When you’re setting up a WordPress website, you’re generally thinking about ways you can make it as appeal as possible to new customers. That’s not all you should be targeting though. There are a lot of benefits and unique business opportunities to be gained from attracting collaborators to your website. It should be designed and developed in a manner that appeals to this kind of visitor. But how do you go about tailoring your website in this way?
Testimony and reviews
Don’t be afraid to project the praise lavished upon you. There are few triggers more likely to convince someone you’re the real deal than an independent third party saying so. Adding testimony to your website is a simple, but incredibly effective, method of convincing collaborators to work with you.
Whether it’s positive customer reviews or an extended piece of writing from a major client or business partner, it can only benefit your overall presentation to put a big emphasis on these more in-depth reviews. It’s become an integral part of web design, so your boasting won’t be construed negatively. If you want to convince an industry leader or figure of authority within your field that you’re the real deal, it helps to show them another person saying so.
Influencer content
Influencers are quickly becoming one of the biggest ways to grow a brand on the web. This modern interpretation of celebrity endorsements isn’t something that every business is willing to use within their marketing, but making it clear that you are is a great way to attract potential ones.
Put your existing influencer content front and center on your website. Show the innovative projects you’ve worked with them on and show you do it properly. There’s no point showing that one time you did a low energy campaign with them — you want to make it clear that you value the endorsement of an influencer and the traffic they can bring to your website. This also gives growing micro-influencers looking for smaller brands to work with an idea of who you are and what you accept, helping you to get some key promotion in for less of an investment, building a relationship before they start to make it big.
Show diversity
You don’t want your business to come across as a one-trick pony. Part of attracting high-quality collaborators is showing off the diverse skillset of your team and business.
Make a point of highlighting our best work, showing off a diverse range of disciplines and experiences, even if your business is relatively young. For a business that offers multiple services, it’s vital to make this clear. If a collaborator specializing in one form of content can’t see that you have also worked in that field, they will be less enticed to work with you.
Plan content in advance that shows off this diversity. This means being prepared when you run one-off events or do something outside of your traditional field — you need to create the perception this is something you could do any time. Think about things you can do with your company that very few of your industry competitors are doing. If you’re an online retailer, for example, experiment with a bricks and mortar pop-up store and create some content documenting the experience. The store itself may not be a hit financially, but if you create the right follow up content it will show you have the ingenuity to experiment with new sales channels and signal to potential collaborators that you’re experienced in more niche skills and activities.
Guest posts
Few methods better show off you’re open for collaborations projects than accepting guest posts to your blog. This doesn’t just give you extra content you don’t even need to spend time or money writing, it also opens you up to a world of businesses looking to find a home for their work.
This tells potential collaborators you understand the important role content plays in building a website, giving you a sense of expertise. It can be the first stepping stone for a potentially great business opportunity. What starts as a simple guest post can evolve into a larger content project or much more lucrative collaboration.
Display your work with big brands
Big brands want to feel like they aren’t taking a risk with their business decisions. They tend to shy away from opportunities that could end up costing them down the road, so you need to do your utmost to show them you’re worth trusting.
One of the best ways to do this is to show off the big names you’ve already collaborated with. Like with testimony, this is one of the most convincing signs to a larger business of your legitimacy. It signals to larger brands that you’ve survived through the trials of working with a more demanding business and produced results worth shouting about. You can do this by creating specific content pages, displaying their logos only or weaving your partners and clients into your branding. There is no shame in highlighting your greatest achievements.
Display social activity
An active social media presence signifies a modern company that understands how to appeal to its audience. While not strictly part of your WordPress website, social activity is key to showing you know how to interact online and promote your best features.
The more active you are across your chosen platforms, the more legitimate you appear to potential collaborators. You need to consistently update your social media channels, interacting with your audience and showing off the diversity of your content, from what your business produces to employee outings. This will be one of the first things a new potential collaborator visiting your website will look for to get a deeper sense of your business.
Integrating a social feed into your website design is a great way to show you care about social. This type of content can be used to show off your social activity or that of a specific campaign you are running. It a huge way to add something different to your website that catches the eye and shows your understanding of the platform. Collaboration opportunities are always out there, you just need to make sure your website is like a net ready to snag them. These are just a few design and content ideas to get you started and start to entice those opportunities. You can never stop improving the perception of your business.