Digital First Impressions
Throughout our lives, we are taught the importance of making a good first impression. We are given tips: make sure that your clothes are neat and clean, look someone in the eye, and provide a firm handshake.
But what about when it comes to the digital world? Most of the time, we are making first impressions over and over again. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, digital-first impressions are happening at warp speed on our social media pages, and when people visit our website. The rules aren’t as straightforward for the digital world as they are in the real world. Instead of handshakes or eye contact, how many selfies are too many, or we carefully weigh each tweet to gauge thinking about how our friends, family, and potential clients will react.
In your company, I’m sure you have worried about first impressions as well. You’ve probably agonized over what kinds of chairs to place in your waiting rooms, carefully curated art to hang, or poured over paint swatches until they all kind of looked the same. But many companies don’t put the same amount of thought into their digital-first impressions as they do their physical presence.
More and more, we live in a world where people first encounter small businesses on the internet. Think back. When was the last time that you tried a restaurant that you didn’t google first? Or a contractor that you called sight unseen? If you’re anything like us, you haven’t so much as ordered shoelaces online without doing a quick google search since 2005.
Making good digital first impressions is vital for a small business in the 21st century. Here are a few ways that you can make sure that people love your site from the first sight!
1: Cohesive Listings
Nothing is more jarring than finding out that your online listings don’t have complete information. More than once, I’ve wanted to contact a restaurant or small shop, only to find that their most public online listing doesn’t list a phone number, or that their most current page hasn’t been updated for an entire year. This is easy to let slide, as managing the many listings that exist online can be another job unto itself. Here at GOA-TECH, we use PowerListings technology to create one online profile that updates your online listings at once. Instead of updating each listing individually, you can do it in one easy step!
2: Intuitive Navigation
Another way to make sure your digital first impression is a great one is to design your website to be easy to use and easy to understand. A counter-intuitive website will frustrate possible customers, and make it less likely that they will use your services. For example, if your menu lists specific items that have more detailed pages, it’s a good idea to include a mini drop-down button to enable people to get directly to the page they want to go to for more information.
3: Attractive Appearance
Whether it’s your website or Instagram, it’s a good idea to invest a bit of time into graphic design and coding to make sure that your online presence feels fresh and modern.
Making the Right First Digital Impression with GOA-TECH
However, you do it, investing a little bit of time and money into your digital first impression is just common sense. After all, you wouldn’t show up disheveled and disorganized to a meeting with a client!
Here at GOA-TECH, we are experts in how to make your online presence beautiful, simple, and organized. For more information on digital first impressions, see Impressions Count: Why Your Branding Matters.
