Quick Tips: Pro Images, Security and Knowing Your Website

SHARE NOW

Today, we’re introducing a new periodic feature of quick tips.  These five tips might not demand a full blog post or podcast episode but are very good to know.

1. Instill a professional design mindset in your team.

Sure, most radio people are not graphic designers, but they should try to put professional-looking artwork with every article, contest, event, etc.  I’ve seen news posts images that look like free clip art.  The written copy is the main attraction, but the first impression comes from their chosen artwork.  Too many stations are putting little emphasis on this, and their websites end up looking less professional.  If the artwork is low quality or not properly fitting the story, then you’re likely to lose clicks or credibility.

2. Have a professional logo designed for each brand your company represents.

Logos are the first impression of any brand, and countless studies have shown the impact a good logo design can bring.  Some companies have changed their logo over the years and faced fierce ridicule from brand-loyal clients.  You might be thinking of your station logo, but I’m talking about a logo for each big event, popular show, and podcast.  Have a professional logo created for each contest that you create.

Get honest reviews of your logos from people who do not care about your feelings.  People who are not graphic designers can create logos, but that doesn’t mean they look professional.  You’ll be surprised how much more engagement you’ll receive with whatever you’re promoting if the presentation looks professional.

3. Ensure your team is using strong passwords.

I’ve mentioned this in several other episodes, but I cannot stress it enough.  Strong passwords are the best defense against keeping malicious actors out of your website.  Ensure that your team is not using the same password on their website that they are using anywhere else.  If they use a weak password somewhere else and that system is compromised, whoever has their password can gain access to your station website, which can be catastrophic.

4. Check your security logs periodically.

If you’re running a WordPress website, be sure that you have a security plugin installed.  This will alert you when malicious actors try to access your website.  If you use the Wordfence plugin, pull up the “Tools” menu to see your security-related traffic.  This will be an eye-opening experience to see all the malicious locations trying to access your website through known security holes and other nefarious means.

For each entity that tries to access your site from unfamiliar locations, ensure that you select “Block IP” to block the Ip address from gaining access.  Ensure that you do not accidentally block yourself or a co-worker.  We recommend checking this at least once per week.

If you don’t have a security plugin on your site, please look into one.  The more layers of protection you can give your website, the better.

5. Test the limits of your website.

Whether you use a service or create your own website, test the limits of what it can do.  And then, think about how you can monetize that new functionality.  If you have a page builder on your website, test out every function with the mindset of how that function might benefit a client.

We always suggest that our clients create a test page and test out each element in our page builder because there are simply too many options to go over in a walk-through.  When you’re familiar with your website tools, you’ll be more ready to make more money with them.

Wrap up

Those are our five quick tips for today.  I hope they help you.  Be sure to check out the podcast next for our first video podcast.  It will be available on Anchor and Spotify as well as Youtube.  I’m unsure about the other platforms, but the audio version will also be available.  Our guest next week will be Corey Elliott with Borrell Associates and we’ll try to get some insight from him into what’s to come for radio stations and what they are doing online.

We want to help your radio station grow and succeed online.  That journey starts with an amazing website that keeps visitors coming back often.  Reach out to us to start your path to online success, or book an appointment to see our tools in action.