Interactive Content ? Blogs, Forums, and Feedback ? What Does Your Web Site Need?
The business principle of continued contact and online relationship building has given rise to the popularity of online business blogs, forums and feedback opportunities. Interactive online communication define the web site owners as experts in the eyes of visitors, and serve as a promotional vehicle for other products and services that the business seeks to sell. Continued, interactive contact can bring many benefits, such as:
You'll find out what type of content visitors want to see at your web site. This will attract your visitors to revisit and read the content.
You'll find out how to improve existing products or services. This will attract new customers to buy from your business.
You'll find out which products or services your customers would like to see you sell in the future. This will increase your back end product sales.
You'll find out how to improve your customer service. This will cut down on customer complaints and how to better resolve problems.
You'll find out how to improve your sales letters or adverts. This will increase your sales, traffic or subscribers.
You'll find out how to design your web site to fit your visitors' needs and wants. This will increase the time your visitors spend on your web site.
You'll find out what kind of non-related products or services your customers would buy. This will help your business easily move into a different market.
You'll find out how to better price your products. This will help you sell your products or services at a price that will pull the most orders.
You'll find out the interests of your potential customers. This will inform you where to market and promote your products.
Getting Started
So where do you start? Do you need a blog, a forum, or a feedback form? All have different uses and your selection will depend on the needs of your particular business and your limitation with regard to time and/or budget. Below are some of the options and some ideas for adding interactive and fresh content to your web site.
For more information about how to establish and maintain online relationships with your viewers and customers, get a copy of our guide "Building Online Relationships" available here: http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/book_4.html
Weblogs or Blogs
A blog is basically a series of posts that appear by the date posted like an online journal. Setup is minimal and the interface is easy to learn- if you can use a word processing package, you can write a blog! Services like Moveable Type and Blogger make it incredibly easy for anyone to publish on the web.
Blogs can be integrated seamlessly into your site so that they have the same look and feel. You can use a blog to publish an events calendar or comment on developments and news from your industry. A blog can be strictly professional, announcing special offers or new product info or it can be casual and create a "personality" for your company.
What can a blog do for your business? Think about what your customers want to know.
To add interactivity, several blog programs come with a "comment" ability built in. This allows general users to create an account and post their comments to your blog. This is something to be careful of as you can get negative comments along with the positive.
Forums
While online forums are popular and the perfect method of relationship building, starting a forum and maintaining one can be challenging, especially in the beginning when members can be few and far between. The challenge for most new forum owners is to get beyond the initial start up phase and move onto a phase where the forum members themselves promote the forum simply by posting.
Forums have become a common feature in many websites. With good free scripts available, and paid scripts being relatively cheap, it seems that every new website has its own forum(s).
But is it wise to add forums to your website?
On the pro side, large, active forums generate content for your website. They add a "sticky" element as most people come back, at least to monitor developments on their threads. Some forum software allows members to opt to receive an email whenever someone replies to their thread. Most people use it and that automated email sends them right back to the forum and therefore, your web site.
However, forums can take a long time to pick up and an empty forum can actually drive new visitors away. You need to constantly monitor your forums to make sure that they are clean of spam, troll posts, and just keep everything in order. In addition, forums are database-type applications that generate web pages on the fly. Every time a user views a page, it's being created from scratch. As the forums become more active, this can take a heavy load on the web server's resources and ultimately increase your hosting costs.
A forum is an incredible tool for building content and a community but it's not a task to be undertaken lightly; it requires a lot of time and energy and some technical knowledge (or a tech budget!)
If your industry has a need, or your product has a loyal following, a forum is a great tool to build content while drawing like-minded individuals together. A forum is great for market research, technical support, building a fan base, trading ideas and knowledge, and many, many other benefits. Try to get a base of people from similar business or industry experts to post at your forum. It's exposure for them and helps to build a solid foundation for your information.
If you decide to start a forum, be sure to use one that is search-friendly, such as www.InvisionBoard.com or www.phpbb.com, and set aside a good chunk of time to promote it and administer it.
Feedback
Unsolicited feedback is a powerful and convincing tool! Let your customers tell other customers why they love you. It's much more compelling than your own claims. Unfortunately, customers normally need to be asked for their opinion. You can ask for feedback on any area of your business, your web site, your ordering process, your levels of customer service, your delivery service, etc.
The easiest way is to simply set up a form to allow customers to submit their feedback. Keep it fairly brief and allow a space for comments. You can then use the information provided to improve your customer experience, and with permission, publish the ones you choose.
Often other web site owners that are also customers of users of your web site can be enticed to write a review or testimonial for your site in return for a link back to theirs. This helps them with link popularity but it helps your site as well it shows a real person wrote that review.
