If you build it they will come

We all wish it was that simple. Build a brand, build a website, build some awesome content and viola – prospects. While it’s not that simple, we’ve found one golden rule to be true (drumroll, here it comes…).

Golden Rule: If it’s authentic those who need or want it will come (with some hard work) and they will send others.

Authenticity needs to be at the core of everything you do and everything your business stands for online. There’s a sweeping life lesson here, too. You very likely are not the only person who does what you do BUT no one can do it like you do.

Heck, we’re not the only one-stop digital design shop, but people want to work with Wolf Dog because of who we are compared to their choices. We never stop learning and we take precious nuggets from other design shops who do great things but we never want to be another ‘fill in the blank.’

Our goal is not to compete, but rather to set the bar that others look up to. Your business needs to strive to do the same and that’s where your story online begins. Your strategy and tactics fall out of this defined philosophy. How you execute it will be unique to you.

Now comes the technical part. You’ve got your authentic vision nailed down and now you’re ready to build and invite people to come. Here’s some key things you need to know:

Website
A well designed, high performing website is an investment in yourself. If you had an employee who wasn’t performing would you keep that employee around? No, which is exactly why you need to fire your underperforming website. Your website is your 24/7 sales person online. It needs to align with modern search protocols and have clear calls to action that guide site visitors to the next step. With roughly ten seconds to capture a prospect’s attention it is critical to put your authentic brand story front and center.

SEO
This is a topic for a whole other blog (it’s coming don’t worry) but this is an area that where a lot of our clients feel particularly lost & misled when they come to us. With today’s modern website platforms, a properly set up website should not need ongoing submission of keywords. That has gone the way of the dodo bird. You need the to ensure that your site launches with high functioning SEO plugins with search terms that are updated when there are changes to your business, services, products, offerings or a large-scale shift in your industry. Otherwise, SEO that has been properly set-up on the back end should be working on its own without ongoing maintenance.

Content
Content is king. If content were a recipe it would be part quality, part frequency and part variety. This is another one of those “check yourself before you wreck yourself” moments. Is your content authentic? We often hear the term “unique” applied and while that is important if your content is truly authentic then it will be unique (see what we did there?). Video is becoming a critical component of branded content along with imagery, infographics, article sharing and blogging. It is important to test your content to see what resonates for your audience. Try different types of content at different times to see when and what is most interesting. Feel to ask your followers what they want to see, too!