- You probably don't need to be persuaded
that online communication and presence
is critical today.
Your audience will connect with your brand
through your online presence more than
any other media.
The great part of this is that there are so
many channels and ways to reach them,
and that's the hard part too.
Determining what to communicate to whom
and when is as important as your visual brand.
Having a website is clearly a requirement
for all businesses.
We've covered the way to build and organize
the site.
Of course you can have the most incredible site
in the world filled with beautiful and compelling
work but it's useless if nobody visits it.
Now it's time to get the word out there so
people can find it.
89% of users use search engines to find content.
They trust sites that are higher in the results
than on page nine.
And that's where SEO, Search Engine Optimization, helps.
There are many ways to do this.
You may want to visit David Booth's SEO
Fundamentals for a deeper dive.
Here's some basics.
First, make sure your page titles are unique
and clear terms.
New work is named New Work, not NW3.
Second, avoid using a single title like Signs
across all the pages; use specific names like
Main Street Signage.
This makes it easier for a search engine like
Google to find the information.
Third, make sure your URLs are user-friendly.
Clear titles are a good start.
A URL with relevant words is easier to find than
one with complex and cryptic terms.
And lastly, make sure your site is easy to navigate.
The user should be able to visit other pages
and find his or her way home without trouble.
This helps search engines understand what
content is important.
Social media is the other part of the equation.
Now here's the sad truth: if you are the brand,
whatever you post will reinforce or take away
from the brand message.
If your brand is rebellious and dangerous, then a
post on your bad behavior on Linkedin might be okay.
But not if the brand if the brand is about
honesty and optimism.
Each social media channel has a different audience
and different goals.
They should work together to support the message
and keep your brand up-to-date, relevant, and
in the public view.
I'll be honest, when I look at all the multiple
channels I can use, I want to turn them all off.
But that'll work when I retire and live in a cave.
For now, in order to be part of the industry,
I will continue to wade through the dense web
of online media and social texture,
and If I can do it, anyone can.