How To Build a Stellar, Actionable Website

Social marketing is one part science and one part creativity.

It is not, by anyone’s measure, magic.

That’s why, in order to have a really amazing social presence, you must first have a solid website. Obviously, the only exception being if you are not looking to generate website traffic (but our follow-up question would then be, why the hell not?)

But what’s a “solid” website, you might ask?

A solid website includes:

-A concise navigation and visitor flow

-Easily digestible, original content

-SEO-friendly linking strategy (inbound & outbound)

-A primary (& maybe secondary) call to action

-Lead generation process

Are you still with me?

Let’s dive a little deeper into what each of those means.

Concise navigation and visitor flow

This is fancy talk for multiple pages to read that are categorized appropriately. For example, don’t have your company blog under the Products tab. Make it stupid-easy for users to find the information you want them to read and to go along to another page once they’ve read the one they’re on.

Easily digestible, original content

Duplicate content is the enemy of the Google state. It makes your site looks spammy and no one wants that. Opt for cleanly written content that’s about 8th to 9th grade level (at least on the homepage). Break the lines where your conversation would naturally break. Don’t use too much industry jargon if your target audiences are industry outsiders.

SEO-friendly linking strategy

Inbound links are the ones coming to your site and outbound links are the ones going from your site to another. Internal links are the ones on your site that help people go from page to page.

If you’re developing a new site for your brand or product, there might not be any (or many) inbound links. Therefore, it’s imperative that you use an internal linking structure and outbound links wisely. Don’t use links like “here” or “learn more.” Use descriptive anchor text that describes where the link is pointing–whether it’s off your site or onto another page. If it’s an eBook about maintaining your product, make the link text “Download our Maintaining my Pixie Bike eBook now.” If it’s an article repping your snazzy magician skills, instead of linking to “by tickets here,” make the link text “Get tickets for Amber’s New, Snazzy Magic Show going on tour this fall.”

If your site is not new and you are writing articles or generating press to increase your inbound links, ensure not only that these are reputable sites on which to publish, but also that they’re linking to your website’s name and/or keywords. 

For example: my brand’s name is Kicky’s and I only sell popsicles (roll with me, here). My URL is kickyspops.com. It’s best to link Kicky’s Popsicles and not just Kicky’s or Kicky’s Pops or, heaven forbid, some other random thing. The reason is simple: the likelihood that someone will search “popsicles” is far higher than someone searching “pops.” 

Calls-to-action

I shouldn’t have to write this, but I will: your website should have something for someone to do. If it’s lead generation you’re after, create a form. If you’re looking to build your email list, create a newsletter sign-up. If you’re wanting people to subscribe to a YouTube channel, put a big ol’ button to link there and subscribe. 

Start with your goals for business growth and think about all the ways you can have people share their interest on your site. Start with the most obvious (contact us) and work your way up to the top (follow us on Instagram).

Lead generation process

Once you’ve generated that lead–whether they want to work with you right away or they’re just signing up for a newsletter to see how they feel about you–it’s important to have a process in place for staying top of mind. 

If you’re leaning toward email, make sure to segment your lists into cold and warm leads, then clients. Once a warm lead stops opening, move them to cold. Once they’ve converted, move them to clients. Have a special way of communicating with each of the audiences. They all deserve their own cadence, too.

If you haven’t got an email marketing program, just make notes to follow-up on leads that have grown cold or even leads that have started with a competitor. Maybe you touch base once a quarter juuuuust to see if they’re happy.

When you have all these things in place, CONGRATULATIONS! You are now ready for a stellar social marketing strategy. If you need help creating all of  the above, we help with that, too.