I’ve spent years sharing tips and tricks for how to get media exposure for your business, but is your business ready for what’s to come? If you’re not prepared, it could prove to be devastating to your business. As excited as you are for getting media coverage, make sure you have all your ducks in a row so you can reap all the benefits media exposure can offer.
Can Your Website Handle the Traffic?
Exposure in a national media outlet could get your business in front of millions of people. Can your website handle the traffic? If you are given this golden opportunity and then your website crashes and you lose all of those potential customers, it could be catastrophic! Make sure you prepare for your big day and make sure your hosting service is up to the task.
Is Your Website Mobile Ready?
At the end of last year, 67% of all website visits were done on a mobile device. Is your website mobile compatible? If you get media exposure and 67% of your potential customers are coming to you on their mobile device and your website doesn’t work on mobile, how much business are you losing?
What Does Your Website Look Like?
I can go to a website and instantly tell you when it was created by the style. In the 1990’s and early 2000’s, websites were full of text. Today they are full of images with very little text. First impressions are everything. Visit your website and put yourself in the position of a first-time potential customer. Is your site appealing? Does it give good information right-away? Does it load quickly? In today’s fast-paced world, people won’t wait for a slow website and they don’t want to scroll around to see what you do. Does your website reflect your brand in a modern, professional manner?
How is Your Social Media Activity?
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about the changing newsroom, https://prforanyone.com/update/the-changing-newsroom. The press cares about their social media numbers and the stories they cover have to do with that. If you are active on social media and can help share their stories, that gives you an edge over a competitor. Make sure you have strong social media platforms and are engaging with your audience to show the media that you are worthy of their coverage.
Do You Have Enough Inventory?
If you sell a product, and the product is being featured in the media, do you have stock to keep up with the orders? Having lengthy backorders could cause a customer service back-lash from potential customers. It’s a costly proposition but it’s vital that you have significant inventory on-hand to handle a huge increase in orders. I actually know of a business who turned down a feature in O Magazine because they knew they couldn’t process the orders and thought the bad reviews from that would have been detrimental to their business.
We all want media exposure to get our business in front of new customers but make sure your website is ready for the influx both from a technical standpoint and design. Make sure that you capitalize from a media hit by making your website as user-friendly as possible.
If you want to learn more about this and other ways to benefit from both free publicity and social media, visit us at www.SocialMediaandPR.com.
