Start with Website Design That Thinks Like a Customer
At this point, you should already have a business plan, a name, a logo, equipment and a few ideas about what your “brand” represents — i.e. what makes you different from the competition. You may even have a few marketing slogans written down, which is great!
You will also need to have a good idea for what your priority market is in terms of events you want to book or the audience you want to target. Realize that your priorities may change as you examine your local digital marketing landscape and mature as a business. This change is okay! You can always revise a “pretty-good” website to work better for your business, but getting to “pretty good” in the first place requires building a website with your audience in mind.
Speaking of which, your next step is to immediately (but temporarily) stop thinking like a business owner — and to start thinking like a customer. For whatever reason, you have clicked onto a local photo booth website and might like to book an appointment. What do you expect to see first? Or, even better, what do you need to see to make it to the next step?
First, you want some sort of confirmation that you’re in the right place. Use clear indicators of what your business does, the types of specific services you offer and the general areas you serve right from the first glance. You don’t have to delve into specifics, but a headline that reads “Photo Booth Rental near Cityville” or something close to it is the first thing someone will look for when the site opens.
Also, if you as a customer are like 75 percent of the people using the internet right now, you are navigating the website via mobile, so ensure your website is mobile friendly.
Your next step as a customer is to get more information. You may get some details as you scroll down, but that’s not something every company does well. Instead you look to the menu for clear, logical navigation to business services. A specific business area like “Quinceañeras” is perfect, but a general “Services” page can provide a catch-all for the details 90 percent of users will need to know.
So, to summarize, whether you are building a new site or revising your old one, make sure to provide:
- A clear description of your business as the first thing a customer sees on your page
- A menu system that is easy to find and includes a generic “Services” section
Digital Marketing for Photo Booths Needs Clear Webpage Copy
When you click on a services page, you want to see information that helps you make a booking decision immediately. On pages like services or “how it works,” always provide a top-down overview of the basic things people need to know that can be read in 10 seconds. Think of the most basic information and work your way into more specifics, like the recommended “inverted pyramid” method for covering news stories. This information can be presented as such:
- We bring a photo booth to your event so that your attendees can take fun pictures
- We set up everything and manage the photo booth ourselves the entire time
- Booth guests can pose with props to capture silly, spontaneous moments with their friends
- People receive a printout (and a digital copy) they can take home
- My services are different than others’ because (skill/experience/specialty)
- Services are available (at a flat event fee/per hour/per X guests)
- You can book me by contacting/visiting (with link to booking page or contact us page)
- I have done these X events in the past, but am available for nearly anything
This overview forms an outline you can use to explain each factor in greater detail in separate sections (or pages). But first, customers will want the 10,000 mile high view of your business and what it can do before they even start thinking about going further.
With the guidelines above, build the basic scaffold for your business. Then, go on to create other pages describing specific services you offer in more detail, like event types or varying photobooth experiences you can provide. Always be sure to think like a journalist with each new page and immediately tell visitors what that service offers, even if you have to repeat things found elsewhere.