Monday 28 January 2013

Woo hoo....OME getting a new website

like the cobbler's children's shoes - an ad agency website can be a poor version of the work done for clients and though our site did a perfectly serviceable job for last 2/3 years - it definitely needs destroying a refresh.

So thought i would take this opportunity to outline my thoughts as we are just in the first stages of developing it. My main issue is the following

What is the point of the brochure type website (which this is)? It can only be for potential new customers or bored suppliers/partners. Traffic figures are really low compared to social media - I will quote personal figures below but i can assure you that the truth applies across the board.
I posted something on here in December, i tweeted it, it was shared etc. This resulted in 200 visits that day. This is more than the corporate site that month.
Our LinkedIn networking group has over 200 members and is pretty darn social (for LinkedIn) and meets up every quarter. This works harder and more effectively for us than any site out there.



So what role does a corporate site serve?

Q. What do i visit these types of sites for?
A. to get the phone number or maybe read a bio.

So already we have part of our brief sorted - make contact details easy to get. And give some personal info out that won't maybe sit on LinkedIn/Twitter etc.

Testimonials - like endorsements on LinkedIn these are not really taken seriously are they? At same time - i think it is of interest the companies who you do work for. So lets think about how we can attractively present this info.

What it must contain.
It has to reflect OME's approach. Concise, no bullshit advice, guiding clients through digital minefield but not pushing the latest fad. As well as the ubiquitous - great service, motivated happy staff etc. So another challenge - how to get this across without boring the ass off everyone.

So this is going to be quite difficult - but the only limits we have imposed are
1. Max 6 pages
2. Call to actions aplenty
3. Provide links to social media presence
3. Minimal text
4. Clever use of video (testimonials/case studies here?)
5. OME personality/history/ambition to come across in above.


Piece of cake - yes?