There are so many things to think of when it comes to website marketing. Attracting, converting leads and closing sales should be the focus of all websites, and at Real Inbound we believe that there are definite strategies you can employ to make sure that's the way your website works for you. Here are three of our favourites that you can employ to get the most from your website today.
One of the best ways to attract new and returning visitors to your website is to regularly publish blogs. Blogs come in all shapes and sizes these days, and if either you or your web visitors aren't keen on traditional long form writing, think about others ways to provide value to your potential clients.
Video blogs - A great way of adding movement and colour to your site as well as presenting you or your business in a professional light.
'Lives' - Think video streaming like on Facebook or Youtube. It's easy to capture your Live video and turn it into a blog post.
Podcasts - Audio only videos! Or your very own personalised radio show. Lots of people find it far easier to record a podcast than a video. Something about not being on camera!
Infographics - There was a time when you couldn't move inline for these amazing pieces of design and illustration,. And just because they aren't quite as popular as they were, doesn't mean you shouldn't take every chance to use them.
Slideshares - A great platform that now lives on LinkedIn, you can upload your powerpoint presentations to Slideshare and then easily embed them into your blog posts to create a multiple channel message in no time at all.
Micro blogging - Good old social media blogging via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even video micro blogging using platforms like Instagrams 'Reels' or TikTok are powerful ways to drive traffic.
Guest blogging - And don't forget, you're not limited to blogging on your own site, look to collaborate with influencers, trade journals and magazines and even online newspapers to get your name and thoughts out there to a wider audience. But always think about how you are going to get those readers back to your site too.
A great way to create engagement and capture the information of your websites visitors is to simply ask them to fill out a form. You can use forms for lots of purposes beyond the obvious 'contact us'.
Download an offer - and use a form as an easy way to mine the information of the person getting the value out of the offer.
Newsletters - A great way to stay in touch, and often the first stage engagement for a potential client
Get a quote - You can easily qualify potential customers by offering to provide them with instant information based on their submitted details and customised to their requirements, via a cleverly designed website form.
Vote - Get direct insight from your clients by encouraging them to leave their views on everything from how hard or easy they find it to use your site, to how well you handled their complaint.
Research - Build complex pictures of your buyers by growing the information you have on 'file' in your CRM system by adding information drawn from website and emailed forms as they progress through your buying journey.
Book a meeting or demo - People love to 'self serve' when it comes to getting what they want, when they want it. And a simple booking form on the website is a great way to kill two birds with one stone. Deal with the clients requirement quickly and easily, and continue to build your understanding of what makes them tick.
'Live Chat' is a friendly little window into your business that can always be open. Like a real time form, it's a way to instantly answer queries, book meetings, or provide immediate support. You can provide context for pricing, help with products details or features, head off complaints before they get to that stage, and perhaps most importantly of all - close more sales. All 'live' and instantaneously providing huge value for the visitor.
Chatbots can do everything from automate complex tasks like walking someone through your knowledge base to solve a problem they have, to the simplest task like booking a demo, or answering a question on your currently available stock levels.
The best approach is to have a combination of 'live' chat with a real life person 'manning' the chat during your business hours, and some cleverly programmed automated 'bots' to help deal with the more mundane or out of hours requests from your website visitors.
Sites with a fully realised 'Live Chat' functionality are usually the highest conversion rate sites in their niche.
We hope thats food for thought for your website marketing plan. If we can help, or you' like to ask us about stuff like this, or anything else for that matter, just get in touch!