Websmith Group | Website Development, Strategy, Enhancement

5 Facebook Business Pages that Richmonders Should Know About #RVA

Kishau Rogers — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:03:03 +0000

Introduction to the Connect Locally Series

Many businesses are using social media tools such as Facebook to promote their business and connect with potential customers. Perhaps you are one of those businesses. In your goal of taking your business to the next level (worldwide and beyond), don’t forget to connect and support your local businesses and community organizations. This is important for a number of reasons, including the following:

To Identify potential partnerships with local organizations.
To Share information and resources relevant to members of your community.
To Support your community businesses and organizations. According to the SBA Office of Advocacy, Small local businesses are the largest employers in the U.S. and employ just over half of U.S. workers.
To Gain more local exposure by becoming an active member of your business community. You can be one of a million businesses selling widgets nationwide or one in ten well known Widget sellers in your community.
To Learn of local events and potential sponsorship opportunities for your business.

There are many other reasons, from both a consumer and business standpoint, to ensure that you’re connecting online with your local businesses. Periodically, I will highlight my favorite local (Richmond, VA) Facebook and Twitter pages. I encourage you to do the same for your area either on your own site(s) or in the comments area. Feel free to share your list of Favorite Local businesses on Facebook for your area. Even if you’re not located in the Richmond, VA area, study the following pages for tips & ideas on using social media to engage your community.

FEATURING … Five Facebook Business Pages that Richmonders Should Know About

1. MEDIA - RVA Magazine

RVA Magazine offers a unique perspective on life in Richmond, VA. You won’t find run-of-the-mill content here. The bio states that they are “a local, independent publication in Richmond, VA. Our humble little rag puts out 5,000 copies a month with a 100% pickup rate, usually within the first seven days.”
URL: http://www.facebook.com/RVAMAG

2. FOR THE CONNOISSEUR - Wine and Beer Westpark

If you’re a fan of beer and wine, you definitely want to follow Wine and Beer Westpark. They keep it simple. It’s all about beer and wine. I love the fact that they seem to have a loyal local following and very engaged readership on Facebook. They are also very active in terms of events hosted at their location. They’ve incorporated the use of media, specifically photos, very well on their Facebook page.
URL: http://www.facebook.com/WineandBeerWestpark

3. THE ARTS - Richmond Center Stage

Everyone is excited about the opening of Richmond CenterStage, the region’s new performing arts complex located in the heart of downtown Richmond. Find some downtime and visit the center. This is important in ensuring that the Richmond CenterStage can continue to bring the best talent to the area, as well as for ongoing economic development in the downtown area. The CenterStage’s Facebook page includes awesome photos of the venue, as well as updated information on upcoming activities.
URL: http://www.facebook.com/richmondcenterstage

4. COMMUNITY PAGE – Downtown Shortpump

OK, as a resident of this community, perhaps I’m a bit biased. But this page lives up to its mission which states “We are the number one source for news, events, and more in the Far West End of Richmond, Virginia.” Trevor Dickerson, Founder & Managing Editor, has done a stellar job in creating a community Facebook page that serves its members. The content is focused. They’ve included the use of media well, specifically video and photos. This is the page where I obtain news about my community that doesn’t make the local television news. Sponsorship and advertising opportunities are clearly stated on the information tab. If you’re not a community resident, take a note of how you can create tightly focused content for your audience.
URL: http://www.facebook.com/downtownshortpump

5. SMALL/FAMILY BUSINESS - Pino’s Pizza Italian Family Restaurant

Everything from the page profile picture to the messages on the wall demonstrates why this establishment has been open in Richmond since 1984. Even if you don’t like pizza, you can learn from a bit from their Facebook page. If you have customers, this is how you want your page to look. The wall is filled with testimonials of satisfied customers, new & old.
URL: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Richmond/Pinos-Pizza-Italian-Family-Restaurant-Richmond-VA/177966967952?v=wall&ref=search

Introducing Facebook Group Pages

RESEARCH: What are the most popular social media tools used by businesses?

