Once Internet users have been drawn to your site using the key elements explained in this book, your next step is to keep them there and convert them from a visitor to a customer. You can achieve this by having a site with great content. A Web site with great content is one that not only meets, but exceeds the expectations of the Internet user.
If something is seen on the Internet three times, it then becomes an expectation. For example, if a consumer is searching the Internet for an allinclusive golf vacation and three of the five sites they visit have a virtual tour of the golf course, club house, or resort rooms, the consumer suddenly expects to see a virtual tour on all golf resort sites. Any site that does not have a virtual tour will be seen as not keeping up with the latest trends.
By providing great content on your site, you will ensure a higher conversion rate among your Web site visitors and position yourself to be seen as a leader in your industry. Great content keeps visitors engaged and on your site longer. The longer they stay, the more they feel like they know you, the more they feel they are a part of your community, the more they trust you, and the more willing they are to do business with you—and as I’ve said before, and will say again, people do business with people they know and trust.
Exceeding customers’ expectations, online and offline, should be part of every business’s culture. Some companies get it and some don’t. I stayed at Outrigger Waikiki while speaking at a conference and this note was on the night stand:
Aloha!
Ki-na’ole (flawlessness)—We do the right thing, the right way, at the right time, in the right place, for the right person, for the right reason, with the right feeling, the first time.
They obviously get it.
Ultimately, as with everything related to your Web site and Internet marketing, what is considered to be great content depends upon your objectives and your target market. In this chapter I will give you an overview of a variety of elements which, if appropriate for your Web site and implemented correctly, will be successful in attracting and converting your target market, including:
- The “WOW” factor
- Social media integration
- eBrochures and iBrochures
- Audio and video
- Podcasts
- Interactive maps
- Widgets
- Interactive elements.