To use the power of digital and website design to recruit more users, first those users need to find you online, and secondly, they have to engage with you. Sounds simple, but as too many of us know, can be easier said than done to actually achieve.
So here are our top tips for harnessing the power of digital to get more users for your organisation:
1. Promote yourself to the right people on Facebook and on Twitter. Use targeted Facebook advertising to promote yourself to people who like pages that mean they might be interested in you and are from the demographics which are your target audience. It’s cheap too - about £5 can buy you over 1000 views!
2. Use Twitter to promote yourself, and take the time to follow people you want to follow you back. Make sure you tweet regularly and find a voice for your tweets that feels approachable and works for your brand. You want your potential members to identify with you on a “human” level, so sound human. Write blogs, join in conversations; if there is a conversation going on in your sphere publish a post on it, and make sure it’s shared across social media.
3. Your website design should be easy to use and navigate. Sounds simple, but it’s the first place that many organisations fall down. Having a mobile-friendly version of your site is also essential. According to Google (May 2015) more web searches now take place on mobile devices than on PCs, so a large chunk of your potential client base or prospective membership will be put off if your website doesn’t look great on a phone or tablet as well as on a desktop.
4. Optimise your SEO to ensure you can be found. You’re going to want to use about three ‘long tail keywords’ (more than four words) and about three shorter, one or two words, keywords. You can use Google Analytics to piece together the keywords your potential visitors are using. Once you’ve picked your keywords, make sure they are in every blog post and generally scattered across your site; this will improve your rankings on Google and therefore make it more likely your potential members will find you.
5. Offer them something. Tell them you want them to join or buy. They need to know you’re looking for new members or customers and need to be presented with offers which will make signing up worthwhile.
6. Work with other organisations who have a similar client base but who do not directly compete with you and see if you can get yourself mentioned on one of their emails out to their contact list.
7. Make sure that your whole sign up process should be online, including payment – with an instant email straight after you sign up. Follow this up later with a more personal interaction to welcome your new member or customer and ask them to get involved, but don’t leave them waiting around for weeks before you get in touch.