Groundwork And Preparation

Preparation is extremely important when looking at how your organisation can use social media. Engage your colleagues, stakeholders and customers in finding out their perceptions based around social media. Do your colleagues feel positively about engaging customers through online communities, do your customers want to communicate via these channels or not?

Don’t try the technical sell,; the reality is that most individuals in your organisation do not understand the technical aspects of many social media tools (who can blame them with an ever increasing number of tools and an increasing degree of complexity). Remember to discuss social media with colleagues in a way that links directly to organisational benefits and concerns.

Discussing control, or lack of it, in the brave new world of social media is an important first step for those establishing social media in high security or more traditional organisations. Education and flexibility of approach are often required to get buy in to commence social media activity and not everyone in your organization may be happy undertaking activity that cannot be controlled in the conventional way.

Assessment of risk is also an extremely important stage of preparation, what if things go wrong? Look at some scenario planning and work closely with other in the organisation to communicate potential risks and make people aware.

Security may also be an issue and an assessment of the risk of commercially sensitive material being used on social networks is also another consideration.

With all of the above, communicating with other content owners and finding the comfort zones and tolerance levels within which to propose activity will be key to successful implementation. Try to focus on each business area and look at who owns content in each, empathise with your colleagues and what they may require. Sell each content owners the benefits of implementation of social media and communicate clearly how that applies to their content.

Social Media Research

Research is the second important stage of social media implementation. What are your competitors doing? What has worked well in your industry.

If your organisation has external suppliers who have experience in the area of social media then why not ask them to present some of their success stories and talk you through options covering potential strategies. This process will also strengthen external supplier relationships and provide a potential ally to help make the case for social media.

If you undertake market research in your organisation then think about developing questions around social media. Find out more about what your customers and prospects expect in terms of social media content and strategy.

Social Media Strategy

Formulating a social media strategy is the most important part of the whole process of implementation.

Start with asking ‘what are the organisation’s objectives?’. Link social media objectives to marketing and wider organizational strategic objectives. Different stakeholders will have different objectives,. For the PR team the objectives of social media engagement may be reputation management, for the marketing team it may be increased audience engagement.

Also remember to integrate social media activity with other marketing activity. Look at capitalising on relationships formed in social communities through other offline channels.

Monitoring Social Media

There are a number of tools commercially available that can help organisations track social communities. There are also a number of excellent free tools available too, most of these can be found easily through search engines.

Listen to what is being said about your organisation online. Where is the comment coming from – there will be particular communities who have a lot to say. Make a list of relevant communities that can be used as part of your social media strategy.

Again, don’t be tool led, think about segmenting your audience. When the Marketing Director suggests ‘getting on Twitter’ then suggest that according to your analysis only 1.8% of your target audiences engage with this tool so time and money will be better spent targeting other online communities and sites.

Prioritise based on the research and analysis undertaken earlier in your implementation process combined with the data collected from your social media monitoring tools. Which communities are most effective for achieving your objectives?

Participation in online communities

Managing the process of participation in online communities should be easier given the good work you will now have completed.

Think about terms of engagement – what will be the process for participation. How will participation work for different types of communities and social media sites?

Also consider what content is available for distribution across social networks, collaborate with your colleagues across departments to review and plan content for use in social media activity. Look at the development of future content for use.

Who will be the person or people in your organisation who will participate? Internal resource may be available via dedicated content and community roles; alternatively you may wish to undertake participation via an external supplier or agency. Whether internal or external resource is used this role will require a blend of skills covering the organisations’ goods or services, online media and user behaviour.

Build relationships online and use them to good effect, remember to always be honest, credible and professional in the approach used and tone of communication.

Track And Measure Response

Further improve targeting based on response rates, treat social media as an iterative process – learn and improve. Always work to key performance indicators and ensure that social media data is fully integrated into internal analytics dashboards and management information so that success can be clearly communicated throughout the organisation.

Good luck in implementing social media into your organisation, it will be a lot of fun along the way!

1) They do it – lets do it too! A common error when commencing a business web design project is to start with the statement “this is what our competitors are doing – let’s do the same”. Whilst some of your competitors may have excellent websites it is better to try and challenge industry norms and differentiate.

