If there’s one thing I learned from building my freelancing business, it’s that your online profile is King, Queen or any other blue-blooded sovereign. In the early days, I grappled with securing clients, struggling to pinpoint my missteps. As it turned out, numerous errors existed, but I’ll address one in this post.
So here it is: For about two years I was targeting every company under the sun, jumping from one industry to another. I failed to discriminate and I erroneously thought that companies with outdated websites desperately needed my copywriting services. How could they not need my services? Their websites were completely antiquated. A number of them featured designs and functionalities popular in the early 2000s. Remember the flash animations, 3D buttons and background music? Believe it or not, some of these websites continue to exist. They’re like blobs of cyber debris whose owners can’t be bothered to sit through the tangled mess of forgotten passwords and abandoned accounts.
But, I digress.
My flawed rationale was that the companies with state-of-the-art websites were big enough to have their own internal communication departments. As it turned out, however, this wasn’t necessarily the case; there are plenty of great small and medium-sized enterprises out there with amazing websites who still farm out many of their writing and other services.
The truth is companies with obsolete websites didn’t need my services because they weren’t operating businesses anymore. Their problem wasn’t branding, lack of marketing communications direction or sales strategy. Their problem wasn’t a marketing problem at all – it was a fundamental business problem.
Now, years later, I can appreciate that marketing efforts can fall by the wayside of other activities, such as business growth and product development, etc. But no company worth its salt will allow its website to look like a museum exhibit. Companies that manage their cash flow, nurture clients and invest in innovation will always have a sparkly website and decent content as their online presence. They understand that a polished website is the cornerstone of their online representation and the face of their business.
To underscore the importance of your online profile, here are eight things that your website needs to do in order to successfully capture the attention of clients, potential partners and investors:
- Make a great first impression. Your website content and the way it’s laid out is the first point of contact for potential customers, investors and job seekers. Once I learned that I’ll never get long-term clients by targeting companies with archaic websites, I stopped reaching out to them and redirected my efforts. This means that they lost out on a potential partnership with a professional copywriter. Think about what other opportunities you’re missing out on when your website content is unprofessionally put together.
- Display strong brand identity. Visitors spend under a minute on a website on average so you have little time to convince partners, investors and prospects that you’re a coherent organization that means business – and can benefit them. Your website must feature strong language, memorable visuals and on-brand messaging that aligns with your company’s values, mission and selling points.
- Showcase expertise. Tech companies don’t peddle straightforward consumer products that can be easily understood through visuals alone. Their offerings entail a myriad of complexities, encompassing factors like compatibility, integration challenges and a substantial learning curve. Professional websites have at least several thought leadership documents on their website to address some of this complexity. Whether they’re blogs, eBooks, white papers or guides, they showcase deep knowledge and insights that build credibility and cement trust.
- Engage users. When an organization uses its website as a platform to inform visitors about its service offer and technological innovations, it encourages repeat visits. What’s more, a company that educates its prospects about the wider context of its services offer is likely to be seen as a thought leader. This means that people are much more likely to return for more valuable insights, boosting organic traffic and supporting SEO efforts. Plus, users who are engaged are likelier to convert into clients.
- Demonstrate transparency. A website that features clear information about its service offer, terms and conditions and pricing implies that it’s open and honest in its business practices. It also reveals a number of key aspects connected to the firm’s values, operations and culture. Every website act as a signal to its target audience – a transparent website will attract a transparent audience while a shady website will attract a shady one. You want your website to be inviting, encourage repeat visits and convey trust and professionalism.
- Appear innovative. By including a responsive, minimalist design, interactive elements and ensuring that it loads quickly, you’re sending a message to your readers that the company keeps up with current trends and technologies. It also indicates that the organization is forward-thinking – it’s open to embracing new methodologies and can adapt to change with innovative products and services that unlock new revenue streams.
- Be user-centric. With a seamless browsing experience, the company is signaling that it appreciates its visitors. It’s a subtle yet effective way of saying that it strives to turn its readers into repeat customers, rather than treating them as mere passersby. User centricity is about organizing information in a way that’s easily accessible, intuitive and enjoyable for the visitor.
- Have a customer focus. A website whose aesthetic reflects the style and language of its customers shows that it understands where its customers and prospects are coming from. So, let your prospects’ presentation and phrasing guide your design decisions. The website’s materials should accentuate that the company understands its target demographic, their preferences, pain points and behaviors. Visitors should immediately see the visual manifestation of their aspirations and goals and recognize that the website is addressing them.
Conclusion: Think about your online profile as a digital storefront that operates 24/7
Your online profile is a billboard in the digital universe, providing a global platform for your products and services. Do you want it to grab users’ attention or drive them away? We live in a crowded digital landscape and without a meaningful website your company is unlikely to attract, engage and convert visitors. But if you treat it as a hub for communication and customer support that visitors can easily access, you’ll be able to stand out and eventually capture leads.
A carefully designed online profile is not an option. It’s a fundamental tool for inaugurating and maintaining your online presence so that you can power growth and reach visitors beyond geographical boundaries.
