You Never Get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression

You have a meeting with an important client, where is your focus… Clothes, Presentation, Manicure? What about your website is it ineffective or outdated, your business cards, are they cheap and boring? This is the first impression or glimpse into your business.

It is not uncommon to see a website thrown together by an amateur designer over a weekend and then it is completely forgotten about by the business owner. This is not how you should be running your company website. In this day and age, it doesn’t matter if you are just a greasy spoon diner on the corner or a high-end boutique hotel in Manhattan. It is very important to have a well-designed and comprehensive website for both existing and prospective customers.

A lot of people do their research online before completing a purchase or going out for any kind of excursion. If the destination is a fair distance away from home, it’s much more affordable to do the research online. Don’t let your company website be an afterthought that goes without updates for months at a time. A good website can mean all the difference.

One of the most powerful, yet ignored weapons in your marketing arsenal is your business card. There are many ways that a person can attract customers to one’s business. Some do this by launching a marketing campaign in the form of an ad in the paper or on a billboard. Some don’t use marketing at all and just flourish through word of mouth.

On a more personal level if that person travels around, the best thing to carry and give out is a well designed quality business card (See our 16pt Silk cards on YouTube) Business cards are used by people in big and small time business. It reflects who the person is. It gives people an idea of what the person is capable of doing in the event that the service one offers is needed in the future.

7 Website Strategies

The number of website strategies you need to implement for an effective online presence is a real head-spinner. I found it much easier to navigate once I created a list of the most important website strategies. Focus on these one or two at a time. As you do, you’ll find the process of creating or recreating your web presence much less stressful.

1. Simplicity
From the design of your website to the amount of content on the page, keeping things simple is one of the best things you can do to make life easier on yourself. A website with a clean design, simple navigation and ease of use is what will provide the safest solution to your web building dilemma. Not only will you save time, you’re also likely to save money. Even more importantly, your visitors will thank you.

2. The Sales Funnel
Your website exists to help you build your business. By seeing your website as a potential sales funnel instead of just a flashy online brochure, you’ll generate more web leads and more opportunities for new business. The sales funnel process begins with driving potential customers to your site, keeping them there with a professional look and compelling content, inviting visitors to join your email list (throughout your site), and finally – following up with them to build trust, authority, and a bond. Once you have the sales funnel process incorporated into your website, you’ll find more potential customers reaching out to do business with you. Learn more about using your website as a sales funnel here.

3. Words That Connect
One of the most frequent mistakes I see solo-preneurs and entrepreneurs make is creating web copy that doesn’t connect with real people. The Internet is the ultimate personal medium, and it’s important to keep the copy we feature on our website a bit more casual and conversational. If you can pull this off, your website visitors will feel more connected with you, and thus… BINGO… do more business with you. Here are some pointers on creating website copy that connects with your audience.

4. Make SEO Easy
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the key to being found online. Problem is, there’s information overload. People write books (really, really long books) getting into all the minutia of getting ranked higher in Google, Bing, and Yahoo!. The good news is that the 80/20 rule plays out big time with SEO strategies, and that means there are just a few things you need to do to achieve higher search rankings. This includes making sure your keywords are incorporated in your page title and your page description and are scattered at a 3-5% ratio throughout your web page. And if you’re targeting locally, always incorporate your city or town name as one of your primary keywords. Finally, take every opportunity to have your website linked to from other websites (and the bigger the better). Do just these items and your search ranking will make a huge leap. Need some pointers on SEO? Check out this free SEO lesson.

5. Get Social
Without exception, I can’t think of a single business that won’t benefit from incorporating social media into their website strategy. The big three are Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Facebook is perfect for most small businesses, especially when you’re wanting to reach a local audience. Twitter is excellent for connecting with those that spend more time than most online. And LinkedIn is a great connection tool for any business professional. Pick one. You’ll love it… It’s easy, and it’s free. Get more out of your social media with this guide.

6. Blogs Required
You gotta’ have a blog built into your website. A blog allows you to easily create single page posts about events, specials, tips, and company information to your website visitors. Not only do you get the benefit of keeping your website content fresh, you are also creating new content that search engines are on the lookout for. It’s a big win-win. A blog post every week is great for entrepreneurs, but once every two weeks or even once a month will still serve you well. Learn more about business blogging here.

7. Staying Connected
The biggest problem those of us have that already have a solid website is staying connected with our website visitors and those that are on our email list. The best advice I can give you is to always stay connected enough so that you’re not forgotten. That comes back to creating new and engaging blog post content several times a month and distributing great email content several times a month as well. I can’t tell you how often I’ve received a new and repeat business because I always find a way to stay in touch with my clients and prospects every 2-3 weeks. And with the quick access of Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin, you can stay in touch with your social networking audience in no time as well.

Printing on Fabric

A full service manufacturing facility, Genius Advertising produces high-resolution images on fabric banners and other types of textiles for client uses in:

Advertising
Exhibit display
Retail sales
Outdoor signage
Textile decoration

Fabric printing is done in our northeastern NJ plant, we are convenient to NYC and only 10 minutes west of both the Lincoln Tunnel and the George Washington Bridge, and can be quickly shipped directly to you anywhere in the country.