This question comes from David at a Chicago-based Architecture firm. I asked what some challenges with their website were. One that stuck out to me was: “Having the time to actually update content on a regular basis. We tend to update only when we are light on work as we all get too busy.” I’ve actually heard this often – small businesses struggle to update their websites.

Let’s talk about this.

Why Do Small Businesses Struggle to Update Their Websites?

David’s company is a smaller firm (just like us!), so it’s very understandable they struggle with this. Heck, we do, too. The very first step is actively deciding your web presence is an integral part of your business and you are going to treat it as such. If you aren’t ready to do that yet, that’s okay! But you should probably stop reading here.

If you are ready, though, let’s keep going.

How Can You Effectively Use Your Website?

When you’re in a smaller company where everyone has many responsibilities, it can be hard to justify spending time on your online presence (photo galleries, portfolios, blog, social, etc). When you don’t know how to use it effectively.

And rightfully so! Everything else you’re doing has a much clearer line to helping the company grow and affecting your bottom line. After all, you need to do things like…

• call clients that are paying you money
• call potential clients that may also pay you money
• get them the stuff they bought
• make sure they paid for the stuff they bought
• answer their questions or concerns when they call
• pay your people
• balance your budget
• prep for tax season
• track your expenses
• answer emails
• see your family and friends
• probably 361 other things
  

  Healthy Everywhere had this perfect image.

It’s understandably easy to push online work aside when you aren’t sure how it will positively impact your business. The learning curve is fairly steep. Even for those of us who work in the industry, there is so much information and so many theories! What works, what doesn’t work, why Facebook is better than Twitter (or vice versa), what time of day you should post/email/whatever, how often you should update, how long your blog posts should be, how does Google rank you (FYI there are 200+ things they use)…

And this is just a small sampling.

How Can A Small Business Reasonably Keep Their Site Updated?

So back to the challenge: how to update your stuff regularly when everyone is “too busy”. I’ve narrowed it to three general options with a cost / time guesstimate:

1. Free / High-time: Set dedicated time to update and stick to it. We say once a month is a minimum frequency, but do what you can realistically handle. Simply updating pictures, bios, and a new blog post or news item can generate interest and helps your Google ranking. This should also include sending a newsletter to subscribers / clients. Direct emails are still, by far, the best return on client communication. This is “High-time” as it will likely take much longer to do all this yourself. It’s the ol’ Trial by Fire. If you’re good in this type of situation, do it!
2. Low-cost / Medium-time: Take a class on managing your online presence. I like to call it your “online presence” because it really has to be more than just a website these days. You arguably need Facebook and/or Twitter accounts, and you need to respond to messages, requests, and reviews on each. Taking a class has a bit of a time investment on the front end, but will greatly increase your speed and skill, so your time updating everything will be much more efficient. You can find low-cost (or sometimes free) classes at local colleges, technical colleges, community centers, or online.
3. Medium-to-high cost / Low-time: Hire someone. You’ll need to do your research and shop around to find the one that’s right for you. The best ones will learn your goals and tailor their services to support that. They can and should provide you with regular updates and insight into what’s working, what’s not, and how you can work together to get the most from your online-ness. In our experience, you get what you pay for with this option.

Something I should also address is the ROI (Return on Investment) you get. With the DIY options, your ROI will likely be lower – perhaps significantly so – unless you already know how to track, measure, analyze, and interpret your results to make effective adjustments. If that sounds super boring, consider hiring someone who nerds out on that stuff to do it for you. #guiltyascharged

I could go on for several posts about how important it is to maintain your online presence. How it’s an investment versus an instant result. That to get a lot out of it, you (or the person you hire) need to put a lot into it. But I will leave it there for now. It’s hard to actually convince yourself of it because you can’t see the immediate results. I get it!

How Important Is Your Website, Really?

Let me attempt to convince you – I want you to be successful.

If you want your business to grow, you need to keep your online side as clean and well-kept as your physical side. Where is the first place you go when you want to know more about a company with whom you’re considering doing business? When’s the last time you tracked down a company you heard about that had no website? Or their Facebook page’s last update was a new profile picture 3 years ago when they started the page? Or their website is straight out of the 90s?

The answer for me personally is “Never”.

When you choose to neglect your online presence (inaction is a choice!), you are risking a perception to your potential clients you may not even exist. If I see a company with no online presence, or extremely old ones, I think they’ve gone out of business. They ran out of money and left the site up because taking it down is one more hassle when you’re already disheartened from shutting the doors.

As my dad said to me once, “You have time for what you make time for.” So please, make time for your online presence. However you choose to do it, make it happen. It will take time, money, or both, but it will yield beneficial results in the long game.

Love,
Jason