Ask The Expert
This is a great way of not only interacting with potential customers but also establishing your business as an expert in its field. Using a simple question form or forum software, users submit questions and someone at your company answers them. The Q&A are both published on the site for users to read once they are answered in a "knowledge database" or "FAQ" section. This is less time-intensive than a full-blown forum but a great way to keep a finger on the pulse of what customers want to know while still adding content on a regular basis.
Summary
If you are interested in building loyalty and interest in your company as well as repeat business and you want to get increased traffic from the editorial or free listings in search engines, you have to offer more than just sales information to your users. If you create a plan for content that offers value and interest to your customers, you can have a site that is built to sell AND drive repeat business.
For more information about how to establish and maintain online relationships with your viewers and customers, download a copy of our guide "Building Online Relationships" available here: http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/book_4.html
For a complete guide to marketing on the Internet, including:
The General Principles of Internet Marketing
Start at the Beginning
Writing Text that Sells
Building Online Relationships
Maximising Your Pay Per Click Campaign
Measuring Success Why not purchase the whole series of downloadable guides for the discounted price of 64.95. Click for more information: http://www.enable-uk.co.uk/html/promo_ebook
s.html
Justine Curtis
Enable UK
Internet Marketing Information and Resources
Make your web site work harder!
Web: http://www.enable-uk.co.uk
Email: info@enable-uk.co.uk
Article from Internet Marketing Tips Newsletter, a monthly publication of Enable-UK
Copyright 2004 Enable-UK.
 Google News Updated : Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:25:10 GMT Movie Review - New York Times
New York Times - Don Cheadle’s character, the son of a Sudanese father and an American mother, is a trained warrior with an ambiguous edge. By AO SCOTT “Traitor,” a somber, absorbing and only moderately preposterous new thriller written and directed by Jeffrey ... Critics Consensus: Babylon Condemned, Traitor Fails Cheadle anchors twisty tale Publ.Date : Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:09:11 GMT Obama to attack Bush, McCain in speech tonight - CNN
CNN - DENVER, Colorado (CNN) -- Democratic nominee Barack Obama will attack John McCain for pushing the same policies as the Bush administration in a speech at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night. Video: Remembering Dr. King's legacy 28-Aug-08 Remembering The "Dream" As Obama Lives It Publ.Date : Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:51:33 GMT De La Hoya shies away from retirement talk - ESPN
ESPN - By Dan Rafael Oscar De La Hoya announced his exit strategy from the ring at the beginning of 2008. After a glorious 16-year professional fighting career, De La Hoya was making plans for retirement. De La Hoya to face Pacquiao in December Oscar De La Hoya and Manny Pacquiao agree to fight Publ.Date : Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:08:50 GMT EU agrees to support Georgia, but stalls over more severe action - International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune - By Stephen Castle BRUSSELS: Struggling for a coherent response to the Russian military actions in the Caucasus, senior European Union diplomats Thursday agreed to increase assistance to Georgia but shied away from threats to impose tough sanctions ... West mulls few options in Georgia-Russia crisis Turkey in tight spot between Russia and NATO Publ.Date : Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:02:30 GMT Top-Seeded Ivanovic Loses in Second Round - New York Times
New York Times - Ana Ivanovic, above, fell to Julie Coin of France in the second round Thursday at Arthur Ashe Stadium. By RAY KRUEGER Ana Ivanovic is out of the United States Open. Ivanovic shocked by French qualifier Coin at US Open Top-seeded Ivanovic loses in huge upset at US Open Publ.Date : Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:06:49 GMT Comcast Sets Monthly Bandwidth Limit for Customers - PC World
PC World - Comcast, the largest provider of cable-based broadband service in the US, will limit residential customers to 250 gigabytes of bandwidth a month beginning Oct. 1, the company announced late Thursday. Comcast to cap monthly consumer broadband starting Oct. 1 Comcast to Cap Data Transfers at 250 GB in Oct. Publ.Date : Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:34:38 GMT Scientists Reprogram Adult Cells' Function - Washington Post
Washington Post - By Rob Stein Through a series of painstaking experiments involving mice, the Harvard biologists pinpointed three crucial molecular switches that, when flipped, completely convert a common cell in the pancreas into the more precious insulin-producing ... Health Buzz: Hope for Diabetes and Other Health News Researchers Report Advances in Cell Conversion Technique Publ.Date : Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:41:39 GMT Web Site Traffic |
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... Among the variety of techniques available to you as a... Read More The single most important attribute for a successful Network Marketer... Read More Marketing on the internet is getting harder and harder daily.It... Read More One of the best ways to increase your sales is... Read More When people market their business, they pay little attention to... Read More Niche marketing is focusing your business efforts to a target... Read More Want more hits to your website or someone actually buying?... Read More And you are so proud of it. You have no... Read More Many business people have a distorted view about the distinction... Read More So, you've created a Website to highlight your realty services... Read More Why do some websites sell more than others?Why are some... Read More A landing page is used to capture people's details when... Read More Here are the 10 heavy duty online sales tactics that... Read More What the heck am I talking about?Let me tell you... Read More Let me save you, at least, several hundreds of dollars... Read More Do you remember how, in days gone by, salesmen would... Read More There is a particular web site where I regularly place... Read More When the economy is booming, you may do well in... Read More Although the vast majority of website traffic is the direct... Read More For three years in Internet Marketing, I've tried to find... Read More We all do it.Spend time and money sourcing those vital... Read More 1) Web SiteThis is for sure the most important part... Read More Many people throughout the life of online marketing have utilized... Read More Cold calling doesn't work, it's no fun and often you... Read More There are two different groups of online marketers.First group: those... Read More
Adsense
websites
How You Can Tap into the Dramatic Selling Power of Testimonials
The Most Valuable Asset in Marketing - Do YOU have It?
