. These leads engage with each other in a forum that inherently reinforces your authority in the space.

St, Clair CPAs in Philadelphia do that with a monthly Zoom where their prospects make connections, share news and coach each other.

St. Clair is also pulling the trigger on another one of Cialdini’s influencers, scarcity.

Their zooms happen every month. But they don’t say, “Drop in any month.” They say, “Join our zoom this week on the date, xx-yy-zz.”
 
That provides immediacy, one of the hallmarks of a good offer, while pushing the Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) button, aka scarcity.

5. E-Books, Special Reports, Digital Guides

We mentioned e-books as potentially outdated earlier. But, that doesn’t mean we don’t see a place for them. They still work if they are specific, actionable, and speak to a real pain point.

Note, it’s hyper-specific, “Luxury Digital Marketing.” 

If we’d said just digital marketing, it would not call out to our target audience, and we’d get no segmentation of the leads.

When someone downloads this e-book, we know to follow up on digital marketing for luxury brands and highlight our experience in that space.

A hyper-specific e-book or e-report is low cost to produce, screams authority and effectively segments the leads. Win, win and win!

Close The Deal Without Saying A Word

Famed management consultant and author Peter Drucker said, “The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous.”

At Mediaboom, we believe the aim of a lead magnet is to collect your ideal prospects’ contact information while simultaneously positioning your offer so well that further selling is superfluous. 

Imagine how a lead magnet like that would transform your business. 

We can help make that happen. Contact us for a free consultation. 

What are digital marketing leads?

Digital marketing leads are the requests you receive from your website’s visitor, i.e., a potential customer. However, you can generate these leads through email marketing campaigns, social media business pages, landing pages, website Chatbots, and video content with calls-to-action (CTA). A digital lead allows you to contact the requesting client or consumer as they expect your reply. This increases your chances of conversion to sales in comparison with cold-calling.

The whole idea behind the generation of digital marketing leads is to focus on your target audience while researching their buying needs and behavior via several analytical tools at your disposal. 

By deploying the right digital marketing strategy along with the adequate tools, you can pinpoint who visited your webpage, and when and how they navigated it.

Moreover, you can learn in real-time what does and does not work for your marketing campaign and adapt for desired results. 

What Are You Looking for? 

There is no generic formula that works for all; a lead generation idea that may work for one company might backfire for yours. 

Therefore, the digital lead generation strategy depends on factors, such as type of business, products you sell, finding target audience etc. 

According to 2018’s report by the State of Inbound, found the conversion of leads into consumers for sales to be digital marketers’ top priority? Why and how do they do it? Let us find out. 

1. Increasing Your Brand Awareness and Outreach

The most effective way to generate digital marketing leads is to connect with your ideal audience and convince them to buy your products. Since the evolution of social media and mobile technology, consumers prefer their content online.

Therefore, digital marketing can facilitate your business’s interaction with the target audience to create brand awareness. It can also enhance your outreach and introduce your business to newer market places.

How Does it Help Your Business?

One of the reasons why digital marketing lead generation is taking over the traditional world of marketing is its ability to give you data on what your consumers want, how and when. 

Proper engagement with your potential clients and consumers on a digital platform can give you valuable insights into your target audience. This, in turn, can help you adopt a digital marketing strategy to further increase your brand awareness.

The vital information you get from lead generation will steer your business forward while making all the right moves to enhance your consumers’ experience, develop reputable relationships, and gain credibility and loyalty in the market. 

Adapting to the Mobile Audience Needs

Did you know Forbes reported that 91 percent of U.S adults keep their mobile devices nearby all the time? 

Undoubtedly, smartphones and mobile devices have changed the way customers consume content. So, it is a no-brainer why digital marketing focuses on and caters to mobile consumers to generate digital marketing leads for faster expansion and growth. 

2. Consistent traffic coming back to your website

Just like a brick-and-mortar business depends on visitors to step in through the doors for buying, you need a digital hook to entice the consumers into visiting your website (your online store). 

Many visitors will land on your website and leave; however, it is the few potential ones that will end up buying from you or participate in the intended CTA. You must provide a smooth, interactive, and engaging consumer experience throughout their time on your website, as this will make them keep coming back. 

The more visitors you have on your website, the higher probability of generating digital marketing leads with the potential of conversion to sales. These leads will also help pitch your brand to the right kind of customers who are already looking for similar products and services. 

In the digital world, this metaphor translates into a digital marketing lead (a consumer already interested in your product). All you need is the right kind of convincing – via content or offers to convert them into returning customers. 

How do you achieve it? 

Now that you know what a digital marketing lead can help your business achieve and why – let us explore what marketing strategies can help you produce effective and targeted digital marketing leads. 