Kishau Rogers — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:27:44 +0000

If you plan to use social media tools to promote your business and connect with your target audience, you may be interested in knowing the most popular social media tools used by businesses. Equations Research has published their “2009 Marketing Industry Trends Report” which provides valuable information regarding social media usage for businesses. Their research findings include the top social media tools by company size.

Top 5 Social Media Tools for Businesses with less than 50 employees

1. Facebook Page – 89%
2. Online Videos – 68%
3. Facebook Group – 58%
4. Twitter – 53%
5. Blogs – 53%

TABLE: Social Media Tools Used By Company Size (Brands)

Top 5 Social Media Tools for Businesses with 50 to 500 employees

1. Facebook Page – 60%
2. Twitter – 56%
3. Online Video – 52%
4. Facebook Group – 44%
5. Blogs – 36%

Top 5 Social Media Tools for Businesses with more than 500 employees

1. Twitter – 73%
2. Facebook Page – 67%
3. Online Video – 65%
4. Blogs – 65%
5. Facebook Group – 56%

The study found than companies were actively using an average of 5 to 7 social media tools.

So, How should I Interpret this?

If you have not considered using social media tools to enhance your marketing efforts, you should note that over two-thirds of businesses are. Therefore, it is a strategy that at least should be considered.
Also, it is interesting to note that the top 5 tools are the same for small, mid size and large companies: Facebook, Twitter, Online Video and Blogs. This should not determine the tool that you choose to use, but the popular distribution channels are worth noting.
You will need to consider your target audience prior to selecting a tool. It would be ineffective to use Facebook as a distribution channel if most of your target audience prefers Twitter.
In creating a social media strategy, reference the data available in research findings and case studies. Use this information to create a social media strategy that goes beyond experimentation.

Note: The study referenced in this article is only one of many credible research studies available. The sample size and study methodology is provided in the full report. If you’re interested in downloading the complete study, visit http://www.equationresearch.com/, then click on the 2009 Marketing Industry Trends Report image located in the right sidebar.

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Introducing Facebook Group Pages

Kishau Rogers — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:03:47 +0000

If you’ve started a Facebook Group for your business, you may have already noticed the new redesign. Facebook has officially upgraded the Facebook Groups and they now look nearly identical to the Facebook Pages. However, there are still some functional differences … at least there are as of TODAY (who knows what tomorrow brings):

Existing Differences between Groups and Pages

Groups offer privacy controls such as ‘closed’, ‘open’ and ’secret’. Closed groups are based on limited membership. Secret groups offer membership limits as well, and they don’t appear in the search listings or on the members public profile pages (it’s like a clubhouse). Of course, open groups are public and anyone can join. Pages can only be restricted by age and/or location.
You will only notice group updates in your news feed when your friends posts them (as opposed to group members that are not on your friends list).
Group administrators can send messages to the group members Inboxes. Page administrators can also send messages to “fans”, but they appear in the “updates” section with the Farmville, Mafia Wars and Quiz invites.
Pages can be enhanced with applications such as Simply RSS, Slideshare, Flickr etc.
As a group administrator when you post a message to the group, your FB photo will appear. As a page administrator, when you post a message to your page, the photo used on your page profile will appear (most likely your logo).

Should you use Groups or Pages?

Good question. The short answer is ‘it depends’ on your goals & target audience.

Groups are great for membership-based organizations. They offer membership restrictions and discussion boards that allow member conversations. Now that group messages are integrated into the Facebook News Feed, groups are less of a ‘black hole’ and offer the same level of interaction as pages.

Pages are great for broadcasting messages pertaining to your business to the “masses” (which would include your members, clients and well as “fans” of your organization or cause). Also, pages are great for branding & marketing your business to potential customers & members.

