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HighTech
Women Join HighTech Women |
HighTech
Women & Business... "Let
me tell you a story …" Web viewers as content generators by Sue Blackburn |
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How many times have you visited a Web site and found out of date content, unchanged content since the last visit or syndicated material similar to a thousand and one other sites on the Web? 'Content is King' … or is it? Not if it is old, it is staid or if it fails to differentiate your site. Web users have matured as the number of sites has proliferated. Web site owners are now dealing with viewers who have increased expectations. Interaction, variety and to be entertained is anticipated as part of the online experience. Fail to deliver a unique and engaging experience and you may well find your viewer looking elsewhere. We are not talking Flash here. The latest browser technology and site design techniques are not what ultimately generates repeat visits. What does attract and bring viewers (and purchasers) back time after time is content, content that appeals to the individual, is relevant to particular needs and ultimately encourages the viewer to interact with the site. For B2C and B2B site owners this interaction often equals transaction. For information or community sites content and viewer interaction is the lifeblood of the business. Quality content is expensive to create and many major sites allocate a significant proportion of the development and maintenance costs to producing or procuring a diverse range of content offerings. However, although it is useful to offer new and professionally produced articles, value added content can also take many other forms and in addition create a connection between viewers and the site, a community in fact, which encourages a sense of anticipation in the visitor with each visit. Providing
value-added content can take many forms.
In the case of an ecommerce catalogue, the differentiator may take
the form of technical specifications, product descriptions, magazine
reviews, online customer service forums, FAQs, competitions and
promotions. Add to this a
customer review and you have the experience of
user generated content, producing direct interaction between users
and site. Customer
generated content is even more compelling when utilised in a niche
audience environment, delivering written material which is pertinent to
the user group. The more
personalised the content the more likely the target audience is going to
develop a synergy with the site and return with anticipation on a regular
basis. Encouraging the
customer to be part of the authoring/publishing process is not only useful
it is desirable. It
encourages dialogue and feedback, new content with vitality and attracts a
wider audience through a viral marketing effect. We
are not simply talking about articles. Discussion rooms, mailing lists and
newsgroups can all generate content that can be archived or utilised as
part of the general content of the site.
Snippets of articles can become part of the content of a regular
email (with a hyperlink back to the original article) or used to 'seed' a
discussion. 'Expert opinions'
can lead to debate. Put these
content publishing mechanisms into a B2C, B2B, e-Marketplace, B2E
(business to education) or B2G (business to government) environment and
you have the key elements for encouraging the transaction process. Reaching
this point, where users are participating in the authoring process, does
to some extent rely on having content in place to attract users in the
first place. Also, it is wise not to put 'all your eggs in one basket' so
to speak. A mix of
content sources will ensure a variety of viewpoints, news sources and
material (including multimedia). These
include:
For many online developers, content authoring is not the only issue. Publishing, and the mechanisms whereby it is achieved, are of major importance. Updating content on a regular basis is time consuming using standard web development tools. Major site developments are utilising content management applications for the rapid generation of pages, content archiving and embedding of content in partner sites. These applications are increasingly viewed as vital for major site developments in an environment where viewers hunger for new and pertinent information. New,
relevant and quality content is vital.
It is the lifeblood of the Web. Keep
it fresh. Keep it relevant. Differentiate. Formally an eBusiness Director with a top 5 consultancy, Sue is now a freelance consultant and an Associate of Desticorp Ltd which provides strategy consultancy to the Tourism and Leisure sector. Do you have comments or suggestions or other ideas in this field? Give us your feedback.
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HighTech Women, Ltd. 2000-2004. All rights reserved. |
Share your know-how It is time to get out there and share your know-how. The object of HighTech Women is meeting and mentoring. It's a forum for sharing your experience and expertise. In the coming months we look forward to hearing from you and having you share your business advice, "lessons learned" and give us a sense of how you feel the markets are changing and where we are all going in technology and technology related sectors. If you have you are interested in writing an article, please email us at information@hightech-women.com
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