1. Providing Value to Your Idea Consumers

Digital consumers are always looking for products and services that can offer value. There are several ways you can achieve this goal. 

Content 

The quality of content on your website, blogs, newsletter and social media posts attracts the audience converting them into leads for sales. Once you have converted a lead into a customer, you can keep providing more useful content to keep them informed and hooked to your brand. 

Ideally, you must tailor your content according to your target audience. Create your ideal consumer’s persona and use it to figure out their likes, wants and needs.

Feeding the right content to your target audience will help you build awareness of your brand, pique consumers’ interest and turn them into buyers. 

Video Digital Marketing

Did you know 54 percent of consumers want to see videos from the brands and businesses they support? This is the reason for more and more businesses are embracing video digital marketing strategies. 

Companies utilize video marketing for:

• Increasing your brand awareness
• Establishing credibility and trust amongst the customers and in the market
• Enticing visitors to convert them into potential digital marketing leads to improved ROIs. 
• Keeping their existing customers hooked and interested in what’s new happening with your brand. 
• Webinars

Webinars are taking over the world by storm, especially during the global lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some services allow you to broadcast both audio and visual content in real-time. 

Google Hangouts, Zoom, and ClickMeeting are some of the webinar services that have gained popularity. This is the most cost-effective and efficient way for your business to increase your brand’s outreach and interact with your consumers in real-time. 

Other benefits of web conferencing include: 

• Convenience – you can organize a webinar without worrying about preparations such as finding a hall, seating arrangements, receiving attendees etc. All you need is to send out an invite, and everyone can attend from their own remote location. 
• Promotion – If you wish to promote your brand, products and services, webinars give you a direct digital platform to speak with your target audience. 
• Credibility – seeing you speak about your product and answering any questions posed by the audience can help establish your credibility amongst the masses. After all, having to hear it from a brand directly has to be better than just watching digital video marketing promo content. 
• As you establish credibility, brand awareness will help you create or increase your brand’s awareness via direct non-interrupted communication with your consumers. 
• Budget-Friendly – webinars are cost-effective because you do not have to make any physical arrangements, spend money on venues, food and other amenities. All you need is a laptop with a webcam, a reliable Internet connection, and you are good to go. 

Downloadable Content 

Who does not like a freebie? If you wish to provide value to your customers, why not offer free downloadable content such as e-books, manuals, guidelines, tips, trial software etc. 

This will help establish your business’s image with your consumers as a brand that cares and believes in giving back. 

Content Marketing

So how do you convert a visitor into a marketing lead? Meaning how do you attract your visitors’ attention and keep them hooked when they land on your webpage to click on the desired call-to-action (CTA). 

You offer valuable content revolving around your brand, product or service. This can come in many forms, such as the content on your web pages, writing blogs, creative entertaining and informative videos, sending out newsletters etc. 

However, you must make sure that the content is relevant, and you are not overdoing it. Sending out too much content too often can be a turn off for your consumers, and you may end up losing a potentially good digital marketing lead. 

Email Marketing

Emails are an effective and subtle digital marketing channel to promote your content to the target audience. If you have a mailing list of subscribers, you can use email marketing to share your content with an existing and interested audience, so the brand stays on top of their mind next time they wish to buy a product or service similar to yours. 

Social Media

No one can deny the power of social networks. More than 54 percent of consumers having a positive experience with a brand are more likely to recommend it to family or friends. This shows the effectiveness of social media as a digital marketing strategy. 

However, you have to research and find out which social media platform is the one where your target audience dwells. 

Search Engine Optimization

Search Engine Optimization will determine the visibility of your business to the target audience. Therefore, you must create content optimized for SEO and local SEO. SEO will improve your overall appearance in the top results for searches on search engines such as Google, Bing etc. Local SEO will ensure that your business displays the top results whenever a local consumer searches for a product or service similar to yours. 

2. Consistency Is the Key

Speaking about the content, you must ensure that all your content is consistent, no matter which digital marketing channel you use. The content on your web pages, blogs, marketing campaigns, social media business pages, and other platforms must match. 

Any contradiction or inconsistencies will most likely confuse your consumers, second-guessing whether to buy from your brand or not. Most importantly, it will reflect poorly on your business and harm your reputation and credibility in the market. 

3. Lead Generating Website and Landing Pages

Landing pages are lead capturing tools asking your website visitors to perform a certain action. These landing pages or websites typically focus on a single marketing campaign. The five major elements of a landing page or lead generating website include: 

• A catchy headline
• Lead magnet 
• Social proof
• Call-to-action

That said, you must create your lead generation websites and landing pages to be visually attractive. Use a combination of texts, fonts, pictures and videos to tell your brand’s story. Your aim must be to strike an emotional chord with your target audience so that they can relate to their brand on a deeper level. 