Internet Marketing: 10 Ingenious Secret Strategies To Explode Your Sales
Website Sales: 10 Scorching Hot Offers That Sell Like Crazy
How To Take Advantage Of Your Competition
Keywords are the Key
Traffic, Money, How To Get There
Your First Web Site
What Great Online Advertising Really Is!
Make Your Real Estate Website Visible!
Internet Marketing Online: 10 Flaming Hot Ways To Fire-up Your Sales
Capture Names - They Are Like GOLD Nuggets!!
Online Sales: 10 Heavy Duty Tactics To Sky-Rocket Your Online Sales
Reselling Resold Resale Rights
The Truth About Info Business
Chameleon Advertising: Marketing to Your Niche Markets with Stories
The Most Successful Internet Marketing Model - Start with Free Tools, Spend Money Later
Website Marketing: 10 Smart Ways To Profit In An Uncertain Economy
Creative Offline Website Marketing Techniques
The Secret To Having A Successful Online Business
Time is Money in Online Marketing
Top 3 Online Business Success Needs
Kaizen in Online Marketing
The 2 Step Lead Generation Machine
Internet Marketing: 5 Innovative Internet Marketing Strategies To Generate Tons Of Orders
Affordable and Reliable Web Hosting Starting at $4.49/Month
The Website Marketing Strategy that Never Fails
Developing a successful web site takes more than simply building... Read More
Internet Marketing And Public Speaking: Ten Tips For When The Twain Shall Meet
Internet marketing and public speaking? Not quite ham and eggs,... Read More
Attitude - The Marketers Most Important Trait
Attitude is a key part of each of us. A... Read More
Can You Provide an Internet Advertising Solution?
This year, 2005, will see the demise of some well... Read More
Chameleon Advertising: Marketing to Your Niche Markets with Stories
Do you remember how, in days gone by, salesmen would... Read More
Boost Your Sales Copy With One Simple Tweak
Do you want an amazingly simple trick to move far... Read More
How to Put Your Bookmark on Top Every Time
Do web surfers really bookmark websites anymore? A good friend... Read More
How To Find Deep Discount Pro Online Marketing Tools
You can't row a boat without an oar or build... Read More
10 Ways To Make Your Sales Soaring
1. Maximize the effectiveness of your banner ads. Don't just... Read More
10 Resourceful Ways to Recycle Digital or Small-ticket Products
Have your product sales slowed down? Do you want to... Read More
Marketing Objectives for Your Web Site
Do you have marketing objectives for your Web site? With... Read More
See Abundance In Your Prospects
I was privileged to have a good friend and great... Read More
The Power Of Free
Free can set you free...The powerful word "FREE" is an... Read More
Online Joint Venture Ideas
A joint venture is when two or more businesses join... Read More
If you Sell a Product, Use Online Marketing, Part 2
When you offer your products via an email campaign to... Read More
What Big Pharma Can Teach You About Niche Marketing
A recent newspaper review of a new book, Selling Sickness,... Read More
Online Advertising: 10 Flaming Hot Ways To Heat Up Your Sales
If you have a website but not making a lot... Read More
How to Earn at Least One Dollar for Every Website Visitor
The path toward success in Internet marketing can be a... Read More
Become an Affiliate Later Rather Than Sooner
I attended a presentation a couple of weeks ago given... Read More
Tracking & Troubleshooting for Increased Sales
So many times, online business owners are confused about where... Read More
Having The Right Attitude And Start Becoming A Problem Solver
Do you really want to make money online?Do you want... Read More
Big Advertising Mistake - Dont Do This and It Will Save Your Advertising Budget!
Advertising plays an important role in your business (every business,... Read More
Marketing to Today?s ?Distracted? Consumer
The average person today is exposed to a never-ending deluge... Read More
The Struggling Internet Marketer
Instead of giving you advice on how to make a... Read More
Golf Pros Jet to be Sold early 2006 -- Market NOW to Make Large Deposit
Marketing gurus travel all over...Malaysia, London, San Francisco ..so make... Read More
Internet Marketing |