The Importance Of A Great Website
THE ROLE OF YOUR WEBSITE
In a world where people stay online for most of the day, a standard website just doesn’t cut it. Depending on the product, up to 83% of consumers visit a company’s or service provider’s website before making a purchase. And as more and more consumers make decisions based on their online experience, the appearance, usability, and accessibility of your website is more important than ever, especially if you are in a competitive market.
Having a right understanding of your website’s role can greatly benefit your business. Think of it as an extension of your sales staff. In the same way you wouldn’t send out an unkempt salesman to represent your company, neither should you send out an unremarkable website to the consumer who is specifically searching for your product or service.
Working on a website is the ideal time to consider the rest of your branding as well – message, color palette, and logo. The worst thing you can do is invest in a well-built, mobile friendly website, and not have the proper design elements to make the website stand out visually.
EVALUATING YOUR WEBSITE
We mentioned earlier that your website is an extension of your staff, and just like you formally evaluate your team on a yearly basis, you should be doing the same thing for your website. Recommendations vary, but most agree that every 2-3 years you should consider updating the design of your website. But, you should also be making tweaks to the website throughout the year – offer new information, update pictures, and add any new products, services, or staff members – this is simple, routine maintenance.
Here are a few things to look at when evaluating your website:
- Have you added any services or products?
- Has your target market changed – expanded or tightened?
- Has your competition created a new website or branding that is stronger than yours?
- How do you rank on search engines for the services or products you provide?
- Is your website mobile and tablet compatible?
- Is the overall design up to date, fresh, and current?
- Is it easy for you to make small changes to your website?
If you answered yes to a couple of these, it’s probably time to consider a new website.
NEW TECHNOLOGY
About a year ago a major shift in website design occurred – Responsive Website Design (RWD) arrived. RWD allows your website to automatically resize and reconfigure its layout based on the device it is being viewed on. So, whether your consumer is viewing your website on their desktop, their tablet, or their phone, they are seeing the appropriate version. The reason this is great news is that it has eliminated the need for maintaining two websites – a desktop and a mobile. This cuts costs and saves you time, only having to update one website.
If your current website is not responsive, you should consider the potential downside to this. Over the last year, the percentage of traffic to websites via mobile devices has increased by 78%. As of quarter one of 2013, nearly 25% of all website traffic is derived from mobile devices. If your website is not mobile friendly or compatible, you are potentially losing out on 1 out of every 4 consumers. 2013 has been called the Year of Responsive Web Design.
Another feature, though not quite as new, is Content Management System Websites (CMS). These websites use a platform that allows the owner to easily make changes to the website without any software – just an internet browser. The days of relying on your web developer to make every little change to your website are over, which is great news. This means keeping your website fresh and up to date with current information is easier than ever.
If you are considering a new website, these are the first two questions you should ask the web developer – will it be responsive and will it be built with a CMS?
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
With over 650 million websites, and another 51 million added each year, there is plenty of online competition for your services. We looked at a few ways to make your website stand out aesthetically, but there are also ways to help it stand out on search engines. Being on the first page of a Google search for your services is crucial to your online conversions.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is what helps your website rank well with search engines. There are several SEO services that can be performed on your website, both one time and ongoing. This is another factor you should consider when building a website; much of the SEO work is done during the website build, so be sure to ask early. This is a much larger topic and one we may revisit in a future article.
THESE DAYS, IT’S LIKE A BUSINESS CARD
Having a business card has been necessary for years and years. Websites have become just as necessary. It’s expected and it has become a major component to the consumer’s decision process. Even if they learn about your company through a trusted referral, at a sponsored event, or in a meeting with you, before they make a final decision they will visit your website. Make sure it looks good, functions well, and clearly communicates your company’s goals.
The Importance Of Industry Publications
Just over the last few years, countless reasons have been given to explain why print advertising is no longer a sensible marketing investment. First, there was social media marketing. Then there were all of the “bright and shiny objects” that fall under the social media umbrella. Foursquare, the platform that allows you to “check in” to locations, was far more important than print advertising. Then it was Quora, the question and answer platform. Pinterest, Instagram, and now content marketing have all been presented as better investments of time and money than print advertising.