4. Consider Paid Ads

Although you can use free platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and other social media channels to promote your content and videos, it is always good to use paid ads. Google, Facebook, Instagram, and other major social media platforms offer paid ad services to showcase your brand, products or services as the top priority. 

There are four main advantages of using paid ads digital marketing strategies to generate quality digital marketing leads. 

• Paid ads will showcase you in top search results and increase the organic outreach of your business. 
• These ads are reliable, cost-effective and add credibility to your digital marketing campaign. 
• You can target an audience based on demographics such as age, gender, education, location, profession, interest, lifestyle etc. 
• You can pay for a single ad service while broadcasting it on multiple channels. For example, using Google paid ads service will not only display your promotional ad on Google search results, but all of Google’s partnered websites. 

Where To Get Started

If you are a company struggling with generating quality digital marketing leads, Mediaboom can help you achieve this goal. We are experts in digital marketing strategies and offer modern analytical tools and services to increase your lead generation for improved ROIs. 

Your web design is essential to how your business is perceived, the traffic and leads your website generates and, ultimately, converting those leads into paying customers.

Selecting a qualified web design firm is one of the most important marketing decisions you will make. 

Just as you would select a contractor for your physical home by requesting bids, you should start the process of designing your digital home with a web design request for proposals (RFP). 

The quality of the proposals you will receive will only be as good as the RFP you provide. 

What is an RFP and Why Do I Need One?

A Web Design Request For Proposal (RFP) is a detailed written description of the target audience, goals, functional elements, design criteria, technical requirements, and budget for a website. You provide this document to prospective web design services providers to solicit their detailed proposals for your web design project. 

We’ve created a FREE RFP template to help you provide the most accurate and informative brief for your upcoming project.  

Why The Content Of Your Web Design RFP Is Critical

Your web design RFP is where you specify what you need.

A well written Web Design RFP will also help you in other ways. A Web Design RFP should:

• Crystalize your thinking about what you need from your website
• Prevent scope creep
• Facilitate receiving accurate bids for your project
• Help you and prospective designers understand if you are a match
• Serve as a document to hold your web design firm accountable

The Critical Elements Of A Web Design RFP

Introduction

The first paragraph of your RFP should be a high-level overview of the project. This paragraph should allow potential bidders to decide if this is their area of expertise quickly.

A firm that specializes in e-commerce won’t be an excellent match for a luxury travel business.

A solo-designer won’t likely tackle a complex project involving both interactive design, coding and marketing.

Think of your opening paragraph as a filter that quickly eliminates designers who are a poor match for your project.

Be sure to include the reason for the project and an overview of what’s included.

Your RFP introduction is also an excellent place to tell prospective designers about your business. 

Share the history of your company. 

• What business are you in? 
• What sets you apart from your competition? 
• What values are important to you?  

At Mediaboom, we sometimes receive RFPs that simply say, “check out our webpage to learn more about us.” 

Of course, a designer will have already looked at your existing web presence (assuming you have one).  But do not rely on this. 

Use the introduction to give the designer a sense of what kind of business they’re dealing with.  Let your corporate personality show.  

Many successful web design firms focus on projects that align with a specific style or aesthetic. A designer who excels at a corporate wall-street style site might struggle to design, for example, a street-savvy clothing webshop.  

Don’t be so formulaic with your RFP that you fail to communicate the personality of your brand. 

Target Audience

Closely related to your brand’s personality is your target audience. The two aren’t always aligned.

We find it’s not uncommon for a client’s branding to be a mismatch to their target audience. Or perhaps, you want to make a pivot from your current demographic to an emerging one. 

That’s essential information for your web designer and will further help them decide if this project is appropriate for them.

If you have taken the time to define a customer avatar, this is the place to provide it.  

At a minimum, you should provide basic demographics like,

• target age, 
• gender, 
• income level and 
• geography. 

Even better, provide psychographics. 

• Why are our customers in the market for the product and service we sell? 
• Where do they shop?
• Where do they hang out, the country club, night clubs, coffee shops?
• What other brands do they buy? 
• What are their political leanings?

You can’t provide too much detail here. The better defined your target audience, the easier the entire project becomes. Don’t give this section the brush-off.

In our experience, it can be the make-or-break criteria for a successful design. 

Core Objectives

This is where you will state your goals for the project. 

This is a good time for a sanity check. Are your objectives aligned with your project description in the intro?

We are often surprised to find clients come to us with a set of goals and a misaligned project scope.

For example, clients who want to generate more leads for their business may have their entire scope focused on branding.

Branding’s great; we love branding, but it doesn’t necessarily generate leads, at least not in the short-term.

Most web designers would rather have a customer with clear goals than a customer with specific site elements or technology requirements.

