Building the Perfect Website

I’ve been giving a lot of thought about online content lately.  One of the terms I often use when discussing online content and marketing with my clients is the shift that happened many years ago with the birth of the social Web that is at the forefront of the online environment today and still growing — that is moving from destination-centric to audience-centric in web design, web development, online brand building, and web usability.

No longer can websites exist simply as an online destination.  Instead, they must be 100% audience-focused and deliver the information consumers are looking for — and they must do it fast!

So what’s the first step to building a perfect business website in the early years of the 21st century?  Make sure every page, every sentence, every image, and everything else on your website is audience-centric.  Focus on the consumer, not you.  That’s one of the core rules of social media marketing success, but truth be told, it has become the core rule for online marketing as a whole. I even discuss that rule in my book, Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps, as it relates to copywriting.

For example, a website like YouTube is great as a destination for online video.  However, it can be challenging to find the specific content you’re looking for on YouTube.  In 2009, highly targeted niche sites are all the rage, and the trend from creating destination sites to audience-focused sites makes sense — consumers have neither the time nor the desire to sift through page after page of useless information.  They want specific information and they want it fast.  Deliver it to them on your website by developing the structure and content with your audience’s needs and wants ranked as the top priority.  Be audience-centric, not destination-centric.

Your thoughts?

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The Evolution of CONsumers to PROsumers

The term “prosumer” isn’t a new one.  It’s been around the marketing world for years, but in today’s world of the social web, it has taken on a new importance that marketers can’t ignore.

The term “prosumer” has transformed from “professional consumer” to “product and brand advocate”.  Rather than simply “consuming” products, people are becoming the voices of those products and significantly impacting the success or failure of companies, products, and brands, particularly thorugh their involvement on the social web.

In simplest terms, no longer are businesses completely in control of their products, brands and messages.  Today, consumers are in control.  The leaders of this shift are the members of the social web — bloggers, microbloggers, forum posters, social networking participants, and so on, who spread messages, influence people around the world, and drive demand.  Prosumers are the online influencers that marketers must not just identify but also acknowledge, respect and develop relationships with in order for their products and brands to thrive.  The high level steps to leveraging the power of prosumers are as follows:

1. Identify the key online influencers for your product, brand, business or industry (i.e., the prosumers).
2. Acknowledge those people (e.g., send product samples, ask opinions, etc.).
3. Join the online conversation where those people already spend time.
4. Develop relationships with those people by interacting with them, providing useful information, and being accessible and human.
5. Leverage the opportunities of the social web by creating your own branded destinations such as a blog, YouTube channel, Twitter profile, Facebook group or fan page, LinkedIn group, podcast, etc.

The bottom line to connecting with prosumers and to get them talking about and advocating your brand, products and business is to deliver content that adds value to their experience with your brand.  Then, don’t be afraid to let them take control and spread your messages.  That’s where the power of the social web and online influencers to drive word-of-mouth marketing farther than ever comes into the picture, and that’s the ultimate goal for marketers.

Online Video Advertising Tips

My newest article is now live on Entrepreneur.com.  This month, I wrote about online video advertising, which is a great opportunity for businesses to connect with the rapidly growing online audience that actively watches online video. 

You can read the article here and start thinking about how you can add online video advertising into your own business’ marketing plan or add related services to your client offerings.

And you can follow this link to view my previous articles about copywriting and marketing communications published on Entrepreneur.com.

Social Networking and Blogs are More Popular Than Email

Have you shifted your marketing investments to match consumer habits?  Did you know that statistics show social networking and blogs are now more popular than email?  Is your brand represented where it needs to be?

Learn more in my guest post on the Womenkind.net (an ad agency based in New York City) blog, Social Networking and Blogs are More Popular Than Email.

Viral Video on Fire – The Evolution of Dance

Every marketer would love to create an online video that goes viral.  The recipe for success has yet to be found.  If you can create a video like the Evolution of Dance (below), which has gotten nearly 112 million views since it was uploaded and nearly 300,000 comments, then you can feel fairly confident that you’re on the right track to success.  I should note that this video has been online for just under three years, but if you do the math, it comes out to over 11,000 views per day.  Not bad.  Wouldn’t you like your marketing videos to do that well?

