Engagement? Commitment? Some Relationship Advice.

July 18, 2011 | by Rosemary Sallee | Posted in Web Content

In a recent brainstorming session with colleagues, we shared and compared examples of engaging content on the web.  What elements pull us in, make us want to delve deeper, and feel like we belong, that we’re a part of the experience?   There were many different answers, but several common threads connecting them. On many levels, it’s about keeping commitments.

Keeping Commitments

The people around the table understood commitment – we are all balancing work, relationships, parenting, volunteering, athletics, creativity and a host of other roles and duties. 

One coworker mentioned video:  “I click on a video and I get absorbed in it – very engaging.”  For others, it’s not about movement:  “I just want them to give me what I asked for,” a colleague moaned. “When I get an email, I just want the topics I click on to be right there for me when I get to the website.” 

I admit it;  I’m a sucker for polls and surveys.  If it’s a topic I care about, I want to know what other people think – and whether or not they agree with my point of view.  It’s about feeling a part of an online community. 

We all want to feel a part of something bigger – on- and offline.  Some of us mentioned sites that immersed them in an experience, making us feel a part of the site’s world.  Others use websites as places to take a break, returning to sites that have a little bit of everything, food for thought, factoids and news.  The timeliness and fresh content engages us, pulls us in, and keeps us coming back.

Know your audiences

Who are you trying to reach?  Do they use mobile technologies, social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, or are they more “traditional” web browsers? 

Are they visiting for business, pleasure, family concerns, or a combination? 

What are they looking for – guidance? Information?  Fun?  Products?  Some of each? 

Different audiences will have different ideas about what engages them;  understand who’s coming to your site and what their needs are, and you’ll be on your way to creating an engaging experience for all of them. 

You’ve made a commitment to serving your customers, members, or constituents.  Prioritize your media outlets based on their needs – if they live on Facebook, make that a priority.  If they tweet, so must you.   

Sometimes short engagements are the best kind. 

Sometimes an engaging site is one that lets visitors get in, get the information they’re after, and get out speedily.  A recent visit to www.usps. com  allowed me to change my mail service for vacation. I got in, found what I needed, and made the change in just a few minutes. 

How was I engaged if I left right away? 

Based on my experience,  I’m likely to be back before too long;  my engagement with the site will continue the next time I need to change my service.  I have confidence I can find what I’m looking for and accomplish my goals quickly and easily. 

Thinking about it that way, a short, sweet experience seems pretty engaging.

Push what matters, and what your visitors expect

Use newsletters, emailings and other push technologies to provide relevant, useful information.  Make sure that what’s included in the communication is easily and quickly found on your website. 

Nothing is more frustrating than clicking on a juicy blurb in a weekly newsletter , then being unable to find the entire story once you’ve reached the website.   I recently unsubscribed to a newsletter when it consistently delivered masses of content that I didn’t need – and none that I did. 

Commit to content

Another challenge for companies who want to build engaging websites is the commitment to keeping them updated.  This can be a daunting task. 

Not to beat you over the head with the marriage / engagement metaphor, but you get out of it what you put into it;  why create a valuable website, then let it languish?  Understand how much time it will take you to keep your site updated, and make that commitment.  Nothing is more engaging than visiting a site where the information matters, and having that information be fresh and timely each time you arrive. 

Engagement=Commitment

I guess the moral of the story is:  if you want engagement, you have to be committed.  Keeping commitments to your website visitors can help you to discover what draws them in, and keeps them coming back for more.  It’s like any relationship:  it requires a lot of work, but it will pay off in the end.