“If you build it, they will come.” This is a line from an iconic Hollywood movie called “Field of Dreams,” with Kevin Costner. It’s also one of the biggest lies we believe in business when it comes to creating a new website.
Building a new (or improved) website for your organization can be exciting. It takes a lot of planning and hard work. And hopefully, when you are done, you are incredibly excited about the outcome! The problem that many organizations run into is they think that when the website is built, the work is done. They believe the line from the movie. They have built it…now the traffic will come!
Unfortunately, that’s not how website traffic works.
I hate the be the bearer of bad news, but once the site is functional, now the work of driving traffic to the website begins. This is one of the ways that websites are just like a retail establishment. You can’t just put up the “open” sign and have a steady flow of traffic. You have to do the work. So here are 7 ways to drive traffic to your new website.
Paid Traffic
You have likely heard of Google Adwords and Facebook ads. These are incredibly effective ways to drive traffic to your site. The best part about this traffic is that it tends to be very targeted. When it comes to Google Adwords, they have likely searched for the very solution you provide. For all its faults, Facebook is incredibly good at creating traffic as well. This is a great way to get your website on the map. The downside, of course, is that if your entire strategy is built on paid traffic, the cost will just continue to rise.
Press Releases
This is such an often overlooked strategy. When well-written and well-targeted, this can be extremely effective. We recently launched a website called JobsInCoshocton.com. The idea is to educate 17-24-year-olds in Coshocton County about the opportunities in their hometown. While sending this press release out nationally would make no sense, the local media is very interested. If you pick the right target, the audience might be hungry for your news.
Content Marketing
There are a LOT of ways to use content marketing to promote your new website. The first is to create a blog on the new site or to have other interested bloggers write about it to drive traffic. You can also create videos or podcasts that can talk about the importance and features of the new site. You can also request to be a guest on other podcasts or videos. These content providers may already have an audience that speaks to your target, so you can help them (by providing interesting content) while they help you!
In the example of JobsInCoshocton.com, we will likely feature that team on the Coshocton Conversations podcast soon. That podcast already speaks to people who are interested in the area, so they would be a perfect fit!
Direct Mail
We have said it before here, direct mail is not dead. And with the pandemic, its effectiveness has increased. When you want to drive traffic to your new site, a targeted direct mail piece can be powerful. A few tips to help increase the effectiveness include:
Make it clear what you want the audience to do. Put a QR code on the piece to show people to scan it so they can head straight to the site.
Do a postcard so they don’t have to open anything to see the information.
Add an extra feature (like a magnet) so there is added long-term value to promote the site.
Make it bumpy. Add a piece of branded merchandise to improve open rates and the long-term success of the mailer.
Branded Merchandise
Using Branded Merchandise is a great way to build a tribe. These brand advocates can become the best source of “word of mouth” for your new website. The best brands have a tribe of people excited to tell the story. And if you are smart, you can make that even easier. You can certainly add your website to items that have a large enough imprint area. And just like your direct mail piece, you can create an amazing piece of merch with a QR code as well.
Branded merchandise is (by its nature) very targeted and also longer lasting. So by incorporating a quality piece of branded merchandise into your campaign, you can not only give the website a boost in the short term but give it a longer-lasting impact as well.
Email and Text
We have talked about the difference between brand marketing and direct marketing here before. Branded merchandise can serve both purposes. Email and text messages are hardcore direct marketing! Your own list of contacts in email and text can be one of the most valuable assets you have in your marketing toolbox. You own that list. By letting these “VIPs” know that you have a new website, you can create direct traffic to the site…right away!
Event Marketing
When you know exactly who you are marketing to, you know what events they attend. Whether that is going to a trade show, a community event, or an educational conference, getting face to face with that audience can be powerful. At these events, you can create a buzz around the website and even show people how to use the new site. This “hand to hand combat” can be a great way to tell the story of your organization…and why the new website can be a great tool!
These are 7 ways to drive traffic to your new website. As you can see, I talk quite a bit about targeting the right audience. Traffic only really matters if it’s the right traffic. By using these strategies, you can not only increase traffic…but the right kind of traffic to the website!
