A web designer is someone who designs and builds websites. The job can be a bit like a digital version of a house painter who focuses on the design and layout of the site. They might focus on typography, imagery and layout, or they could focus on video or podcasting to enhance their role as a digital marketer.
While it is relatively easy to design a website, growing a business that focuses on digital marketing can be difficult. In today’s world, it is easy to be distracted by changes in the marketplace and shifts in technology. Keeping up with the latest trends while also growing a business that supports your family is not easy. That is why it is important to focus on what works—and what doesn’t—when it comes to marketing and building a brand.
Find Your Niche
One of the first things a web designer should do is figure out their niche. This is similar to the strategy of any business but especially important for a small business with limited funds and resources. Try to narrow down your focus to a couple of markets or areas of expertise. Maybe you are the best in the world at animation or illustration. Or perhaps you are the absolute best at UI/UX design. Your specialty should provide you with a clear understanding of your target audience’s needs and desires. When you know the what, you can start to figure out the why.
Understand Your Audience
Once you figure out your niche, the next step is to understand your audience. This entails having a clear picture of who is visiting your site and what they want. Do you already have a clear understanding of your audience’s needs and wants? Are you simply looking for new ways to promote your business? Are you looking to grow your audience and gain more trust to move forward with your business?
You need to answer these questions to be able to effectively direct your marketing efforts. If you don’t know who your audience is, it can be difficult to figure out what works and what doesn’t. You might end up wasting a lot of time and effort with lackluster results. Take some time to study your audience and gain a clear understanding of what they want. Even if you do end up specializing in UI/UX design for websites, it would still be beneficial to know more about the overall field of web design.
Develop a Strategy
With clear answers to the questions above, you are now in a position to develop a strategy for your marketing efforts. Now that you have a clear idea of who you are targeting and what you are trying to achieve, it’s time to lay out a plan of attack. The last thing you want to do is spend a lot of time and effort with no clear direction. To keep things simple, you can start by focusing on one platform at first. If you are new to digital marketing, begin with social media. The advantage of this approach is that it is always updated and has an unlimited audience. You don’t have to worry about whether or not your target audience uses a certain platform. You can simply target them all and let the platform take care of the rest.
Determine the Measurement And The Timing Of Your Efforts
The very first thing you need to do is figure out how you will measure the success of your strategy. This is extremely important because there are so many different strategies out there and it can be difficult to determine which one is right for you. You want to measure the results of your efforts and determine whether or not it was a success. To do this, you can set up a goal for yourself. For example, if your goal is to grow your business, then you might want to track the number of new leads or the growth of your social media following. These are both clear measures of whether or not your strategy was effective. Remember: you are always free to change your strategy and try new things as soon as you learn from your mistakes. A good digital marketer is always looking for ways to improve their results and figure out more effective ways to promote their business. In order to do this, they must be open to new ideas and willing to change their approach when new information comes to light.
Timing Is Everything
Once you have determined that this was a success or a failure, the next step is to time your next strategy. This is vital because if you wait too long to try again, you might end up sabotaging yourself. You don’t want to go back and change everything you did the last time because you didn’t measure it correctly. The sooner you figure out whether or not what you are doing is working, the sooner you can move on to the next phase. Make sure you time your next attempt to correspond with a particular goal. For example, if your goal is to increase web traffic, then you might want to try a different approach to see if it works better. Sometimes the approach you are taking isn’t the one that leads to the best results. That is why it is important to test and see how different approaches compare to each other.
Make Adjustments As Needed
Once you start to see positive results from your initial approach, you can make some adjustments. This is something you should do after every phase. If you followed the steps above and determined that the approach you took was effective, then it is time to make some changes and see if they improve your results.
To begin with, you can try another platform or channel. This doesn’t mean that the first approach was wrong. It simply means that you can try something new and see if it produces better results. One of the great things about the digital marketer’s role is that they can experiment with various platforms and see which ones work best for them. Even though they might specialize in one area, they are always looking for ways to grow their business and figure out new ways to reach their audience.
Another thing you can do is create different versions of your website or blog. This can be done by simply changing the text on the page or the images used. Sometimes the layout of a website can be the factor that drives a person to subscribe to a newsletter or follow a business on social media. If you determine that changing the layout produces better results, then you can create a different version of your site for testing.
Be Mindful Of What Is Nearby
One of the things that can affect the success of your strategy is what is near by. If you are in New York City, it would be unwise to waste your time and effort trying to attract people from San Francisco. These cities have completely different cultures and the people there might not want anything to do with your product or service. Your approach might work for a while but eventually you would be overwhelmed by the differences in culture and might start to struggle with your marketing efforts.
This is why it is important to be mindful of what is nearby when you are developing your strategy. Look at the other businesses in your industry and see what is working and what is not. You can then start to form a clear picture of who your target audience is, what they want, and what will make your product or service stand out. Even if you do end up specializing in UI design for websites, having a clear idea of what is working and what is not can still prove useful.
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, a web designer’s role is to design and build websites for businesses. As a digital marketer, you might specialize in web traffic or social media but the approach you take is still the same. To see results, you need to develop and implement a strategy for your marketing efforts. To do this, you need to determine the platform or channels you will use and determine how you will measure the results of your strategy. Make sure you time your next attempt to see if what you are doing is effective before making any changes. Finally, be mindful of what is near by when developing your strategy and be sure to assess the results of your efforts carefully before taking on any new projects.