In today’s increasingly online world, it’s not uncommon to hear communicators working on a project get into intense discussions about drop-down navigation versus side navigation, bread-crumb navigation, mouse-overs, Flash versus HTML 5, user experience, information architecture and CMS – a seemingly endless list of questions and options about how some information should best be presented to its intended audience.
I interrupted one of these impenetrable discussions to ask about one part of the site they hadn’t yet discussed.
“What’s this little patch of lorem ipsum dolor sit amis stuff?” I asked.
“Oh, that’s for the content,” said one.
The content? That’s the stuff the site visitors (aka “readers,” “targets,” or “your audience”) actually come for and the stuff you want them to act on – whether that action is to buy, to understand, to agree, to like, to comment or even just to enjoy.
Yet on a lot of sites, too many to count, content doesn’t get the respect it deserves. The message isn’t clear. Often, too many words, or the wrong ones, support too few ideas. Enthusiasm swamps clarity, interest fizzles and that brief opportunity to capture your reader is lost. He or she clicks onwards to the Next Great Thing.
Content is more important than ever. Why? Competition for your audience’s attention. Audiences are bombarded with choice, from conventional media to a growing selection of social media – how can you stay current without constantly checking Facebook and LinkedIn? Who ever heard of Pinterest a year ago? How do you keep your audience’s attention when the flavor of the day changes dozens of times a day?
Conventional media outlets – newspapers in particular – are struggling to remain relevant against 24/7 instant-response competition from broadcasters, news aggregators, citizen journalists and frankly anyone with a smart phone and Internet access. One unfortunate result has been a serious decline in the quality of conventional media content. Grammar, syntax, spelling and punctuation are all taking a beating out there, while basic factual accuracy (who, where, what, why, when and how), sometimes known as getting the story “right,” is being thrown overboard in favor of getting it “first.” As Casey Stengel, manager of the appalling 1962 New York Mets said, “Can’t anybody here play this game?”
Navigation, user experience and information architecture aren’t unimportant. They’re all vital, particularly online, where users aren’t constrained by the rigid linear presentation of information on paper or television screen, and can click on links to take them wherever looks most interesting or appealing.
Information architecture, user experience and design, should all serve to heighten the reader’s interest in the content, not compete with it for his or her attention. Content shouldn’t be an afterthought, taken for granted or relegated to filling a hole on your web page.
Content is the reason your audience is spending valuable time on your site. Invest the time, make the effort to get that content right and you will reward your audience and give them all the reasons they need to deepen their relationship with you.
