Social Media 101: Tactics and Tips to DevelopYour Business Online

Chapter 72. What Do You Think People Want from Your Site

Forever the thinker, Jeremiah Owyang posted about the future of corporate web sites.^[236] He cites Kristie Connor and Christopher Smith, who won a contest for their efforts to describe such. It's a great question. I'd recommend reading Jeremiah's post and commenting on it, but if you want to talk about it more, it's a great question.

PEOPLE WANT INFORMATION

They do not want marketing. When I go to Staples.com, it's because I need a store locator, or the price of a USB drive. I don't mind being sold potential values and bargains related to the information I seek, but I sure don't want to hear a big marketing pitch about whatever you think the summer value plan is going to be.

PEOPLE WANT SIMPLE

When I go to GM.com, I get three easy choices right off the bat: corporate info, vehicle info, and "experience GM" (whatever that is). That's not bad, because the site slots me pretty quickly, but the risk is that the site is static, and that means there are few reasons to return over and over again.

PEOPLE WANT CONNECTION

Want the real secret magic? People want to feel "seen." There are ways to do that. One is something we do all the time on blogs: We comment back. Another is through polite(!) use of cookies to remember that you like things set up a certain way when you are visiting.

Further, people would like to connect with the people at an organization, not just through forms and chutes, but in as many ways as they can conceive. Know who ...