Check out the Evolution of Dance below.  It’s hilarious and nostalgic at the same time.  In fact, I think just about everyone (at least in the U.S.) who lived at some point between 1950 to the present will enjoy this video.  No wonder it’s so popular.

Top 10 Viral Videos of 2008

Want to see the top 10 viral videos of 2008?  Check out the list compiled by Truveo.  It’s interesting that not one of the videos is part of a formal marketing or brand-building campaign.  Food for thought for marketers to keep in mind as they develop and implement onine strategies for 2009.

I will post my two favorite viral videos from Truveo’s top 10 list here though, because there is a reason why they went viral and were viewed by so many people – they’re great.

Special K Ad Embraces White Space and Gets Noticed

Every advertiser knows (particularly online advertisers) that white space is important, yet it can be so easy to fall victim to the allure of that unused space and fill it up with more messages.  The result is inevitably a confused customer who doesn’t know where to look and ends up simply looking away.

That’s why it’s great to see an ad that makes great use of white space, clean design and simple colors to get noticed in one of the busiest of places – the home page of Yahoo!

Several times yesterday I found myself on the home page of Yahoo!, and each time, my eye was immediately drawn to the ad on the right side of the page.  An ad always appears in that spot, and my eyes have been trained not to notice it.  However, sometimes an ad jumps out at me and makes me take a second look.  Yesterday was one of those days, but instead of just making me take a second look, this ad made me take a second, and third, and fourth look.  Each time I visited Yahoo.com yesterday, I stopped and looked at this ad.  Check it out below.

Taking the ad out of its context, you’d never guess that it could be so visually compelling, but amdist the cluttered mess of the Yahoo! home page, this simple red and white ad for the Special K Challenge stood out like a beacon.  It simply catches the eye and makes you look at it.

Is the message compelling enough?  That’s another story entirely, and the design details could use some tweaking.  But the point is this – the design concept with the stark red and white colors and heavy use of white space worked. 

Just food for thought next time you’re creating an online ad that has to compete with clutter on all sides.  White space is good!  Embrace white space.

What do you think?

Image: Kellogg

Six Degrees to Barack Obama – Time Magazine Person of the Year 2008

It’s certainly not a surprise that Time Magazine chose Barack Obama for its 2008 Person of the Year title.  What is unique about this year’s announcement is the interactive web page that Time created showing how every other Time Magazine Person of the Year ever named can be connected to Barack Obama in 6-degrees or less (just like the classic game, 6 degrees to Kevin Bacon).

The web page adds a fun, interactive element to the annual person of the year announcement, and I have to give Time props for putting it together.  You can follow the link to view the interactive 6 degrees to Barack Obama page.  Once you get to the page, hit the Enter button to enter the site, and then select the Skip Intro link if you want to skip the introduction and go directly to the interactive 6 degrees to Barack Obama page.

What do you think?  Clever and cool, huh?

Image: Time

JCPenney Issues Viral Warning – Beware of the Doghouse

Kudos to JCPenney for putting together a video that’s gone viral and is actually funny.  The JCPenney video is called “Beware of the Doghouse” and includes a website, too.  The effort promotes the JCPenney jewelry products, and the website is very interactive.  Users can connect via Facebook, put people in the doghouse or send warnings, and more.  It’s a fun effort that coincides perfectly with the holidays.  Check out the video below.

Beware of the Doghouse- Hilarious! – Watch more free videos 

What do you think?

Shift from Print Advertising Drives Magazine Layoffs

If anyone doubted that print and television advertising were on the brink of suffering, those doubts have been shattered with the recent layoff announcements by not one, not two, but multiple magazine industry leaders in various categories.  Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Money have not just let executives go recently, but now, each company is seeking voluntary layoff participants to trim expenses.  the culprit – reduced advertising revenue.

The writing has been on the wall that print and television advertising need to prepare for a shift in ad spending from traditional media to online social media.  It could be argued that a business model overhaul is required to keep many of these publications floating above water in the long term. 

What do you think?  Will there always be a place for traditional print magazine advertising, or is the clock ticking?

Image: Flickr

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