There are many elements that make up a great website. Functionality and aesthetics should both be taken into consideration when building your website or making updates.
In late 2014, I joined the Bay Street Hoops organizing committee and took on the responsibility of giving the website an update. The goal was to give it a new look and feel, but also help to improve the user experience for visitors to the site. We wanted to make it easier for visitors to find information, improve our social media presence and drive more traffic to the Bay Street Hoops site.
Here are some examples of what you can do to improve your online presence.
Appearance
The previous website theme had been used for a couple of years so we felt that it was time for a bit of a change. We purchased a new theme, removed a number of items from the homepage and focused key messaging on what we were promoting at that time. For January it was registration, for February it was sponsorship and for March it was the post-game party and how to prepare for the tournament.
The homepage was the go-to place for all recent news as it provided visitors with all of the information they needed. Items like important dates, the registration form, the sponsorship package and tournament scores. The homepage was the only part of the website aside from the blog that required regular updating, which made maintaining the website much easier.
The main navigation was improved, pages were amalgamated and it became easier for the user to find information they were looking for.
2014 Website
2015 Website
Blog
Blogging was something that the BSH team did in the past, but it wasn’t done consistently. A schedule was developed to ensure that blogs were produced twice a week leading up to the tournament. This tactic not only helped drive traffic to the BSH website, but also supported our social media presence.
We developed a content schedule a month in advance to help us stay on track. The committee members shared the responsibility of writing blog. Blog posts varied in content ranging from personal stories, information about the beneficiaries and important tournament details.
With Google Analytics we noticed there was a visible spike in traffic on Tuesdays and Thursdays. These were when blogs were posted. By sharing the responsibility of writing blogs, it made it easier to also focus on other tasks. It was a simple and effective way to improve BSH’s online presence.
Recent Blog Posts
Social Media
For the 2015 BSH tournament it was a goal to have a more active presence on our social media platforms. We added social icons to the header and footer of all webpages to allow others to find us easily. We don’t want to overwhelm our audience with messaging so during our off months we only post once a week to once every two weeks. Leading up to the tournament we post key messaging once or twice a day.
During the busy months we planned our messaging accordingly to avoid spamming our audience with too many different messages. This was inline with the information we were sharing on our homepage. Video use increased this year, so we created a YouTube channel to house some promotional footage.
Social Media Channels
Are looking to improve your online presence? need help with your social media strategy or update your website? Feel free to contact us, we would be happy to discuss strategies with you. In the meantime, download our white paper, Introduction to Inbound Marketing.
