We’ve arrived at an age where quality is actually not a primary concern; it’s discoverability that’s the issue. A couple of months ago, I was looking for a new pair of shoes to wear semi-daily for work. Since I’m going to be abusing this pair of shoes, so to speak, for an extended period of time, I was looking for something that would look good on a meeting while still being rugged enough to handle my commute and cheap enough that I won’t feel guilty when I have to step into a puddle or whatever. Clearly, I was up for quite a challenge.
To my surprise, I actually managed to find a pair that fits most of the above requirements while being somewhat above of my intended price range. Still, I ended up buying that pair of shoes only to later on find another pair from another brand that also meets the above requirements while still being considerably cheaper. Given the amount of things available on the internet, it’s very likely that it has everything you’re looking for, the issue in web development is how to make it so that you’re easier to find in the first place.
Getting some time on the spotlight
Take for example the online dating app Tinder. In the app, there’s a premium feature named ‘Boost’ that would enable your profile to jump ahead of the queue and be instantly displayed on other Tinder users around you. It costs money and since I’m cheap, I’ve never personally used it and I’ve been regularly getting matches anyway but a close friend of mine have a Tinder Plus account and I’ve seen firsthand just how useful this Boost feature can be.
Of course, getting a match is far easier than to land an actual date but you’d be in a much better place compared to those still swiping for matches and the same thing applies to web development. Sure, having a high-quality website, products and contents are definitely important but those are a moot point if you can’t even get people to actually see your website in the first place. There’s so much data floating around the internet that I don’t think anyone has actually come up with an estimate, which is why you should seriously consider these ways in attracting more potential customers to your website.
Blogging
Yep, you read that right. What used to be an outlet for angsty and emotional teenagers to rile against the collective world is now considered one of the primary drivers for traffic. This isn’t much of a surprise, one of the main things people learn to use the internet for is to look up things on Google and when you’re looking for answers to a question that Wikipedia can’t answer, search engines would usually lead you to blog posts. To this day, the majority of websites I visit are blogs.
I regularly visit music blogs like Stereogum and Pitchfork because their website came up when I was looking for reviews on a particular album and that’s just one example. Blogs are a great way of showcasing your knowledge or point of view in your own terms and people are always looking for writings on a topic they care about, making blogging a valuable channel to introduce yourself to people. I found that people are all natural writers when it comes to things they care about so if you haven’t tried blogging yet, now would be a good time to start.
Having a presence on social media
The likes of the Kardashian-Jenner clan managed to build a multi-million dollar empire thanks to their presence on social media. It doesn’t matter where your opinion lies on their existence because you can’t deny just how much social media have helped them to where they are now. For a more conventional example, look at how the watch brand Daniel Wellington became the poster boy for 21st century marketing through their clever use of social media.
Of course, learning to do social media properly can be a bit tricky and even with the amount of time and effort you’re putting into this, it’s actually very possible that you might not hit the target you set out for yourself when it comes to social media. Still, given the outsized success of the examples I’ve mentioned above, social media is definitely something worth trying out and there are a bucketload of tips you could find online you could use to help you with this. It’s not like it’s going to hurt your business anyway.
Use promotions and giveaways
When Epic, the company behind the global video game hit Fortnite decided to open up a digital video game platform of their own, the aptly named Epic Games Store, they did so by offering gamers one free game every two weeks. The free games are decided by Epic and given the still-limited offering available at their stores, it probably won’t be to everybody’s liking but so far, I found the offering to be more than decent. Still, everybody likes free stuffs and if they like what you’re giving, there’s a good chance they’ll come back for a second round.
Leverage the power of YouTube and video marketing
A report from the entertainment publication Variety that came out in 2014 details just how popular YouTube celebrities are among the younger member of the population. Do you even recognize the name Smosh, The Fine Bros., PewDiePie, KSI and Ryan Higa? I’m ashamed to say that I don’t and I have it on good authority that I’m better read than the majority of my peers. I wouldn’t even know who Logan Paul was if it wasn’t for that Aokigahara scandal. My point is, YouTube can feel like a world unto its own and it would be a huge waste for businesses to not try and tap into that world.