One Thing to NEVER Do When Relaunching Your Website

By Jack Monson, Director of Digital Strategy, QiigoIn the long checklist of critical items to execute when relaunching an organization’s website, there’s one that all CMOs and CIOs need to skip: Do not make an announcement about the new website.Relaunching your website is not news. It's not a story. Don't send out a press release or even write a Facebook or LinkedIn post. I'm sure building the new site was hard work and cost a great deal of money. You’re right to be proud of your new site. But I must tell you: no one else cares.Your website is the place where you tell your story; it's not a story that you have made changes to that place.How Did We Get Here?The traditional old media set a bad precedent. Newspapers regularly made big announcements to their readers about their own changes in format or style. Television is even worse. Every redesigned set on a morning show means a "behind-the-scenes-hey-aren't-we-happening" moment for programs like the Today Show.That's fine if you have 5 hours of fluff to fill every morning on NBC. But your brand has only few seconds to grab a consumer’s attention online. Tell your story and don’t waste your shot by talking about the way you tell stories.Take a Shakedown CruiseBefore you shine a spotlight on that new website, let your current customers and team take it on a shakedown cruise. If issues pop up, or some content is found to be inaccurate, you would rather work on a fix before too many eyeballs hit the site. Too many companies have wasted time, money, and credibility by driving consumers to a website that wasn’t ready for large numbers of visitors.What Could You Announce?Put your customers’ interests first. What does your news mean to them?

• If you have new functionality on your website that a consumer might find compelling such as ecommerce, then it’s newsworthy.
• If you have new video content or written articles that are relevant to your customers, then share it.
• If you have news that affects your clients such as changing executives / contacts or new initiatives, then announce it.

 [author]About the Author: Jack Monson is the Director of Digital Strategy at Qiigo. He has been helping global brands, enterprises, and franchise systems with Digital Marketing for nearly two decades. He blogs at Social Media Workbench and is the co-host of the weekly Social Geek Radio program and podcast. Reach him on Twitter at @jackmonson.[/author]