There comes a time when all businesses get to a point where they realise they need a website but many of them fall into the trap of having a website just because they think they need one. They don’t look at the most important aspect of a website for a business (in fact the most important aspect of any marketing for a business, after all, a website is another form of marketing a business isn’t it?).

Once you have decided you want a website don’t fall into the age‐old trap of going for a website that looks the nicest, with lots of moving images (and please never have music on your website) do not focus on the look of the site (although it needs to reflect your company’s brand) focus on the functionality of the site and how it will do the following 3 things for your business, these are the 3 things to focus on when planning for a website:

How will the website save my business time?

How will the website save my business money?

How will the website make my business money?

Believe it or not a website can potentially do all of the above for your business, what a fantastic tool for you, how did you ever cope without one!

Let us look at each of the 3 things above when planning for a website.

How will the website save my business time?

As anyone in business will tell you, TIME IS MONEY so we need to ensure that the website has the ability to save your business money.

Look at the four questions and answers below, we are pretty confident that several of the points made will be relevant to your business, make a note of these and ensure that whoever builds your website takes this into account.

Do you send out brochures to potential customers?

Many businesses send out a brochure to a potential customer, this takes time and also it can be a couple of days before the brochure arrives on the potential customer’s doorstep, imagine saying to them “You can view our brochure online at www.thenameofourwebsite.com”. This saves you the time of posting the brochure and the potential customer gets the information immediately and when they are keen to do business with you two days later may be too late, someone else may already have clinched the sale.

Do you regularly have to explain your business services and offerings on the telephone?

How many times does a potential customer ring you up and ask “Do you do this?” or “Do you do that?” and you spend 10‐15 minutes explaining what your business does and how it does it, how much quicker is it to say “Thanks for the call, you can find out everything about us on www.thenameofourwebsite.com. If you have any further questions please feel free to call me back”.

Do you visit potential clients to show them what you can offer them?

Many small businesses arrange appointments to visit potential customers; if your business falls into this category a great way to cut down on the number of appointments is to give the potential customer all the information they need before you visit them.

Customer: “Hi, we are interested in your xxx service, would it be possible you could come and see us next Wednesday evening?”

You: “Sure that’s fine; I will bring all my brochures and photos of work I have done to help assist you in making the decision to use our company”.

Obviously, some services need to be sold face to face, but by providing a lot more information before the potential customer requests a meeting means they are more aware of the products/services you offer and this will mean less wasted meetings, shorter meetings and hopefully more sales from the meetings you do attend.

How will the website save my business money?

Obviously to any business, time is money, so by utilising a website to save your business time it will in effect save your business money too; let’s look at an example of saving money with a website.

Do you send out brochures to potential customers?

A brochure to design, print and post costs anywhere from £2 upwards per brochure (with envelopes, stamps etc) to send out, so each time you post a brochure to a potential customer it has just cost another £2. Imagine if you had sent that customer to your website (your online brochure) it would have saved you £2.

The other problems with brochures are that you cannot order 1 or 2 at a time, you need to order in the hundreds to get the price right, so what happens when you have 500 brochures in your office and your address changes, or you change suppliers of your product, you cannot change your brochures, do you throw them away and print more or just muddle through with them.

With a website you can get it updated quickly and easily and at very little cost (if any).

How will the website make my business money?

Obviously, by saving your business time and money it will increase the profit of your business, but a website will also make you money for the following reasons:

A website gives a business credibility

A website opens your business up 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

A website provides potential customers with IMMEDIATE INFORMATION, which in today’s busy world people want to find out what you offer NOW, not in 2‐3 days time!

A website, by being promoted on any advertising you do, opens up your advert to be a complete online brochure about your business.

With Activ Web Design offering websites that can do all of the above for your business for just £499 (or £999 for an online shop where you can actually sell your goods/services online) can your business afford to get left behind?

Let us now look at how to promote your website to get more business

The most cost‐effective way of promoting your website is to focus on your current advertising and marketing.

Here at Activ, we have helped many small businesses realise the power of the internet and what it can do for their business, below is some advice on how to successfully grow your business with a website.

So you are now at the next stage, you have got a website and you have ensured it has been designed with the 3 fundamental benefits of a website:

Save time

Save money

Make money

Now you need to ensure you promote it successfully and cost‐effectively.