2) We know best – too many web design projects involve a closed shop approach to design. For example, a small group of senior individuals from an organisation decide what they think their customers want from their website. WRONG! The simple solution here is to ask your customers what they want from your website, perform user analysis and always ask the question: “how can we create the best user experience through our website?” Usability is key in today’s world of business web design.

3) Lets focus on our products – another common mistake is to focus on the products and services that you provide. Whilst this is obviously important in terms of providing customers and prospects with information about what you do, the fact remains that customers are actually more interested in their business need – that’s why they look at your website in the first place! Try to use customer personas to tailor the content of your website to the needs of your customers. If your sell good quality widgets then why not include a box on your homepage stating “sick of looking for good quality widgets? Click here’’

4) Lets talk technical – rather than using industry jargon try to tailor your website copy to the audience. If you are speaking to people who may not work in your industry then try to avoid using jargon and terms they will not understand. At the same time also avoid trying to dumb your copy down so that a five year old could understand, unless that is, your key audience are children!

5) Don’t worry about cross browser support – sorry but developing a business website that does not work with all available common web browsers is not acceptable. From Mozilla to Chrome and Internet Explorer to Safari, ensure your site is tested and displays properly and consistently on all browsers.

6) Not accessible – accessibility is extremely important; so do not discriminate against people with disabilities. Make sure your business website uses features like access keys, alternative text tags for images and resizable text.

7) Online marketing, what’s that? Many businesses invest significant budgets into the development of websites, but fail to follow this up with investment in online marketing. Every website needs some marketing support to ensure it’s objectives are achieved, whether the objectives are to generate sales or collect information. Focus on your objectives and integrate online and offline activity to support your website through generation of traffic and driving of conversions (e.g. transferring a visitor to a buyer).

Too much focus on design – there are many ‘funky’ web design agencies who will be more than happy to produce a visually impressive Flash based website for you. When you launch the site, however, and realise that people aren’t returning you may have a rude awakening. You need to think about function and content as well as design, this is what keeps visitors coming back for more – substance. Also think about whether search engines can see you website if it is flash or image based and if users require special plug-ins or software to view multimedia content.

9) No content – the terrible curse of the ‘coming soon’. The content may be coming soon, but potential customers and audience members may not re-visit your website and that is bad for your business. Always make sure you think about your website content as part of your site design and develop.

10) Don’t tell the Project Management Office! There is sometimes a preconception that the PMO, project manager, or person who looks after your projects may actually slow down the process of developing your business website. Whether it is an agency, an individual, or a PMO, having a project management process in place will benefit your website and business.

When you develop or re-develop your business website, be aware of the ten errors listed here. Try to avoid the pitfalls that you may fall into and ensure you create a website that will win awards not enemies!

Request your free copy of the We Are Web Quickguide to Website Investment for SMEs at the web design Leeds website.

There are a number of different areas of digital marketing that utilise ideas used successfully offline or that integrate with offline activity to provide popular solutions.

Much has been written in the past few years regarding social media and a revolution in the way that organisations can use these new online networks to communicate directly with customers and prospects. Although the Internet has undeniably made the process far easier and reaching high volumes of individuals quickly is now a reality for even the smallest organization, it is important to consider what is new here? Yes, the technology is new but the principle of networking directly with customers and prospects is not new. Savvy marketers and business owners have, for example, been using events and trade shows to have direct contact with their customer base for many years.

Word of mouse as it is now known, is of course based on traditional word of mouth. The ability to refer a friend or spread an organisations’ message online is greatly increased but still holds to the same principle of communication.

In the world of ecommerce we see a mixture of both the online and offline worlds coming together with organisations that are referred to as clicks and bricks. Successful eRetailers understand that their customers want to buy online but return items to a traditional bricks and mortar store.

So, it can be argued that the same principles still hold true on the web as they always did in traditional marketing. Perhaps the reason for this is that humans have not evolved as fast as machines, we still prefer direct and honest communication. In the past that would often have to be face to face with an organizations representative but with today’s technology it is possible to extend this process into the virtual world.

The most successful digital marketing plans and campaigns will use the principles customers and prospects respond positively to such as one to one communication and personalisation and integrate the best tools from both off and online to target markets.

Many artists and illustrators I know have cupboards full of work of high quality which could be generating an income and raising their profile. As well as this it is surely the point of art to be enjoyed by people otherwise the motivation for production can only be to satisfy personal pleasures.

