6 Easy Ways to Make a Good First Impression Online
In order to capture potential new customers in the fleeting seconds when they first encounter your brand, you must know your target audience, study their motivations, their habits and their language, and then shape your marketing strategy around those elements.
You have seconds — seconds — to make a good first impression with your brand.
You’ve got to make an immediate positive impact, or you’re toast. The worst part is that you may never get the chance to make an impression again.
The pressure’s on. Where do you start?
1. Plan the effect you want to have.
Successful brands start out getting to know their audiences well before they try to appeal to them.
Identify who you want to reach, and study this group. It’s easier than ever to join in their discussions and follow their patterns of sharing before you try to approach them.
Once you understand them well, formulate a brand message that you’ll communicate consistently using all the tips that follow.
2. Dress the part.
An important element of knowing your audience is understanding what motivates them.
Dig in and discover what they’re already buying — the brands they already like. Once you’ve got this, you’ll know how to dress the part to fit right in – from your logo and website to your branding and content strategy.
3. Stand up straight and make eye contact.
Don't be afraid to put your brand out there.
This means embracing at least a couple of social media platforms and posting to them regularly and using content to spread your message, whether through blog posts, webinars, speaking gigs or interviews.
4. Speak their language.
Want to communicate effectively with your audience? Speak their language.
It’s easy to pick up the language if you listen closely on social media, in your blog comments and even in your email replies. Notice the phrases your audience uses to express their frustrations and challenges.
5. Direct their eyes to your best attributes.
In the course of your marketing you’ll need to emphasize your latest promotion, your next big offer or even your free giveaway.
The most efficient way to draw attention to this offer — whether it’s on the web or in print — is to set it apart visually.
Think three things here: size, color and placement.
Make your offer larger and brighter. Set it above or to the side of the rest of your content. Surround it with white space so it stands out.
6. Be yourself.
The best brands find a way to make you talk about them.
How?
They’re not wishy-washy or half-hearted about anything. They make a true and lasting connection with their audience through real, open conversations. Their visual impact makes them easy to recognize, even from a distance.
You know where they stand and what they stand for.
When your brand exudes that kind of confidence, you’ll have achieved drop-dead gorgeous status. And that’s the kind of status that helps to build a business from the first click.
[via Copyblogger]