On a recent Sunday morning I had the distinct and special satisfaction of exploring my house city of Austin,Texas on a Segway motorized automobile with my visiting daddy and some other tourists. Besides the fun of riding this brand-new device which I have for years wanted to try,participating in the tour advised me of the individuality of the city of Austin and why it is not quite like anyplace else. Austin in some way handles to keep the ideal balance of the cutting edge of high-tech internet marketing company(s),the impatience of a dynamic youth culture,and the traditions of Texas.
As a Web online marketer,I could not help but link particular aspects of this new-found appreciation for my city with what I think are some key insights about how my clients can better connect with clients online:
Insight # 1: Project your own design:
Austin represents an eclectic mix of conservative Texas tradition,successful young specialists,and a postmodern hippy culture of artists and bohemians. Individuals who check out from somewhere else for even a day or a week leave feeling like they have actually experienced something that is not quite like anywhere else they have actually experienced prior to. If you look carefully,you will see on every 50th automobile or two bumper stickers that say “Keep Austin Weird,” representing a peaceful rallying cry of assistance for Austin’s special brand of quirkiness. Similarly,your Website needs to job who and what you are. Your objective ought to NOT be to bring in hordes of prospects to your site. Your objective ought to be to bring in a stable stream of prospects who have a high possibility of transforming into paying clients.
Insight # 2: Honor your brand:
Austin has its own variation of the Hollywood Stroll of Popularity called,appropriately,the Texas Stroll of Popularity. Sidewalk stars etched with the names of famous Austinites from authors to entertainers can be seen downtown. Austin takes pride in its preferred kids and daughters. Even while Austin attempts to change with the 21st Century,it remembers those that helped make it excellent. Taking a hint from the Texas Stroll of Popularity,your company needs to develop a clear brand method. Who your company is and what it means comes across on your Website in ways you can not even envision. The brains of your visitors take in countless visual cues per second,and those visitors are making judgments about your company based upon what they see there. Again,the objective is not to please every visitor. Rather,the objective is to honor your brand and to let the “star” of your brand shine through on your site.
Insight # 3: Shake things up once in a while:
A visit to numerous parts of downtown Austin indicates that the city is currently in the throes of modification. Huge construction tasks are underway to build the necessary property and company facilities to accommodate moving demographics. This is a bit painful to motorists (and we dedicated Segway-ists!) trying to get around the city. But,the city organizers are wise adequate to understand that by proactively altering they are growing. The alternative is to go toward stagnation. In the world of Web traffic,this insights requires you to revisit your site on a regular basis. Add some RSS feeds. Change your skins. Start a blog site and update it routinely. Set up a widget. Refurbish your material. Do what you can to make visitors sit up and take notice: you will be viewed as fresh and cutting edge.
Insight # 4: Be ingenious:
On my tour I discovered that the city of Austin has a very ingenious automobile share program whose objective is to reduce downtown traffic and contamination while helping residents to get around. The program has a number of designated parking spaces around the city for a handful of automobiles that can be rented by the hour. If a downtown resident has a doctor’s appointment or other transportation requirement,they simply show up to the automobile at the right time and off they go. Really cool! So (you thought it),your Website needs to be likewise ingenious. Being ingenious does not mean reinventing the (mouse) wheel: it simply implies doing something that you have actually not tried prior to that will make a favorable distinction in the lives of your visitors. They will thank you for it with more company than you can handle.
Insight # 5: Proactively drive traffic to your site:
As cool as Austin is,the city is wise enough to understand that they need to get the word out about Austin. So,in 1991 they invented the motto “The Live Music Capital of the World” to boast that they really had more live music locations per capita than even New York City and Nashville. By the same token,your Website can be the best site on the planet,but if you do not actively try to drive traffic to your site you are missing out on a huge opportunity. From pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to article and video marketing,there are many legitimate ways to get individuals to your Website. Prevent the “Build it and they will come” myth. The method ought to be to build an useful site with excellent material – and after that intelligently drive traffic to your site.
Insight # 6: Know your audience:
Austin has a clear vision of itself in 10 or twenty years from now. There are various tasks underway to bring in successful,young specialists to the city with ingenious developments that put a focus on walking and ease of access rather than on automobiles. Similarly,everything you do to drive traffic to your Website needs to have your target audience in mind. How do they think? What is important to them? Know this and you will bring in the clients you need.
Insight # 7: Be clear about what you want individuals to do on your site:
A final note: Austin has lots of one-way streets. When I first moved to the city I discovered this a bit bothersome,but I need to confess that as soon as I was familiar with the streets it really streamlined life a bit. For instance,oncoming traffic is unidirectional,which translated to less being reluctant when merging into traffic or choosing which method to go. In a comparable vein,style your Website such that newbie visitors understand precisely what you want them to do. You are the master of your (Web) domain and visitors to your site need to know where to go and what to do. What is of value on your site? You understand best,now make sure that your visitors understand,too.