One of the most important and cost effective methods of marketing your work in by harnessing the power of the web, it offers large-scale reach for very limited cost.

Online marketing of illustration and art still required fundamentals of marketing to be considered – ask yourself the question “who is my target audience” and “how can I reach them with my message?”. Next consider the marketing mix – Product, Price, Place and Promotion and how you will use the tools of Internet promotion to promote your work.

In this article I will concentrate on promotion via the web as even with a limited understanding of marketing getting this part of the marketing mix right can bring quick rewards.

The first point for consideration should be the creation of a website, whether it’s a few pages created by a friend who has some technical knowledge or a fully functioning eCommerce site this element is crucial to your online success. You will need to choose a name for your website that is relevant, for example if you are an illustrator who produces illustration for children’s books then consider names such as “childrens-illustrator”. Thought put into the choice of website name will reap rewards later through high search engine rankings.

Secondly, start a blog, there are hundreds of free blog facilities available where illustrators and artists can discuss their work and also benefit from promoting what the do at the same time. There is an added benefit with use of blogs as search engines also like to see other sites linking to your website.

Thirdly, list your website with as many free directory and listing sites as you can in order to keep the volume of exposure high. As well as attracting traffic (i.e. visitors) to your website it will also assist with your search engine rankings in the same manor as your blog.

Fourthly, don’t forget about offline promotion – quote your website and blog addresses on your marketing literature, business cards etc so as to create maximum synergy between all of your promotional efforts.

Fifthly, harness the power of eZine sites such as this, by sharing knowledge on your specialist subject you are not only promoting what you are good at but are also building a reputation as a trusted source of information in your field on the web.

Step six, speak to other artists and illustrators about sharing links for each other sites, this practise is known as reciprocal linking and as well as being good for, you guessed it, the search engine rankings, it is also a great way to network and gain word of mouth promotion.

Finally, consider publicising your illustration or art through use e-mail communications. Simple e-mail-shots can be sent from software such as MS Outlook or Thunderbird mail. If you want to use a system that is a little more sophisticated (i.e. it offers more advanced tracking for response and opening statistics) then why not try a service like Constant Contact. This supplier offers free e-mail broadcast for small quantity mail outs, perfect if you are new to e-mail marketing and want to try your hand.

E-mail communications are a very effective way of staying in touch with your target audience and can be used to promote a wide range of subjects from a new exhibition to current art or illustration projects.

So what’s stopping you, promote your illustration and art on the web today!

When we are sent a branded email from an organisation we have not dealt with before and we see that the design is very poor with blurred images and errors on their website due to the browser we are using what is the first thing we think? We think “this company isn’t very professional in it’s approach” and promptly move on to do something more interesting or find a different supplier for the goods or services we are seeking.

When we see a poorly designed website or blog we tend to doubt the credibility of the organisation they belong to. Business is all about relationships and relationships are built on trust. Bad design does not equal trust, it makes us doubt the capabilities and the credentials of the organisation in question.

Conversely, web design and online branding builds trust and confidence in an organisation. In our minds there is often a direct link made between good quality design and organisations we can trust – which major brand fails to understand this principle? Not many, at least not many successful brands.

High quality online design should not be an after thought when the Business Plan for the year is done and dusted and the last spreadsheet completed. Even the most hard nosed money orientated business person should realise that where there is good web design there is additional revenue to be generated. Where there is good web design there is trust and positive feeling and that is good business, that is profitable business!

Investment in digital design builds a strong brand that is resilient, some of our best loved and most recognised business brand identities have existed for many years, their design evolving to keep up with current trends. During tough economic times we flock to these brands as they make us feel secure and we trust them, other lesser known brands fall by the wayside. Design makes organisations more robust and capable of riding out turbulent economic periods.

If your organisation is targeting the youth market then failure to invest in high quality web design and online branding will have a significant impact on your business success. The youth market is more obsessed than ever with form over function, these individuals are not just buying a physical product, they are buying an off the shelf image. Second rate design will not wash with these design savvy consumers, if your website does not portray the right image, if there are cut corners with testing your emails or if your blog uses last weeks font – you will not sell as many units. Less units means less revenue, poor web based design will directly affect your bottom line.

