In February I spoke at the Frederick Chamber’s New Media and Technology Conference on the topic Digital Detox. I discussed this from both a business and personal point of view. I wasn’t and still am not promoting getting rid of technology, but I am promoting using it to help you and your business, while not being a distraction from your goals. I will cover some of the other topics I discussed during this presentation in the future, but for now I want to talk about taking care of your home base.
Social Networks, especially Facebook, are constantly changing algorithms making it harder to get your message in front of your community. Add in the increase of companies using social media and it becomes even more difficult to break through the noise. If you aren’t spending advertising dollars with these services you are at their mercy as to whether people that want to get your message will actually receive it. For this reason, I believe this is a good time to spend some time focusing on your home base, namely your website and email marketing.
When social media started to become mainstream, many pundits suggested that companies no longer needed a website because Facebook would make websites obsolete. I didn’t buy that advice then and I sure don’t now. Websites, email marketing and social media all work together to create your Internet marketing mix. If you have allowed your website to become a little outdated due to focusing on other platforms, you aren’t alone. However, now is the time to get back to basics and do a little Spring Cleaning. Make sure your website is up-to-date with your latest information and messaging. If you are in the market for a redesign, consider making your website more mobile friendly.
If you have neglected your email marketing, it is now time to jumpstart that effort as well. Promote your sign-up form on your social networks to get more subscribers. These are relationships that you have more control over since you have been invited to send messages directly to the subscribers inbox without an algorithm deciding what will be delivered. Let these users know what they can expect from your email newsletters and promotions. If you haven’t sent an email for awhile, send one to reintroduce your messaging so old subscribers are reminded they signed up and don’t mark future messages as spam.
Now that Spring is upon us and we are all doing a little Spring Cleaning, add some time to your calendar to evaluate your current website and email marketing to see how you can get your home base back into shape.