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(Coshocton, OH)—Coshocton-based marketing firm and promotional products distributor Hasseman Marketing & Communications is growing again. Hasseman Marketing is excited to welcome Briar Swigert to their team. Swigert graduated from Coshocton High School and brings enthusiasm and a hard-working spirit to Hasseman Marketing.
“I am thrilled to have Briar on the team, and cannot wait to see what amazing things he brings to the table,” says Hasseman Marketing CEO, Kirby Hasseman. “Not only does he have a great attitude and is willing to learn, but he is also very diverse in his talents. That will be great for us and our clients!”
In his new role, Briar will lead the print production for Hasseman Marketing and clients as well. This includes business cards, postcards, invitations, letterhead, envelopes, books, calendars, etc. for Hasseman Marketing clients. In addition, Swigert has a creative mind and is learning the digital marketing design side of things as well.
“I am so excited to see what all I get into here,” says Swigert. “I am learning something new each day, and am eager to help Hasseman Marketing and our community with their marketing needs.”
As we approach the New Year, it’s a great time for organizations to take a hard look at their marketing. Do you love your brand? How do you feel about your website? This is why we created HMC Marketing Pyramid. It’s a simple tool that helps you look at your organization and decide where to start. The Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce is one organization that will be starting the new year with a new website.
Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce Website Is Live
We are excited to announce and share that the Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce is starting the new year with a new website to better serve the Coshocton County community and its members.
We were honored to be asked to create this new website and want to thank Amy and the Coshocton Chamber for allowing us to build and maintain their new website. The task was simple. The goal was to create a more modern site that will make it easier for residents, visitors, and tourists in Coshocton County to find and connect with local businesses. Additionally, we wanted to build the website so that businesses and organizations can join, pay, renew membership, and update their profiles.
With the automation built into the website, the chamber can now accept new members 24/7, maintain an up-to-date directory of members, and free up time for staff to do more direct service and less administrative tasks. Are you a member of the Coshocton Chamber (or do you want to be)? Make sure you bookmark the member directory and use it to find your next service, restaurant, or entertainment venue in and around Coshocton. If your business isn’t listed, join today. And thank you so much to the Coshocton Chamber for letting us help you on this project!
There I was, standing in front of a skeptical-looking group of local leaders. They were eyeing me strangely, with heads cocked to one side and eyebrows up because I had just said something strange. What sentence had made them look at me that way? What had I said? Simple.
“The haters help us.”
I was working with this group of amazing local leaders on an issue in Coshocton County. We were placing a tax increase on the ballot to fund a local Justice Center. It was a tax increase. So of course there were detractors! In every community, across the country, new taxes are (and should be) looked at skeptically.
Let’s Define Haters
To be clear, those that simply disagreed with the tax levy are NOT who I am calling “haters.” We have redefined this word to include everyone that disagrees with us. That is not the case. Civil discourse is incredibly important. In addition, for your business, haters are not people who don’t like what you have to offer or those that ask questions. Both of those are important for you to make your offer better. Even those that actively complain about you online can add value if you deal with them properly. I even wrote about 3 simple steps to deal with those complaints (or haters) here.
In this context, I am talking about the trolls. These are the people who are overly negative about any issue, service, or product you are promoting. This group of people is often the smallest but the loudest. They are mean-spirited, caustic, and intensely filled with vitriol and hate. No matter how often you try to (kindly) address their concerns, they keep piling on the negativity. They even sometimes go so far as to create clearly fake accounts so they can make accusations without retribution.
These, my friends, are haters.
So with that definition, you might be asking, “How can the haters help us?” I am so glad you asked. They really can help a cause or an organization, believe it or not. Here are two ways.
They Increase Our Reach
This is just delicious. Here is a simple secret when it comes to social media. Facebook (and other social media channels) want to keep you on their platform. In order to do that, the algorithm works to show you things that it believes you will find interesting. They are in the attention business and in order to keep yours, they want to show you interesting things. How do they determine what is “interesting?” While there are many factors, a simple way it is determined is through engagement. Engagement is measured by likes, shares, AND comments. So when a “hater” goes off on your page by commenting over and over again, they are telling Facebook that this is interesting and important…so it should show more people.
When managing the page, your first inclination might be to block them or delete their comments, I often advise against it. I would rather address any legitimate questions to show them (and the rest of the audience) that I care about the engagement. That shows the algorithm more activity and the audience a genuine desire to address the situation. The only time I delete comments is if they are profane, threatening, or libelous.
