Paying homage to the 12 Days of Christmas, I have compiled a list of 12 web-related tactical items to consider for the New Year.
1) On the first day of Christmas my true love said to me (I know, it’s supposed to be “sent,” but that didn’t make sense) … “Who are you and where did you come from?” You don’t know if you’re not tracking your website traffic. You also have no idea if your website is helping or hindering your online efforts—nor do you know what marketing tactics are working and which ones are not! Call Santa (that’s me) and I can set you up for a nominal fee.
2) On the second day of Christmas my true love said to me… “Why can’t I find you on the web?” Because rarely do people use the Yellow Pages anymore to find a business/service, most go to the web. If you don’t come up high in the search engine search results, especially when someone types in your exact company name…you’ve got a problem! If you want to drive more traffic to your website, let me know and I’ll explain how.
3) On the third day of Christmas my true love said to me…”Why do you not like me?” Social media is all the rage right now, if you choose to dip your toes in, make sure you have a plan. Marketing is about building relationships with your prospects in hopes of turning them into customers. If you throw darts at a target blindfolded, you’ll never hit the bulls eye.
4) On the fourth day of Christmas my true love said to me…”You look tired.” If you haven’t updated your website in a few years, it’s time for a makeover! The web, unlike other mediums is also a technology, therefore it’s ever-changing…in order to stay relevant, you must change with the times.
5) On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love said to me…”Why do you never call back?” Today, people want quick responses from us, 24 hours is NOT soon enough! All too often when someone sends a company an e-mail inquiry, they don’t get a response for days— if ever. Or, if they call a business they get lost in a mirage of telephone prompts. If you have the resources and bandwidth internally, a “Live Chat” feature on your website is a great way to connect with your prospects. Your customer support staff can chat live with your prospects and/or can even call the prospect so they don’t have to muddle through phone prompts to try and reach the right person. Might sound expensive, but I guarantee your conversion rates will increase.
6) On the sixth day of Christmas my true love said to me…”Why don’t you ever tell anyone about us?” The new rules of Public Relations have changed…no longer do you need to know the editor of your local publication to get a news story written about your company. Today there are services likePRWeb and PRNewsWire that will distribute your news releases to a targeted or broad audience.
7) On the seventh day of Christmas my true love said to me…”Someday they’ll make movies about us.”“Some Day” is today! Video is huge and it allows you to communicate and connect with your prospects in a very personal way. Video is so simple today and can be quite inexpensive. You can get a 60-90 second professional self-promotional video for as little as $500. Click here for more info. You can use your videos on your website, share on social networking and video sites such as YouTube, DailyMotion or Metacafe.
8) On the eighth day of Christmas my true love said to me…”We’re old and stagnate, we need to change.” It’s innate that humans resist change, but if you have the right interactive partner, they can walk you through the process. Today, the interactive industry changes at warp speed, but that doesn’t mean you should continue to sit on the sidelines. There are tools that can make your website more efficient and effective for both you and your customer. From CMS (Content management systems that allow you to easily update your website without the need of a webmaster), to customer service tools like live chat and social media.
9) On the ninth day of Christmas my true love said to me… “Why does no one talk of our love affair?” Viral marketing can spread your wares like wild fire. If you can get creative, and can build relationships with your prospects, you can create viral attention for your product/services. If you need help or ideas on creating online word-of-mouth advertising, give me a call.
10) On the tenth day of Christmas my true love said to me…”You’re so complicated; I just don’t understand you sometimes.” With the new rules of marketing, there is a lot to know and understand, you need to find a web partner with experience, knowledge and passion for the new ways of marketing…someone that can walk you through the process in layman terms. Call me for a free consultation.
11) On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love said to me… “You’re never at home anymore, where can I find you?” Mobile baby! A decade ago people wondered whether there would be a convergence or a divergence between TV and the Web…while the debate has been answered, it’s taken awhile to materialize. Two areas that won’t take as long to marry/materialize is web-mobile, mobile-web. We are in the midst of Web 2.0 (the second generation of the web), a main component to Web 3.0 will certainly be the convergence of the web and mobile devices. You’re already seeing thousands of applications being built for mobile devices. As more people adopt smart and GPS enabled phones you’re going to start to see a lot of marketing opportunities…so, I would highly suggest keeping this at the forefront of your future marketing plans.
12) On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love said to me…”He who snoozes looses.” If you don’t lead your industry, then you need to follow, if you’re not willing to follow, then you need to get out of the way for those building the businesses of the future. My blog is a great resource for interactive tips, tools and news on web development and online marketing related items. Use it. Beware of shortcuts, and those who proclaim to be capably. Web developers and such are popping up like real estate agents of yesteryear…everyone knows one. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, especially for things you don’t understand.
There are new rules to marketing today and they ALL revolve around the web…so to that, I wish your holidays to be filled with Clicks, Conversions and Customers! Be safe, well and may the New Year be a fruitful one.
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