Without a strategy
Your website is likely to be lonely, with few visitors and fewer leads. You are relying on people specifically interested in your business, and the odd lucky search or referral.
People might be able to find you, if they try, but your site is not going to find them.
You need to reach out.
Facebook. Twitter. YouTube. SnapChat. Tumblr. Medium. LinkedIn. Instagram. These services are a seamless part of people’s lives. Search is still more important, and the way you shape your online presence determines your visibility.
You need to go to where the people are. Show them how amazing your service, your cause, your idea is, on their own turf and terms, and offer them value.
This process is called a search and social strategy, and it can make your website truly serve your organisation.
Who am I?
Every organisation begins with a purpose, a passion. We call this reason for being a “vision,” inscribe it on the company letterhead… and then generally forget about it.
Worse, we tend to see the vision as a static ideal, unchanging as the organisation evolves.
Before you can consider any meaningful strategy, you need to have a firm idea of your identity; and that begins with your vision. Dust it off, update it if necessary, and give it a working purpose. It should be a tool, used to measure every action your organisation takes. Your vision should underpin every proposal and inform every decision, bringing clarity, consistency and integrity to your organisation.
Why does it matter?
You just want to promote your work. Why bother with this vision stuff?
The social space is dynamic, conversational and interactive. In human terms, it’s relational, and relationships start with identity. People need to know who they are connecting with, and your vision can help you find an authentic voice.
Consider the manner in which you you talk to your clients, staff and stakeholders. How are these voices consistent with your vision?
Your voice in the social space sets expectations and boundaries in just the same way, and should mirror the desired in-person experience.
Take-home points
- Take some time to reflect on your vision, or to define it if it’s implicit.
- Outline how this vision has shaped (or should shape) your organisation’s identity.
- Think about how you see your organisation, and how you want others to see it.
You’ve now outlined who you are, and who you want to be online. In our next article, we’ll consider the way you want to speak.