5 Trends Affecting Association Websites and What You Can Do About It
Ray van Hilst Director of Client Strategy [email protected] @rvanhilst
5 Trends Affecting Websites in 2012
“If you build it they will come…”
But… no one goes to hear a bad orchestra.
Content Marketing is an umbrella
term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation
and sharing of content in order to attract, acquire and engage
clearly defined and understood current and potential consumer
bases with the objective of driving profitable customer action.
Content marketing subscribes to the notion that delivering
information to prospects and customers drives profitable consumer
action. Content marketing has benefits in terms of retaining reader
attention and improving brand loyalty.
Content Marketing Examples
• White Papers • Infographics • Webinars • Emails • Fact Sheets • Blogs • Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
Content Marketing
• A 2011 survey found that 82% of B2B companies use content marketing • Predicted Trends ▫ Shifting Technologies (e.g. RSS to Google+) ▫ Emerging content channels will steal the
spotlight from more established media ▫ Curated Content ▫ Search Engine Optimization including off site
optimization (e.g. social channels) http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2012/6827/content-marketing-trends-for-2012-whats-in-and-whats-out
1 Billion
“I Google something at least 12 to 14 times a day.”
“Google is my primary research source.”
“If I need something I Google it.”
“Google is my homepage so everything starts there.”
“I keep up to date on my industry with Google alerts.”
Personalization Trends from Adobe and eConsultancy • 52% of digital marketers agree “The ability to
personalize web content is fundamental to their online strategy.” • 41% are “Committed to providing personalized
experiences.” • Data used to personalize the web experience: ▫ Personal Data ▫ Browser History ▫ Purchase History ▫ Onsite Behaviour ▫ User Preferences
http://infographicsmania.com/website-personalization-trends/
Sharing Trends
• Facebook accounts for almost 53% of online sharing ▫ An almost 10% increase from
2010 • More options mean more
sharing • Mobile sharing is for real
5 Trends
1. Content Marketing 2. Search Engine Optimization 3. Personalization 4. Social Sharing 5. Responsive Web Design
You’re Probably About to Redesign Your Website
Top Factors for a Redesign
• 70.2% - Look and feel is outdated • 57.9% - Make it easier/faster to update; • 57.9% - Integrated with other technologies • 45.6% - Lack of functionality • 22.8% - Shifting business Model • 21.1% - Member Complaints • 5.3% - Board directive • 3.5% - Competition
Select the right web platform Make it easy to publish content
“The hardest part of managing a website should be writing the content. Not coding.”
Ray van Hilst Some guy speaking on a webinar
More than just a website editor
WYSIWIG & HTML News Events Calendar Shared Content Lists Form Builder Multimedia Social integration
“My staff really likes their CMS [Sitefinity] - they find it intuitive and with enough safeguards that they're not afraid of screwing up the whole site.”
Cathy Stegmaier Executive Director
Alliance of Cambridge Advisors
Testing a CMS
• Give the vendor sample content to migrate in the demo • Do a side by side comparison of publishing
content • Try a Sandbox Demo • Ask about training and documentation
Content Marketing Creating member value through content
“I am very much of a content-is-the-most-
important-thing [mindset]. You can have
the most effective integrated social media
platform and every kind of technology, but
if you don’t have anything to say, you’re
done.”
- James Carville, Associations Now
Association Content Marketing
• Industry News • Press Releases • Magazine Articles • Videos • Education • Blogs • Newsletters
Get Started
• Content Audit ▫ What do you have? ▫ Where is it? • Identify your channels ▫ Where should it go? • Institutionalize ▫ Get everyone on board ▫ Adopt the Manifesto
Content Marketer’s Manifesto (Top 5)
• #1 – I am a Marketer ▫ If you are creating content – even editorial – you are engaged in
marketing • #2 – I hold the hottest tool for retention – Content ▫ Relevant content is the best way to create value
• #3 – My content is aligned with the organization’s goals ▫ I create content that achieves my organization’s goals
• #4 – I am in the influencing behavior game ▫ My purpose is to provide value through content to influence and drive
behavior • #5 – I have an ongoing dialogue ▫ Content topics are driven by ongoing discussion and listening to their
needs.
http://bussolati.com/manifesto/
Search Engine Optimization Making your content found
http://readwrite.com/2011/12/13/googles-matt-cutts-good-conten
Good content trumps SEO "Even if you do brain-dead stupid things and shoot yourself in the foot, but have good content, we still want to return it,” “Google tries to make it so that sites don't have to do SEO."
Matt Cutts Google Webmaster Extraordinaire
SEO Tips • Make it visible ▫ Relevant content can’t be hidden behind a login
• Know your relevant keywords… and use them! ▫ Headlines ▫ Body Copy ▫ Internal Links
• Build links back to your site ▫ Press Releases ▫ Partner Sites ▫ Social Media and Communities
SEO Basics
• SEO Friendly URL • Title Tag • Keywords • Descriptions
Responsive Design Future Proof Your Website
Responsive Design
• One site ▫ Consistent content management • User experience is based on screen resolution • Device Independent • Restructured Layout
A website that responds to the device that accesses it
and delivers the appropriate output for it uses
responsive design. Rather than designing multiple
sites for different-sized devices, this approach designs
one site but specifies how it should appear on varied
devices.
https://itservices.stanford.edu/service/web/mobile/about/terminology
User Centric Philosophy
Generalist
Jim • 26 Years Old • General RT in a hospital • Early in career • Single, enjoys life outside
work • Transaction driven
Susan • 34 Years Old • Radiation Therapist • Hospital based • Married with two small kids,
always on the go • Transaction driven
Specialist
Sarah • 40 Years Old • Senior Technician with
many positions • Engaged at state level • Married with two kids (8
& 11) Careerist
Bob • 48 Years Old • Operations Manager • Service provider • Volunteers with state
affiliates and national org • Married with active
teenagers Evangelist
CEs Drive Web Usage Transactional 1
Transactional 2
Career Focused
Evangelist
Check & Manage CEs
X X X X
Continuing Education
X X X
Industry News X X X
Standards X
Events X
Careers X X
Vote X X
Volunteer X
Advocacy
Member Benefits
Welcome Box
Frictionless Social Sharing
AACRAO Sharing • 2,937 Shares (6 Months) ▫ Avg. 6 clicks per share ▫ 574% lift through
sharing • Top Share platforms ▫ Address bar ▫ Facebook ▫ Twitter
Online Community
Why Online Communities Matter
• Members join associations because of: ▫ Networking (22%) ▫ Access to specialized/current info (12%) ▫ Advocacy (12%)
2012 Association Membership Benchmarking Report, Marketing General
Communities Align With Trends • Create Content ▫ Discussion Groups ▫ Libraries ▫ Blogs • Facilitate Sharing ▫ Connections ▫ Networks ▫ Relationships
Conversion Points
Integrated Feeds
Wrap Up
Top Takeaways
• Create good content ▫ Put your users first • Make your content easy to ▫ Publish ▫ Go anywhere your users go ▫ Be found • Expand your website’s footprint ▫ Sharable content ▫ Create user connections
Q & A
Ray van Hilst Director of Client Strategy and Marketing Vanguard Technology Corporation 703.439.1990 [email protected] @rvanhilst