Some examples of possible objectives are:

• Increased leads
• Increased sales
• Improved conversion
• Improved branding 
• Better media outreach

Ask yourself and answer the question, “How will I know if this project was a success?” 

A pretty website is not a goal. Your goal should be a measurable change in a business result.

Don’t be afraid to be specific, “Our goal is a 50% increase in organic traffic.” Or “Our goal is a 33% improvement in conversions.” 

We recommend doing the 3-whys exercise.

For example,

We want a more attractive website.

1. Why?

So people spend more time on our site.

2. Why?

So they’ll get interested in what we sell.

3. Why?

So they’ll ask for a proposal.

Ah, so the business goal is more requests for proposals. Got it!

Project Scope & Deliverables

Project scope and deliverables are the core of your RFP and probably the most lengthy section. In this section, you will specify what you envision the project will entail.

We’re about to provide a list of possible subsections to include. First, a word comfort, don’t panic. 

You will probably not know precisely what you want in all these areas, especially if your business is non-technical in nature.

That’s OK.

Don’t try to be technical about what you want. Focus instead on the functionality and results you require. 

Elements to focus on

• Branding: Are you happy with your current logo? Colors? Taglines? Or are you looking for rebranding as well?
  
• Design: Do you have any specific design elements or navigation features that are must-haves? What user platforms are the most critical to your business, desktop, mobile, both?
  
• Content and copywriting: Who will provide the written content on your site, your in-house team or the web design firm? Is ranking the content of search engines important to you? Is there existing content to be migrated over to the new design?
  
• Features and Functionality: Besides consuming the information on your site, what do you want visitors to do on your site? Place orders? Schedule demos? Do you want to capture email IDs or other contact information? Chat with customer support?
  
• Integrations:  Are there other pieces of technology that your website must connect with? For example:
  • Customer Relationship Management system (CRM)
  • An Email Marketing application
  • An Inventory management system
  • A credit card processor
  • A video conferencing service (e.g., Zoom or Google Chat)
  • A scheduling application
    
• Content Management System (CMS): How will you manage your site’s content in the future? Will you have regular blog posts? Customer Reviews? Do you have a specific technology you want to use to manage this? Do you want the designer to propose something? Do you want your web designer to do this for you as needed?
  
• Technical Requirements: Do you want your web design to use a specific programming language? Do you need to connect to a particular e-commerce platform? Do you have reliability objectives?
  
• Additional Requirements:
  • Custom photography?
  • Videos?
  • Multiple languages?
  • HIPAA or PCI requirements?
  • Accessibility?
  • Special security requirements?

Site Map

If you have specific ideas about your web design sections and pages, you will specify them here. Some content is standard, like “About” or “Contact.”  You should list those to be sure.

• What else do you envision needing?
• Will you have a list of services? 
• What about a product catalog? 
• Will you have a blog?
• Testimonials / reviews? 
• Resources? 
• Press page?

Website Examples

The website examples section is fun to write. For once, you get paid to surf the web. Look for sites, in and outside of your industry, that you admire.

Of course, you don’t want your designer to outright copy another site. That’s not the goal here.

Including examples of sites you like in your web design RFP is a great way to help the designer understand what you like.

Be sure to include multiple examples and explain what you do and don’t like about the example site.

Timeline & Milestones

This is where you will provide your desired schedule for the work. The timeline will probably be a negotiation with the design firm you select. Only the people doing the work have a clear idea of how much time they need for each piece.

Nonetheless, set some objectives and milestones. 

It may help to work backward from your desired launch date. If you have specific dates set in stone, be sure to mention those.

Some typical milestones are, 

• Final Vendor Selection: Month XX, 20YY
• Kick-off: Month XX, 20YY
• Site Map Finalized: Month XX, 20YY 
• Initial Design Presentation: Month XX, 20YY
• Final Design Approval: Month XX, 20YY
• Launch: Month XX, 20YY
  

Budget

Of course, you will need to specify your budget for the project. 

Specifying a budget may seem like a poor negotiation strategy. You may fear designers will inflate their proposals to take full advantage of whatever budget you propose.

We understand that fear, but without a budget, your RFPs will be all over the map. 

Stating your budget will quickly filter out design firms with cost structures way above your means and will help the vendors who are a match to your needs customize their proposals.

Any firm you would want to work with will give you feedback about your budget versus the specified project.

Expect follow-on conversations that discuss the tradeoffs; for this amount, we can provide this, for this other amount, that.

Being open about your budget will save you endless frustration and money in the long run!

Submission Instructions

Selection Criteria: Be sure to let the candidate design firms know how you will make your decision. What factors will you be assessing, and how will they be weighted.

