Dealing with website development issues can be an overwhelming task. There are many
things your marketing team must consider, in fact, there are so many things to bear
in mind that many of the most important ones never get dealt with, or are buried under
competing interests.
To avoid project paralysis you should focus on certain key areas of concern from which
all other issues flow. Whether upgrading your existing website or developing a new webmedia
initiative from scratch, consider these four vital questions that need to be answered:
1. What content should be included?
2. How should content be delivered?
3. How is your website going to be marketed?
4. What will visitors remember? What Content Should Be Included? Content is a function of purpose. Unfortunately many websites don't have a clearly thought-out
realistic purpose; and orders alone, is not an adequate website objective. Obviously every
company needs sales, that's a given, but sales are a result of all the marketing elements you
put in place, and the degree to which your presentation distinguishes you from your competition. There is a prevailing view that traffic translates into sales; this viewpoint may be valid for
websites whose economic model is commodity or advertising-based, but businesses that don't compete
on price alone, or are more than an excuse to deliver advertising, must be structured around a
purpose that is more meaningful, and far more compelling than 'give me an order or don't bother me.' An over-emphasis on search engine friendly site design ignores the fact that when someone does
a search for what you do, they'll not only find you, they'll also find many of your competitors
as well. And even if you appear first in the search, nothing will stop potential clients from
clicking on any of the other organic or advertised listings, or even the numerous Adword links
on the side of the page. The biggest website design problem companies have is not the amount of traffic generated from
search engines, but rather how visitors react to your content. Are visitors engaged, enlightened,
and entertained so that they stay on your site long enough to get your marketing message, and is
that message compelling enough for them to remember it? There are many misconceptions about advertising content, one of the biggest is that people hate
it, but the truth is, what people hate is bad ad content; qualified clients actually look forward
to good advertising because it presents a relevant problem, and provides a believable solution,
in a distinctive memorable presentation. If your content doesn't engage your audience with a persuasive, memorable presentation then
you'll never achieve whatever website marketing goals you've set. How Should Content Be Delivered? We know the vast majority of people don't like to read text on a computer screen, so they scan
for relevant information concentrating on bulleted points, captions, and headlines, but does
that truncated information really get your message across? Website text is really designed for
search engine spiders, which is fine, but how about paying a little attention to people and how
they absorb and remember information? We also know people are impatient and are ready to abandon your website with the click of
mouse, often in mid sentence before they ever get to the point you are trying to make. Your
clients are sophisticated media consumers raised on video games and television, and are used
to making quick decisions on limited information; this kind of leap-of-logic protocol demands
a clever focused presentation.
Your audience will be gone in seconds no matter how convincing you think your content is,
if it is not presented in a media-savvy manner that holds viewer attention, otherwise your
website is nothing more than a glorified Yellow Page ad. Audio and video has the potential to deliver information in a form and format that attracts
and holds viewer interest while it makes a memorable impression. But even audio and video
will fail if it is badly conceived, poorly written, and amateurishly performed. How Is Your Website Going To Be Marketed? Everyone is concerned with traffic and how to drive it to their websites. Search engine
optimization is only one marketing technique, and it's one that ignores the impact of
content on your audience in favor of attracting the attention of search engine robots. By
all means, build search engine friendly elements into your site but don't ignore people-friendly
elements as well. Having text-based articles on your site is an excellent way to provide search friendly
information, but presenting that same information as a professionally produced audio option,
or a lively video presentation is certainly more memorable. An entertaining webmedia presentation makes a lasting impression that viewers are more
likely to recommend to colleagues, thereby increasing your traffic and reputation.
Word-of-mouth is the best way to generate qualified traffic, and the best way to generate
interest in your site is to make your site's presentation a rewarding experience.
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About The Author
Jerry Bader is Senior Partner at MRPwebmedia, a website design firm that specializes in Web-audio
and Web-video. Visit (http://www.mrpwebmedia.com/ads),(http://www.136words.com)
and (http://www.sonicpersonality.com). Contact at info@mrpwebmedia.com
or telephone (905) 764-1246.
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