But it is not just large organisations that can realise significant benefits from investment in digital design. Organisations of all sizes can access cost effective, high quality web design and online branding services through use of freelance designers thus removing the requirement to invest in employing a full time member of design staff. During the current economic climate there are a number of designers who offer greater flexibility on fees for small businesses who may not have the budget to invest.

Classic marketing theory will tell you all about the value of differentiating your organisation in the market place, a great way to do this is by leveraging high quality digital design. In markets where there may exist many substitute products or where saturation point has been reached, design can provide a much needed edge against the competition. There are many examples of design differentiating otherwise fairly ordinary products and services, value is added and more units are sold.

But good web design goes further than generating revenue, it can even make a profound statement. Not for profit organisations and charities have very different objectives to other commercial organisations, they may have a strong message to communicate or a point to make. High quality web design and online branding helps communicate messages in a way that engages the audience and resonates far beyond those who choose a cheap and nasty approach.

So it is clear that there are a number of key benefits to investing in digital design that can be achieved by organisations of all shapes and sizes.

If you would like to find out more about high quality web design and online branding, please visit We Are Web.

When talking about Search Engine Marketing (SEM) you are referring to two main activities and what is essentially now two main search engines.

SEM can be split into two key areas: organic or natural search and paid or pay per click (PPC) advertising.

Organic search involves the ‘normal’ listings in search engines, that is to say the non-paid listings. There are a number of factors that determine the Search Engine Ranking Position (SERP) in the major search engines. These factors can be classified under two main headings, on page optimisation and off page optimisation.

On page optimisation includes factors related to your website or blog itself, examples of this would be:

• The text (or copy) you use on your website
• The way your website is constructed in terms of design and information architecture
• The coding of your website in terms of certain tags and structure
• The frequency with which your blog or website is updated

Off page optimisation includes factors external to your website, for example:

• Links to your website or blog from other relevant websites
• Links to your website or blog from relevant news or article sites

The process of optimising your blog or website for high SERP’s is known as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – a lot of acronyms already, I know! The process of SEO and achieving success in the rankings for the major search engines can take a number of months and should be viewed as a long-term commitment and strategy. This is especially true where there exists intense competition for certain key words and phrases – more on this later.

Paid or PPC search engine marketing involves bidding for certain key words and phrases that you would like your website or blog to rank highly for, those who bid the most get the top spot. Paid search can be used to good effect to achieve quick results and can be seen as a good tool to leverage in the shorter-term. It is questionable whether this alone, without any attention being paid to natural search, is a good long-term tactic.

In order to get the most out of any Search Engine Marketing campaign or long-term strategy keyword analysis must be undertaken in order to establish the most relevant and productive terms which your target audience will use to search for your products and services. There are a number of methods which are used to undertake such analysis and these range from old fashioned brain storming to more sophisticated use of software.

One school of thought focuses on use of longer search phrases containing a series of words, these are known as Long Tail search terms, for example “golf clubs north Leeds”. Because you are using more targeted phrases there is often an improved chance of gaining high search engine rankings due to improved targeting and reduced competition from the untargeted masses.

When relevant key phrases have been confirmed for use it is then possible to use on and off page optimisation techniques to feature the phrases by talking about “golf clubs north Leeds” on your site, in articles and through other sites.

In terms of major search engines we are now only really referring to two companies – Google and Yahoo/Bing – a recent merger which will see Yahoo retain the front end of their search engine with Microsoft’s Bing (formally Live Search) powering the back end.

Finally, the last important part of the Search Engine Marketing websites is monitoring all of the activity you are undertaking as well as your SERP’s in the Google and Yahoo search engines. There are number of free and paid tools available to help you do this ranging from very simple through to highly sophisticated. Some good free tools can be found at the Google Webmaster and SEOBook websites.

I hope you found this article useful and it has shed some light on the area of Search Engine Marketing.

The growth in popularity of the Internet also means that there are now more opportunities than ever to market yourself or your business online for little or no investment. But don’t be fooled, no budget does not mean no effort – serious dedication and a solid plan of action are required for success in online marketing.

There are a number of key tactical tools to look at as you formulate your online marketing plan, many of these tools are free and all offer the opportunity to gain significant exposure for your or your business if used in the right way.