• Speed
• Cost
• Experience
• Fit

Clearly stating your selection criteria ensures that each proposal will communicate and highlight that information. This delineation makes it much easier to assess the different proposals.

Finally, you’ll need to explain what content you expect in the web design proposals and the format you want to receive them in.

Where: To whom should they send their proposal, and to whom may they address any questions?

When: Until what date will you accept proposals?

What: What content should the proposals include besides the design proposal itself? What other information will inform your decision?

• Firm background information
• References
• Examples of prior work
• Team member resumes
• Project timeline
• Cost breakdown
• Related services

How: In what format do you want the proposals? Paper or digital? MS-Word or PDF? 

We’re Here to Help

We know that was a lot to take in. If you’ve never created a web design RFP before, you may be reeling. 

Just complete that template as honestly and directly as you can, and you’ll be well on your way to a great web design RFP! 

If you don’t know something, don’t delete that section. Leave it in and ask the proposers to make suggestions.

By doing so, you ensure that information is included in the RFPs, and you’ll learn a lot from reading the different proposals.

If you still feel overwhelmed, reach out. We’d be happy to help with your RFP.
 

Lead generation is an incredibly important part of your business’ success. Business doesn’t stop, which means if you want your business to grow, you need an influx of viable leads. 

As important as lead generation is, there simply may not be enough time to take on the task of creating a solid lead generation strategy. That’s where a lead generation company steps in. So, what exactly does a lead generation company do, and how can it help your business grow? 

In this post, we’re discussing: 

• The benefits of hiring a lead generation company 
• The types of work lead generation companies provide 
• What you must consider before hiring a lead generation company 

And exactly how lead generation companies provide to value to your business, including:

1.  Industry-Specific Solutions
2. Attracting Quality Leads
3. Getting Proof That Strategies Actually Convert 
4. Shortening Your Sales Cycle
5. Getting Insights From Experts 

Benefits of Hiring a Lead Generation Company 

1. You Get Industry-Specific Solutions

Lead generation isn’t a one-size-fits-all growth strategy. A lead generation strategy that works for a B2C (business-to-consumer) eCommerce brand may not work for a B2B (business-to-business) SaaS brand. According to CSO Insights, 68% of businesses report struggling with lead generation. 

If your business is in that 68%, a lead generation agency will help you get industry-specific solutions that match your company’s needs. 

These industry-specific solutions include: 

• What kinds of lead generators to create 
• The types of lead generators your target audience will respond to 
• The kinds of lead generators that work for your industry 
• The format these lead generators should be (webinars, PDFs, guides, etc.) 
• How to market these lead generators to industry prospects. 

Think about it: what works for a lead generator in the healthcare industry may not necessarily work for those in the real estate industry. Both industries have their own target audiences, services they offer, and problems they help solve. 

Hiring a lead generation company means you’re dedicated to offering the best solutions possible for your target audience instead of simply hoping your efforts are seen within the industry. 

2. You’ll Attract Quality Leads

Speaking of good leads, another advantage of working with lead generation companies is that you’ll attract quality leads who are interested in your product or service. According to Vorsight, only 3% of your market is actively buying. 56% are not ready, and 40% are poised to begin. If you work with a lead generation company, you can attract the 3% that are actively buying. 

A lead generation company can help you identify who these leads are and how you can convert them faster. They can track the following to see who’s most interested in your brand: 

• Click through rates on your website 
• Conversion rates on paid ads 
• Open and click rates in email campaigns 
• Time spent on your website 
• Bounce rate on your website 

All of these metrics will give the lead generation professionals you work with important insights into your leads’ behavior. The more they know how your most engaged leads navigate your site, the better they can target those leads and convert them to customers. 

3. You Get Proof That Strategies Actually Convert 

How frustrating is it when you think you have a great lead generation strategy in place, but you can’t prove that it’s actually converting? 

If you can’t prove your lead generation strategies are driving results, you risk wasting a lot of valuable time and money. 

That’s where lead generation companies come into play. They’ll help you form digital marketing and advertising strategies that drive sales — and they’ll show you measurable metrics that prove their effectiveness. 

The B2B Technology Marketing Community reports that 25% of marketers don’t have any idea of their conversion rates. That’s a huge problem. If you don’t know what your conversion rates are, how do you know if your lead generation efforts are paying off? 

A lead generation company will work directly with you to determine what your conversion rates are for key aspects of your sales cycle. These include: 

• Landing page conversion rates 
• Email opt-in conversion rates 
• Paid advertising conversion rates 
• Sales conversion rates 

If you don’t want to spend another minute worrying about calculating conversion rates, then working with a lead generation company is the way to go. You’ll get accurate and much-needed conversion rates for key areas of your business without having to track the data yourself. 

It’ll save you time, energy, money, and headaches. 

