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
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?
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc. and Founder & Editor in Chief of an award-winning blog, WomenOnBusiness.com. She is a 25-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored 10 books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing.
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Today consumers don’t have time for content that isn’t about them – what they want right now, what they need to solve a particular problem, etc. Tell me in the first seven words or 3 seconds why a relationship with you will solve my problem, make my life better, make me better looking, richer, happier, thinner, taller or whatever. This is why direct marketing took off like a rocket back in the 1980s and why Web sites – when done well – are so essential.
Steve, very well said, and I couldn’t agree with you more!