Welcome back to yet another edition of the Website Series. This post continues from parts one, two and three so make sure you’ve read those first.

First Impressions Count

You know what it’s like to meet someone and within the first few minutes you make up your mind about what that person is like and whether they are someone you could see yourself interacting with on a regular basis.

A brand is no different. People will instantly judge your products (even ones not yet created) based on their initial impression of your brand.

They will develop emotional connections to your brand, either positive or negative, within the first few minutes, and for many, these feelings will never change.

This is why it’s critical that your brand represents a strong positive message, and that you take the time to determine what your customer base is likely to respond to so that you can synchronize your brands primary message with your overall objective.

You want to build instant recognition but in a very positive way. There’s no benefit to creating a highly recognized brand if the message associated with it isn’t directly benefiting you.

This is exceptionally important in both on and offline business, and the easiest way to build a positive brand is to focus equally on the quality of your product and service, as you do in creating your company image.

When it comes to creating a positive first impression, consider all of the elements associated with your company brand.

This includes your domain name, website’s structure (right down to the color scheme, layout and navigation), the quality of your products, the level of support you offer, your trust factors (how transparent your business is), right down to the keywords and phrasing you directly associate to your brand.

You need to be careful with this, because there have been hundreds of online businesses who focused on building brands with keywords and phrases that already carried a negative connotation, not realizing that it would directly impact their ability to build a powerful and positive brand.

In order to avoid this, you will want to take the time to research the different phrases and keywords that you intend to use within your marketing campaign and brand development.

Be sure to check for any cultural differences or references associated with the keywords and phrasing (including product titles, website domain and slogans you intend to use) so that you are able to develop a widely accepted brand that carries no negative interpretations.

This takes a bit of time but it’s a critical step in researching different brand elements before you invest too much time or money into creating an overall campaign that fails to represent your brand in a positive way.

Developing Your Online Presence

When it comes to developing your online presence, you want to put as much emphasis on the actual structure of your website from the navigation menu to the layout.

You need to assign a professional image to every element associated with your brand, and use these visual stimulants as a way of driving brand recognition home with every visitor to your website.

We’re all visual creatures, and your website’s design and aesthetics itself will carry a lot of weight in regards to your ability to develop a reputation for quality.

Many people overlook the importance of a professional online presence and focus more time on product development and their back end system than they do their front end. You need to focus equally on both areas of your brand’s campaign, because ultimately, when it comes to first impressions, your website will be the butler that introduces and greets your visitors at the door.

If you aren’t careful in focusing on giving your visitors a positive experience from the moment they land on your website, it’s unlikely that they will give it a second glance, or return to your website in the future.

In fact, from studies conducted over a period of two years, it was found that a visitor landing on a website will judge and form a decision to buy or return within the first 40-45 seconds of their visit. This is why your website’s overall appeal is so incredibly important.

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