Firstly, a business blog is a great way to reach your target audience, there are a number of popular platforms available such as Wordpress, Blogger and Typepad. All of these platforms are free and all allow you to set up and host your blog with relative ease, they also offer options to enhance and customise your blogs using plugins and templates for design.

Search engines love websites where they see content changing on a regular basis, with a regularly updated blog you quickly build equity with Google and co. and this can help you achieve better rankings. One note here, ensure that you enable the search engines to crawl your blog, there will be an option to select in each of the afore mentioned platforms.

Blogs also allow the facility for your audience to comment on the posts you generate which helps to engage and provide an important point of interaction.

Secondly, optimise your site for search engine success! How many times have you read a headline like that on the Internet and wondered what it all really meant? In a nutshell, there are two options with search engines, organic (or natural) search and pay per click (PPC) search. As the name suggests, the latter option involves having some budget in order to bid for search engine rankings so lets focus on the former.

Organic search engine optimisation involves making sure that everything on your website pages (on page) is optimised and also that you optimise everything external to your website (off page). For on page optimisation ensure that you focus on using the language your target audience use to search for you or your businesses’ products and services (e.g. golf clubs London or freelance designer New York) in your site text, titles, descriptions and page names. For off page optimisation ensure you build up links to your website (backlinks) from other websites talking about what you do as an individual or business. For more information visit the excellent SEObook website where you can find out more information on SEO.

eMail marketing is another excellent method of reaching your target audiences. You may already have a wealth of information on clients or prospects that you are not currently using, if you are not currently recording email addresses then start to do so. A target email message can be very effective in driving your message home. Some useful email services which are very low cost (and free for small email campaigns) are MailChimp and Constant Contact.

Social media is another area which there is great interest in at the moment, there is also a lot of hype around social media marketing too. Used in the right way, however, social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Myspace can be very effective methods of building online communities that you can communicate your message to on a regular basis. As with your site, focus on the provision of quality information and have a long-term strategy to build your community.

Article writing is another great free marketing tool at your disposal. An important factor in your success online will be building relationships and credibility online with your target audience. Article sites help you to become the thought leader or expert in your field through the provision of free information. There are a number of excellent article sites on the web, make sure you look for good quality sites where you can add your website address and author biography.

Viral marketing can be used to good effect, especially if you have something to give away. Whether you are a software house who gives away a free software tool or a comedian who distributes some funny new material, the principles remain the same. Give something away for free, make sure it is easily accessible and that people can easily forward on to others (the viral agent e.g. email).

If you want to actually make money rather than spend it, why not monetise your website or blog using display advertising through networks such as Google Adwords. The more work you put into driving a targeted audience to your site, the more advertising revenue you can make as viewers click on adverts that are of interest to them. For every click you receive money!

Create news on your site and distribute it using free sites such as the ProTalk portfolio of sites (there are various sites for different industries). There are also a number of industry specific news sites which will allow you to post a news story online. If you are stuck for an idea, why not write about the launch of your latest marketing campaign which has a budget of £1 and won you 50 new customers.

Allow content and news on your website or blog to be distributed via Really Simple Syndication (RSS) and social bookmarks such as Delicious and Digg. Both of these types of tools allow your audience to feed your site content into news reader software, their own website or blog and bookmarking websites where the popularity of your content can win you a prominent position.

Finally, with popular services such as YouTube, high speed Internet access and low cost recording and editing technology comes the opportunity for even the smallest organisation to utilise television as a new marketing channel. If you are an expert in your field why not record a series of short monologues talking about your chosen subject in an honest and engaging way. YouTube accounts are free and you can integrate your videos into your website and blog for a professional effect.

I hope that these ten pointers provide some food for thought and enable you to start on the road to online marketing success whilst freeing up budget to invest in other ways.

If you would like to learn more about how to develop a business website then request your free copy of the We Are Web Quickguide to Website Investment for SMEs at We Are Web.

Many artists and illustrators I know have cupboards full of work of high quality which could be generating an income and raising their profile. As well as this it is surely the point of art to be enjoyed by people otherwise the motivation for production can only be to satisfy personal pleasures.

One of the most important and cost effective methods of marketing your work in by harnessing the power of the web, it offers large-scale reach for very limited cost.