The first thing to do when you have a new website built is ensure you put both your website address and your email address on all of your current marketing material:

Letterheads

Business cards

Leaflets

Till receipts

Invoices

Vans (delivery vehicles etc)

Shop window (if you have a shop front)

By ensuring you promote your website on all of the above you will ensure that new and existing customers start to use it.

The next thing to do is look at where you currently advertise, many businesses advertise in the Yellow Pages and local village booklets, by ensuring your website address is on all of your advertising means that if your advert is of interest to someone they are very likely to visit your website, which opens up any advert you run into a complete online brochure about your business.

So, we have increase awareness, raised the profile and improved our offline advertising to ensure that people are looking at your website as a source of information about your company.

This is everything you need to do once your website is live on the internet and by doing all of the above your website will work for your business.

Regards

Where Is Social Media Headed

Courtesy of Nipa Shah.

Barack Obama started using social media and the marketing gurus went “Oh my God, he’s a genius, now all we have to do is use his name to promote this and voila, clients will be lining up to buy social media marketing (SMM) services”. Well, it didn’t quite happen that way. And the wonderful case study that was “Presidential candidate Barack Obama” became a not-so-active name on various online portals including, Twitter, where from November 2008 to May 2009, his twitter update has had five posts. Yep, only five posts in six months.

So what is happening in the Social Media world right now?

Well, first of all, social media website use has exploded with millions of people using popular Web 2.0 applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, and dozens of others. I personally “play” and “work” on many, but my favorites remain Twitter and Facebook.

Celebrities and politicians seem to have found a way to pontificate one-way to their audiences. I say pontificate because most of these are rarely engaged in a two-way discussion, more times sending out their updates but not really engaging with others who may wish to interact with them. Politicians and celebrities across the globe have taken their messages to their fans and followers on Twitter and Facebook.

However, millions of users and dozens of so-called SMM experts later, small businesses remain offline and are positively scared of using social media websites.

The business owners I interact with when I’m speaking at an event or when I’m networking offline (yes I still do that) are concerned about using social media websites to promote themselves. They are worried about the lack of privacy and a misconception that they need to be technically savvy to use such websites as Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin. These same business owners also mention lack of time and lack of trained “marketing” resources which prevent them from taking the social media marketing plunge.

For marketers, social media marketing means a huge opportuníty. The opportuníty comes from being able to demonstrate actual results to end clients in the form of visibility and generated buzz. For small businesses who have taken the social media marketing plunge, it means visibility at low cost. For everybody, Social Media Marketing means; buzz, visibility, website traffic and leads, assuming SMM is executed properly.

Social media marketing is here to stay and can bring tremendous value to those who know how to leverage it. From gaining new clients, to gaining visibility, branding, and credibility, not to mention leads, social media marketing is one activity that everybody needs to “find” time for and “create” a budget for.

As an individual seeking a new job or as a business seeking new clients, here are some very basic yet very key strategies to keep in mind when embarking on the social media marketing journey:

1. Reap what you sow: This saying applies very well to Social Media Marketing. If you don’t begin leveraging social media websites to promote yourself or your business and especially if your competition is, you’ll be left behind in the dust of their visibility & buzz.

2. Make Time: Either make time for social media marketing for yourself / business OR find an expert who can do it for you. Not doing anything is not an option. Find a marketer who knows social networking.

3. Land your next opportunity: Remember the impression you want to cultivate online. You wouldn’t go to a face-to-face networking meeting and complain “how tired you are”, “how sleepy you are” etc. Then don’t do it online either. Online networking has reached a new level and you need to show your “networking” savvy by creating an impression which will land you the next connection, a new client or whatever you seek.

4. Don’t end up in jail or unemployed: If you don’t want to end up fired or end up in jail, be careful about what you say online. Professional behavior should be the norm (even for teenagers who don’t realize the impact of what they put out there on Facebook). Prospective employers, prospective clients, current clients, and anyone who wants to look you up, can and will. Once you’ve put something out there, it is out there forever.

5. Frequency matters just as much as content: Blogging once a month or writing a tweet once every week or posting a FB status once every other day is not the way to grow your visibility. All marketing activities require frequency, consistency, and long-term effort. You wouldn’t expect one advertisement in the Detroit Free Press to generate leads immediately or ongoing. Similarly, marketing online requires consistent, frequent, and long-term effort.