So by “hating” on us, they increase the reach of the message they say they are against.
They Decrease Their Credibility
In addition, this type of character is often a bit obsessive. They might comment over and over again on different posts saying the same thing. Or they might attack other people that support your business or offering. Basically, they are a hater to everyone…not just you and your organization. This sort of activity decreases their credibility in the rest of the discussion with the rest of the audience. The more they comment or “hate,” the more they do it.
So if they are decreasing their own influence, and they don’t like what you say, it tends to raise your reputation in the process.
That leads me back to the original sentence. While this type of person can be frustrating, “the haters help us.”
As a side note, congratulations to all of the community members that worked to pass several levies in the Coshocton community. It was a good day and I am proud to have had a small part in helping move these initiatives forward.
(Coshocton, OH)—Coshocton-based marketing firm and promotional products distributor Hasseman Marketing & Communications is excited to announce new digital marketing services for new and existing clients. While Hasseman Marketing already provided marketing services to clients, this new Consolidated Inbox service will help streamline communication for clients and will provide an affordable way for customers to market themselves.
“We offer an all-in-one communication platform for your business,” says Haywood. “That will help you automate your follow-up and interaction with your customers. Leading to more happy clients and more money in your pocket.”
The new consolidated inbox platform solves the challenge that many businesses have in keeping up with communication. When customers and prospects reach out to you on social media platforms, they expect a prompt response. The more platforms you are managing, the harder it is to keep up. And when they don’t get a response, customers often get frustrated, or even worse, move on to your competition.
This helps to keep many of those messages in one place.
In addition, this also provides a platform to reach out to satisfied customers to request Google reviews and build your online reputation.
“We have been discussing the new service with clients and the response has been overwhelmingly positive!” says Hasseman Marketing CEO Kirby Hasseman. “It’s great because it’s not only powerful, but it’s an affordable tool for clients that might not have been able to afford more elaborate marketing services.”
It’s a tradition like no other. For over 15 years, Hasseman Marketing has hosted an “End User” trade show and has invited our customers. It’s evolved and grown over the years and we are quite proud of it. This year’s event will be Thursday, October 14th from 11 am to 3 pm at Coshocton County’s Lake Park! And since we missed hosting the event last year, we are ready to get back after it!
But why should you come? We want this event to be fun AND add a ton of value. Here are 6 reasons to attend The Hasseman Marketing Trade Show.
Incredible Product Access
We invite some of our top (and favorite) supplier reps to showcase their lines at the show. I like to say “There is no way I could fit all of this in my trunk.” You get to see and touch and feel the product and see what it’s really like. We all know that many products look the same online or in a catalog. But when you get them up close you can really see a difference. This is the perfect place to make sure your brand materials are on point.
Idea Generation
As you walk around and see the latest and greatest in Promo, you will come up with some great ideas for upcoming projects. The reality is, the show is at a great time of year for year-end gifts for your team or customers. But some of our best customers come every year and start to plan their marketing for the next year and beyond.
Great SWAG
Nobody leaves empty-handed! We put on a fun event where (with the help of our suppliers) we invest in putting some really cool SWAG in your hands. In addition, we build the event around a theme so you can see how we use a bunch of different items around a theme!
Additional Services
You may think you know all that we do at Hasseman Marketing, but we find that most people discover some new ways to promote their organization! Having all of the ideas in one place can be very illuminating! For example, did you know we do website development or in-house print services? We do. And you can find more about them at the event.
Tasty Food
You have to eat right? We have food and drinks as well. Each year we get compliments about the tasty treats and we know this year will be no different. The event this year is on Thursday, October 14th from 11 am to 3 pm at the Lake Park Pavilion (in Coshocton). Our goal is to create an event that provides value and fun…and you never want to miss.
Things Have Changed
I am not sure if you heard about it, but a lot has changed since we were able to do this event last! And while we are excited to get back together to get back to normal, there are some real business reasons you should attend. Your organization might have changed logos, brand messaging, go-to-market strategies, where people work, and so much more. Or, like some of our clients, you might just need to update your materials because it’s been 18 months since you’ve needed them!
