LNCtips.com: 3 Tips for Web Marketing
Your website is one of your most valuable marketing tools. But did you know that your clients and potential clients view your website differently than they do your printed marketing materials? If you want your legal nurse consultant website to get the attention it deserves, here are three tips to make it stand out.
1) Studies have shown that people read printed materials from left to right, starting at the top left of the page. People view websites by looking at the center first, then they scan, rather than read, the page. The implications for your website? Don't put your key content at the top left of the page. Save that area for a menu, photo, or logo. Plain text works well on reports but not on websites. Help the viewer's eyes scan your website by using headlines, summaries, bullets and bold text. Don't use bold text only for headings. Use bold text for any words that you want to emphasize.
2) Printed marketing materials often contain a lot of self-promoting "fluff". However, website viewers want facts, not fluff. Website viewers don't have much tolerance for exuberant adjectives or pseudointellectual statements. Implications for your website: Avoid "marketese" on your website. "You've worked with the rest, now work with the best!" Write in a neutral tone, using facts about you and the services you provide. "Marcie Senko is an RN with over 30 years of experience in Critical Care and Emergency Medicine." If you want to brag about an accomplishment, do so only if you can back up your claims with statistics, objective data, or testimonials. Use a short, conversational tone instead of an academic one. For example, "I can save you money on case reviews" instead of "XYZ Consulting can assist attorneys to provide comprehensive reviews that will be economically advantageous."
3) You mail printed marketing materials, such as brochures, to potential clients. The recipients of those materials can take as long as they want to review them. The process is reversed, however, for websites. You don't find visitors; they find you. Visitors expect to find EXACTLY what they're searching for. If they don't find it, they leave the website within seconds. The implications for your website? Don't use an introduction to your website that requires the viewer to wait or click on something to enter your site. They'll just leave instead. Use an inverted pyramid for your content, putting your most important content first and the least important last. Your most important content concisely discusses how you can solve your potential clients' problems. Use keywords and other search engine optimization techniques to help potential clients find your website.
Knowing the differences between website marketing and print marketing can help your website stand out. If you want to learn more about studies on writing for the web, click here.
...Katy Jones