Kishau’s Crystal Ball

I predict that, at some point, Facebook Groups will morph into ‘Private’ Pages or Facebook Pages with enhanced membership management features. The security features of groups are still relevant to many businesses and member organizations. If pages are “tweaked” for enhanced membership management (members vs. fans), this would allow administrators to target their messages (to ‘members only’ vs. ‘fans’ vs. ‘everyone’).

What are your thoughts?

Top 10 Reasons for Using Database Driven Web Pages

Kishau Rogers — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:43:36 +0000

Ever wonder when or if you need to include database driven content areas on your website? Here are the top 10 reasons for using a database driven website:

You are storing or distributing large amounts of information (ex: library/information distribution centers, news articles etc.).
Your website content changes … a lot.
You need to add, update, maintain and display historical data (ex: transactional data entry systems, surveys, polls, customer information).
You have an online store, which includes multiple product & service offerings. If you sell multiple products, it is efficient to maintain and organize the information about those products in a database.
You need to offer customized content areas on your website (ex: membership areas, customer order history, related product recommendations). For example, the data stored in your database regarding your products and customer orders can be used to create highly customized customer areas, such as recommended or related product areas (based on a customer’s past order history).
You’re maintaining a large volume of static web pages. If you have 355 products, why manage 355 static (.html) product pages when you can have one database driven product page? This also makes it easier to display the product information in a consistent manner.
You want to centralize your data (ex: you’re managing your product information, orders, customer leads in Excel, Word or on email).
For more effective website maintenance and content management, you want to separate your content from your design (presentation layer).
You need to share the same content across several different pages. Storing that information in a database ensures that you will only need to update one source (the database table). If the information changes, the most recent information will automatically be displayed on all relevant web pages (ex: product pricing).
You manage a membership-based website or organization. Storing information about your members, such as their bios and profiles, will allow you to easily create membership directories and implement the appropriate security requirements in your members-only content areas.

If you are interested in developing database driven areas on your website, feel free to contact us if you’d like to obtain a copy of our Intro Guide for Planning Your Database Driven Website Project.

My Pennies Make Dollars (subtitled: The Power of Social Media)

Kishau Rogers — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:18:55 +0000

Last week I had some “beef” with one of my service providers. The “Cliff Notes” version is that I pay them a monthly fee for an add-on service on one of my dedicated servers. I signed up for the service in 2006 and have paid monthly since that date. I’ve been a loyal customer to the company for many years and continue to recommend them to my clients and to those that ask for my short list of great companies providing that service. Last week, I learned that the service was not being performed as expected (at all … ever). Needless to say, I was very disappointed. My experience with this company has been nearly close to perfect over the years in terms of price, level of support, knowledge of their industry etc.

We used a saying growing up “pennies make dollars”; which basically means that ever penny counts and you shouldn’t devalue one single cent. I felt that I’d wasted some money on services that were not provided as expected. However, with fair compensation and prompt resolution of the issue, I would happily remain a customer.

1st Response

Upon learning that the service was not being performed, my first response was to contact a technical support person to ensure that the issue was corrected immediately. They were prompt in correcting the issue within 24 business hours.

2nd Response

My second response was to request compensation for the monthly fees that I’ve paid previously for a service that was not performed. I was told that the issue would be ‘researched’ by folks higher up on the food chain and that the Vice President of the technical division would email me that evening, then follow-up within 7-10 business days with a compensation decision. I was salty about the 7-10 day wait, but I’m a patient person (generally).

Week #2

After one week, I had not received one follow-up message regarding my compensation. I made several (ok, LOTS of) calls to the company requesting some resolution. Last night, a technical support representative informed me that they could only give me a few months of free service (going forward), but they would not compensate me for the fees I’ve paid for the service over the years. I immediately felt as if someone hacked my bank account, withdrew some of my funds for kicks & giggles, then said “My bad. We’ll stop doing that, but we won’t return your money.”

Last Resort

I was mad (ok, livid). I was prepared to move to another company, but first I drafted a 140-character statement regarding my disappointment and posted it on Twitter. The company has a Twitter account therefore, I ensured that I included their twitter id in my statement. Long story short, late last night (within 2 hours of my initial Twitter post) the V.P. of the Technical division contacted me via email and offered fair compensation.

