This is an entry in our daily Internet Marketing Advent Calendar series. Each day your favorite marketing elves will focus on a new topic to get your internet marketing in order before the start of the new year.
Do you remember the scene in A Christmas Story when Ralphie gets a homemade gift from his Aunt Clara? He is completely humiliated by the pink bunny suit and will probably never wear it another day in his life. His Aunt Clara obviously spent a lot of time making that costume, but did she actually think he would want to wear something like that? In the words of Kevin McCallister (via Home Alone), “You can get beat up for wearing something like that.”
Photo Credit: abbey*christine
Ahh, the joys of gift giving… Tomorrow is Christmas Eve day and I have to admit that I am not done with my Christmas shopping yet. There are a few more items on my list and I always save the stocking stuffers for last minute (it never fails). As I’ve mentioned before, giving gifts is one of my favorite things during the holiday season. Part of what makes it special is giving a present to someone that you know they will really like, something that will surprise them, or something that they need.
This is a great practice to follow when creating content for your website. You don’t want to spend hours and hours creating content that people aren’t interested in. Use the same intention when creating content for your website as you do when you give gifts.
Listen to your customers.
I consider myself a pretty good listener and I pay attention to the needs of others. (Mom, if you’re reading this, stop now, spoiler alert!) Last spring, during Maine’s “mud season,” my mom was telling me about how dirty her boots were getting when she took the dogs out for a walk. I took note of that and when it came time for me to write my Christmas “Give” List, rainboots were one of the first items that I knew I would purchase for her.
Lesson: Listen to your customers pain points and create content that will be helpful to them.
Know what they like.
One year I got my younger brother a gift card to Bull Moose Music for Christmas. After he had used the gift card he told me what he purchased and how much he enjoyed that gift. He mentioned it a few times after that as well. When it came time to purchase for him the next year I got him another gift card to Bull Moose Music because I knew how much he had appreciated that gift. He was so happy that I had gotten it for him again and now getting him that gift card is part of a holiday tradition.
Lesson: Pay attention to what people like by reviewing the Top Content in your Google Analytics
and by measuring how much the content you create gets shared
(for example re-tweets on Twitter and likes/comments on Facebook).
When in doubt, ask!
My dad is always the hardest person to shop for and he doesn’t “need” anything. So this year I called him up and asked him when he would like for a Christmas gift. He gave me a few great ideas and I am sure he’ll be pleased Christmas morning.
Lesson: As you communicate with your clients ask for feedback. Ask them
what types of content they’d like to see on your website.
Here’s the video that I referred to above. I’ve never gotten a gift this bad, but I’m not opposed to re-gifting if it isn’t something I like that much.
Read the rest of the Internet Marketing Advent Calendar
- Dec. 22 – We Are Santa’s Elves
- Dec. 21 – Holiday CMS Shopping
- Dec. 20 – Top Searches in 2010 – Plus Facebook Statuses and Twitter Trends
- Dec. 19 – Get Your Website Prepared for Holiday Events Early
- Dec. 18 – Use Foursquare to Get Discounts on Holiday Gifts
- Dec. 17 – Manage Your Website Like a Holiday Party
- Dec. 16 – Tips For A Happy Holiday And A Successful PPC Year
- Dec. 15 – Track Santa’s elves with Google Analytics E-Commerce tracking
- Dec. 14 – Keep Your Christmas Tree and Website Alive!
- Dec. 13 – Be Sure to Meet Your Website Visitors’ Expectations
- Dec. 12 – Segmenting your email – I mean – holiday card lists
- Dec. 11 – One Link Goes Out, They All Go Out
- Dec. 10 – Addressing Pain Points Means More Than Broad Smarty Pants Slogans
- Dec. 9 – Sneaking a Peek at Qwiki
- Dec. 8 – Fix Up Your “Charlie Brown” Website
- Dec. 7 – Don’t be a Scrooge with Your Content
- Dec. 6 – ‘Tis The Season for Generosity
- Dec. 5 – Have you been naughty or nice? Now we have online proof.
- Dec. 4 – Online Holiday Shopping
- Dec. 3 – Make a List and Check it Twice
- Dec. 2 – Unclutter Your Website for the Holidays
- Dec. 1 – Walking in a Winter Wonderland of Unique Content