We can’t say that all companies should be investing in print marketing today, just as we can’t say that all companies should be investing in social media marketing today. KAD has worked with a client whose industry is steadily moving away from strong print publications and more towards white papers, webinars, and more. As a rule, however, especially in the Business-to-Business world, we still believe that industry publications are important. Here are a couple of things to consider.
1.)Audited Circulation
Although not all publications are audited, certainly, many key industry publications are. This takes the guesswork out of your company’s media buy. An audit from an auditing company like BPA or AAM (formerly ABC) will not just tell you how many people receive the magazine, but you will also learn the geographic distribution of the audience, what job positions are reached by the publication, and more. This can tell you whether the publication is a good fit for you and can also help you hone your message so that it has the most impact for that specific audience.
2.)People Trust Magazines
Last, but certainly not least, magazines remain credible. On September 23, 2013, Nielsen released a report on marketing trends, including what forms of media were seen as the most credible. The report notes, “Sixty percent of global respondents trusted ads in magazines, an increase of four percentage points from 2007.” Think about that. In the face of social media, content marketing, and all of the hype about how print is dying or dead, people actually have increased their trust in print magazines over the last six years.
As we said at the beginning of this post, print advertising may not be a good match for your company. However, if you are not sure whether print advertising is a good match, our advice is not to dismiss it out of hand just because so many people say print advertising is now “out of fashion.” As with all marketing tactics, do a little research and see what is happening in your industry. You may find that adding print advertising to your 2014 marketing campaign turns out to be a great strategic move!
5 Desirable Qualities Every Good Photographer Should Have
So what makes a good photographer? It depends on what photography niche you’re in. Every niche demands different desirable qualities—pet photographers need to know how to properly interact and connect with animals; sports photographers need to be quick, strong, and agile to get the best shots; and so on.
But, of course, some of these qualities will always overlap.
Here are five desirable qualities every good photographer should have:
1. Creativity and Imagination
Photography, for all intents and purposes, is a form of art. Therefore, it requires a creative mind—and plenty of imagination. A good photographer must be able to look at something ordinary, or even extraordinary, and find a million different ways to interpret what he’s seeing and convey those interpretations in beautiful and meaningful photos.
As you may have already heard, a composition is everything in photography. Even if you aren’t concerned about the artistic side of your craft, the composition is still key in producing good photographs. Sure, some basic composition rules can guide you, but at the end of the day, creativity and imagination are the best guides for stellar compositions.
2. An Eye for Detail
A good photographer must have a very keen eye for detail to ensure that all elements within the photo—the lighting, the composition, the subject, and everything else in between—work together harmoniously to convey the right vision or message.
Key elements that make up a photograph:
- Lighting
- Composition
- Storytelling
- Emotion
Even the tiniest detail can make or break a photograph. So having an eye for detail, and being meticulous when scrutinizing every single element to ensure cohesiveness, is very important in producing the perfect photograph.
3. Patience and Flexibility
No matter how much you try to control every variable, things just won’t go your way at times. There will be days when the lighting won’t cooperate, when your models or clients will be exceptionally difficult, or when your camera just won’t give you the desired results.
And of course, there will be times when you’ll have to take a billion photos just to get one perfect photo.
Whatever photography field you may be in, patience (lots of it) is always an essential quality to have. You need to be patient enough to wait for the perfect lighting. You need to be patient enough to deal with crying babies, hyperactive animals, and difficult clients. And most of all, you need to be patient enough to keep trying when you simply can’t get the right shot.
In addition to patience, you also need to be flexible. The two qualities go hand in hand—you need to be patient enough to deal with whatever comes your way, and you need to be flexible enough to make the best of undesirable conditions.
4. Good People Skills
Being a professional photographer means working with people—whether it’s a client, a model, or even a fellow photographer. Thus, being a good photographer requires good people skills. You’ll also need to network to obtain clients and partnerships, so knowing how to connect and communicate effectively with others is imperative.
When you’re photographing people, knowing how to take a good photo simply isn’t enough. You also have to know how to interact with your subjects to make them feel at ease, get them to cooperate, or draw out all the right emotions out of them.
5. Passion
What sets a good photographer apart from the rest? Passion.
When you’re passionate about what you do, it will always shine through in your work. It takes a lot of time and effort to make it as a professional photographer, and the ones who do succeed and manage to make a name for themselves are those who are truly passionate about their craft.
Passion makes the photographer—it will always make you work a little harder, push a little farther, and strive to be better than you were the day before.
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