Kudos to the company in question for taking my complaint seriously and responding in a prompt manner! That level of service (fair & responsible to EVERYONE) is why I’ve been loyal to the company for nearly 4 years.

Lessons:

Whether your business is small, large or x-small, your money is valuable and you should expect that your service providers value your hard earned dollar. Periodically review your outgoing expenses to service providers and ensure that you’re getting what you’re paying for.
If you are in business, don’t wait until your customers are irate before you respond. Always search for the win-win.
Social media has provided a forum for the little guy to be heard when no one is listening. – Speak up if you feel that you’ve not been taken seriously, but choose your battles wisely.

BTW, Are you on Twitter? Post your Twitter ID in the comments area.

Have a Wonderful Weekend!
Kishau

Websmith Group
3900 Westerre Parkway, Suite 300
Richmond, VA 23233
W: http://www.websmithgroup.com
F: http://www.facebook.com/websmithgroup
T: http://www.twitter.com/kishau

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Brainstorming 101 Ideas for Enhancing Your Web Presence (Idea #1 – 20)

Kishau Rogers — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:38:50 +0000

Brainstorming Website Enhancement Ideas

The goal of this series is to provide 101 ideas for enhancing your website using the latest tools & web development strategies. I will provide ideas for enhancement using a range of topics including: social media, content management systems, media ideas (photo, audio, video), and ecommerce. Consider a few of these ideas when brain storming your next website development or enhancement project. Let’s get started with the first 20 ideas for enhancing your web presence.

Your Website Design

Here are a few ideas for upgrading your website design to present a more customer-friendly experience and focused message.

1. Reduce Visual Clutter – Eliminate any design element (imagery, buttons, flash, flare) that doesn’t provide value to your visitor. For example, if you have a flash banner, ensure that the content displayed on the “slides” is of valuable to your customer or somehow improves usability.

2. Eliminate the Wait – Eliminate processes and activities that are unnecessary and/or prevent your visitor from obtaining the information they need quickly. This includes splash pages and loading pages (your visitors are highly unlikely to watch a progress bar increment from 0 to 100). Sometimes a brief load time is necessary, in this case, be sure to provide some valuable information to the visitor while they wait.

3. Eliminate Time Wasters and Distractions – Completely eliminate time wasters and distractions. This includes pop-ups and fancy navigation bell & whistles that occur when someone clicks a menu item. You don’t want to distract the visitor away from the content on the page or slow down the speed of your pages with unnecessary bells & whistles.

4. Simplify your navigation – Determine the most important topics of interest to your target audience. Your navigation should reflect those topics.

5. Answer Frequently Asked Questions – Most business websites can benefit from creating a frequently asked questions page. A F.A.Q. page can reduce the amount of time that your customer service team spends on answering questions that can be easily answered on your website. If you don’t have a F.A.Q. page, start by listing the questions you most frequently receive from customers and prospects.

Content Management System (Open Source … as in FREEly available)

Managing Your Content

A content management system is essentially a system that allows you to create, manage, organize, schedule and distribute your website content. One of the benefits to using a content management system for your website is the ability to maintain and update your own website content. There are many other benefits including scheduling your updates and the ease of creating RSS feeds for your content.

Here are 5 popular open source content management systems:

6. Wordpress (http://www.wordpress.org)
7. Drupal (http://drupal.org/)
8. Joomla (http://www.joomla.org/)
9. CMS Made System (http://www.cmsmadesimple.org/)
10. Mambo (http://mambo-foundation.org/)

eCommerce

Enhancing Your Online Store

If you have an online store, there are many tools available that will improve your customer’s experience while shopping. Here are 5 ideas that are very effective in enhancing your e-commerce site.

