When developing a website for an organisation, audience reach, and engagement are some of the key factors that are considered. Web developers need to have this in mind as they develop a content site for their clients so that they can reach their targets and goals through a well curated, optimized and responsive site. This requires a deeper level of strategy and planning that goes beyond great design. Therefore, curating content that is audience focused needs to be with two main purposes—to reach potential clients and engage existing ones.
The number one challenge that most digital marketers face is developing a strategy that meets the overarching goals of their clients. This shows that online engagement through a website must utilize Social Media marketing. Research shows that 77 percent of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that they follow on social media. For this reason, the content that is generated for websites should be made inspiring, personal and entertaining more than it is advertorial. Thus, a balance between content that is geared toward engagement and outreach must be attained.
Reach
The reach of a website involves a design that has the potential of captivating site visitors. This means that a responsive design with fast load times, easy navigation panels and that carries a wow factor with each page visit, will tap into the opportunities that potential site viewers have. Connecting with a new target audience takes intentionality with finding out where they are and what they like. This includes developing activities that involve advertising and Public Relations campaigns for the organization. These can be event-based and triggered campaigns to increase brand visibility and generate conversations online. For example, a school website that aims at engaging and enrolling new or prospective families, will ensure that the Homepage has several calls to action (CTAs) that lead to a virtual tour of the school, the application steps as well as the contact page. This should be reinforced by existing marketing efforts such as school Open-Houses and partnerships with other brands that support education. However, caution should be taken against over-engaging in outreach activities that alienate the existing audience.
Interest
Engagement for the web means that website designs should be built to meet the needs of its existing clients and followers to sustainably engage them as well as go beyond reaching potential site visitors. This approach would ensure the high retention of clients and eventually convert them to advocates. According to the Digital Engagement Framework, "on an average for every 1,000 contacts you’ll have one enthusiast.” This suggests that, successful engagement happens when an existing audience advocates for the organization and its goals.
Some ways in which this can be streamlined on an organization’s website is through empowering them with the online tools and information they need to share. Raising awareness through training both internal and external users of the website will make it more navigable and visible. This involves developing a content strategy that aligns with the goal of the organization and that can be implemented on the available social media platforms and existing website. Having an enthusiastic staff team and followers who can utilize website provided tools, makes them more conversant with co-creating value through relevant content generation and social media shares for the organization. However, it should be noted that mainly prioritizing engagement over outreach efforts limits your target audience to only your existing audience.
Involve
Involving an existing and potential audience requires the application of several strategies and tools that make a website distinct. Boosting a website’s visibility through creating, growing and sustaining online relationships depends on the quality and timing of the content produced and presented respectively. This approach is called Web Engagement Management (WEM) and is about fostering existing relationships and cultivating these into brand ambassadors. Knowing the right kind of content that should be presented to your audience at the right time, is key when it comes down to their involvement. Planning content calendars and key wording for hashtags and posts, will improve on how accessible a website is. This involves using Search Engine Optimization (SEOs) to improve local searches, ratings and reachability on the site.
Activate
Finally, in order to activate low level engagement and transform it into high(er) level engagement, several approaches must be applied. These include but are not limited to involving visitors to share content through various share options on a page. Additionally, optimizing your website so that it is balanced with various forms of content such as text, images, videos, infographics and animation improves activity on the site. Additionally, having a website layout that is easy on the eye will improve site navigation. Research shows that site visitors should use two or three clicks to find the information they are looking for. Web information should be clearly defined and displayed coherently across each page. Moreover, there should be call to actions (CTAs) on every page as well as working links to sites and pages that emphasize the purpose and goals of the website.
Even so, it goes without saying that a website must be discoverable for the purpose of increased Return on Investment (ROI). The ROI of a website is attained through high shares, SEO optimization, the use of metrics to analyze user-data, track traffic and online trends so that informed decisions are made to expand the reachability of the website. Thus, finding reach and engagement through a website should be one of the digital marketing goals of any organization.
Twitter: @GloriaIribagiza
Email: glo.irie@gmail.com