NerdBrand Podcast
The NerdBrand Podcast is at the intersection of nerd culture, branding, and advertising. Nerd culture is no longer an isolated subculture; it’s THE culture of the day and makes its way into our daily lives through the entertainment we seek and the technology we rely upon. Listen as we discuss our views on visual design, branding, and advertising for movies, comics and novels, video games, technology, and other nerdy passions.
NerdBrand Podcast
Website Overhauls and a Nod to Jacob's New Role
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NerdBrand is a national branding and advertising agency based in Louisville, KY.
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Hey everybody, welcome to this episode of the NerdBrand podcast where I'm going to talk about websites. I know it's a favorite topic of folks. It's such an exciting thing to do is build a new website. So, anyways, five website don'ts not a darn thing except strategy, blah, blah. Here we go. Welcome back to the NerdBrand Podcast. We're going to describe the do's and don'ts of creating a powerful podcast I'm kidding Website.
Speaker 1:So there is a lot of things that businesses get wrong in their website and there's a lot of things that they get right, and you know you can pick apart every little thing and then after a while it kind of gets very pessimistic sounding right Because it's like oh, this doesn't work, this doesn't work. There's always something that's not going to work. Your website's always an ongoing process. It's always an ongoing animal, but there does need to be certain things specifically that need to be focused on strategically, that need to work so that when people use it, they get the info they need. So does it serve your business goals? I'm pretty sure everybody was like I was waiting for that, and that's kind of what it boils down to. Uh, if you're thinking about a revamp or building one from scratch, it's crucial to kind of remember that these don'ts Um, so let's don't. On number one uh, don't have someone build a website until they know how the current one is working. So think of it like this you would try to fix a car without knowing it was broken. I mean, would you do that if you were like a mechanic, even if you knew how cars work? I mean the guy on your phone? I mean you can imagine the phone call and how it goes. My car broke down. Well, what happened? Well, it made a derp, derp, derp sound and on the other end, if you don't know, he's laughing at you. So, cause, he asked you that on purpose. But before you throw any money at a redesign, just understand how the current site's working.
Speaker 1:Um, what isn't working? Are people bouncing immediately when they get to a page? And if they are, maybe they find what they need and that's all they needed from you. Um, are they finding the information on that? You know they're sticking around longer and it's a long form copy. I'm reading it.
Speaker 1:There's really good ways, by the way, to track this with using visual metrics. I mean you can use heat mapping, all kinds of things. There's some fun, scary tools that we have that I love to use, but anyways, analytics at the top. Get Google Analytics on your site. It's not the de facto, but it kind of is. And, honestly, if you don't have Google Analytics on your site, it's just completely operating blind. No one's going to know and you need time. This is the other thing when you're doing a website. If they're like, well, I'll get your website built in six to eight weeks, I'm going to be straight. We need that to at least do research and gather data, especially if it's been not configured correctly and isn't watching what we need it to watch, and typically that's usually the case. So a lot of the research and understanding what pages work and which ones don't are going to come out of that research and understanding. That Many stories have.
Speaker 1:I had somebody come to me for a website, do a review of the sitemap and realize they don't have analytics and it's like well, wait a minute, what if I delete this page that you want me to remove because you want all these new fancy pages now? Well, that page could have been giving you the lion's share of your revenue over the last quarter, or maybe year over year. Would that be horrible? Yeah, yeah, that'd be horrible. It's like amputating your own arm. So otherwise, you're just going to be guessing. So don't do that. It's a waste of time, energy, money and, um, it's not your web designer's fault. They're a web designer. So another one um, let's go on to don't.
Speaker 1:Number two. So don't build a website merely just because, um, it actually creates a lot of problems for the brand because there's going to be possibly a dilution of the message. You could confuse your audience, you could hurt your business essentially because the things you were saying you're not saying anymore and those people that maybe were return visitors are coming back, going. I don't recognize you. Recognize you and for those of you out there that you know, have people that go to the grocery stores and complain about how they keep moving things around. Well, think of your website like that. Stop moving it around. You know, let it bake a bit. You're going to find out that how you have it sitting, they're learning as you've left it, but if you change it all the time, well, they can't learn anything about you, your brand and where things are when they want to go get information from you without calling you first, right, so, and nobody does that anymore.
Speaker 1:Um, so, anyways, you need to have a defined purpose, um, so, whether is it lead generation, is it e-commerce membership, or is it just? Are you just providing information? Are you just saying, hello world? Uh, you know, that's just. That's important too. Sometimes you just need the brand recognition and it's just going to serve for a place to people to go and be like hey, I know you. So there's, there's that. Okay. Now see what happens to kids when I don't have a co-host. All right, hold on. Number three. Number three don't build a website without a longriad of reasons for editing a static page on a website as opposed to a blog post which is like fully dynamic, because those come out like Facebook posts whenever you publish something. So what content will you create and how will you drive traffic to it, and how you'll nurture those leads need to be thought of.
