Manage Your Website Like a Holiday Party

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.

Holiday parties are one of the things I look forward to the most this time of year! I love food and I love my friends, and holiday parties are a great way to combine the two. This week I have been finishing up plans for the annual Christmas Gala (sounds fancy doesn’t it?) that I host with my fiance. We have been busy compiling the guest list, decorating the apartment and figuring out the menu. Our guests are always at the front of our mind so that we can provide a variety of food and entertainment that will please all. It is a fun challenge!

Just like with any party, your website planning needs to consider your audience and provide a good variety of content. This takes a lot of work to keep everyone engaged. For a successful website think of it like an online party and keep the following tips in mind:

Photo Credit: andruby

Know Who You Are Entertaining
One year we made the mistake of providing mostly meat and cheese, leaving the vegetarians with a poor choice of food. This time around we have rounded out a menu to please the vegetarians, meat lovers and those with a sweet tooth in the group. When planning a strategy for your website the first thing to consider is your audience. Think about who will be visiting your website and what kind of content they are looking for. Make sure to provide valuable information for everyone who will be visiting!
Make Sure The Venue Looks Good
The tree is decorated, the lights are up and the Yule Log is ready to be played on our TV. In the hours before the party I will be taking care of the other details that make our guests feel festive. A well designed site is very important, but so are the smaller details throughout the content. If you have a CMS this is something that you need to take note of as you add new content. Take a look at each page and make sure that the content flows well – headers are the correct size, images are not squished against the text and there are not any crazy colors or large fonts.
Provide Constant Entertainment and Food
Our guests never complain that they are bored or hungry. We make room for socializing, singing along to carols, and playing games. And, no matter what you are doing, food is available! In the same sense, you do not want to let your website run out of content. Make sure there is plenty of valuable content to look at, because if you stop providing content then people will leave and won’t come back. I only have to entertain guests for a few hours, your website is online looking for attention 24/7!
Don’t Forget The Treats!
My favorite part of party planning is making all the treats! This year I will set out a variety of cookies, cheese cake bites, whoopie pies and candy throughout the apartment for people to enjoy. Providing content “treats” on your website will keep your visitors happy too! Give them some free tips, downloads, or interactions and visual media that will give your visitors a reason to stay on your site and then recommend it to others.

Hopefully these tips will help you get ready for your own holiday party as well as your online gathering! Just remember to always think about who you are entertaining and what will keep them happy. Pay attention to what people are saying and use that to improve for the next year, or in the case of your website – all year round!

Read the rest of the Internet Marketing Advent Calendar