DON’T JUST SIT THERE, DO SOMETHING!

You have your website. It’s gorgeous, it’s technically solid, and it has all the bells and whistles. But… you’re still not dominating your market. WebatWork’s responses to these three statements would go like this: Awesome work on your website, congratulations! Well done on the design and the engineering! And lastly, what were you thinking? You thought your work was done? Wrong, wrong, and wrong!

A website is a living, real-time entity. If you ignore it, it will wither and become increasingly ineffective. As a web-based business owner, you are involved in a dynamic relationship with the Internet through your site. You are responsible for feeding new content to your site, because fresh content boosts your site optimization and ranking, which leads to sales and good times for you. Get it?

But wait, you say…you’re a mechanical engineer, or an attorney, or some other type of business owner, not an author. You don’t have time to feed your site with fresh content. Relax, and reach out to WebatWork. Our editorial team lives and breathes for the opportunity to write content and talk up your business, and we know how to make your website stand up and speak clearly and effectively (no inside voices here…promise!) You might be the strong, silent type, but your website should always be talking to the world on behalf of your business. WebatWork has never been known to sit down and shut up; we’re ready to help you talk your walk, and free you up to get on with running your business! Let’s chat…soon! Send us an email to admin@webatwrk.com or go to http://www.webatwrk.com/contact/.

MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES

(HOW YOUR COMPANY CAN BE ALL THINGS TO ALL PEOPLE)

Do you ever wonder how your company can trade in its  pinstriped suit for a more global look and feel?  How to connect with a completely new  demographic or a fresh market for your innovative service, product, or concept? How to remain aligned with your mission, values, and strategic objectives, but still give the creative energy in your organization (HINT: the people who inspire you and who make work fun . . . )  the scope and encouragement to really grow your  business? The answers are literally at your fingertips!

By changing and updating your web presence, you can change and grow your business in a way that simply dissolves the old boundaries  associated with market development. WebatWork understands this; we are never satisfied with the status quo, and are just as curious as you are about ways in which your business can expand to increase your profits and make you see your business in an entirely new way. Your company’s personality is only constrained by your imagination, and the creativity and technological energy of the WebatWork team is just waiting to be turned loose by your vision of what your company’s future can be!

Change the look, change the interface, open new channels of communication; do it all! Seriously, people, this is not rocket science. You just need a talented team to make your vision a reality. Oh, and by the way, you’re already on the right website! We’re ready for you . . . what are you waiting for? Let’s get to WebatWork!

If you need to update your web presence, contact us at:  admin@webatwrk.com.

Effective communication

Effective communication requires a plan.  Effective communication is also a two-way street. 

Customers need to be able to communicate with you and you need to be able to deliver information to them in a way that is easy, reproducible and useful. 

Too much communication can be as damaging to your business as no communication. 

• With whom do you need to communicate? 
• How often should you communicate? 
• How will you communicate? 

It is one thing to have a plan, but if no one else knows the plan it will not be effective.  As you are developing your website and your online marketing plan, consider your communication needs. 

• Do you want to hear from your customers? 
• Do you want to give them updates, current information and news? 
• How can you most effectively deliver information to them?

Online communication strategies are diverse and effective.  Each method has benefits and drawbacks so understanding them is essential as you decide on your communication strategy.

The Web at Work team can help you develop the right communication strategy for your target audience. Contact us to talk about the tools you can choose.

The New Dynamics of Public Relations (or how to have better PR than BP)

If we’re going to be totally honest, everyone is feeling pretty happy right about now that they are not involved with the nightmare that must be public relations at BP. It’s hard to imagine a response in the face of an immense environmental disaster, let alone how that might play out in the corridors at corporate headquarters!

But, contrary to what you might think, there’s a big lesson here for all of us. In a sense, we’re all BP. Everyone who owns a business (and that includes us here at Web at Work and all of our clients) is involved in a direct and ongoing conversation with their existing and potential clients, as well as the World Wide Web. We all chose to enter into this conversation when we went live in the electronic environment. With that in mind the key to surviving a negative public relations event is to stay engaged in the conversation that your business has with the world. Blogs and social media are critical elements here; Web at Work can help you control your message and Web content in a responsible and dynamic way to manage the short-term challenges and long-term outcomes.

Adverse events don’t need to be a disaster for your company. Stay engaged in the conversation with your clients, and let Web at Work help you restore calm to your corner of the World Wide Web!

Small Business 101

The Web at Work Team is here to help you prosper and thrive in a difficult economy.  We realize that small businesses are often operating on a slim to non-existent budget and that the “need to do” list  is frequently much longer than the “can afford to do “ list.

Because we focus on small businesses, we are skilled at  helping you prioritize the development of your website to match the needs of your business right now and in the immediate future.  Many companies are not interested in working with small businesses because the scope of the work is so limited. 

We take a different view; we believe in our clients and we’re  here to help them achieve their goals as they grow and develop.  Most of our clients will see their needs change as their businesses evolve and this requires an evolution in the website as well.  We are here for the long haul and we’ll help you change your site as your needs change and your budget hopefully grows. 

Don’t be discouraged by your budgetary limitations.  Your website is a dynamic tool designed by us to help you be successful.  It is not something that is designed, launched and then forgotten.  The Web at Work team is here to help you continually assess your needs and we’ll partner with you toassist you in further developing your site as the goals for your on-line presence change.

Holidays drive business

A holiday is a special day on the calendar; one that provides us with an opportunity to pause in our busy daily lives and reflect on the meaning of the day, celebrate, rest or just reflect on the dependable rhythm of the year.  

Why not use holidays to market your business or product? 

Customers are used to seeing the Back to School specials in the stores and the deep discounts preceding the Christmas shopping season.  Remember that your Web-based business can also use some of the same marketing techniques that have been tried and true for years. 

