5 Reasons Why Every Coach and Consultant Needs an Elevated, Branded Website
Have you ever heard the idea that you don't need a branded website if you're killing it on social media or making tons of sales on a 3rd party platform? Well, my friend, that advice can be detrimental to your brand and business.
Gone are the days when we could put up a quick site with links without any intention or purpose behind it. Creating an intentional website is a non-negotiable element of any serious brand looking to build relationships, increase visibility, and grow sales. As a coach or consultant, your brand is one of the first points of contact your ideal clients will have with you. If you have a stellar social media presence but a generic website or no website at all, this could hurt your credibility and trust factor.
Branding incorporates each aspect of your visual identity and marketing. When all of these areas align correctly, you become trusted by your audience and solidify the foundation for a strong relationship.
Your website is a tool to communicate with your ideal client in your own online home. In addition, your site can sell when you're not in the room and speak to your clients on your behalf. How awesome is that?!
There's power in having an elevated, branded website with copy, images, and design elements that showcase your brand. With purpose and strategy, your site can be the best place your audience can learn from you, get to know you, and buy into your products and services.
Why miss out on the opportunity to connect with your audience?
Now that you know the importance of having a branded website, let's look at five reasons you need to get your elevated website up and running ASAP!
Reason # 1: Your Website is an Extension of Your Brand.
A branded website is a place where you can engage and build trust with your ideal clients. Part of building trust is creating a consistent brand identity.
Pause for a moment and think about your overall brand.
What perception do you want your brand to portray? What emotions do you want your audience to feel when they hear your name?
In your current touchpoints and social media interactions, are you getting that point across?
See, a website can carry the load of communicating your brand, who you are, and what you offer beyond social media.
One of the oldest marketing principles that still rings true today is the Rule of 7. This rule states that:
“It takes people, on average, seven times to interact with your brand before they convert and purchase your product or service.”
With all the noise in the marketplace today, you may need even more interactions and impressions for your potential clients to buy into your brand and what you have to offer. Your website provides the perfect opportunity to capture their attention and set you up for success.
And consistency is key. Here are a few ways you can use your branded website to consistently etch your brand and message on the hearts of your ideal clients:
YOUR WEBSITE REITERATES YOUR BRAND’S NAME AND LOGO. The more your audience sees your name, the greater the connection with your brand. In addition, your audience will begin associating your logo with you and your personality.
YOUR WEBSITE DISPLAYS YOUR BRAND COLORS AND FONTS. Your audience makes connections and inferences based on your brand's visual elements across the customer experience. Expressing your brand design through consistent colors and fonts will emphasize the feelings and emotions you want to convey.
YOUR WEBSITE CARRIES YOUR BRAND VOICE AND TONE AS YOUR AUDIENCE GETS TO KNOW YOU. Your website gives you a space of your own to showcase your brand personality as you speak to your audience. Your voice and tone can shine even more on your website as you have more time, space, and opportunity to talk to them.
YOUR WEBSITE CAN STRENGTHEN YOUR AUDIENCE’S CONNECTION WITH YOUR BRAND’S PERSONALITY. Consistent brand photos across touchpoints can increase your credibility, especially with professional, branded images. The key to building a connection is consistency and repetition. You want your brand to have the same design and feel throughout the customer experience, and your website can do that!
Ultimately, when we have consistent branding across the web, it builds trust with your audience.
Furthermore, an elevated and intentionally branded website creates the perception that you're an expert who pays attention to details. It's your space to let your audience know who you are and what you offer.
Reason # 2: Your Website Attracts and engages your ideal clients.
Your website is an ambassador for your brand. It serves as a point of interaction for the people you want to work with. They'll want to hear more if they're drawn in and intrigued by your visual design, copy, and branding.
Even if you have a solid social media presence, your audience will expect to be sent to a website to continue the experience. And if what they find doesn't meet their expectations, they may be disappointed and sent away.
Your brand should be seamless across all your touchpoints to take your audience on a journey to knowing, liking, and ultimately trusting you. Your website is a home base to engage further and connect with your audience.
Let's look at three reasons how your website can engage your ideal clients:
KEEPS THE CONVERSATION GOING. Your social media serves as a conversation starter to gain the interest of your audience, but by sending them to your website, you can continue the conversation and go deeper. In addition, a branded site will gain their attention and pique their interest in what you have to offer.
