News articles, blog posts and social media posts — oh my! In today’s whirlwind of communications, 62% of business buyers say they generally feel like they’re communicating with separate departments, not one company. Amidst this busy, noisy digital landscape, understanding how a website boosts your communications plan in 2024 is vital for survival.
With digital marketing channels evolving in the year ahead, your website no longer merely supplements a comprehensive communications strategy — it’s the tool that drives business results. Well-executed web design and web development:
- Bridges the gap between awareness and action.
- Augments a comprehensive omnichannel digital marketing strategy.
- Creates a competitive advantage that no algorithm changes or platform shifts can alter overnight.
Integrated Communications Ecosystem
Whether the company knows it, every modern brand utilizes a mix of channels and communications strategies that form an integrated ecosystem. When coordinated effectively, these elements combine to boost awareness, enhance trust and help grow businesses exponentially. And websites augment an omnichannel strategy, providing a seamless user experience.
Public Relations: Building Your Reputation & Trust
A strategic public relations initiative focused on earning media coverage helps you build credibility and trustworthiness. After all, how often do you ignore a company’s commercial but check it out when your friend recommends its product or services?
Audiences perceive public relations as more authentic than direct advertisements or paid sponsorships, so securing features and interviews in trusted online and offline media outlets can help brands showcase impartial third-party validation. But how can companies convert that brand heat and interest into leads or conversion?
You guessed it! Your website. A website bridges the gap between a major PR placement and consumers taking further action, whether that’s doing more research, completing a form for more information or even reaching out for a direct conversation.
Omnichannel Digital Marketing: Effectively Targeting Audiences
Omnichannel marketing integrates communications channels like text, chat, call, email, mobile apps and social media to drive awareness, consideration and action to help you capture your audience’s attention and start customer conversations. Studies show companies adopting a solid omnichannel marketing strategy see an 89% customer retention rate, compared to 33% for those with weaker omnichannel strategies.
Websites augment an omnichannel approach by seamlessly integrating with various touch points across the consumer journey. Harmonizing your website and channel messaging and amplifying the depth of online information available to visitors allows for a unified narrative regardless of the platform or device your audience may be utilizing.
Social Media: Amplifying Reach and Engagement
Billions of people actively use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X and TikTok daily. With 47% of B2B buyers consuming three to five pieces of content prior to engaging with a salesperson, public relations efforts alone won’t influence purchase decisions. With websites acting as centralized hubs for comprehensive company information and social media serving as a distribution network, weaving consistent messaging and your brand’s voice throughout your website and social media channels will increase those touches.
Search Engine Optimization: Enhancing Visibility
Boosting online presence and visibility for target audiences, search engine optimization — or SEO — improves an individual webpage or entire site’s ranking in search engines for organic discovery. Prominent ranking in search engines like Google — driven by optimized on-page elements and backlinks from other sites — helps capture intent-driven audiences actively seeking specific products, services and information.
While each strategy uniquely moves certain metrics for brands, no single channel operates in a silo. Instead, an integrated ecosystem considers how different platforms and audiences interact to create synchronized communications campaigns that reach, engage and inspire target audiences.
While each strategy uniquely moves certain metrics for brands, no single channel operates in a silo. Instead, an integrated ecosystem considers how different platforms and audiences interact to create synchronized communications campaigns that reach, engage and inspire target audiences.
A Website’s Role in Telling Your Story
Imagine a website as the front cover of a book. While the age-old saying goes, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” that wisdom rarely applies online. Unlike physical books, digital visitors will judge your website’s cover and decide whether to explore further based on initial impressions and the user experience.
To bolster your 2024 communications strategy, think about establishing or improving your authority through insightful “owned” content, white papers, case studies and thought leadership pieces. While the specific website content displayed may differ slightly, informative and valuable website content, beautiful design and easy-to-use elements should engage — and boost trust among — all core audiences.
For customers, robust information, clear calls-to-action and intuitive navigation help move visitors forward.
Media and journalists visiting your website want easily discoverable information that delves deeper than a press release only focusing on one aspect of your company.
Other audiences, like prospective investors and partners, require evidence of business competency and operational transparency. Performance metrics, showcases of awards and access to leadership help propel deals.
Perhaps best of all, websites provide more information on what drives a transaction or where visitors bounce. Hotjar or CrazyEgg are behavior analytics tools that create heat maps of your webpages to see which product or service benefits stand out to prospective consumers. These website insights can further shape advertising or communications efforts or help readdress elements prospective consumers find confusing.
From unifying disparate communications layers to enhancing a brand’s narrative potential and capacity to connect different audiences, websites must be an integral focus of every company’s communications plan in the new year. Unlike physical books, visitors judge websites. What story does yours tell?