Online marketing of illustration and art still required fundamentals of marketing to be considered – ask yourself the question “who is my target audience” and “how can I reach them with my message?”. Next consider the marketing mix – Product, Price, Place and Promotion and how you will use the tools of Internet promotion to promote your work.

In this article I will concentrate on promotion via the web as even with a limited understanding of marketing getting this part of the marketing mix right can bring quick rewards.

The first point for consideration should be the creation of a website, whether it’s a few pages created by a friend who has some technical knowledge or a fully functioning eCommerce site this element is crucial to your online success. You will need to choose a name for your website that is relevant, for example if you are an illustrator who produces illustration for children’s books then consider names such as “childrens-illustrator”. Thought put into the choice of website name will reap rewards later through high search engine rankings.

Secondly, start a blog, there are hundreds of free blog facilities available where illustrators and artists can discuss their work and also benefit from promoting what the do at the same time. There is an added benefit with use of blogs as search engines also like to see other sites linking to your website.

Thirdly, list your website with as many free directory and listing sites as you can in order to keep the volume of exposure high. As well as attracting traffic (i.e. visitors) to your website it will also assist with your search engine rankings in the same manor as your blog.

Fourthly, don’t forget about offline promotion – quote your website and blog addresses on your marketing literature, business cards etc so as to create maximum synergy between all of your promotional efforts.

Fifthly, harness the power of eZine sites such as this, by sharing knowledge on your specialist subject you are not only promoting what you are good at but are also building a reputation as a trusted source of information in your field on the web.

Step six, speak to other artists and illustrators about sharing links for each other sites, this practise is known as reciprocal linking and as well as being good for, you guessed it, the search engine rankings, it is also a great way to network and gain word of mouth promotion.

Finally, consider publicising your illustration or art through use e-mail communications. Simple e-mail-shots can be sent from software such as MS Outlook or Thunderbird mail. If you want to use a system that is a little more sophisticated (i.e. it offers more advanced tracking for response and opening statistics) then why not try a service like Constant Contact. This supplier offers free e-mail broadcast for small quantity mail outs, perfect if you are new to e-mail marketing and want to try your hand.

E-mail communications are a very effective way of staying in touch with your target audience and can be used to promote a wide range of subjects from a new exhibition to current art or illustration projects.

So what’s stopping you, promote your illustration and art on the web today!

The top ten barriers preventing development are:

Time – even though it can feel difficult to take time out of working ‘in’ your business, unless you work ‘on’ your business you may not achieve the long-term success you want. It is essential that you put some time aside every week to devote to marketing and the development of your website. This is time well spent and will make your business more secure and profitable in the future

Technical knowledge – you may feel that you do not really understand what the web is all about or have the first clue about how to produce your website or brief an external supplier. The best course of action is to keep it simple, consider investing in a content management system that allows you to update your site without the use of specialist technical web design software or computer languages. There are a number of good free systems available which do not require an annual licence fee or additional charges (known as open source systems).

Money – it would be untrue to state that high quality, bespoke websites don’t cost money. However, budget shouldn’t always be a barrier as there are a number of options:

• Start small and simple and as the website provides business, reinvest that profit back into your site through development or content and features

• Find a supplier who will work with you and is willing to share knowledge and allow you to learn the skills necessary to produce some of your website whilst they help with the complicated parts

• Share your website (and therefore cost) with another organisation which is an indirect competitor. Give this option some consideration however as the practicalities of sharing a site can be difficult to manage

• Ask a supplier if they will consider staged payments which would ease your cashflow

Belief – there may be those in your organisation who doubt the justification for developing a website and the budget this requires. Make sure that you have a strong business case for the website, put this in to some kind of document and make sure you get sign off from the senior individuals in your business. Demonstrate your business case through examples and hard figures rather than anecdotal evidence.

Planning – the old saying, ‘many fail to plan but no-one plans to fail’ may sound corny but it is worth remembering’. For a smaller business you will not have the luxury of a Project Manager to ensure your website is delivered on time and on budget. This doesn’t mean that you can’t successfully manage a small project however! Make sure there is at least a schedule for the work that needs to be completed and some kind of track of work completed and budget remaining. Keep it simple but make sure you plan, with this you should be able the successfully deliver your website.