11. Use Zoomable Product Photos – Using zoomable/resizable photos of your products will allow online shoppers to review the product closely. This may reduce the customer’s aversion to making an online purchase. (For an example, see http://www.magictoolbox.com/magiczoom/)

12. Display Multiple Picture Angles – Photograph items from multiple angles to allow the customer to obtain a complete view. This will improve their ability to make the purchase, as it reduces the number of unknowns (For an example, see http://www.scene7.com/)

13. Always Cross Sell – Providing links to related or coordinating items will allow your customers to quickly select coordinating/related items, as well as improve your sales.

14. Display Product/Service Comparison Charts – Comparison charts are beneficial in providing your visitor with an “at a glance” view of your product & service offerings. Be sure to only include related product/services on the chart (i.e. don’t compare apples to oranges). Also, pick the characteristics that are most important to the customer and most valuable to the purchasing decision process.

15. Brand Your Customer Service – After successful payment processing, take the customer to a printable receipt page on your website that details the order and confirms that their payment was successful. Also send an email receipt to the customer. If the customer closes their browser window prior to receiving purchase confirmation, the email receipt will serve as their backup receipt. Always include your logo, site name and site address on all correspondence with the customer. This assists in branding your site as a credible online business.

Photos

Online Image Management & Sharing Services

If you use your own photographs on your website, consider using an online photo management services to manage & share your photos. Perhaps you’re a photographer or have a business portfolio of your past work. One of the benefits of a using one of the following services is the ease of sharing your work and the ability to “tag” (describe) the photo. This allows you to further organize your photos into categories and easily integrate them in your website, blog or other social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook.

16. Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/)
17. Picassa (http://picasa.google.com/)
18. Photobucket (http://photobucket.com/)
19. SmugMug (http://www.smugmug.com)
20. Expono (http://www.expono.com/)

Feel free to comment or provide feedback if you’re using any of the above services or strategies.

How to Develop a Website Emergency Plan (Step 1)

Kishau Rogers — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:15:22 +0000

Understanding what makes your website work

All website owners should have a plan for getting their site back online in case of an emergency. To develop an effective emergency plan, you must first understand what services are required to ensure that your website works properly. The resource provided below provides a template for reviewing your website service providers. For each area of service there is a check box to indicate if this service or product is “mission critical”. By mission critical, I mean that without the service or product your website is useless. This is step 1 in developing a plan. For each area of service, you will want to note the vendor or person providing (supporting) the service or product. This will be helpful later as you assess your level of vulnerability and as you develop a backup plan for each.

The Resource

Step 1: Developing a Website Emergency Plan
The Website Information Worksheet

Website Emergency Planning

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Content Review Workshop – Creating Unique and Compelling Website Content

Kishau Rogers — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 22:07:00 +0000

Day 5: Tips for Developing Unique and Compelling Website Content

In developing content for your website, it is not only important that you consider what information to communicate, but how to communicate that information. Writing unique website content that compels a visitor to take action can take some effort (unless that’s your gift). To ensure that your content resonates with your target audience, you must first have a good understanding of the message you are trying to convey and your target audience and their values.

Writing compelling content involves more than ensuring that your sentences are well structured, grammatically correct and void of spelling and punctuation errors. You must communicate your information in a way that speaks to your target audience and supports the brand that you’re trying to create or maintain.

The Message

Define what you’d like your visitors to understand about you and your business. What are your business values? What is the “big picture” message that you’d like to convey?

The Content

Ensure that all of your website content supports this message. Here are a few simple tips for ensuring that your content supports your unique business brand while serving the needs of your visitors:

Use of stories – Use real customer stories, case studies or testimonials to support your sales copy. Real stories are unique selling points if you express them effectively. When telling customer stories, be sure to include only compelling information that is valuable to your target audience; eliminate the rest.
Catchy taglines or slogans – Create a tagline or slogan that is a memorable, yet brief statement of why the visitor should buy the product or service
Be real – Write as if you are speaking to a customer.
Use a consistent tone – Depending on your target audience, your content may portray a casual or formal tone. Be sure you maintain a consistent ‘voice’ throughout the website.
Eliminate jargon – Omit language that your customers don’t use naturally. You certainly want well-written content, but it should be not be difficult to understand or require that visitors have a dictionary nearby.
Use media – The use of video and audio are very effective if produced properly. People often “scan” websites. They are more likely to watch a video or listen to audio, if it’s interesting and of value to them.
Declutter – Eliminate any content that does not align with your “brand”

