As increasing numbers of people search for information on the Internet, it becomes more imperative to have a compelling Website to promote and support your meetings.
Here is my list of "The Seven Most Important Things You can do Online":
1. Identify all your Online Markets
It's a common mistake to focus your attention on the obvious target audience for your meetings site - the potential attendees.
But many other types of visitor may find your site, and it's important to consider whether they're important to you, how you want to engage them, and what outcomes you'd like to achieve with them.
Visitors to your meetings Website might include:
"Content seekers" is the term I use for members of the public who may not be regular customers or members of your organization, but who find you through a keyword search because they're interested in the content of your meeting. If you admit the public to your events, this is an important audience who might require different communications from your regular participants.
If you're looking for publicity, don't forget the importance of a press center. This should be very easy to find, and should contain all the information that a reporter would need to cover your event - they're usually under tight deadlines and will really appreciate this.
I include "competition" in this list because many people have asked me whether it's dangerous to put too much good information on your Website "in case the competition sees it". My (somewhat obvious) answer? "If your competition can't see it, neither can the people you're looking to attract!"
2. Set your Goals
This sounds self-evident, but is often overlooked. You can't evaluate your return on investment (see #7 later) if you don't know what you want to achieve. What will be your measures of success for this site in terms of your meeting? What are the key outcomes that you want - registrations, exhibitors, media attention, ongoing discussion forums, etc.
Also consider the expenses of the site against any potential savings - for instance, if you're implementing online registration, you want to be satisfied that your system can replace (and hopefully improve on) your real-world processes in a cost-effective manner.
3. Make it About Them, not You
Your site should be written from your visitors' point of view, not yours. Does your meeting description page clearly recognize why the reader might be there - what's in it for them to attend your event, and why they should care? What are the problems or issues that they might have, and how will participating in this meeting address them?
Include some testimonials from previous attendees giving clear examples of how they've benefited from this event in the past. Third party endorsements are worth far more than your own promotional text. They should be spread throughout your site, not relegated to a separate page (because few visitors will go to it).
4. Make it Easy to do Business With You
It's all too easy to throw online roadblocks into the paths of your visitors, perhaps without even realizing it. A couple of my favorite examples of this are:
5. Every Page of your Site should Have a Strategy
Whatever the outcomes that you want from your site, you need to ask for them. Too many Web pages end weakly, with no clear calls to action. Don't make your visitors have to work to decide what to do next - they won't! Every page on your site should have a strategy - invite the visitor to interact with you, or go to the next page, but make it easy and obvious.
So, at the appropriate place in each page (or at several points in the page), include a link to the appropriate form - "register for this meeting", "ask for an exhibitor packet" - or whatever invitation may be relevant.
6. Practice Multi-Channel Integrated Marketing
Offline marketing activities, such as postcard campaigns can be extremely useful in driving traffic to your Website. Think of all your marketing tactics as inter-related, and not as separate.
Don't rely on search engines to bring traffic to you - there are many other ways to create online buzz:
7. Measure your Success
The keys to evaluating the return on investment in your site, to improving it, and often to further business development ideas can be found in your Web traffic reports. These show what visitors are looking for, how long they spend on the site, where they go, where they leave, and what rate of response you get to the various calls to action.
These reports can be daunting - a mass of figures, graphs and URL's. But I'd strongly suggest that someone in your organization should understand them. Otherwise, you're shooting in the dark with your Web investment.
About The Author
Philippa Gamse, CyberSpeaker, is a Web strategy consultant and professional speaker. Check out her free tipsheet for 23 ideas to promote your Website: http://www.CyberSpeaker.com/tipsheet.html. Philippa can be reached at (831) 465-0317.
The needs of screen magnifier users are overlooked when implementing... Read More
Although there are significant differences among the various types of... Read More
Now that you have got your domain name registered, your... Read More
If you're looking for better web site ROI, chances are,... Read More
The big thing these days is your ability to capture... Read More
Dance is how you pamper your soul and satiate your... Read More
Your ObjectiveYour small business needs an appealing and professional website... Read More
If you don't have a web site yet, are thinking... Read More
A simple website stats counter is not enough if you... Read More
It may come as some surprise to a traditionally off-line... Read More
There are many different traffic analysis tools, ranging from simple... Read More
While studying online for IT investment opportunities, I found that... Read More
"Build it and they will come."--Filed of Dreams (1989) If... Read More
Web sites are an Ongoing Part of Business.All too many... Read More
If you have your own business website and you are... Read More
When you consider the billions of individuals and companies on... Read More
August 8 2005, Macromedia announced a release of Studio 8.... Read More
There is an ongoing debate about web copy. Some say... Read More
A lot of people these days are interested in getting... Read More
Are bloated images slowing down your web site and causing... Read More
Launching a new small business website is often a long... Read More
Even though the Internet has been around for a long... Read More
Recently I was reviewing the keyword specific conversion rate data... Read More
An accessible Web site is easily approached, easily understood, and... Read More
A website is the most versatile and cost-effective marketing tool... Read More
Your web site will be your window to the world.... Read More
1. Many people are not getting good or complete advice.... Read More
The first step in setting up an online business...Starting an... Read More
After deciding what kind of internet business you want to... Read More
Fantastico is a 3rd-party cPanel add-on and can be purchased... Read More
1. As the first step, "Hire a web designer."First create... Read More
A company must earn and keep trust or sales don't... Read More
cPanel is a control panel for your website and allows... Read More
If you like the Internet and surfing through the billions... Read More
Many executives and investors are skeptical that software products can... Read More
They might not be wearing a mask and carrying a... Read More
Think up a name and check if yourname.com is available.... Read More
Below, I have listed 8 simple steps that you can... Read More
You've decided to create a website to market your products... Read More
Before you start building your site, ask yourself "WHY?". Why... Read More
You have seen those web pages where they have the... Read More
Conceptualize, Build and Publish a Web site - What's required... Read More
Does your website have a links/resources page?Do you exchange reciprocal... Read More
Most interactive websites nowadays require data to be presented dynamically... Read More
People like to get immediate responses to requests. Autoresponders are... Read More
"How do I improve web site sales figures?" The CEO... Read More
Revenues are often lost because many business owners don't see... Read More
What is web accessibility & why is it important?Web accessibility... Read More
--------------------------------Why Should You Create a website?--------------------------------A. What do you want... Read More
A website is like an information flow, with you as... Read More
Making maximum profit from your law firm website is important,... Read More
When I started my company in 2002, I knew I... Read More
The definition of the phrase "Content Management" depends on what... Read More
With more and more countries around the world passing laws... Read More
If you're an up and coming graphic/web designer just out... Read More
As a business you can't afford to ignore the Internet... Read More
Your content is what gets you in search engines, speaks... Read More
Often time I've browsed sites and seen the same thing... Read More
Fantastico is a 3rd-party cPanel add-on and can be purchased... Read More
Although designing a great web site is an important part... Read More
Many millions of dollars are being wasted on promoting and... Read More
Everywhere you look these days, people are telling you that... Read More
Go to any internet marketing forum you want these days... Read More
Three way linking and concerns.For many years SEO experts were... Read More
If you ever want to create a state directory, article... Read More
An additional benefit of website accessibility is an improved performance... Read More
Web Development |