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Dateline: 04/05/98 Ways to Add Life to a Dead Web Site "When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. While I hate to turn away a reader, this article is not really relevant to the Big Six accounting firms. They have elaborate and frequently-updated web sites. Are you reading this article because your firm's web site has not performed up to your partners' expectations? With some experience (and possibly some disappointment) under your belt, you probably realize now that web communications must be more than an online version of your brochure. It's no longer novel to have a web site. But it is novel to have a good one. An effective web site must be updated often. It should contain something to attract attention, spark interest, or provide a service for your readers. It should let readers decide what information to read and in what sequence. Here are some things you can do for little or no cost, plus a few that will pinch your pocketbook. Start simply, or go for broke and try it all. Whatever makes sense for your firm, taking advantage of some of these options will help your web site do what you hoped it would do from the beginning--attract your target audience and gain opportunities for new clients. You man need to invest some time in these, and your young, idle staff members are just the ones to do it. Add content. Recycle those old newsletter articles and reprints from business journals and trade publications. Take advantage of hyperlinks to lure the readers to other relevant pages on your site. Be less concerned with the ``corporate look" than with getting the information out there. Use a bolder layout and colors. With FrontPage 97 and other site management programs it is possible to change buttons, banners, colors and designs for the whole web site with a few mouse clicks. Try some out and see how it affects the impact of your pages. Build a community and feed it. Setting up a moderated discussion group or live online discussion group is a very low cost and extremely powerful way to draw in readers. Getting them involved in discussions can lead to new work. It can also position your moderator(s) as experts in a particular area. Next week's feature will cover this topic in detail. Check back. :) Add a search engine. You need one if you archive articles on your site. They help your readers get right to what they want to know faster. Excite offers their search engine for free. Surprisingly, the easier you make it for readers to find information they need, the longer they'll stay on your site. Provide free information. Trust me on this one, if you don't already know first hand. People don't land on your web site to read about your new offices. They come looking for information that will help them solve a problem or reach a decision. Invest a little staff time in developing answers to some frequently asked questions in your key industries and put them on your web site. Encourage direct contact by adding e-mail reply forms for each author. Be creative and bait your hook with lots of useful information. Get a professional evaluation. A web communications specialist can review your site in detail and tell you what's working and what's not. A ``designer" will give ideas about making it look better, but you should be looking for someone who can make it work better to achieve your marketing communications goals. If you don't know one to ask, drop me a note. Consider e-commerce. Have you got any specific services or software packages or other product requiring minimal partner/manager involvement. Sell it electronically. Set your firm up with a merchant account to accept credit cards over the web and a secure server through your ISP, and then start promoting the services Make use of Dynamic HTML features. Hire a good web designer to make use of the latest web techniques, like cascading style sheets and moving text. Elegant, fast-loading graphics and sophisticated layouts are now possible. They can give your firm a million dollar image. Engage the audience with surveys, competitions and/or prizes. Everyone loves to be asked their opinion and everyone likes to win a good prize. Use software that displays survey results instantly. Offer unusual prizes--perhaps a free half-day of consulting time or two lessons with an athlete who is a client of the firm or free admission to one of your firm's computer training programs or two tickets to the symphony from your firm's season ticket supply. There's not much real cost to you for any of these, but the perception will be of a valuable prize--worth typing in their name and address for. Redesign the site, especially the navigation Find a designer who has designed for the web before. No matter how convincing a designer may sound, designing for the web is not like graphic design on paper. Moving easily from one page to another and having user-friendly menus can make a big difference in whether the reader spends time on your site or finds what he/she is looking for. Add video clips or audio interviews. Want to show a process? Created an animated illustration. Want your partners to be visible? Videotape them (professionally!) making 2-3 minute explanations of tax law changes or how deregulation of utilities will affect apartment tenants. If you'd like to brainstorm more ways to make your own site dynamic and interesting to your target audiences, just drop me a note. Next feature: E-Commerce--How to Sell Services On Your Web Site Look here for more information: Easy Doesn't It Sun Sheds Light on Site-Building For Success Top 10 Mistakes of Web Management How to Avoid 10 Fatal Web Site Mistakes Baying at the Moon: Internet marketers capitalize on the technology to enhance customer relationships Copyright 1998 by Kaye Vivian (kvivian@cloud9.net). All rights reserved. Permission to reprint is granted provided this article is not altered and the copyright notice remains attached. |
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