Thanks for following The Content Review Workshop! This concludes the introductory Content Review series, however there are plans to produce a follow-up series in the future. Also, look out for more workshops during the month of September. Thanks to all that took the time to provide encouraging feedback on the series! I welcome additional feedback on this topic, as well as your suggestions for future topics! You may send your responses using the Contact form on the Websmith Group site or feel free to comment on the topic on our Facebook Page. Make it a Great Day! – Kishau

Content Review Workshop – Defining your online customer service standards

Kishau Rogers — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 18:21:03 +0000

Day 4: Defining your online customer service standards

Serving customers is a required activity for everyone in business. There are certainly differences in the method for providing service to online vs. offline customers, however you should provide customer service in a consistent and predictable manner for all customers.

The Standard

You can begin to develop a customer service standard by defining the following levels of support for your company:

When is it appropriate for someone to contact you? Are there questions or issues that are unrelated to your business? Are there questions that violate your terms with the customer (ex: questions re: refunds, job postings etc.)?
Preferred Method of Contact – What is the best way for customers to reach you? There’s not really a right or wrong answer, but you want to consider the needs of your customers. Also, it’s best that the method of contact for issues that require urgent attention be separated from ‘general’ support issues and questions.
What are your operating hours – Most small to mid size business have operating hours and can not afford to be available 24/7/365. Are there time periods during which you and/or your business are unavailable to provide support? Are there exceptions to this rule (i.e. life is hanging in the balance) or is it set in stone? Manage expectations by noting your operating hours in the website contact areas.
Turnaround time – What can customers expect in terms of how quickly you’re available to respond to their issue(s)?

The Content

Once you’ve defined your levels of support, ensure that you have developed website content that align with those standards. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Example: The Information / Help Page

This is your method for answering questions from customers that couldn’t obtain the information elsewhere on your website, for whatever reason. If you tend to receive the same question repeatedly, you will want to consider including this information in a prominent location on your product/service pages or providing it in a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) area.

When is it appropriate for someone to contact you with questions or inquiries? If you receive the same question frequently, consider including that information on your product/service pages or on a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page. Providing the answer as quickly as possible should be the goal. Reserve your support hours to questions that have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
Preferred Method of Contact for Inquiries – What is the best way for customers to make an inquiry? Are customers required to submit their question via a contact form? Are they required to call you? Is there a Live Chat feature on the website? The method for asking a question should be obvious.
What are your operating hours for responding to inquiries – During business hours only?
Turnaround time – What can customers expect in terms of how quickly you’re available to respond to inquiries? What is your standard for responding to those inquiries (within 24 hours, immediately, 8 hours, 2 hours, 48 hours)? This information should be transparent to the customer. Perhaps on the contact page you would indicate that the customer can expect to receive a response within a specific timeframe. Or you could use an auto-responder system to email this information to their mail account.

Example: The Billing Support Pages

For websites that accept online payments, it is critical that you highlight your billing procedures on the website. Providing this information on the website is necessary due to the fact that the customer is not standing in front of you. With in-person transactions, many customers assume that if there’s a billing issue, they can simple walk back into the store. You want your “online store” to mirror the experience of an offline store as much as possible. Many online stores create a wonderful before-sale experience, but after the sale is completed, there’s no clear method for dealing with billing issues. For billing questions indicate:

When is it appropriate for someone to contact you with a billing question or inquiry? Indicate in your website content if the customer should be contacting another entity instead (ex: bank, credit card company, payment gateway service etc.). This creates a more efficient service process for you, as you reduce the number of unrelated issues submitted. This provides a high level of service for your customers because it saves them time and sends them in the right direction.
Preferred Method of Contact for Billing Questions – What is the best way for customers to ask a billing question? Are customers required to submit their billing question via a contact form? What information is required (receipt #, order date, billing name etc.)? Or are they required to call you? The method for asking a billing question should be obvious.
What are your operating hours for responding to billing questions – During business hours only?
Turnaround time – What can customers expect in terms of how quickly you’re available to respond to billing questions? Billing is a sensitive issue for customers, therefore it is important that this information is presented clearly.

