Member Article:  

Three Things Every Business Website Needs

Patricia Redsicker, WordView Editing

With all the different options that consumers have to engage with brands, corporate websites are losing their effectiveness as primary tools for brand awareness.

That's not necessarily bad news. It just means that your marketing mix has to be more innovative and your website has to be more compelling in order to attract and retain customers. You also want to make sure that your content efforts are integrated with the objectives of your sales team.

Here are 3 key website areas that you want to focus on:

• Content: The main problems that organizations experience as far as content are:

Producing engaging content - the solution is to produce content that answers the reader's WIIFM (What's In It For Me).
Producing enough content - the solution is to create an editorial calendar that will help you to plan, write and publish content on a regular basis.
Little or no resources to produce content - solution is to train in-house talent or hire freelance copywriters to provide consistent content.

• Call to Action: After they have read your content, readers need guidance regarding what to do with all the information they have just absorbed. The main problem that organizations have is failure to provide a call to action, urging the reader to do something specific.The solution is to conclude every piece of content with a clear direction to the reader e.g. Join the conversation on Facebook; follow us on Twitter; subscribe to our blog/newsletter; leave a comment in the space below; Send us your feedback; Contact us to claim your free widget etc.

• Email capture: Finally you want to be able to capture email addresses of visitors who stumble upon your website. Consider making an interesting offer to entice visitors to leave their email addresses behind. It might be a FREE copy of a report, e-book or white paper. Make sure that your offer adds value to your visitor's experience while promoting your brand at the same time.

These are the basic features of a strong website and unfortunately they're also easily neglected.  Have you incorporated these features on your site?

Patricia Redsicker is a freelance copywriter and social media consultant based in the Baltimore, MD area. This article originally appeared on her blog. You may find her online at www.wordviewediting.com 

The Howard County Young Professionals Network (YPN) is looking for the future leaders of tomorrow to join its board. Called the YPN Steering Team, this position will allow you to be a voice in deciding the direction of this active and thriving organization. Prior board experience is not necessary, but an interest in Howard County, networking, and growing your own business is. Becoming a member of the YPN Steering Team is incredibly fun, rewarding, and is a great way for you to take the next step in advancing your professional career. Click here to download an application or email Jeremiah O'Donovan or Jody Lenes for more information.    

YPN is also looking for people interested in joining our Events, Sponsorship, Membership, and Marketing committees. More details as well as contact information for all of our committee chairs can be found on the YPN section of the Howard County Chamber of Commerce's website.