4. You’ll Shorten Your Sales Cycle

Typically, it costs more money for businesses to attract new customers than it does to keep current customers. If you spend money on lead generation, don’t you want those leads to become customers faster? 

Lead generation companies help leads become customers faster by shortening the sales cycle. How? They’ll help you identify your target audience and send them relevant content that persuades them to buy when they’re ready. 

One of the biggest ways they’ll do this is through retargeting. Retargeting occurs when paid advertisements pop up on people’s feeds after they visit your website or check out your product. They may not have been ready to buy when they go to your website, but if you’re strategic about your retargeting efforts, they could be ready within a couple of days of the website visit. 

Some key ways a lead generation company can help you retarget your target audience include: 

• Targeting paid ads based on their product views 
• Sending strategic abandoned cart reminder emails 
• Showing display ads on Google and YouTube 
• Offering discounts in paid Facebook ads 

A good lead generation company will ensure you aren’t leaving good leads on the table. They’ll tailor their efforts and help your business convert the right leads in your target audience at the right time. 

5. You Get Insights From Experts 

One of the biggest perks of looking into lead generation companies to hire is that you know you’ll get insights from experts. Time is money in the business world, after all. 

The more time you spend trying to figure out lead generation, the less time you have to focus on other business growth strategies. 

Instead of guessing if you’re on the right track with your lead generation strategy, you can hire a lead generation company and know your efforts are in good hands. Lead generation companies work with the latest technology, analyze the latest trends, and hire experts in lead generation to help your business grow. 

When you hire a lead generation company, you know you’re not wasting money and actually getting quality help for your growth strategy. 

Types of Work Lead Generation Companies Provide 

Branding

One of the most important types of work lead generation companies provide is branding work. Branding refers to the distinctive messaging that’s projected about your company through various means and distributed across channels.

Statistics show that presenting a brand consistently across all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23%. 

Needless to say, branding is a crucial aspect of your business and revenue stream. Luckily, a lead generation company will help you with all aspects of your branding. They’ll help you develop: 

• A logo for your company 
• Brand messaging that resonates with your audience 
• Develop a brand voice that comes through across all digital channels 
• A brand positioning strategy for your business 
• A color palette for your brand

It’s crucial that you have a solid branding strategy for your business. Otherwise, you risk looking unprofessional and inconsistent with the public. 

A lead generation company will help keep your business’ brand looking sharp by keeping it consistent across all digital channels. 

Digital Marketing and Advertising

Another crucial task lead generation companies can help you with is organizing and executing your digital marketing and advertising strategy. 

Your product or service can be the best thing this world has ever seen, but if there’s no strategy for promoting it, the world will never know it exists. 

That’s where digital marketing and advertising comes into play. A lead generation company will identify which channels to capitalize on and what messages to put on them. They’ll help you narrow down what kinds of leads are using which channels, and what you can do on each channel to convert those leads. 

A lead generation company will help you with the following: 

• Content Marketing — they’ll help you place the right content in front of the right leads via organic and paid marketing based on their stage in the buyer’s journey. 

• Email Marketing — they’ll help you create lead generators that capture email addresses and develop email marketing strategies that nurture leads into customers. 

• Social Media Marketing — they’ll help you determine what content to share on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. They’ll also advise which social channels to run paid marketing on. 

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) — they’ll help you come up with an SEO strategy that targets audiences organically based on keyword research and search behavior. 

A strong digital marketing strategy and advertising plan are essential for your business, and a good lead generation company will recognize that. They’ll also work closely with you to create a strategy that converts the traffic you need to increase your ROI and help your bottom line. 

What To Consider Before Hiring a Lead Generation Company

Do They Have Success Stories? 

One of the most important aspects to look for in lead generation companies is their success stories. These companies can talk the talk, but can they walk the walk? Success stories from other clients give these companies a sense of legitimacy and authority that you simply can’t get from the sales team. 

There are other forms of social proof that a lead generation company can show off. These include: 

• Case studies 
• Testimonials 
• Video interviews from clients 
• Positive Google reviews 

If a customer is happy with a lead generation company’s service, they’ll let the world know. And, if they have the results to brag about, they’ll want to tell the world about it. If a lead generation company is proud of the work they do, they’ll want to show off these social proof cases. 

How Do They Report Key Metrics? 

Don’t forget: you’re hiring a lead generation company to help you get results. One of the most important things to ask the company you’re hiring is how they report these results. What can you expect to see in terms of metrics, reports, and campaign monitoring? 

