The Importance of Staying Visible..

No matter what way you look at it, the Covid-19 pandemic has been a trying time for everyone. But as the saying goes, ‘with every cloud there is a silver lining’ – which in my view has been the drastic business transformation and surge of digitisation that we have experienced over the past year.

There has never been a time when staying visible online has been more important for business survival.

With doors closing around the country due to the on-going Covid-19 level 5 restrictions, many businesses have had no choice but to adapt ‘from bricks to clicks’ in order to remain viable.

At Fuzion, we work closely with the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), to help share the stories of the hundreds of micro-enterprises and SMEs around the country with media – in the hope that it will encourage and inspire others who may be looking to start or grow their business – or for those struggling, to contact their Local Enterprise Office for support.

Through this work, I have been fortunate enough to work with some amazing LEO client businesses from all over Ireland – helping to share their stories of how they have adapted / pivoted (…..even battled) through the pandemic and how they have come out the other side with the help and guidance of the LEOs.

The LEO Trading Online Voucher has had particular impact across the country – with over 13,000 TOV’s approved in 2020…… That’s a whopping 13,000 businesses supported with developing or enhancing their online presence!

From this work, my little nuggets of advice to any small business would be:

• If you haven’t already, contact your nearest LEO – they provide so much support in terms of business advice, mentoring and grants such as the TOV mentioned above, Business Continuity Vouchers, Feasibility Grants and so much more
• Again, if you haven’t already – get online! A website ideally or a social media channel where you can keep your customers updated, share new products, blogs etc.
• Try to think outside the box – now is the time to create a new branch for your business or solution for your customers – take the chance it could pay off!
• Work on your ‘story’ in three short paragraphs & engage with local media to share your story or share via short blogs / social posts
  • How/Why you started the business
  • How your business adapted / transformed – (including any relevant figures such as online sale growth Vs 2019)
  • Any future plans that you have for your business – ie. new employees, overseas expansion, new stockists etc.
• Good quality, high resolution photography is a must if engaging in any PR / online activity
  • Know your angles
  • Use colourful props or something that explains your business in the shots
  • Images can be taken by a PR photographer or on your smartphone with a family member or friend if taken landscape
• Create video content – whether it’s short 30’ second “Meet the Team” videos or a “Hero Video” explaining your business proposition – it is an engaging way to reach your audience
• If you are a sole trader or very small business – it can be an isolating place – join a network or reach out to professionals (such as ourselves 😉) if you need a sounding board or business support
• Be consistent and persistent
  • Stay visible & keep plugging and reminding people of why you are so great and why they need your products / services!
  • Use social media advertising and Google Ads to your advantage – with so much competition online – it pays off to pay a little!
  • Connect and talk to your audience online – ask them questions and engage – you might learn something new!

Much of this you may already know – but I hope it has helped just to be reminded or re-energised your motivation!

Most of all it is important to know that the opportunity is there for those who wish to dive head first into the challenges – the decision is ultimately yours whether to stay the way you are or take the plunge!

Suzanne

Suzanne Meade is an Account Manager with  Fuzion Communications, who offer Marketing, PR, Graphic Design and Digital Marketing services from our offices in Dublin and Cork, Ireland

 

The Value of a Well Designed Website

We’ve all experienced it at one point or another: you go to a website and find it lets down the organisation – dated design, chaotic structure and last updated over 5 years ago are typical issues, You dig around but can’t find the information you need, the home page keeps crashing, the links don’t work, etc., so you leave frustrated and with a poor opinion formed about the organisation to which the site belongs to.

And you most probably will never come back…

A bad or outdated website can make you look unprofessional and will cost you potential clients. A well-designed one, however, can impress quickly and will add credibility to your organisation and make you look instantly more progressive and professional. Internet users are much more sophisticated than they used to be and their expectations are a lot higher – they decide quickly if the website is relevant for their needs.

Capturing your story

When you are looking to design/redesign you must realise that your website is one of the most visible representations of  your organisation or business. What story is it telling the viewer and how will this affect the way people view your business? Is it professional looking, does it capture what you are all about? Does it capture the personality and ethos?

Your purpose?

It is important to keep in mind that your website also has to be well designed in order to get your visitors to do what you want them to do. When you build a website it is usually with a specific purpose in mind: be it to make direct sales through it, to have people sign up for your mailing list, direct them to your social media accounts or simply to provide them with useful information.

Mr.Google

Beautiful looking websites can be fantastic to make a great impression but they also need to be designed in such a way that there is sufficient opportunity to carry word content as this is essential for SEO purposes. Mr. Google loves words and you need to be sure that your site carries enough of them and in the right places so that people can easily find your site. Getting the balance right between imagery and words is important.

Responsive 

In recent years it is also vital to design sites that are responsive – this means that if a user is viewing your website from a smartphone or a tablet that it functions best for that device allowing easy navigation via touch-screen buttons, and only displaying relevant information and content for the users’ needs.

The 24/7 Salesman

Today it is quite possible that more people will potentially see your website than actually come to your physical location. It is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to potential customers from all around the world. Your website is your most powerful marketing tool as no printed brochure or advert reaches more potential clients or offers the flexibility to easily update content as your business grows and develops.

However, you don’t have a well trained person greeting them and explaining what is great about your products and services and dealing with any queries and nor do you have a person gauging their reaction – this hard working website has a big job to do!

Getting it right ..

Don’t take shortcuts with your public online face, make sure it is easily found, looks great, that it tells the right story, that it functions well, clearly communicating your key messages and it does what it is supposed to do.

The design of your website may be the one thing that tips the scale between a potential customer doing business with you or going elsewhere… make sure it tips your way!

Basia

Basia Kozlik is a Graphic Designer with Fuzion

Fuzion offer a full range of  Web Design and Digital services from our Cork and Dublin offices in Ireland