So a few weeks ago there was a job opening in a friend’s manufacturer company, and he was having a really hard time finding someone adequate for the job. He kept going back and forth through job portals, LinkedIn, and even speaking with colleagues and friends of colleagues, but no one seemed to fit the right way with the kind of person he needed. And so he told me that his life would be so much easier if there existed a job portal or online platform exclusively for people within his industry, that he could either interview for the job or get recommendations from.
Recently, we’ve been discussing many of the drawbacks and benefits that creating a microsite could have for your business and the different utilities that you could give them in terms of both improving your website and creating a better experience for your users. However, it seems that we’ve been a little too marketing/commercial/users’ point of view centered, haven’t we? Because, so far, we have never discussed the possibility of putting together a microsite that would make life easier both for you and for your industry’s colleagues. So today, we’ll be discussing how, why, and what to consider if you think creating a microsite to get your industry’s professionals all together could be a good idea.
How can I create a microsite that will be useful for my colleagues?
Well, there certainly are a lot of opportunities to create a microsite (or a whole family of microsites) that will be interesting and useful for our colleagues, but unfortunately today I’m writing an article, not a novel. So we’ll dive into the ones we believe to be the two best ideas when it comes to gathering all your colleagues together: A job portal, or a community of professionals. So let’s talk about each separately, shall we?
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- Creating an exclusive job portal: In my friend’s case, this would be an awesome possibility given the fact that he could browse through candidates that are dedicated specifically to his industry, and not just a lot of random people that are dedicated to a huge variety of things. Of course, job portals are not exactly an innovative thing, and there are some good ones already working, but probably there are no such specific ones that would help everyone in your industry search for jobs and employees within the same world. Also, if you actually develop good software and create a useful website, you can even generate some extra income from it by charging a small fee to anyone who actually is able to recruit someone using your site.
- Creating a community of professionals: Nowadays, pretty much no one can afford to not have a LinkedIn profile because it is the platform where work-related things and connections happen and are made. However, there are some scenarios where having literally every existing job on the same platform can make the experience a bit annoying, or less rewarding. So how cool would it be to have a LinkedIn-like community, except only people from your industry get to join? I believe this would definitely be an awesome addition to your colleague’s lives, and that all of them will be able to get something beneficial from it.
Which are the benefits of creating a microsite for my colleagues?
- SEO Gold Mine: We go through this exact point every time we describe the benefits of microsites, but the thing is it really is something that should not be just left off. Having a whole new website (or a bunch of them!) ready for you to fill them up with content, links, and keywords is definitely an incredible opportunity to dig into everything you can improve within your SEO strategy. Basically, having a white linen waiting for you to turn it into an SEO gold machine is, at least, something that you should sit back and consider.
- Laser target audience: Since you’ll be building a microsite with a community out of a whole load of people who are interested in your industry (or at least we can assume they are since they are dedicated to it, leaving aside the whole vocation or no-vocation issue), you have the opportunity to gather together a totally new crowd of people who might turn into a useful target. Either because you already are developing something that they could be interested in, or you are planning to, then having an audience ready to be targeted with your product will definitely come in handy.
- Networking: I believe there is no such thing as too many contacts, and that, when it comes to knowing and being in touch with your industry’s professionals, the more the merrier. Either because you need someone to recommend you someone for you to hire, or because you have a cool update that other colleagues might find interesting, or because you have a really specific question that can only be answered by well-formed and experienced colleagues, then having them at a one-message distance in your very own microsite is always better than going crazy about it on your own.
What to consider before deciding whether or not to create a microsite strategy for professional purposes?
- Budget: Microsites are awesome, but of course, always depending on how complex you want it to be, it will cost you some money. And hey, we all agree that this is not a waste but an investment, but people are not always ready to invest in a microsite strategy, and that’s perfectly valid. So the first thing to figure out is how much does it cost to make your microsite dreams come true, and whether or not you want to invest that money.
- Time: Again, depending on the complexity of your microsite/s, the building process may take some time. In general, microsites are built much quicker and easier than regular big sites, but if you are planning on creating a super complex software that will make your colleague’s lives 2 times better, then you have to be ready to wait for it, so are you willing to wait for it? (reference intended).
- The sub-market you are planning on gathering: LinkedIn didn’t happen overnight, and neither will your community. So another essential thing to figure out is which will be the portion of your industry’s professionals that you will intend to gather together while taking the first steps. This can be either from a certain place, age, specialization, or interest, among many other possible divisions.
So, as we can see, just as with any other microsites, there are a lot of benefits and things to consider before jumping into building a microsite strategy for your industry’s professionals. But hopefully, today we’ve covered some of the keys to understanding them and got you to the point of making a well-informed decision towards this subject. And if we didn’t, maybe you should gather together with some colleagues to discuss this idea; Oh, but wait, where would you?
Mora is a PPC Analyst at Hellbent Digital at work, and a theater nerd when not at work. And it turns out understanding theater—that is, how to put on compelling live shows that engage the audience—is a very useful skill for understanding digital marketing.