Many businesses still have older-style websites that weren’t designed with social media functionality in mind. If that’s you, it may be time for an update. The ability for your customer and prospect to be able to share your content and to interact with you has become commonplace and expected. Long-gone are the days of the Contact Us form being the only way for people to reach out to you. At least, those days are long-gone for today’s innovative business. Our website is built on a non-social platform. But, we have added the ability for people to share our website content through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, and other social media sites simply by adding the Share This application to our website pages. You can add social media plug-ins like this to your existing website.
Add social functions to your site
To add some interactivity and social function, you might also consider adding a blog to your existing static site. Search engines love blogs, so the addition of a blog could send a lot more traffic to your site. Blogs also allow people to comment and share content, which engage others. You have to post regularly for a blog to be an effective social media tool, but the posts don’t have to be long. Just make sure that they’re relevant to your audience.
Upgrade to a social-friendly platform
If you have a relatively simple website, you might want to consider creating a new site with the WordPress blog platform, which has built-in social media functionality. The WordPress platform is sophisticated and sleek, but easy to use and manage and the cost is very low. (I cringe whenever I hear about small businesses paying thousands of dollars for a website! While you’ll want to invest dollars in getting set up properly and having professional design – the ongoing management of your website and content can be free from expensive third-part management with a WordPress or other hosted platform site.)
Integrate social into all your marketing
While you’re updating your website, look at your other marketing materials and see if you can integrate social media into them as well. For example, if you have a newsletter, you can incorporate social media functionality and allow people to share and comment on articles. The key to having people share your content is to make it easy for them. Your site can work hard for you 24 hours a day. But, first you need to get it set up right both from a structural perspective and from a content perspective. The rewards will be worth the effort. Here are some links you might find useful for improving your website:
Blog Posts
- Taking Action in 2012: 12 Pointers for Marketing Your Website More Effectively
- 7 Ways To Optimise Your Online Copywriting in 7 Minutes
- How to Create a Social Media Schedule
Suzi