Trust – with so many suppliers in one industry and many promising quick success and fantastic results it is not surprising that many businesses feel intimidated or afraid of being ripped off when considering developing a business website. Try to mitigate this risk by always looking for examples of previous work undertaken and testimonials. Don’t believe the hype, if a supplier is promising overnight success then it should act as a warning sign, the best results take time to develop – as with anything in business. Look for experts who are happy to share information with you and build your trust before taking any money from you.

Laziness – sorry, but this has to be on the list! It is a plain fact that many business owners and employees appreciate and understand that developing a website can be a lucrative and extremely effective course of action for their business but they continue to do what they have always done because this is the easiest most pain free course of action. Ultimately it is a question of success or failure in your market – those who stand still are actually going backwards as technology and consumers become more sophisticated

Denial – there are many businesses who (amazingly) continue to deny that the Internet actually exists. It’s true that for some businesses the development of a business website is not appropriate but to turn your back on this area and ignore huge potential benefits is not the answer.

Not right for my business – it could be that you have not developed a website for your business due to a belief that you will not gain any competitive advantage or revenue from such a project. It is certainly true that a website isn’t right for every business but take the time to consider potential benefits, look at competitors and what they are doing. Don’t be afraid to develop a website even if it is not something that is common between your competitors or in your industry – there may still be value in this course of action as you will be seen as an innovator in your market and may be the first to capitalise on potential returns.

Inappropriate content – it could be that you feel your business cannot communicate its services or products via a website. There are, however, many new ways of developing a website using multimedia content which can give close to or as good as a product or service demonstration as you could give to a prospective client face to face. Explore free tools like video online with YouTube or try writing about what you do in more detail and incorporating into a site or blog.

So now you can turn the top ten barriers to developing a business website into a ten step plan for success. Good luck, I look forward to visiting your website soon!

If you enjoyed this article then why not link to it from your site or blog, also, don’t forget to bookmark this page on your favorite social bookmarking site.

Firstly consider the type of business you have – business to business websites (targeting a business audience) are very different to business to consumer websites (targeting consumers rather than businesses. A business site will require very different content to a consumer website, take the time to look at some of the websites belonging to your most successful competitors and see how they do it.

Next you need to consider how you are going to develop your business website on time and to budget – you need a plan! At the very least you should have a rough plan detailing your key actions and site objectives – this will help you develop and assess the success of your website as the project progresses.

As part of the plan you must include a firm idea of what the objectives of your website will be.  For example, to generate sales leads or to increase charitable donations, etc. A number of small and medium sized businesses complain about the failure of their new websites to attract sales leads, however this is often due to an absence of clear objectives based on lead generation set out from the start.

One important factor to remember is that you should not stop existing forms of marketing and replace with marketing your website online – keep doing both. Traditional forms of marketing can still prove useful and effective. For the most effective results integrate your website and traditional marketing e.g. ensure you quote your new website in all of your printed marketing literature.

Some of the most user-friendly and useful websites in the world never attract any visitors – the reason: you must tell people about your site. Generating traffic to your website is imperative, you wouldn’t get a new phone line installed and then sit by the telephone waiting for it to ring, so don’t do the same with your website. Make raising the visibility of your website a key priority.

Remember: keep it simple – don’t be tempted to overcomplicate the design, or content on your website. The same is true for the technology used on your website. If you have limited technical knowledge make sure your site or the technology used to create it is as user-friendly as possible. It is better to learn as you go along than let doubt and perfectionism stifle your opportunity to achieve some good results – you can always improve your website with every iteration.

You should always track success, even if it is in a crude basic way – keep track of where your online enquiries are coming from e.g. a simple source of enquiry question on a contact form or a simple log of how many visitors your site has received. Free analytics tools are offered by many website hosting providers. How will you know you have achieved your objectives if you do not track success, how will you improve if you don’t record what is not working and what is?

Ask yourself the question: could I cope with an influx of leads from a new website? Be prepared for success, think about whether you have the resources to cope with an influx of leads from your website. Make sure that your resources are synchronised with your website plan.

Finally, don’t believe the hype.  Leave flashing websites and neon lights to the large brands to try – they have the marketing large budget to be able to experiment. Stick to simple ideas, they work well in traditional marketing so they will work well on the web.

Request your free copy of the We Are Web Quickguide to Website Investment for SMEs at We Are Web.