Making websites is pretty easy. You buy a domain. Pick a template on WordPress or any CMS platform of your choice. Throw some content and images. Get it live and SEO'd.
Making it social-friendly is another story.
As the world becomes more social every day, you have to make your site more open and mobile. The salesman approach to social platforms and eCommerce websites is passe already. Users nowadays look closely if it has a dash of social to it, which means you need to use a personal approach to turn a user into a customer. We all know that almost every company is already on Facebook and Twitter, but if you're a start-up, how do you make users flock to your landing page and increase sign-ups? The success of a social platform doesn't lie on the number of sign-ups but how many people are using it. Pinterest, Instagram, and Codecademy have done it right. Can you?
Here are 5 tips on how to make your websites more social-friendly:
1.) Quick Start!
Ever wonder why Pinterest grew fast? Its landing page features two options - you can either login using Facebook or via Twitter. Always keep in mind that users don't like waiting, whenever they go online the first thing that they'll do is check their emails or login to Facebook. So why ask a user to place his username and password if you enable him to login via Facebook? It's a smart move by Pinterest. That's why it raked 11 million unique visitors in December.
2.) Know How to Push Their Buttons
We all know that content is king, but some people would rather watch videos and great photos on their monitor. The Social Web is obviously text-flooded nowadays, which is why Pinterest has been the sailing on a different tide - visuals. Pinterest offers an escape from the usual social media activity of Retweets and Likes. The "Pinboard" has been the game-changer, it enables users to pin their favorite images from other boards. Let people share their pictures easily, and they will share your site as well. And with smartphones making photo-sharing instant, Pinterest is on its way up.
3.) Establish An Easy-To-Use UI
Avoid flash-heavy landing pages and use a slider instead if you want to showcase images. This will make the UI smoother and easy to navigate. Instagram is a fine example of this practice, which is why big brands are using the platform for their marketing campaigns. If you intend to make a mobile website, always ascertain that it will look good in all mobile platforms. Remember that mobile websites is not a "one-size-fits-all" thing. We now live in a world of instant, where most users today will access your site using a smartphone or a mobile device, it's a must to maintain a steady look for the UI for both Android and iOS users. It wouldn't hurt to offer users a free app, too!
4.) Encourage Collaboration
Codecademy is all about collaboration. Its landing page reads " Codecademy is the easiest way to learn how to code. It's interactive, fun, and you can do it with your friends." Coding is the new language of this generation. However, there are some gaps between marketers and developers in terms of engineering that has yet to be bridged. With Codecademy's initiative, everyone can learn the basics of coding. The architect (marketer) should know how the engineer (developer/designer) makes it work. And we all know that the most successful social networks promotes collaboration. Come up with a CTA on the landing page on how your social platform will encourage certain individuals to work on collaborative endeavors. Let people know that they are on the same page!
5.) Free is The New Medium
Learn from Facebook's landing page: "It's free and always will be." The term "FREE" is a Call-To-Action per se. When people know something's free, they'll bite and try it. The challenge here is how you'll make people stay on your site and keep them biting. Maintenance is always key, if you make your platform addictive enough then people will stay.