How to Turn Your Website into a Lead Generator

With Matt Kulcsar, Interactive Art Designer

 A corporate website needs to be more than just a static, marketing piece. Your website should be a dynamic lead generation tool.   If your website is not powering your growth or reinforcing your brand than its time to consider a website refresh to maximize your online presence.  Keep these simple tips in mind when you look to enhance your website in 2012: 

Be precise.  Pretty much every website has standard analytics built-in but few users are tapping into the data to help take them to the next level.  Make sure you log in regularly to see what’s working and what isn’t so you can take action.  The design of your website should be flexible so you can easily make adjustments based on the insights from your review of the sites stats. Content management systems are usually the most cost-effective platforms that allow for on the fly updating.

Be engaging. Get to know your target audience better by finding out what means the most to them.  Incorporating an interactive survey or problem/solution component into your website will give you valuable insights into your customers needs and also help them find the content they are looking for on your site. Be careful and don’t overwhelm your audience. Engagement doesn’t mean unnecessary bells and whistles with no real purpose. Interactivity is the key to connecting to your audience and drawing them into your site.

Be clear.  You won’t be able to convert a website visitor to a qualified lead if they don’t stay on your site for very long.  You have maybe ten seconds to grab a visitor’s attention and draw them in to your website.  One step towards keeping traffic on your site is to make it easy for them to find what they need.  Navigation needs to be straightforward, intuitive and descriptive.  Using non-traditional navigation through the use of imagery and other techniques can guide users smoothly through your site to a conversion.

Be relevant.  Content is still king as long as it speaks to your target audience and it’s optimized for search engine performance.   Here’s where the analytics come in again.  Study up to see which pages have high traffic and which pages are low performers. Evaluate if the content needs to be enhanced or are you getting a message from your customers about what they are really interested in.

Be analytical.  In real estate the key is “Location! Location! Location!” but the mantra online is “Data! Data! Data!”.  The common thread that runs through all of these topics is analysis of your data. You need to have the right tools in place and the right people who can interpret and implement needed action. Site traffic has to be understood on the granular level in order to understand the finicky patterns of today’s web users.

The Future of Media

There’s no doubt about it, the newspaper industry is changing. According to an article from the Business Insider, 105 newspapers shuttered in 2009, while 10,000 newspaper jobs were lost in the same year. These numbers expose a scary reality, as individuals continue to evaluate how they prefer to receive news and information. Maybe it’s a generational preference. I know my parents still look forward to receiving the latest issue of their local newspaper at their doorstep every morning, while I prefer to read all the breaking news and feature articles online, giving me the ability to receive information quickly, specifically select what I’m interested in reading about and share those stories with others instantaneously.

No matter what your generational preference, newspapers and magazines are continuing to shift toward using a digital platform, as seen with The New York Times’ recent announcement that they will charge readers for access to certain sections of its website. The outlets in which we receive information are changing, and so should your public relations and marketing strategies.

Consider the changing rate of the press release. Many newspapers and magazines now enable you to simply post the news yourself on its websites, enabling your message to be picked up instantly on search engines. Still, create a press release headline that stands out and includes keywords that are of direct interest to customers. Our PR team has begun including links within the body of the press release that lead customers back to relevant website pages. All these seeds planted throughout this online network help boost search engine optimization (SEO), leading customers to take action.

Also consider incorporating social media into your public relations strategy. Think about targeting media contacts who utilize social networking sites including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and blogs that are appropriate to your target audience. This will help increase visibility for your client throughout a new outlet and further enhance their SEO.

The same digital shift holds true for advertising and marketing. According to senior analyst at eMarketer, Deborah Aho Williamson, advertising will not be the primary revenue driver in the years to come. She indicated that everything is going to become more social. This shift has already started to unfold with companies investing significant time in increasing their SEO and utilizing online advertising including banner ads and pay-per-click programs.

No matter what medium you choose, CMA’s marketing and communications staff can help you create a communication strategy appropriate to your targeted market and audience, helping to enhance your brand and position you ahead of your competition.

Give us a call to start the conversation.

Kaitlin Friedmann
PR Manager
kfriedmann@cmasolutions.com

Show and Tell: Adapting to the New Video Culture

If you’ve still got the mind-set that YouTube and streaming video is a bunch of nonsense, 2010 will be sure to pass you by.

Yes, we’ve all seen videos of babies, cats, dogs, parakeets and more doing silly things over the last few years on You Tube. And yes, it’s true that the most viewed YouTube video of all time is still “Charlie Bit my Finger,” with over 150 million hits. But what can we learn from something as simple as two British toddlers complaining about a finger biting incident?

The lesson is that the best marketing strategies revolve around showing, not telling. CMA’s veteran copywriters will even agree—sometimes words alone can’t move your target audience to take action and when appropriate, it’s important to entertain as well as inform.

For example, in order to showcase the many energy-saving benefits associated with the introduction of an LED light bulb to the residential market, CMA created a video representation of the product’s revolutionary features. This video was to be previewed at a major lighting trade show and then streamed on the company’s website for archival use.

The video was designed to reflect the significant impact this product would have on the environment, on users’ wallets and on the industry itself. By appealing to the target market’s emotions, the video accomplished the mission of making the big splash needed to set the company’s product apart from other attempts in this technological space.

It used to be that TV commercials were the only means of communicating video, but sites like YouTube have created a more “do it yourself” culture that marketing teams should seriously consider, especially when it comes to appealing to a consumer audience.

Next time the opportunity presents itself, give us a call. CMA writes, coordinates and produces all aspects of video presentations, which can enhance sales and marketing efforts, and also hold possibilities for training and employee communications.

Erin Higgins
Client Services Manager
ehiggins@cmasolutions.com

Designing a Website Built to Last

If a website refresh is what your company needs to start anew in 2010, it’s imperative that you work with your designer to create something that is built to last. Using outdated techniques can force a prospective customer to click the “x” in the corner and cross you off the list of potential business partners as quick as the click of a mouse.

We’ve seen so many website trends come and go. Consider these points while you’re in the planning stage.

Put yourself in the website visitors’ shoes. Your website is now almost the equivalent of the first greeting, handshake and business card exchange in the early stages of a real, live meeting. Within the first few seconds, the visitor needs to feel engaged but also in control. While the organization of your website is important to share information, the design elements must make them feel comfortable enough to want to stay.

A website should accurately represent your brand. Since your website might be the first place a customer is introduced to your brand, make sure visitors are able to immediately understand who the business is and what you do. A cluttered homepage with disorganized photos and clickables can be confusing, so keep it simple.

Utilize white space for a more professional feel. Dated websites are easy to spot—they have bright colors, perhaps a patterned background and lots of text to scroll through. According to Business Week, 62% of those online are researching products and services. Maintaining a good ratio of white space to images and text allows the visitor to concentrate better on the information they are seeking.

Websites are an essential piece of a company’s full brand. Before you decide to launch a website project, spend some time shopping around to other websites to browse for ideas and accurately gauge the trends in your own industry. Let CMA apply our expertise to deliver a website that truly represents you.

Diane Webster,
Associate Creative Director
Dwebster@cmasolutions.com