I am a huge fan of ‘next step navigation’ on a web site — the ability to anticipate what a user may want to do after visiting any page in your site...]]> It’s a new year…a time to reflect and prepare.

I am a huge fan of ‘next step navigation’ on a web site — the ability to anticipate what a user may want to do after visiting any page in your site. This is done through analytics, observation, and internal politics (you know what I’m talking about).

But one aspect of success for most of us is the “Anti-Field-of-Dreams” phenomenon. If you build the site, that doesn’t mean people will come. As I dig through traffic of sites, one thing I notice is that although direct traffic to the site is the #1 entry point, the successful visits (completing a task we want them to complete) are done through push marketing.

Although I don’t say goodbye to ‘next step navigation’, this year’s goal is to push sites in front of more eyes.

My initial steps:

• Email Marketing - my old friend. Successful emails are relevant, urgent, targeted, and focused.  3 out of 4 isn’t good enough for those elements. Make sure every email we send this year hits all four cylinders.
• Social Strategy. I’m going to let my friends do more work this year. It’s not enough to have a group on Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr. It’s time to create groups and pages related to goals. Simple awareness and presence is soooooo 2008.
• Mobile Infiltration. Not for the masses, but goal fulfillment is no longer a desktop/laptop-only environment. If it’s location-based or event-based activities, they will now be mobile-ready and pushable activities.

I haven’t forgotten about content syndication, but that turns out to inform, not drive. It’s time to put our users in the drivers seat…all roads lead to my site (Corny? Yes. Selfish? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely).

Have a great 2009.

In most electronic relationships that I have with organizations, they ask me how they can communicate with me...]]> A recent article in The Chronicle — Email is for Old People? — outlines the common fight on every campus…communicating effectively with current students.

In most electronic relationships that I have with organizations, they ask me how they can communicate with me. I provide an email address, a cell number, an address. Something that lets them know where to find me if I need to hear from them. Why not in higher education?

The increase in alert systems for emergencies on campus lends me to believe it’s time to broaden the scope of these systems. If they are good enough for class cancellations, then they are probably good enough for daily updates…specific to the student.

At orientation, let the students tell you — individually — how they want to hear from you. Then, allow them to change their mind online. Some colleges are starting this. But I say that every college that is complaining about students not checking their campus email should climb aboard.

A nice morning rant to a lingering pet peeve of mine. Fix your problem.

Over the last few years (ever since the NHL came back from the strike), the organization has been trying to crawl back into the living rooms of the American public.  They have used great partnerships to do this, namely Yahoo broadcasting games online...]]> Well, they almost get it.

Over the last few years (ever since the NHL came back from the strike), the organization has been trying to crawl back into the living rooms of the American public.  They have used great partnerships to do this, namely Yahoo broadcasting games online. Sometimes the quality was there, mostly it wasn’t.

Now, the NHL ventures on their own with live games online. They greatly expanded their video section of nhl.com to include interviews, game highlights, features, and in-game podcasts. If you are a hockey fan, but are doomed to live in a non-hockey market, nhl.com is for you.

As for the games, well, that will cost you. A subscription service of $169 will get you the season online. It will be interesting to watch how many subscribers they get.

Overall, much more video online, and broken up very well. It’s now time to look at games, since there are so many fans out of market.

 http://www.edvangelist.com/wp-admin/post-new.php

I have seen a split in the approach to Web content. There seems to be the Google campers that put findability over function...]]> Let me preface this post by saying that I have sat through a barrage of search optimization sessions and discussions in the past month or so.

I have seen a split in the approach to Web content. There seems to be the Google campers that put findability over function. Then, there is the McGovern campers that believe if there’s no value when your user is in the door, they’re gone.

You’re both right, but where is the common ground?

• Flat navigation.  For optimization to be successful, the spider needs to find a page quickly and through a relevant path. The more tunnels you give the spider to reach the content, the higher your relevance. Same works with a user: as a scanner, the user is looking for a relative term. The sooner they find that relative term, the better. Without overwhelming your site visitors, give them plenty of grouped link sets to find information.
• Multiple entry points. Search relevance points are awarded when known/popular sites push traffic to your site. And vice versa. So link up with associations and industry sites. For the user, this also applies. Not everyone comes into a site knowing that’s where all the information they would ever need would be. The Web is a roadmap to information.
• Keywords. It always come down to content. With great navigation and push from external sites, the user will determine if the journey was worth it by the quality of information. They are still scanning, so a consistent term that was used in navigation will make them feel right at home. Don’t overdo it, just for Google. Use the terms appropriately and naturally. Listen to how users describe your institution, programs, etc., then use those terms. Institutional Advancement will lose to Giving or Development every time.

Keep it simple. Listen to your users first, then build your search strategy around them.

As we go through site effectiveness and audience understanding, we now have to think in 3-dimensional terms...]]> I caught a great article from Business Week today: Welcome to the Weekend Web.

As we go through site effectiveness and audience understanding, we now have to think in 3-dimensional terms. It used to be ‘who are our users’ and ‘what do they want to do’. Now add ‘where/when are they using our site’. Technology has allowed us to turn our sites into mobile-ready layouts. That’s not the issue. The question to be answered is, ‘can they get to the good mobile content quickly?’

A few things to remember:

• mobile users still have too many roadblocks to navigating your site on their mobile device.
• if the information they want isn’t instant, or easy, they’ve moved on
• promote mobile content so users will know where to go when the time is right.

‘Is our site mobile-compatible’ isn’t the issue. ‘Is our site mobile-user ready’ is.

Apple claims in its filing that the GreeNYC mark is “likely to cause confusion, mistake or deception in the minds of consumers.” The claim also suggests that consumers would be likely to purchase products with the GreeNYC logo and associate them with Apple products...]]> I caught this story from Advertising Age regarding Apple’s pursuit of legal action against New York City tourism.

Apple claims in its filing that the GreeNYC mark is “likely to cause confusion, mistake or deception in the minds of consumers.” The claim also suggests that consumers would be likely to purchase products with the GreeNYC logo and associate them with Apple products.

Why is Apple worried about this? The mission of this organization is to urge New Yorkers to take steps to reduce pollution and greenhouse gases. Is Apple against this?

I will leave this to the masses to judge, but my four cents are this:

• Since New York is known as the ‘big apple’, they have relevance.
• This is a temporary run. It’s not like the logo is going to be here forever. It centers around a promotion.
• NYC & Co. (the tourism group behind GreeNYC) is not in the computer or software business.
• The logos don’t even look alike, other than they are both apples. Did Apple invent this juicy fruit?

I even used Apple’s “green” logo for comparison.