The importance of using an integrated communication strategy to design and create a website

Written by Daleen Gouws, founder and CEO of Edge Communications

A website is not just a website; it is a tool to help you communicate your business goals to your online audience to build and grow your organisation. A visitor should never be confused to exactly what it is that you do or how you can help them. When a person arrives to your website that visitor should be given the option of how they want to interact with your business. A website itself is a great tool to help you achieve many different marketing goals where your business grows and is a vital tool in brand building, providing you with the knowledge of who and where your customers are.

Whatever your business might be, an integrated communication strategy is the most important aspect of your site. The communication strategy is all about how to reach your audience, how to grab their attention, how to create decent content, not just content for the sake of it. Websites are the first port of call for any potential client or customer. Websites are resources, with information that answers the questions customers may have, descriptions of products and services, reviews, case studies, testimonials, contact details and much more. In a nutshell, if your customers are kept informed then they are more likely to buy and return. But without a good website development, businesses can fall short of achieving their desired results.

Many communication practitioners and business owners are under the impression that it is easy to create a website. Unfortunately, it is not just as simple as getting a designer and a web developer together to design and create a website. Often communication practitioners forget to include the essentials of an integrated communication strategy on their clients’ websites. A website is a vital link with the outside world and needs to be interactive user-friendly. It reflects your organisation and what it represents. That is why it is of the utmost importance to include your company’s communication strategy in your website. Your organisation’s culture, vision and mission need to be reflected on your website as well.

Public relations planning, content images, media strategy, branding, identity, advertising strategy and social media strategy are some of the necessary components and elements and cannot be achieved by only doing a quick and simple website design. If you would like to succeed in effective communication with your internal and external stakeholders, you need to include a communication strategy in the layout, content, and user-friendliness of your website.

A website needs its own strategy that is in line with the organisation’s communication strategy. Design and integrate the various types of messages that you would like to communicate to different markets and stakeholders via your website. Only then can you start with proper content planning to ensure you do not lose the essence of your brand on your website.

If you want your business to flourish, web development is crucial. Developing a well-designed, professional looking website will get your foot in the door of the online market and give you a base from which to build your clientele. Giving your business the online presence it deserves is crucial to your brand. It is extremely important that every business has a website that consists of an integrated communication strategy.

The more professional your website is, the more advantages you can gain. Join digital communication specialist, Daleen Gouws from Edge Communications for an interesting and exciting workshop on the Components of a Strategic Communication Website.

Photo by Kaboompics .com | Pexel.com
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Baie dankie vir Edge wat TLU SA-aktiwiteite baie netjies verpak – dit kan net gebeur indien TLU SA goeie stories genereer. Dankie vir almal wat stories skep, standpunte stel, help om hoop te skep en dit dan ook te verpak. Ons mag trots wees op die waardes waarvoor ons staan. Saam maak dit ‘n verskil!
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Bennie van Zyl
hoof uitvoerende beampte, TLU SA
Ons Tuis is trots om ‘n Edge-kliënt te wees. Gaan voort met julle goeie diens en onthou om tyd te maak om te rock & roll.
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Adv. Jaco Bothma
besturende direkteur, Ons Tuis
Dit was ‘n voorreg om te kon saamwerk. Ek is trots op die werk wat julle doen. Dit is min dat ‘n groep mense wat so wyd verspreid is en soms onder soveel druk is (veral tydens beurtkrag en die spanning wat dit meebring!), ten alle tye respekvol, vriendelik en geduldig met mekaar en hul kliënte bly. Ek glo regtig dat integriteit en nederigheid die geheim van Edge se sukses is.
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Dr Rineé Pretorius
co-founder, Cape Independence Advocacy Group

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