One way you can work with the lead generation company to track these results is by establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) and objectives and key results (OKRs). KPIs are metrics you can measure in a given objective. This includes: 

• Conversion rates 
• The number of organic visitors to a landing page 
• How many clicks a paid ad receives 

On the other hand, OKRs are overarching goals you want to achieve. Examples of OKRs include: 

• Reaching 25,000 organic leads by the end of Q2 
• Increase email marketing lead conversions 10% each month 
• Generate $500,000 in new lead generation revenue by the end of the fiscal year 

Being on the same page with reporting and which metrics to measure is essential for your business and lead generation strategy. They’ll help you and the lead generation company stay on track and measure success in a cohesive way.

What Is Their Pricing? 

You have to know what you can and can’t afford when it comes to hiring a lead generation company. While there’s a lot of potential to grow your lead generation strategy, you don’t want to break the bank and get your company into debt. 

Know what your budget is and evaluate whether or not the company’s price is worth the service. 

Conclusion: Hiring a Lead Generation Company

Hiring a lead generation company is a smart move for your company, but the key is to hire the right lead generation company. Lead generation companies will help you get expert guidance on how to improve your lead generation strategy and attract leads that are likely to convert to customers. 

When done right, a partnership with a lead generation company can lead to tremendous growth for your company. Do your research and make sure the company you choose has a great track record, has worked with clients in your industry, and is within your budget.

 If you do this, you’ll hire a company that greatly helps your bottom line and grows your business leaps and bounds.

Websites are the first impression of any brand or business. The way people search for and find a company to work with has changed dramatically. 

A company’s website now does everything.

That website now must be a recruiting tool for prospective employees, a sales hub, a place to educate site visitors about your company, provide ways to contact you, and so many more things. Your site must also be visually appealing and high functioning. To be able to do these things, there are specific parts of your website that must operate at the highest level possible. 

Let’s look at the 13 parts of a website you need to implement right now. When these parts of your website work well, you can expect a positive impact on your bottom line.

1. Seamless Navigation
2. Clear Brand Messaging
3. Strong Calls-To-Action
4. SEO: Keywords, Header Tags, Meta Descriptions & More
5. CRM
6. Product And Service Pages
7. Live Chat
8. Contact Information
9. Positive Press, Awards & Social Proof
10. Valuable Content With Social Media Sharing Buttons
11. Accessibility Features
12. Security Features
13. Analytics Tools And Conversion Tracking

1. Seamless Navigation

Make sure your site is as easy as possible to navigate and make sure information is located in a place that makes sense. No one should have to search for how to contact you, for example. 

A usable navigation is easily one of the most important parts of a website. 

Even if you think you have laid your site out perfectly, always include a site map. Also, make sure your site is mobile friendly. More than 50% of searches occur on mobile. 

2. Clear Brand Messaging

While your site is essential in helping generate sales, it also serves as a messenger for your brand. 

Anyone wanting to work or business with you should know what kind of company you are. Your website can tell that story for you. You should dedicate a portion of your site to discussing how your company was created, what its culture & values are, and showcase as many members of your team as possible. Offering this information to anyone who visits your site shows that your business is open and transparent. 

People trust brands that offer transparency. 

3. Strong Calls-To-Action

There is always a reason for bringing people to your site. You may want them to read your blog, sign up for your emails, make a purchase, etc. What are you doing to drive them to take this action? 

Your site will need a strong call to action. 

Most websites use a call to action button with words like “buy now” or “sign up today” to entice actions from visitors. While this can work, you may need to offer incentives or bonuses to get the action you want. Consider an initial discount or some other type of reward to thank people for responding to your call to action.

4. SEO: Keywords, Header Tags, Meta Descriptions & More

While many people will find your site through a Google search or link from your social media, you don’t want to limit your traffic to just those sources. You want to optimize your website for SEO and open yourself up to many other sources of traffic. 

The term “optimize your website” can confuse or intimidate some people. When you optimize your website, this is what you are doing.

• Making sure that you have used keywords in your content that will boost your Google ranking. Conduct keyword research to make sure you are using the best ones for your industry.
• All your content has the proper headers and subheaders to help the search crawlers.
• Check your URL slugs, meta tags, meta descriptions, and image alt text. 
• Create and develop quality backlinks for your site.
• Make sure your site is ready for off-site SEO, which is traffic generated by social media, influencer marketing, or guest bloggers.
• Check your page load speed and make adjustments as needed. This could mean switching CDNs or omitting ads from your site.

All of these steps will help you improve your traffic and your Google rankings. 

5. Integrate Your CRM

This is one of the most important things you can do for your business. 

Your CRM is a powerful tool when you supply it with data. It can help you with everything from marketing automation to creating customer personas. 

It can also utilize any information gleaned from your chatbots. But it can’t do those things unless it is integrated into your website. 

6. Products And Service Pages

Make sure you utilize product descriptions so customers can see why your products are the best and see the value of what you sell. 

Service pages are equally as important. 

