We get asked often by our users what can they do to sharpen up their backup marketing and overall messaging in the face of rising competition. To answer this best I turned to Nicola Devine over at Tanker Creative to not only answer how you can improve it and attract more customers but for actionable steps that any busy backup provider could undertake. Below is part 1.

!Tanker Tips

The Tanker Universe… it’s not that complicated

Tanker WEBSITE Tips: Online and Feeling Fine 101

By Nicola Devine, Tanker Creative

Blogs, Websites, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, SnapChat, MailChimp, Facebook, Instagram – woah Nelly! So many channels, so, sooooo time consuming simply to work out which one/s to use and how to wield their weapons of choice whether hashtags, boosts or meta tags – it’s enough to cause a collective rumble of global eye rolling.

Chunk It Down

Let’s make it simple right now and focus on the most important online channel when it comes to marketing your business, building credibility, awareness, educating visitors on your offering and providing a way for them to engage your services or purchase your products. Your website.

Why is YOUR website the ultimate shiz?

Websites are awesome for most businesses for many reasons: First up because your content is not in an channel such as FaceBook or Instagram that you have little control over when it comes to the content, imagery, functionality, random upgrades… your website is your best opportunity for an awesome gig.

To get things running smoothly when it comes to websites consider a few things. Number #1 – get something up! Even if it’s one page with your logo, contact details and an email, and build from there. #2 people are nosy – make sure you have an About page, start loading up your products or services, and add a News page.

News or Blog pages are great on a couple of levels and worth committing to. You know that thing about people being nosy? Well they also like the latest goss, so adding a news post at least once is a great idea, that way, when people come back to your site they know there always be something new to check out. Google also loves it when you’re adding new content to your site – it’s helping your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation).

!Nifty News Tips

More nifty tips for news posts:

– Install an SEO plug-in like YOAST and fill out your snippets and keywords. And make sure you incluse your keyword in your text a few times too.

• There’s a lot of talk about how much content to write, but aim for a minimum of 300 words. Other studies say anything from 1500 to 3000 is optimal!
• Consider design. Don’t make your news post a wall of words. Break it up with some different elements such as graphs, images, bullet points, bold text, italicised text, text in a coloured or framed box, quotes. Bring a hierarchy of information to the page so that even if someone only has a minute to look at it they’ll see the most important take aways.
• Add a call to action at the end. You’ve provided some information, inspiration even some badass attitude. Invite the reader to continue the conversation – whether it’s to contact you for a cuppa, come back again soon or sign up for a service or product.
• Get the hook ups to Google Analytics and check out what your visitors are doing. That data is cool and it’ll help you refine your website further.

  And that’s a wrap for today. Make sure you head back here next week for when I’ll be giving the downlow on MailChimp.

  #### See y’all then

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  ##### About Nicola Devine

  Originally trained as a graphic designer in the 1990s, when iPhones were still a twinkle in Steve Jobs’ eye, Nicola has been involved in both print-based and interactive media since her time studying at Wanganui School of Design.

  Tanker Creative, Nicola’s design and marketing her business, was founded in 2003, and works with a mix of corporate, luxury and creative clients on strategy, development, implementation and reporting.

  Nicola is an avid follower of new technology in marketing, design and communications. She is also a contributor to Design Assembly, an organisation promoting conversations in graphic design. Her claim to fame is being on a train in Spain, on the plain, in the rain.