Digital communications

Build or enhance your website and social media strategy. Get the tips you need to promote your sustainable brand in the digital world!

Why?

In this highly digitized business environment, more businesses are turning to social media and mobile channels to reach out to audiences wherever they are.

Digital communications are essential to any communication and marketing strategy, offering the opportunity to interact directly with your audiences, often in real-time, in highly innovative and engaging ways.

When used properly, web management and social media networks can enhance your sales and boost your sustainable brand recognition.

What?

Create a website to stand out from your competitors and learn how to successfully manage your digital communications and interact with your audience in a way that is consistent with the goals of your green business.

Key Learnings

By the end of this module, you should know how to (1) create a website and (2) set up your social media strategy.

Having a website makes it very easy for people to find your sustainable business, read up on your company, discover what you do, and answer the questions they have about your business. It is very important to know how to properly set up your website, which is a virtual window into your business and a showcase of your sustainable brand story.

Online public relations and social media positioning will define your brand persona and reputation more than anything else, and some social media channels are more appropriate for reaching out to your public than others.

Top tips for creating a web that stands out from the crowd

Your website should be a direct link to your business and your brand. A well-designed website enhances and lends credibility to the image that your overall business presents. Having a website might also help you to attract potential clients and to maximize direct sales.

Understand

A responsive, mobile-accessible website that is easy to navigate, provides organised content, and has strong visuals can open up the possibilities for interacting with your audiences, and it is a good tool for building trust with your users.

Steps

The following table is an exhaustive list of things to consider when developing your website so that it engages your audiences, is easy and quick to navigate, and properly showcases your sustainable business. Read each content item carefully before writing down your action steps. When you’re done with the table, summarize the work you need to do in a two-page document. Then go ahead and build your website! There are a few key elements to take into account: design the website with a user experience approach, provide content and build it to increase traffic, and analyse visitor behavior in order to improve it.

Download the template

How to create your social media strategy

The rise of social media in recent years means that you can let the public know who you are and interact directly with them at a very accessible cost. However, building this two-way communication and achieving digital engagement with your audiences require proper assessment and organization. When interacting via social media, your audiences will demand freshness, authenticity and personal stories as well as content carefully designed for each medium.

Understand

There are two basic issues you should take into account when designing your social media strategy. One is establishing your objectives and knowing where your audiences are (listening, reaching out to the right people and creating engaging and inspiring content); the second is planning your posts properly (via a calendar and social media tools) and to measure the outcome of your efforts.

Steps

Define your social media goals and align them with your business objectives.
Find where your audiences are. Not all our target audiences are in the same social media channels, therefore you should find out first where you can meet them.
Craft your content carefully and plan your posts in a calendar.
Use analytics tools to measure how you’re performing against the goals, business objectives, and metrics you set earlier.

Download the template