Speaker 1:A lot of talk about SEO and social media, email marketing and how your website will fit into that picture should be brought up, because without a marketing plan, you got to ship without a rudder, and that's no fun. So, having said that, have you got a website and is it working? Do you know if it's working? Do you need an audit? Do you need somebody to take a look under the hood and see if the car is going derp, derp, derp, whatever, I don't know. You fill in the blank. That's something we can do. We can figure out a strategic marketing plan that fits that brand message you've got displayed on that site. Or maybe you've got a website where you're like I like the website, I just bought it, I like what it says. I don't like what it says, but I like how it's made, I like the design. Okay, that's fine. You know websites, you can change the copy. It's just it's still time for us to come in and change copy.
Speaker 1:So most agencies are going to charge you their rate based off some hour. That I know sounds mysterious, but you have to really think about professional services and how much they cost, and if they're anywhere between 50 to $150 an hour, that's you know you can pretty much figure out like well, how many hours is it going to take? Look, math is on you. I'm telling you how long it's going to take and it is what it is. So you know, be very, very thoughtful before you approach an agency about what do you want to do? Because you could approach that freelancer. You could approach, and that's perfectly fine, if your budget's that small and you have to. That's what you have to do. But with an agency, you get a little bit more care and you get a bit more people thinking about um, then what now? What you know with that? So let's move on to don't.
Speaker 1:Number four, and this is a big one. Do not build a website with a freelancer alone and then also ask that person to manage your social media and this and that and this and that. Even if you have a small agency like ours, the and this, and that will probably diminish the original request greatly, to the point where it's just not going to work very well for either party. When it comes to reviewing at the end of the month, what in the world is going on, because there's only so many hours in a day and I like to eat and sleep Don't know about you. So it is fair to assume that I'm not 24-7 and neither is anyone else out there, frankly, that would be doing this work and so. And neither is anyone else out there, frankly, that would be doing this work and so. And it's very difficult, it's time intensive, it's intense to think on and do and execute. So I see it all the time.
Speaker 1:Freelancers can be fantastic for specific needs to manage the brand and its online presence or cohesive strategy, and sometimes, if it's starting out. But when you really get to that many like multiple marketing channels and everything, you really get to that many like multiple marketing channels and everything you really need to have an agency on board. So you know, the business, aka brand, is going to come first. Your website, your social media, content, creation everything should flow from a core brand identity. And as nerd brand, nerd brand, that's our, that's what we do as a brand agency. We make sure that it all comes out of that brand identity. It does not negate marketing or lessen it. It is a support tool for it.
Speaker 1:So often, handling everything you know to one person, especially without a clear brand strategy in place, it can really lead to a lot of inconsistencies and a diluted message across all platforms that you're talking to. I mean it's just it can go bad left unchecked. So focus on building a brand identity first and then bring in some specialists, special tasks to ensure they're all working toward the same goal. And finally, don't number five. Don't forget that people use your website primarily for information about you, your address and if you're relevant and how much it will cost, and so fancy designs and interactive features, they're nice, they're actually secondary. We always say pretty is easy, smart is hard.
Speaker 1:Here at NerdBrand, because we're trying to build something that is going to last and not necessarily the website last for five years, because technology moves at breakneck speeds but a strategy that can and be agile enough to allow for room for you know what, if something changes societally that we have to address because we have to, we can't go down that path we thought we could go down. I mean social media. You can end up with that. Maybe it's not a good time now to post that thing because, well, let me just point you to State Farm and their ads, with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito Standing in front of a house that's burning and then advertising that to the LA area and the residents. There is not a good time and that's why they pulled that ad from the Super Bowl. So you do have to think about timing and it's good to have a good team on your side that will think about those things and cover your butt as best as they can.
Speaker 1:So you know, you want to make sure that your contact details getting back to your website and location and physical presence, your pricing structure. If it's applicable, they should be front and center, easy to find. Don't bury the information in obscure pages or make it hard to find. Just be clear and, you know, use good UX design. It goes really a long way here, more than it does just something pretty. So that's pretty much it.
Speaker 1:I know this flew by because I'm a fast talker, but thank God you can rewind and listen again, and I like that because it gets a repeat listen on the podcast and that's always fun. So there you have it. There's five crucial don'ts when it comes to a website strategy. Now, if you want to know some do's, then that'll be another episode. But remember it's an investment. Your website that is. Don't look at it as an expense, please. And like any investment, it requires careful planning and strategic thinking. That's what you're paying for and that determines the difference between the costs. And so focus on your brand, understand your audience and develop a clear plan before you start building anything. Do that and you'll be on your way to having a website that actually works and you can see the ROI, because many people think that it doesn't actually provide any value or return, and that is incorrect, right? Turn it off. Yeah, take the website down and then guess what? You don't exist anymore. So there's your ROI. Also, I want to thank you for listening to this episode and we'll probably be talking about more things in the coming weeks.
Speaker 1:I hope to have Jacob back with me. He's out hustling doing his thing. He's become now a associate account manager, so everybody be happy for Jacob Woo. You know I can't reach the button, jacob. The board is on your side of the podcast table and I can't press it, and I know you want to do it and I'm sorry. So everybody, pretend that there's an audience clapping and a sound effect and with that I will see you all next week. And remember, keep your nerd brand strong.