From there, they can take the following steps, such as signing up for your email list, sending you messages, commenting on your blog, or reaching out to work with you.
DISPLAY SOCIAL PROOF THROUGH TESTIMONIALS AND SUCCESSFUL CASE STUDIES. Having testimonials and social proof is a great way to show how your products and services have transformed your clients' lives.
Wyzowl studied testimonials and found that “9 out of 10 people trust what a customer says about a business more than what that business says about itself.”
There is so much power in displaying our client’s experiences with your services!
SELL YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. Whether through a sales page, services page, portfolio, or contact page, your branded website gives you the space to complete the transaction.
You can take your client through a seamless journey that increases their trust and satisfaction. And we all know satisfied clients become raving fans!
Reason # 3: Your Website Increases Credibility and Trust in your Brand.
One of the top reasons you need a branded website is to increase your credibility with your audience. It's a fact that people will spend their money with those they know, like, and trust. So, to stand out in your industry, you must increase your trust factor and prove that you are an expert to your audience.
Having an elevated website you can invite your audience to is critical in growing your audience's confidence in you and your brand. It's an opportunity for you to make a great impression in space that's all about you!
Your audience can get to know you, your brand, and your story with the safety and comfort of knowing you are legit! On the other hand, when you don't have a website or one that's not on-brand, you ultimately leave your credibility vulnerable to misinterpretation. And any dissatisfaction in the customer experience can tarnish your brand.
One survey by Edelman showed that:
“81 percent of consumers said they need to trust the brand to buy from them.”
Because here's a secret: people don't just buy what you do; they buy why you do it. Ultimately, they "buy" you!
Your personality.
Your expertise.
The unique qualities only you possess.
And people want to do business with those they trust. Hence:
Your website is a place to showcase your brand. A place to show that you're a real-life human being they can safely and honestly put their trust in.
Reason # 4: You own the story and the audience.
Imagine inviting your ideal client to your home. When they walk through that door, they'll get a glimpse into your life and what's important to you. They'll see your decor, furniture, and how you live.
Think of your website as your digital home. You get to control the story, and you get to control the rules. So what do you want your home to say about you?
Let's dive into why you want ownership of your brand's web presence:
YOU OWN THE STORY.
Your website is the home of your authentic story! A place where you're free to express your brand and tell your true and compelling story. You have space to speak to your audience without worrying about the "algorithm" or how long your content will be visible because your story will always live on your website. This powerful tool can help solidify your brand and engage your audience through genuine connections.
YOU OWN THE TRAFFIC.
Imagine for a moment that your favorite social media site went offline permanently! What would happen to your audience? Your following? How would you keep in touch with your people?
When you have your own space on the internet, you can collect contact information to stay in touch with those interested in your brand and services. Then, you can continue to talk to them and nurture relationships through email or phone.
If you're relying solely on social media, you risk the chance of losing all of those relationships.
Ultimately, you control what's said and what gets seen on your site. As a result, you can strategically express your brand and attract your ideal clients.
Reason # 5: Gain organic traffic through search engines.
Having a branded website improves your opportunity to increase your visibility through organic search engine traffic. Who doesn't love free traffic?
When you create your website and optimize it for search engines, you'll gain traffic simply by having the site on the internet.
Creating content that speaks to your audience provides endless opportunities for you to be found on search. According to Hubspot:
"It's estimated Google processes approximately 63,000 search queries every second, translating to 5.6 billion searches per day and approximately 2 trillion global searches per year. The average person conducts between three and four searches each day."
People are looking for your content right now!
Whether through a blog, vlog, or podcast, you have space to create long-form content that gets found on search.
You position yourself at an advantage in your industry by having more options for visibility.
One of the reasons I love Squarespace is that the platform makes it easy to optimize your website for search. With intention and research on your most important keywords, you expand your chances of ranking and being found by the people searching for your services.
I've compiled the top Squarespace SEO Best Practices for your coaching and consulting website. Implement these strategies, and you will have a site optimized to be found organically on search engines.
Creating an elevated brand website is undoubtedly an investment, but the long-term gain is well worth it. A space to dive deeper into your story, messaging, and offerings to drive connections and conversion.
When your audience knows, likes, and trusts you, you'll create raving fans who want to experience all you offer.
To get you started on your web design process, I've created a FREE GUIDE outlining My 5 Strategies to Instantly Elevate Your Web Design and how you can achieve them.
You have so much to offer! Why let your website stand in the way?!
