So you’ve finally got your company’s website up and running. All the content is edited, all the pictures are loaded, and now you can just sit back and relax.
FALSE. Your company’s website is part of its marketing / communication plan, and marketing and communications is an ongoing cycle. You should have step two planned before you even launch step one.
Unfortunately, communication tasks are usually the one that get put on the back burner when other opportunities present themselves. Even though marketing actions are what get your company’s name out to the public and prompt sales, it also seems to be the thing that always gets put off until tomorrow. When this happens a useful and current tool like a website turns into an out-of-date model that everyone’s already seen.
The best way to combat this is to develop a system to regularly discuss changes and decide what content to add and update.
Here are a few step to follow when making a plan to keep your website up-to-date:
- Assign “Content Authors” — If your company already has multiple managers for different divisions, these managers can gather content for website updates on their own divisions, and can update the website even as little as once every other month. And if you don’t have divisions, then form a team of employees who are responsible for gathering new content for different parts of the company. If you have two or three divisions, this means that your website is getting updated at least once a month.
- Appoint a “Team Leader” — However you organize this “team,” it’s a good idea to appoint a team leader. This person will not only be there to gently remind the other content authors about upcoming deadlines, but can also make sure that duplicate information isn’t getting posted, and that the website still remains consistent.
- Set Target Dates– It’s not necessary to add new content everyday, updating your website every month, or every other month, is sufficient. But…
One important note about changing your web site: Don’t “throw out the baby with the bathwater.” Keep your style whenever possible. Imagine it from the customer’s point of view; if your web site is constantly changing style and colors, it won’t be recognizable. And the potential customer who is searching the web, who is looking for the “trademark look” of your company, won’t be able to find it easily. Make sure your brand is the “voice” of your company.
Power to the people
All the steps above are great, but how does the new content get posted? Do all your changes have to wait on one person with special software before they make it on your web site? If so, your website is stuck in the past. Now, there’s a better, faster way, and we can show you how it works.
With a fancy new website, we can give your people the power to make their own website updates. That means your web site stays fresh, your people are empowered and happy, search engines love you and all is right with the world. Now who wouldn’t want that?