At OSS, we work with both agencies and individual clients on websites of varying sizes and complexity. Our agency partners want cutting edge work, and at the other end, our smaller clients are focused on value. For years that meant brochureware sites or an e-commerce solution. Today's small business owners have realized that they need more than just a website, they need tools that generates both leads and paying customers. In order to compete effectively having a website isn't enough, there must be a digital strategy with the website at the core, supplemented by social media, blogging and email marketing.
Social media tools such as Twitter and Facebook rarely bring in direct revenue unless you are Dell, they however serve as the vanguard of your brand's message and facilitates the engagement of a two way conversation with customers. Social media is fragmented by nature so its useful to be visible on several mainstream and niche networks that will ensure the maximum reach. For example, if your market are teenage girls, you're more likely to find success on Facebook and Myspace than with Linkedin. Email marketing is a great low cost option for targeting potential leads or announcing special offers to loyal customers and keeping former customers up to date on your company. Email marketing has the advantage of ubiquity; email works across all platforms, so it doesn't suffer from the audience fragmentation & fickleness of social media networks. Consistent blogging of well researched and up to date topics brings a number of benefits, beginning with boosting organic search results. Insightful content makes it easier for potential customers to make informed decisions about your company neutralizing the lack of quality information common to most small firms online.
When all these tools are effectively utilized with a professionally designed and standards compliant coding, your site turns into a system for generating leads that converts into paying customers. In the coming weeks we will begin to outline specific strategies for using all the services and platforms mentioned earlier.