If you don’t have one, it’s time to create one. Time (and message consistency) is of the essence when a social media crisis hits. That’s not the time to try to figure out what to do. You should have a documented plan already in place, with specific policies for your employees, as well as outlined steps and a checklist for managing the challenge across all channels.

Some things to consider when writing your crisis plan and 

developing your policies:

DO NOT CENSOR

Do not censor criticism or negative comments on your social media channels, unless they violate your terms or contain foul language that might offend your community. Removing criticism and complaints can quickly lead to more harsh comments spiraling out of control.

ACKNOWLEDGE & TRY TO TAKE IT OFFLINE

Try to understand what the negative commenter wants. It’s important to respond quickly and publicly, acknowledge the concern, and then take the conversation offline as quickly as possible.

BE CONSCIOUS OF YOUR TONE

Remember, it’s a human being that’s upset. This is not the time for a cold “corporate” tone or a canned message. When you respond, it’s essential that you acknowledge the issue in a personal, polite, and professional manner. Never make a rude comment back or be dismissive of the person’s feelings. Most of the time, this will only make it worse.

20 years ago, simply having a website meant that you were way ahead of the game. Fast forward to 2018, almost every business has a basic website and users have become incredibly discriminating. Now it’s not only essential that you have a website but you need to make sure it’s a GREAT website so you stand out in the crowd (and in Google). 

Here are a few indicators to determine if it's time to modernize your site!

1. It’s Not Mobile Friendly

Your market IS mobile. Studies show that more than 25% of internet users in the US only access the internet on a mobile device (and that number is set to increase exponentially).  This means it’s essential to make sure your website functions well across all mobile devices. 

Use Google's FREE mobile friendly tester to see how your site rates. If it's not mobile friendly, make this your #1 priority.

2. Your Visitors Aren’t Staying On the Site

A web analytics program can reveal your site's strengths and weaknesses. You may have a high bounce rate, low time on site, or low average pages per visit. These metrics can be strong indicators that improvements are needed. A high bounce rate can be a sign that visitors find your site hard to use on a mobile device, as well. This doesn’t always mean that you need a complete overhaul of your site, but it does mean you should take an honest look at it. 

3. You Have Flash on Your Website

Flash used to be cool before the iPhone. It's not cool anymore. iPhone and iPad devices do not support Flash of any kind. Along with that, major search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo can’t read it well. If you still have Flash on your website, you need to eliminate it. Make it a priority.

4. You Have Poor Search Engine Rankings

Google your business in "incognito" mode. If you’re on page 2 or lower, you may need to make some changes to your site. There are many reasons your site could be ranking lower than you would like. It could simply be that the content on your site it dated or thin. If your site was designed more than five years ago, it likely needs to be reviewed and updated to meet current SEO trends, as well. While many factors play into Google rankings, robust content continues to be the primary factor in great rankings, followed by mobile-friendliness, speed, backlinks, and social reach. 

5. It Just Looks Dated

The fact is, website design trends are always changing. If you have an older site, it can seriously impact your credibility. A study by ResearchGate revealed that 94% of people say that websites with great designs are more trustworthy. How does your site compare to your competition?

Far too many businesses build websites and don't update them for YEARS. What looked GREAT five years ago, could look like a leisure suit today. 

Here's a perfect example! Check out this throwback to OUR site from 2001. We pulled it from the Google Way Back Machine archives. This site ROCKED in 2001, but by today's standards, well ... you be the judge. Ugh, right?

Check out this throwback to our site in 2001. It was the bee's knees then, but wouldn't be able to hold it's own now with modern SEO standards.

6. Your Site Is Slow

When someone visits a website, they expect it to load quickly and work efficiently. This is more important than ever for mobile devices. In fact, a study by KISSmetrics says that 47% of consumers expect that a web page will load in 2 seconds or less.  40% of people will ABANDON a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load. A site that loads fast is important to your customers, which means it should be important to you. By the way, it's also critically important to Google.

7. You’ve Outgrown Your Website

A healthy business is always growing and evolving. You should review your site every year to determine if the content is still relevant, the calls to action are still what you need, and that your basic business information is still correct. When you do your annual review, you'll likely discover there are several issues that need to be addressed. That's a great time to call your web designer and freshen things up a bit!
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