Today, there is a lot of talk in marketing around storytelling and brand “personality,” and that is the goal, to satisfy the needs and wants of our customers. One way to peak customer interest so you can engage in the opportunity to satisfy their needs is through great stories.
People consume information in various channels from website research, search engines, social media channels (especially the big 8: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest, TikTok), emails, word-of-mouth, referrals, and traditional mass methods (TV, billboards, news ads, direct mail). So many sources, it can be overwhelming to figure out where to start.
So let’s start with the basic foundation of your digital brand, your website.
Are you late to the party? Or have you been lingering too long in the shadowy corner? Part of showing up and being seen starts with your website. It’s the foundation of your brand online and you own it. As long as you pay your hosting, the website is your “owned” media. It’s an important part of your brand and your personality. Your website helps you show up in the market and represent yourself authentically. Listen to the wise words of the famous poet, Rupi Kaur, “at the end of the day, the only thing you can control is yourself.” That is important to remember because everything else is a “rental.” Social channels can come and go and you have no control.
The end goal is to drive traffic to your website and your location. Did you know that 81% of consumers research online prior to making a purchase decision? Did you know that if you don’t continuously update your website with relevant content and properly named relevant imagery that your site will automatically lose ranking in the search engines...sinking into the dark abyss of stagnant websites?
Here are 10 other statistics to consider from HubSpot and Hosting Facts:
Google drives 96% of mobile search traffic
Over 51% of smartphone users have discovered a new company or product while conducting a search on their smartphone
Consumers spend an average of 79 days gathering information before making a major purchase
98% of Americans switch between devices multiple times a day
50% of consumers who search for a local business on a smartphone visit the store within 24 hours
84% of US online shoppers review at least one social media site before making a purchase
4x as many consumers prefer to view a video about a product than reading about it and can increase conversion rates by 144%
92% of shoppers say visuals influence their buying decision the most
50% of search queries are four words or longer
70-80% of search engine users are only focusing on the organic results
Maybe you have a website or are building a website, the commercials certainly make it look easy. However, as a leader, we all know that tactics are execution, it’s the strategy that matters.
“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” ~Confucius
It’s not only about the looks of your website, that is important but is only the surface of the iceberg, there’s a whole lot more behind the scenes. As Salvadore Dali has been famously quoted: “Painting is an infinitely minute part of my personality.” There are a lot of things to think about behind the surface screen. To help ensure you show up for the party and your excellent personality can be seen, double-check and make sure you have at least the 10 minimum plug-ins below installed on the backend of your website:
Google analytics
SEO Tools
Email marketing tool with form integration to capture leads
Conversion rate optimization to help recapture abandoning website visitors
Security and firewall protection
Live chat
Automated backups
Anti-spam
Photo optimization
Cache to optimize site speed performance
With almost 56,000 Wordpress Plugins, Wordpress plugins extend the functionality of your website and help you to present your brand personality appropriately. Remember that person who chewed their food with their mouth open? Or the person who laughed a little too much? Or that other person who didn’t understand personal space? Be strategic, make sure you show up at the right party, with the right people who get your personality and want to engage in conversation with you. Having these 10 plugins as a foundation for your website provides a basic framework for you to understand your audience, build your brand, sustainably, authentically and intelligently while still looking good and showing up. Next week, we’ll start diving into the 10 listed basic plugins and why they matter. Have another topic or tool you are interested in learning about, reach out, say hello and let me know!