Again, remember, not doing anything is not an option.

Just like email and voicemail, yes, those now archaic technologies that we don’t even think about; texting, Facebooking, Tweeting, blogging, and audio & video podcasting are all slowly becoming mainstream. Social media marketing is also fun, quick, and a cost-effective way to get visibility and it provides the ability to connect with anyone, anywhere in the world.

I registered the site with Brownbook and with in 2 hours, our site was 2nd on the first page of google.com out of 61,000,000 possible results. How fantastic is that.

To see the results properly double click the image twice.

We build websites that get real results.

If you want to register with brownbook follow this link.

http://webdesignhorsham.net/#/free-directories/4533411195

OK, you’ve put together a spectacular website, and you’re ready to go live on the Internet for the whole world to see. But hang on a second there Bucko! In case you didn’t know, there are a few essential requirements that every site needs to include in order to be successful.

Let’s review what they are shall we:

1) Privacy Policy. Now, I’m not a Lawyer and don’t claim to be one, but this document should be standard issue for every site you have. People want to know how you’re going to use their personal information, and a “privacy policy” does just that.

Privacy document Generator

http://www.freeprivacypolicy.com/

2) Disclaimer. In today’s litigious society you’ll also need to include a disclaimer/terms of use page. This protects you and spells out to your visitors what they’re agreeing to by using your website.

Free site disclaimer

http://www.easyriver.com/free_disclaimer.htm

NB. This is not legal advice, and if you need help in this department, consult with a local solicitor/lawyer.

3) Contact Us Information: I can’t tell you how many sites I’ve been to that fail to include a way to contact the owner. If you can’t include a phone number, at the very least have an email address or a “contact us” form. By providing this information, you’ll make your visitors feel more comfortable knowing there’s a way to reach you should the need arise.

4) Google Analytics/Tracking System: Once your site is up and running you’ll want to keep your eye on traffic. Who’s visiting your website, what pages are the most popular, where is the traffic coming from. All of these questions and more can be answered by using a good analytics program.

5) Newsletter Sign Up: There’s an old saying that people won’t buy from you the very first time they come to your website, so you need a way to stay in touch with them to bring them back again and again. By offering a newsletter, you’ll be building a list of possible prospects which is invaluable to any site owner. You’ll find a multitude of free and low cost newsletter services online. It’s up to you, depending on your needs and what you can afford.

6) Consistent Navigation: This might sound like a no brainer, but many folks get it wrong. No matter what type of menu system you decide upon, make sure it stays the same across the board on all pages of your site. Your job is to guide your visitors through your website, making sure they always know where they are and how to get to where they need to go.

7) Search Engine Optimized Copy: At first glance you might not think this is so important, but trust me it is. You want your pages to rank well with the search engines and there are a few steps you can take to ensure this happens. Each page of your website should be optimized for 2, or at the most 3 keywords/phrases. Weave the keywords into your titles and into the body of each page. You can also include them in your image titles, alt tags, even in the names you give your pages. Look at each page individually and decide what it’s about, then optimize accordingly.

Social Media Share Button: With the popularity of social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, you’d be foolish not to include an easy way for your content to be shared with others.

9) Copyright Notice: Sounds simple but forgotten by many. All pages should include a copyright notice.

10) Trust Seals/Testimonials: I grouped these two items together as they both instil trust and confidence in your visitors. Remember, when someone comes to your website, they don’t know who you are and if you’re selling something, they may not feel comfortable giving out their credit card information. To help them feel more “warm and fuzzy”, include trust seals for any organizations you belong to: Also, if you have testimonials from happy customers, weave them into your site copy. People always love to hear that others have had a happy experience with your products/services. Make sure you get permission first from the testimonial writers before placing them on your website.

Guess what, all of our websites come with all of these features as Standard, not extras, not add ons, just Standard.

So what are you waiting for, visit www.litesites.net where we don’t compromise on the quality and there are no hidden costs and no nasty extras.

I moved to Horsham in 1999 after a 15 year stay in Johannesburg, South Africa, I moved back predominantly because of the security and safety issues I was aware of and settled in Horsham.