A potential customer should see exactly what services your company offers. Your service pages should also indicate what sets you apart from your competition. 

For example, if you offer carpet cleaning services, your service pages should describe what you do as well as why you have an edge over your competitors. It could be anything from non-toxic chemicals to the ability to quick dry the carpet. Make sure you list all of these benefits on your service pages.

7. Live Chat

Live chat is one of the most crucial parts of a website you need to install if you want to connect with your digital audience.

If you want customers to be able to find answers to their questions and inquire about your services, then installing a live chat is a great solution. A live chat will allow prospects to simply chat with one of your team members quickly and efficiently, instead of submitting a form and waiting for your response via email or phone call. 

8. Contact Information

If people are on your site, you want to make everything as easy as possible for them. You do not want to make it difficult for people to contact your company or your customer service department. 

Put this information in a prominent place so it is quickly found. 

If you make it hard for the public to contact you, this can send the wrong message to your customers. It could appear you have something to hide and it can make you seem less than trustworthy.

Having you contact information is one of the most important parts of a website that you can have.

9. Positive Press, Awards & Social Proof

To earn a customer’s business, you want them to trust you. You also want to show them why you are the best person for them to work with or purchase from. To do that, showcase what you have accomplished on your website. The types of things you will want to show off for your website visitors are:

• Positive press articles
• Awards you have won in your field
• Customer testimonials
• Applicable certifications and accreditations

Don’t be afraid to say how many years you’ve been in business either. Showcasing your longevity can give a future customer a reason to trust you.

10. Valuable Content With Social Media Share Buttons

Your content needs to offer value to your customer and also be share-worthy. To offer value, you have to deliver your customers the things they want to see, hear, or read about.

Examples of content that has value for customers would be:

• Thought leadership articles on trends, FAQs, and tips within your industry
• Videos of product demonstrations 
• Pictures of your employees giving back to the community
• Using social media to cross-promote and send traffic to your website and your social channels.

Providing content like this will incentivize your visitors to stay longer while they are on your site and return more often. 

When loading this content to your site, don’t forget to integrate sharing capabilities. 

This makes your content easy to share. If your company wrote a compelling thought piece on digital marketing strategies, you want social sharing buttons available. A reader could share your content to Twitter, LinkedIn, or many of the other networks. 

These share buttons are one more way to drive traffic, as well as potential leads and business, to your site. 

11. Accessibility Features

People with a wide variety of disabilities will visit your site. Once they are there, can they use your site and interact with your content? If not, make the needed changes so that your site is welcoming to everyone. That can easily be done by adding a few accessibility features. 

You will want to make sure that people who visit your site can:

• Read the text clearly and that the font and colors don’t make it more difficult to see.
• Any videos on your site should also come with closed captioning.
• Install any widgets that will help people navigate your site who may have difficulty using a mouse.
• Some people use voice control to help them search and navigate. Ensure your site is responsive to voice technologies.

Many individuals with disabilities have some form of adaptive technology to help them navigate the web. But for those who don’t, your accommodations allow them to be a part of your site and community. 

12. Security Features

Privacy and security on the internet are important to consumers. 

No one wants their data or credit card information at risk. And sadly, there are many individuals who are always looking for vulnerable websites to see what data they can steal. There is a considerable underground market for stolen data and credit card numbers. To ensure safety of your customers, security features will be implemented into your site design. 

One way to make customers feel secure when interacting with your site is install an SSL certificate on your site. This feature offers a sense of security to your users and will make them feel safer providing you with their information. 

13. Analytics Tools And Conversion Tracking

Once you have put all the time and effort into your site, you want to make sure you are getting the results you need. Countless analytics tools can help you see where your traffic is coming from. 

Google has an entire platform dedicated to analytics. 

These types of tools are useful because it lets you see what works and what doesn’t. This way you can see what outreach you should invest more in and what you can reduce. If social media is your biggest driver, use these stats as a reason to invest more in those channels.

Another great data point to track is website conversions. 

What this essentially means is you want to determine the percentage of people who came to your website and performed the action that you wanted them to. For example, if you have an online store and 100,000 people visited your site over the course of one month but only 2000 made a purchase you would have a conversion rate of 2%. 

The conversion rate of your website is a great way to determine the health of your site. 

If your rate is low, that means something isn’t working well. You’ll need to figure out what part of your site is keeping people from not taking the action. If you want more people to sign up for your newsletter is the subscribe button easy to find? If you aren’t generating a lot of sales is it because your interface makes it hard to shop? 

Studying this number gives you a place to start with those conversations.

Final Thoughts

All parts of a website are important. 

However, some parts serve an outsized function in the success of the site. If you focus on the 13 parts of a website to implement right now, you will see an improvement to your website traffic, conversion and overall sales.