When you are using a website to promote your business, you need to consider what the main thing is you want to take away from it. Is it how the quality of the content you produce is received? How easy it is to navigate? Or is it simply a return of investment? Well in order to achieve all of these it is important that you understand your audience and one of the simplest and most effective ways of achieving this is through communication.
Regardless of whether your website is used for e-commerce, as a blog, or for any other reason that you see fit, then it is necessary for you to communicate effectively with your visitors. Although you may not realise it, your website is communicating with your clients at all times simply through the use of text and imagery, but unfortunately this is an aspect which is often overlooked by businesses and this can result in their failure.
Forms of communication
You can use your website to communicate with your visitors in a number of different ways. All types of websites are affected by the need for good communication in one way or another, so ensuring that you have a good strategy in place can make all the difference. There are some basic ways in which your website can communicate with its visitors, with some common examples including:
Text – when creating a website, one of the most important aspects that your audience will take into consideration is the text which you produce. Whether it is your company biography, the articles which you create or the services which you offer, everything will be scrutinised to the fullest because people like to be sure that they are dealing with professionals.
The text your website creates, whether it’s good or bad, is used as a means of communication with your clients and how well you present it will be interpreted in a number of ways – so making sure it is done correctly is essential.
Images –the first thing that the majority of people will see when they visit your website is the images which you use, so it’s necessary that they are appropriate to the subject matter. A customer will decide within the first five seconds whether or not they want to continue using your website, so an appealing image is your best chance of drawing them in.
We have all heard the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” and when it comes to websites this is almost certainly the case. Images can often communicate a message faster and more clearly than a block of text, while it can evoke a number of feelings that are open to the viewers’ discretion, so when designing your website you need to be aware of what you are trying to tell your audience.
Applications – whenever we are greeted by a piece of content that we admire or even find controversial, we are given an option of ‘sharing’ it through various social media outlets. This form of communication enables us to expand on the subject matter further and add our own interpretation to the content that we are given.
Communication can be one-sided or two-sided, so by giving your customers the ability to add their own input to any blogs that you produce or any articles you share, you are giving them the opportunity to connect with you on a more personal level. This in turn can help remove any stigma surrounding a website which suggests it is robotic and lacks emotion.
Audio and Video – this is a form of communication which isn’t used as often as you would think on websites, as most are content with the text and imagery which they produce. There’s a danger of having a video which is poorly produced and as such it could leave your website looking amateurish – but if done correctly, the results could be impressive.
Adding a high quality video to your website can be quite expensive when compared to imagery or text, but there are many benefits that come with that fee. You are actively communicating with customers while providing a much clearer message and this can help you get more conversions as a result.
Final word
Whenever you are using a website to promote your business you should always remember that it is predominantly used as a tool for communication more than anything else. Every action that you make will be interpreted in a number of different ways by your website’s visitors, so it is important that you think strategically before issuing any commands.
Websites that can effectively communicate with their visitors can help bring in several results, from an increase in conversion rates, an improvement of your business’ branding and a higher level of sales to top it off. So the next time you post a blog or add an image to your website, remember that you are communicating on behalf of the website.
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