Consider sending out coupons to your customer base, have downloadable coupon offers available on your website to be used in your online store, highlight certain seasonal products and just have fun.

Contact Web at Work to find out how we can help you make these idea comes to life.

What is in a color?

Color is emotional.  Color is personal.  Color is complicated.  In fact, in the English-speaking world, color even has different spellings.  Unless you live in the United States, color is spelled, colour!

Have you ever taken the time to think about just how many shades of green there are?  When a client asks for a website that emphasizes the color green, we are just beginning the journey.  Think about the number of adjectives that exist to simply define the color green. Green can be green as grass, forest green, lime green, chartreuse, celadon, citrine, lovat, olive, army, sage, celery, sea foam…the list can go on and on.

Humans associate certain colors with certain emotions.  This is a very important concept to grasp as you consider the color palette for your website.  What emotion are you trying to convey when a customer looks at your website? 

The emotion of color is also contextual as cultural experiences influence the meaning of a color. Green can be associated with natural beauty but in the U.S. green can symbolize money and wealth while many of us equate green with the luck o’ the Irish!

As you do your background research for your website, consider how color choice will affect your audience.  Do your homework and determine what colors appeal to your target demographic.  The Web at Work team can help you with this.  Our team of graphic designers and branding experts has extensive experience in guiding clients to the right color palette.  Contact us with your color questions and remember, red does not always mean danger… in some cultures, it is the color of preference for brides.

The Launch of Lily.B Skincare

The Web at Work team is proud to announce the launch of  the Lily.B Skincare website.  This beautiful new website went live this week and brings to the Web a brand new skincare line developed to meet the needs of women in their 20s and 30s.  These exciting and natural products are available only through the Lily.B skincare  online store and are being formally  launched at the Cannes film festival on May 15^th.  The U.S. launch party will be May 23^rd in Scottsdale, Arizona and we are looking forward to celebrating the success of this smart new skincare line.

The Web at Work team created custom graphics and an on line store for Lily.B as well as developed a comprehensive social media strategy that includes a custom Facebook page, blog, Twitter account and YouTube channel. The social media sites are all integrated and tie back to the website and online store to ensure that the Lily.B customers have options to explore all aspects of the brand through participation in an online community.  

Visit Lily.B Skincare and try out this great new skincare line.  Contact us at admin@webatwrk.com so that we can help you develop a professional, visually appealing and most importantly an effective presence on the Web.  We are looking forward to helping you promote your business through the use of the latest techniques utilizing social media and search engine optimization (SEO).

Know your target demographic…translated this means..know your audience!!

In our last post we talked about the importance of knowing your competition.  This is an essential part of your marketing strategy however of equal if not greater importance is knowing your audience.  Who is your typical customer?  This seemingly basic question is actually quite complex and impacts every aspect of your business plan and in our world, your website design.  If your target audience is the hip generation y single urban professional, your site will be much different than if you are aiming to connect with a 30 something suburban housewife soccer mom!  Have you truly defined your target?  Now is the time to reflect on your customer and to develop a profile.  We have found the following questions helpful.

1. What is your target age group?  Why this age group?  Do they participate in certain sports, prefer certain technologies, seek out specific entertainment, have unique needs?
2. Where will your customer live?  (urban, suburban, multi family housing, single family housing, rural, multiple homes, international)
3. What socioeconomic level are you trying to reach (how much does your typical customer earn)
4. Is your typical customer used to purchasing products on the web (this will help you decide if e-commerce is a good idea for your site)  I promise you, if you are targeting my mother you have to expect that she will never purchase a product from your site.  She needs to touch and feel a product to determine if she is getting a good deal.
5. Speaking of my mother, is your customer a bargain shopper?  Will she need to see discounts, coupons, deals on the site?
6. Is your target customer married, single, divorced, widowed, in a committed relationship or in a convent?
7. Does your customer work?  If so is there a particular field you are targeting? Are you targeting other businesses if so what type of business?
8. What hobbies or recreational sports does your target customer enjoy?  A hunter will have different preferences  than a quilter!
9. Do green businesses appeal to your customers?
10. Do your customers prefer doing business with businesses that give back to the community (philanthropy)

This is just a short list of questions to consider as you define your target market and build your business plan. Contact Web at Work to find out how we can develop a website, social media presence  and an email marketing campaign that incorporates your business plan and works to make your business successful.

Know your competition

The worldwide Web is a virtual marketplace and your direct competitors are operating alongside you within that global marketplace. Many of your competitors have brick and mortar operations in addition to their Web presence, while others are only doing business via the Web. When designing your website and your internet business it is very important to take the time to research, observe and benefit from how your competitors are operating their businesses. Although this type of research can be time consuming, it is invaluable to you as you are defining the look, feel and functionality of your website.

The Web at Work team realizes that this may all be new to you and may be overwhelming at times. We have developed a website design tool that will guide you through the process of defining your preferences for your site and in it, we ask you to visit and document sites that are in your same line of business to help us understand what you do and do not like about individual sites. Here are a few suggestions to help you as you surf the Web and become educated about your competition and your unique marketplace.

 Keep a list of URLs that you have visited. An excel spreadsheet is a wonderful tool for this. It’s amazing how many times we have had clients tell us that they saw something but then, could not remember where it was. Surfing the Web can often land you far away from where you started and it is critical that you document the sites you visit, so we can go there later and learn from your observations

1. Make notes about color schemes, graphics, layouts, functionalities that you respond to, especially those that provoke the “WOW” response. 
2. Make notes about elements that you do not like. It is amazing how quickly you will discover color palettes and layouts that you strongly dislike.
3. Have fun and take your time. It is best if you do this in multiple small sessions.