Working from home and a growing preference for digital transactions have catapulted our shift to online shopping. In some instances, this has made it really difficult for small business owners to compete. Luckily, shopping local has also come to the forefront of our minds and hearts.
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Your voice is the essence of how you express yourself, your values and your mission as a business in written and spoken communications. The tone of your brand voice helps your customers pre-empt what to expect from your service and guides your team to deliver that consistently. Tone of Voice describes the way your brand speaks to its audience. What your business sounds like, and what people can expect from you.
Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive, it’s about showing your customers and your community that you care. This could be anything from friendly advice, a quick tip, or just a helping hand.
Perhaps you’re launching a new business or blog, changing business direction or you’re ready to up your game… Learn how to best style your brand for the best outcome for your business.
Learn how you can encourage visitors to stay a bit longer on your website, help them find what they need, get in touch quickly and easily, and convert web traffic into web enquiries.
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When you meet a person for the first time it takes less than seven seconds for them to form an opinion of you. For your website, it’s even less.
You want potential customers to stay, take a look around and decide that it’s worth doing business with you. That first impression will determine whether they do just that or if they bounce and check out the competition.
Here are ten tips that will ensure your website makes a great first impression:
1 Quick to load
Websites that are slow to load are annoying. How many times have you clicked off a website because you had to wait for pictures and text boxes to load? Keep your load speed to under three seconds and test it regularly.
2 Branding, branding, branding
People like to know who they are dealing with and want to ensure they are on the right page. Make sure your branding is clear.
3 Keep it visual
Bright, relevant images and even fast-loading video can keep your audience engaged with your website. Just don’t forget about tip one and make sure they aren’t slowing your load speed.
4 Populate it with people
It’s human nature to gravitate to images of happy people. Use photos relevant to your product or service, but don’t fall into the trap of relying on too many stock library photos, they can look staged and may create an artificial impression.
5 First contact
Make sure your contact details are clear and easy to find. As well as being one of the key reasons people visit websites, it’s also reassuring to be able to contact you easily.
6 Content is king
Ensure the content is relevant to your audience, accurately describes your product or service and provides details of how potential customers can access it. Keep it concise and take advantage of keywords so you’ll be found by search engines.
7 Create a connection
Use an appropriate tone of voice in your content to instantly connect with your audience. The tone should be appropriate to your brand personality, whether it’s fun and funky or professional and businesslike.
8 Professional design
How often have you opened a website to find it difficult to read, hard to find the information you need or just plain and boring? Invest in a professional design and reap the rewards.
9 Smart colour and font choices
Following on from the point above, crazy colours and funky fonts are going to be difficult to read and may put potential customers off.
10 Make it secure
This is especially key if you are taking payments or wanting visitors to enter their personal information. An unsecure site can put visitors off straight away.
A free review
Could your website work better for you?
Do you think there’s potential for change but not sure how to go about it?
Then give us a call and we’ll give you a completely free review. 0800 2 NETTL (263885)