If you want your website to be effective, you need to put yourself into it. Your blood, sweat and tears should be worked into the navigation, content and code of your site.
I’m not saying you need to be a web expert and do everything yourself. But if you don’t take a personal interest in your site, your customers won’t either. More than ever websites are a conversational piece of your marketing plan. They’re no longer about broadcasting your message, they’re about interacting with your audience. And that interaction is something you can’t fake or outsource. By all means bring in help to do it right, but if you’re not engaged and putting some of your personality into your site, it’s not going to work. If the people actually running your site aren’t empowered to give it personality, it’s going to flop.
You can’t just throw something online and hope it works. But if you put yourself online, if you’re engaged in the process and care about what it says and how it says it, then customers will notice. It’s no longer just a bit of marketing, but it’s a connection.
If you’re not in your website now, change it:
- Start blogging. Talk about what matters to you and your organization.
- If blogging sounds too involved, try Twitter. Share your hopes, dreams and favorite tips in 140 characters or less.
- Give people something of value. What about your business is incredibly valuable? Find a way to put that online. Whether it’s tips and expertise, coupons to entice people to come in and see the value for themselves, or something else.
