It’s a fact in today’s environment that businesses need to have a presence on the Internet. If your business doesn’t, you’re missing out on a huge segment of potential  and hungry customers.

Internet Sales are Exploding

Traditional retail shopfronts are suffering as consumers have been turning in droves to the Internet to do their online shopping.  Consumers are busy clicking – in Australia, Internet purchases rose from 41% in 2007 to 68% in 2011¹, and the Internet industry contributed 3.6% or $50 billion to Australia’s economy in 2010². With the use of mobile technology such as iPads and iPhones by consumers, we are only just at the beginning of an Internet business revolution.  At the moment, three out of five businesses surveyed (in Australia) don’t even have a business website³!

Search Engine Marketing

If your business already has a website, you’ll be wanting to ramp up the number of visitors and potential customers. Search engine marketing is a strategy of getting clients to find your website through search engines like Google and Bing using search terms that are relevant to your business.

The Yellow Pages have Shrunk

It’s hard not to notice that the Yellow Pages have been shrinking each year as more businesses are turning to the Internet for their advertising needs.

Why? Because advertising, marketing and selling  products and services online  allows businesses to focus their advertising efforts on a select, targeted group of customers.

Need Ideal Customers In a Hurry?

Google AdWords and its competitors could be your answer. Literally within minutes, your business could be exposing its products and services to new and targeted customers by advertising  via Google AdWords, YouTube advertising, Pay Per View(PPV) or cost per view (CPV) advertising.

Facebook This and Twitter That – What the #$*!?

Advertising on the television has changed over the years. On TV each night, advertisers entice us to connect on Facebook or on Twitter to check out their special deals. Notice recent billboard advertising – more Facebooking and Twittering.  Social media is everywhere you turn these days.

The Power of Social Media

Social media is here to stay. It is marketing that allows the individual to voice their opinions and thoughts about any topic, and about any brand. This is putting more power in the hands of the consumer, and they like it. On the other side of the corporate fence, reputation management for a business of their brand on the Internet is all important to convey the right image and marketing message.

Social media can be a powerful medium  to reach your customers. If you haven’t already done so, consider setting up a Facebook Fan Page and a Twitter profile for your business. It’s not that hard – you really are only a few easy steps away from using Facebook and Twitter successfully, and the potential for returns is exponential.

Sources:

1 Online Retail in Australia 2007-2011, World Internet Project, ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI) (September 2011)

2 Deloitte Access Economics – The Connected Continent, How the Internet is transforming the Australian economy (August 2011)

3 Source: MYOB Business Monitor Online Special Report (July 2011)

Writing for the web is unique in many ways – an understanding of how to write for the web medium, knowledge of the rules of engagement with social media, and an understanding of search engine optimisation (SEO) are just some of the requirements to keep in mind.

Here are some of the issues involved in writing for the web which make it different from writing for traditional media.

Readability

The average website visitor will spend approximately half a minute on a web page – this means that you don’t have much time to make a good impression.

Content should be easily scannable to allow the reader to grasp in a glance the essential points being conveyed in an article.

Break down long paragraphs into shorter ones to improve the readability of a blog post or article.

The use of headings and subheadings to attract the readers’ attention and highlight key points, and the use of complementary images for the same purpose, is also important.

Linking to important topics in your article is important for several reasons. It highlights important keywords in an article, and acts as a navigation tool to allow readers to find other useful content on your website.

Writing Rules

Although some writing rules are unique to the discipline of web writing, conventional writing rules such as the proper use of grammar are equally important when writing for the web.

Writing Style

The writing style that is used on the web is more casual in comparison to printed media such as newspapers.

Web writing is characterised by the use of shorter sentences, and the style of writing tends to be more conversational.

The Role of Social Media

With the prominence and increasing popularity of social media, online content that is published on the Internet involves social interaction. Content that goes “viral” will prompt conversations between interested parties.

Publishing on the web is very much a two way communication process between the author of the published content and readers.

If posting a blog post, expect readers to interact by making comments about your post.  Social media users enjoy sharing and discussing content on the web.

A social interaction may be initiated by either the publisher or reader. As the owner of a business website, your company blog post may initiate your readers to respond to a “call to action” – this action may be as simple as signing up for your company email newsletter.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Good search engine optimization (SEO) is an important consideration when writing web content.

The basics of applying good web site optimization includes using appropriate meta titles and descriptions, and by conducting thorough keyword research.

Content Distribution

Web content can be distributed very quickly through syndication feeds like RSS and through social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, Digg, StumbleUpon, and Reddit.

Content that is published on the web can become “viral” on the Internet, and give your business website or company blog exposure to many readers in a very short space of time.

Other Complementary Online Media

In online articles, suitable images or videos are often used to complement the key themes of the post. Adding a suitable image to your blog post will enhance the message or story that you are communicating in your article piece.

Devices for Reading Web Content

When writing for the web, recognize that web users may use different reading devices to access published content. Some may use reader devices such as the Kindle, or even their mobile phones to read web content.

This being the case, a business website needs to optimize its web pages to take into account the range of devices being used to read web content.

Web Content as a Marketing Tool

Providing good content is a powerful online marketing technique for businesses. The ability to provide informative and entertaining content on your business website will help drive traffic to it, increasing the number of visitors as well as the likelihood of converting prospects into customers.

Writing for the web has its own unique characteristics. So in order to make the most of your own site, it’s important to keep in mind these considerations when you publish articles on your website, posts to your company blog, or ad copy.

Go to Zappos Social Media Case Study

It’s a useful Twitter application that can be used to track local news and events, media coverage, and relevant business news in your industry.