Upwards Forward

The days are over when a street sign with a balloon tied to it will attract people. Also are the days over when people first experience your organization in-person. Their first visit is most commonly virtual. Trends reveal that this will only continue to increase.

• Nearly nine-in-ten Americans today are online, up from about half in the early 2000s. (Pew Research, 2017)
• 47 percent of the world’s people now use the Internet — an increase from just one year ago when the same agency estimated that just over 43 percent of the global population were Internet users. (United Nations, 2017)
• 92% of teens report going online daily – including 24% who say they go online almost constantly. (Pew Research Center, 2016)

Therefore, we need to think virtual to personal. Our internet based tools must represent our organizations well. Several key elements to every website, as recommended by experts at Forbes Magazine, HubSpot, and Business Insider to name a few, are:

• Provide a clear description of who the organization is.
• Make contact information very easy to find.
• Make an obvious call to action; provide next steps.
• Keep content fresh.

It is then essential to think through how we move people from the virtual realm to the personal realm. This will be unique for every organization. Yet one thing is consistent, an ongoing relationship is the secret “sticky” sauce for long-term success. It also needs to be a simple and clear process from virtual to personal.

Here are a few questions to contemplate:

1. Does your website accurately represent you?
2. Does your web presence provide clear next steps for people to take?
3. How will you bring personal relationship into the mix?
4. Where are you trying to lead people?