I have always enjoyed doing the more adventurist things in life, for instance I took part in the GB Bobsleigh Championships in Cesana, Italy, November last year and came 10th. I have flown light aircraft and gliders, I Scuba Dive, (less now than when I was in south Africa) I ski, been on a few helicopter rides and fished for some of the biggest game species in the world. I bungeed at Trappers and jet boated up the Shotover River, Queenstown which is on the Southern island of New Zealand. What a great place to visit.

I like to think of myself as adventurous but not stupid. I have worked for myself for most of my working life, only getting a ‘JOB’ between ideas and businesses, and over the last few years have been involved in developing and launching websites.

There are some fantasic tools available to build websites in quite small time periods, one instance is my site www.litesites.net

And this is what I want to offer to small businesses, a professional on-line presence for a very affordable price.

I am a member of several networking groups, Business Builder Club, Horsham. www.businessbuilderclub.co.uk, Venture Catalyst Crawley www.venture-catalyst.co.uk,  4networking, www.4networking.biz. I have tried BNI but found the statistic driven culture a bit of a pain but all of the people I met there were fantastic.

I have a partner Jan who is lovely and very supportive (thank goodness) and I am always looking for new ideas and ways to market my product.

If anyone reading this wants to visit any of my networking events, visit my website and contact me through that www.litesites.net and in the tips and tools section of my site their are some great free tools for anyone to use free of charge to make sure their websites are listed on the main 4 search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN Live and Ask) also some links to really good diectories to join.

There are varying figures about what percentage of search engine searches are for local services, some say up to 60%, some say around 30%, which ever end of the scale it comes that is an astronomical amount of searches every day, looking for local services.

Lets face it, the world is going online, and the question has to be why pay a phone company your hard earned cash to find a phone number when you can Google it?

There, however is the trouble, small companies that don’t have a web presence are missing out, and in this economy when businesses are struggling, online is the place they need to be.

There are loads of cheap web packages which allow someone to design here own website, lets look at the risks vs the benefits of this.

The biggest risk of all must be this…Their website is their calling card, it’s how people will find businesses and services in their local areas and will very often be the first contact with them. So it goes without saying, a poor website can actually drag the business down, and in this current climate that’s the last thing they need.

Another risk is of course the money they invest into there website, they will spend something, domain name, hosting fee, but compared to the above mentioned risk, this will be relavantly insignificant.

Small business owners may need to know a little about submitting there sites and sitemaps to search engines. if they don’t it might take a while for the big 3 (Google, Yahoo and MSN Live) to find them.

PS. Heres a link that will take you to the submissions pages of those search engines, use it, put in your URL and make sure you can be found.

http://www.litesites.net/#/hints-tips

Here are some of the benefits I think websites bring to small businesses.

1. A website just adds an extra way for people to contact you.
2. A web address is usually easier to remember than a telephone number.
3. Customer don’t need to know you, they just Google you.
4. New customers like websites as they are non threatening, to some people a phone call can feel like a trap, the potential customer will have to speak to someone, they may have to make a decision. But a website allows someone to look at what you offer in a completely non-threatening way.
5. A website can pull in twice as many enquiries as a phone because they don’t have to call you to find out what you do. A well laid out website will tell them all of the information they need to know so when they phone, they know they will be speaking with someone who can help them solve their problem.
6. A good website is a fantastic referral tool. Even after a conversation, the customer can go back to the website and remind themself of a contact name, a telephone number or just to make another enquiry.

I run a small business myself, and know the prospect of spending money on a marketing solution that you don’t know will work. That’s why I set up Litesites www.litesites.net so start up and small businesses can get the kind of professional web presence they need without commiting to big budgets.

There are mainly 2 types of websites, an e-commerce site and a lead generation site, and Litesites has answered the prayers of many individuals and small businesses who want to get their business on-line but have been deterred by the cost. Here’s a plug, I have my prices on my home page, have a look and tell me if you like the layout and what you think about the pricing structure.

The dilema I face which is the same as all other small businesses,  is how do I reach my prospective clients, I have some of the answers, not all by far, but the ideas that I have found that work for me, I want to share. I have a tips and tools link on my site, I populate this with hopefully interesting and useful thing, and as people who use this blog and my site give me tips and tools, I will pass them on.

I have a newsletter as well so anyone reading this, please visit my site, sign up for the news letter, share some of your hard won ideas about marketing for the small business and I will try to ensure that other like minded people get to benefit. www.litesites.net

Thanks, signing out.

Mark

Loving the web