Source: https://www.eztalks.com/unified-communications/what-is-online-communication.html
When it comes to important business fundamentals, especially if it is an online business, communication is an absolutely vital component of a successful website. Nothing is more important than streamlined, effective, and positive user experience. You have to portray your business message effectively, give the visitors exactly what they want, and ensure they find exactly what they came to your website for.
This goes for practically any type of website, whether it is an e-commerce site, a blog site, a simple portfolio site, or a government website. If you don’t have effective communication, you are going to struggle to market your brand in more ways than one.
Due to the critical importance of communication with your target audience or potential customers, it is equally vital for you to ensure that your website incorporates all the modern forms of online communication.
It is a truism that in the quest for developing and designing high quality and very aesthetically pleasing websites, most online business owners put communication on the back burner. Your website’s design and its capability for effective and transparent communication must always go hand in hand.
The best modes of online communication your website must have
Table of Contents
Social Media
Social media networks aren’t new, and if you do some research, you will find that social media indeed existed since the dawn of the internet. And there is no question that today, social media networks dominate most parts of our lives. In addition, it is also vital to keep mind that social media is not going anywhere anytime soon; each social platforms has racked up tens of millions of followers and active users.
Facebook, for example, has around 2.38 B users, followed by Instagram, which has 1 B active users today. Just think about the branding implications here. Although social media networks are all about spreading brand awareness, if you think about it, they do offer a very powerful platform for effective communication, enabling you to get in touch with your users. You can post tons of messages for your target audience to see and be able to engage with them on a personal level as well.
And these social media websites do not just limit you to communicate with your demographics. Through the use of hashtags, retweets, shares, likes, etc. you can spread your message across multiple users. For example, if you own an online leather skin shop, you would be able to share your products and ideas, as well as post upcoming styles and trends of your social media handle for millions to see worldwide!
DMs – Direct messages on social media
Keep in mind that your social media handles do not have to be entirely public. Almost all popular networks offer a DM option where you can message your target audience or potential customers directly and privately – for example, the Facebook Messenger.
Although DMs are more private than and just as effective as emails, the best advantage of DMs is the fact that they sound less formal, more direct and you can personalize them. However, it is important to remember that a business must only DM their customers if their customers reach out to that business using that channel.
However, it is also true that Facebook Messenger bots are becoming more popular, you don’t have to send a message to new user or follower, and the bot will automatically generate a friendly, welcome message.
IMs (Instant messages)
While the most popular types of instant messaging capabilities come with Facebook Messenger, there are a couple of other options such as what’s app and Google Hangouts. Instant messaging is a good tool for communication when it comes to informal chats.
SMS text messaging
Although very common, SMS messaging is a good, yet informal mode of communication that you must occasionally incorporate in your online marketing. You can send a quick message to the recipient to inform them of a new product, a new service, etc. Today, many people are glued to their smartphones, and many use their phones to look for information, products, and services instead of laptops and computers.
This makes SMS messaging a perfect mode of communication to get in touch with your target audience.
Email marketing
You would be surprised to know that one of the earliest email marketing campaigns launched, was in 1978. And yes, it was hugely successful. Sadly, today, email marketing has become a ridiculously underestimated mode of online communication, despite being a lucrative strategy in terms of ROI.
Email marketing is a versatile, multipurpose methodology that you can incorporate to market your brand and products. Email marketing enables your customers to contact you and helps you to engage in two-way communication. Not to mention, you use it to spread mass awareness of newer products and services, increase brand awareness, and deliver personalized messages to your target audience.
Direct email
You would be amazed at the fact that there are more than 200 million direct emails sent to people on a daily basis. However, this form of communication is a bit formal.
Blogging
Blogging is another hugely effective method of communication that incorporates a more conversational approach to informing target audiences about a variety of different subjects and growing your business. However, you can also use blogs to publish different knowledge-based posts, messages, news, information, etc.
Moreover, many blog posts also have a comments section where you can see how potential customer and website visitors react to the blog. You can respond to their queries and link them to newer blog posts.
Video marketing
Over the last decade, video marketing has become one of the most prominent forms of marketing and communication for online businesses. Thanks to powerful video platforms such as YouTube. According to Business Insider, YouTube has amassed more than 1.8 B users worldwide!
Many online businesses post videos of why people should use their products and services, give a glimpse behind the scenes of how everything works, provide critical information, etc. In addition, it is easy to make, edit, and post videos on YouTube!
Final words
So there you go, a short yet important look into why online sites must have effective communication elements. Do you know other modes that are helpful too? Please let us know about your views in this regard in the comments section below.
Author Bio:
About Ashley Rosa: Ashley Rosa is a freelance writer and blogger. As writing is her passion that why she loves to write articles related to the latest trends in technology and sometimes on health-tech as well. She is crazy about chocolates. You can find her at twitter: @ashrosa2.
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