Month: January 2017

How Scannable is Your Website?

Unless a reader is sitting down with their Kindle app or a piece of long form journalism, most web visitors are unlikely to spend more than a few minutes on a web page. Many of them scan content, picking out only key words and phrases. Making sure that your content is scannable will ensure that readers absorb the most important info, and click through your site to read further.

What are the most important elements of scannable content?

  • Brief sentences and paragraphs.
  • A short and informative headline that lets the reader know what to expect.
  • A piece that begins with your conclusion, and extrapolates from there.
  • Bold text for emphasis.
  • Bullet-pointed lists, like this one, when more than three points may be made on a topic.
  • Links to relevant content.
  • Clear understandable language.
  • One main idea per paragraph.
  • Use the active voice instead of the passive voice.
  • Use a casual, conversational style.

What do you need to avoid when assembling scannable content?

  • Distractions, like hard-to-dismiss pop-ups or crowded page graphics and content.
  • Long sentences and dense paragraphs.
  • Overly formal phrasing.
  • Unstructured content that is difficult to follow.

If you don’t have an experienced content writer on your team, speak with your web design company about creating content that is easily scannable and put forth your most important information. Great content turns visitors into customers!

Posted on by AJ

Should Your Company Outsource Your Social Media Efforts?

You’ve been sharing, liking, and commenting for years now on Facebook. You’ve seen your favorite brands advertise on social media, and you may even be trying out Twitter and Instagram. You’re social media savvy, and you’re thinking about expanding your company’s presence on social media as well. Even the most competent influencers may run up against struggles when it comes to effectively managing their company’s social media presence. Calling in experts will bring you the results you need, and will save your company resources in the long run.

Knowledge and expertise.

Calling in a social media expert will guarantee that your company will build its social media presence under the guidance of a team that has spent years analyzing the different channels and platforms available, the various approaches that are effective on each channel, and knows how to analyze your company and your target audience to determine what type of content and which channels are right for your organization.

Streamlined Processes.

A firm that has long-term expertise in social media knows precisely how to run a social media presence. So that every post, tweet, and share generates interest among you target audience. They know the times of day when customers are most responsive. They understand the algorithms that are used to create effective advertising and sponsored posts. And they have a strategy for creating content, distributing that content, and staying on schedule.

Consistency and reliability.

Think about your team’s daily activities. Your project managers, client service staff, and executives are busy meeting the needs of your existing customer base. Pulling them off their jobs to perform social media duties detracts from their performance. It is sure to result in a spotty social media strategy. An outside firm will stick to a pre-determined plan. Consistently creating content and posting to your target audience, in lockstep with your internal staff as they achieve their daily, weekly, and monthly goals.

Your company’s social media presence should be a priority, and just as you would hire an expert to handle a new company priority in any case, hiring a social media expert is key when developing your social media strategy. Discuss your plans with your web design firm, as they may have a team who can address your growing needs.

Posted on by AJ

Why Your Company Should Use Google Analytics

Analytics

Do you want to know more about your customers? Do you wish that you could track visitor activity on your website and see demographic info using easy to read reports? Google Analytics provides a streamlined service that delivers the information you need to direct your web presence toward your target audience.

It’s simple to use, and free

Consult with your web design firm about setting up Google Analytics for your site, and you’ll soon find yourself perusing Google’s breakdown of your visitors, their demographic info, and the pages they’ve spent time on. It’s a free tool that you’ll actually enjoy using.

You’ll learn about your customers

Google Analytics provides an essential look into the demographic information and behaviors of your customers. You’ll be able to pinpoint the city and state each visitor is viewing your site from. Where they linked from, and which pages they visited on your site. This will help you to analyze the customers you’re reaching.

Customized reports

Do you want to see all of the information available about your website visitors, or just a few key pieces of info? Google Analytics allows your team to choose custom reports that deliver exactly what you’re looking for.

Visitor tracking in real time

In addition to harnessing key demographic info about your visitors, you’ll also be able to see which pages visitors are looking at, when they’re visiting, and how long they’re staying on your site for easy integration. Your web design team can use Google Analytics to work with data from Google Adwords and Google Search Console. You’ll be able to access Analytics from an of your devices. Talk to your web design firm today about how it uses Google Analytics to analyze customer info and use it to improve your companies web presence.

Posted on by AJ