The Resources

Feel free to use the provided Powerpoint Presentation for your notes.

Defining Your Website Customer Service Standards

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Content Review Workshop – Using Content to Create Trust & Build Confidence

Kishau Rogers — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:45:33 +0000

Day 3: Using Content to Create Trust & Build Confidence

When a new visitor visits your website there are many questions that they need answered as quickly as possible. It doesn’t take much for a visitor to decide that doing business with your organization poses too great of a risk. This is particularly true if the visitor is unfamiliar with you or your company. Online consumers provide very little wiggle room when dealing with unfamiliar organizations. It is up to you to use your web content to minimize the level of risk that an online consumer will typically experience.

The Consumer

What are consumers concerned about anyway?

LEGITIMACY: Is this a real business? Am I dealing with a legitimate organization?
REPUTATION AND CREDIBILITY: Is this a reputable organization and will I potentially receive a sub-standard product or service?
PROTECTION AND SECURITY: Is my personal contact and/or billing information protected? Will I potentially be exposed to ID theft?
PRIVACY: What will happen to my information once submitted to your organization? Will it be transferred or sold to third party organizations without my permission, potentially exposing me to an onslaught of spam, junk mail and telemarketing calls?
LEVEL OF CUSTOMER SERVICE: Once the business/payment transaction has taken place, are you willing and able to provide customer support?

The Content

Use the Content Matrix (See Day 1) to identify the items that will address the concerns that most online consumers share. You will want to identify standard area(s) in your website design/layout to display this information. It is very important that this information is easily found, as you have less than 10 seconds to convince a new website visitor to remain on your site. Here are a few ideas for creating trust with your website content:

Clearly describe your business on the home page in as few words as possible.
Use testimonials to build your credibility. It is best that each testimonial clearly displays the name and organization (if applicable) of the writer. Testimonials that are written by a set of initials are not taken as seriously as testimonials written by a full name, which are not taken as seriously as testimonials written by a full name + other supporting information such as an organization or location (city/state).
Designate a page or area to display your organizations achievements and any relevant credentials. This will help educate the consumer on you and your organizations’ qualifications.
Beef up your contact page. It is best practice if your website includes the following business contact information: Mailing Address, Phone, and Email or a web based Contact Form. You will want to display at least 2 of the 3 options, preferably all three. The mailing address establishes legitimacy. With a mailing address consumers will know that if they want to verify your business, they can do so. Also, displaying a business phone number gives consumers the sense that if, for whatever reason, they don’t have access to email or if your email is unavailable, they have a 2nd point of contact for you.
Ensure that your customer service process is visible and apparent. The last thing anyone wants to do is to buy something from someone that isn’t available for questions afterward. The website should clearly state how, when and where to go for questions and concerns.
Clearly state your return policy and any ‘money back’ guarantees. Don’t hide this information in a five page Terms document. No one will read that. It’s best to be upfront, which will minimize frustration, manage expectations and avoid miscommunication.
Clearly state how/if you will store the consumers information. Provide the cliff notes version; don’t hide it in a lengthy privacy agreement (ex: We won’t sell your data to any third parties at any time, We will only use your information to contact you regarding your purchase etc.). Keep it simple. Otherwise, the consumer will feel that if it’s takes 3500 words to explain what you’re doing with their information, you must be doing something shady.

These are just a few ideas for using your content to build trust & confidence. Keep in mind your target audience and their concerns, then evaluate your content and look for opportunities to create trust and build confidence.