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That’s the point of my upcoming education session “What Do Visitors Really Think of Your Website” at the ASAE Technology Conference this week.  Fellow presenters Linda Chreno CAE, Amanda MacEvitt and I will present an overview of how people use the web, identify some best practices and then review a few sites.  Audience members are welcome to suggest sites for review.

But if you can’t make it and want to take a fresh look at your site, where should you start?  Here are the top questions to ask as you look at your site:

• Do you know who I am?
  • Do you have content I want?
  • Can you solve a problem I have?
• Do I know what to do?
  • Where do I find the information I want?
  • How do I discover what you have to offer?

Of course, the key is to answer these from an outsider’s perspective. Too many association websites are built around the association’s org structure rather than the user.  And let’s face it if I’m looking for a networking event or continuing education class, I don’t care it it’s being managed by the meetings or learning departments.

To help with your review, we have a quick checklist you can download and walk through.  Be objective and frank with your assessment, it’ll help you identify a path to create a compelling online experience that meets your members’ (and potential members’) needs.

Download the Website Review Checklist

If you’d like an outside opinion, we welcome you to sign up for our Complimentary Website Review.  We’ll take some time to review your site and give you a written assessment of our findings.

Of course, stay tuned to this blog as we share more content from our presentation and tips on how to manage your association website.

Wrong.

At last week’s User Focus conference in Washington DC, author and user experience expert Giles Colborne gave a keynote on Emotional Interaction Design and pointed out how much emotion plays into our experiences.

Let’s face it, at some point we all get frustrated with using a website and want to act like this guy.

Yes, it is funny. And it is easy to think this guy is nuts and doing something wrong because he beat up his computer. But that is backwards. As web professionals, we must stop and understand he is frustrated for a reason and started using the computer with a level of stress that was already there.  The computer just put him over the top.

Here’s an alternate ending to the story. What if he had found exactly what he needed? What if he pushed the buttons and everything worked perfectly and saved him time?

Colborne pointed out that when one approaches a situation with a level of stress or anxiety and that situation is resolved effortlessly it creates a delightful experience.  We see this every day with real life customer service stories whether it is a smooth return to Zappo’s or how Specialty’s bakery brought my colleague a fresh orange juice.

But how often do we hear these stories about websites?

The reality is that when association members come to your website, they are visiting with a situation driven by stress.  They need to renew their certification and are worried they don’t have enough credits. They need to find a vendor because the one they had lined up cancelled at the last minute. There’s a regulatory change that could completely upend their business.  The stress is there and they are counting on your website to solve their problem.

This is where user centered design has to take root and become emotional design. Too many association websites look like the org chart and ask the user to know which department has the answer. A better approach is to understand the user through research and discovery and prioritize the reasons the users are coming.  Common reasons and point points include:

• Continuing education
• Networking and connecting with other professionals
• Get industry news
• Find a resource
• Get or renew certification
• Learn about regulatory updates

A good example of this in practice is the site Vanguard developed for the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT). We recognized that continuing education is the primary driver and so it is not only prominent in the navigation but has conversion points throughout the experience.

However, this all starts with research and knowing your user.  Once you do that, you can delight your member instead of annoying them.

And as Colborne pointed out, experiences that delight are not only more valued, but are remembered longer.  Which means the next time that member has a question they will remember your association’s website and will be more likely to turn there rather than a generic web search.

Wondering how your website compares to other associations? Please take our Association Website Redesign Benchmarking Survey and see how you stack up. Results will be used in a session at the 2012 ASAE Technology Conference and for industry white papers and education.

“I always make sure that when my team touches a piece of content or collateral, they make it better than it was before. No matter how small the requested change is.”

I was inspired by this comment from Bennie Johnson, Global Chief Marketing Officer at the HR Certification Institute.

It’s a liberating concept.  We website managers look at the Herculean task of updating thousands of website pages and making the whole thing better.  Then throw our hands up in frustration.

Small changes made now, rather than later, make your website better over the long run.

But here’s a better approach… make a series of small improvements and over time you will change the whole thing.

Maybe all you’ve been asked to do is update a date or add a paragraph.  You only have 5 minutes and need to move on to the next task.  How can you possibly make an improvement on the page without this turning into a big deal?

Here are 5 quick fixes to can make while editing each page that over the long term will gradually improve the quality of your website.

1) Make Sure There Is a Visual Hierarchy

As you look at the page, are you SURE you know what the most important thing is on the page?  Or is all content given the same weight? Make sure the most important content or message is the most prominent, that related content is grouped together, and there is a flow through the page.

2) Clean up the Content to Make it “Web Friendly”

Web users only read 25% of the text on a page and scan pages rather than actually read them.  Take a few minutes to shorten the content, break into shorter paragraphs and highlight key content with bullets and/or bolding for emphasis.

3) Add Relevant Links to Other Pages in Your Site

The origin of the web was text documents that linked to each other. Look at the content on the page and find opportunities to embed text links to other relevant pages in your site.

4) Add SEO Meta Data and Plain English So the Page Can Be Found

Make sure the page has an appropriate description and keywords in the meta data.  Keep the description brief (under 160 characters) and write it from an outsider’s perspective.  Also make sure the content is free of insider jargon and uses plain English based on how external audiences would refer to the subject.

5) Add a Graphic or Photo to keep Users Engaged

Pages with graphics and photos grab users interest and keep them on the page.  Add a small photo or graphic to illustrate the content on the page.  Keep it under 200 pixels wide so it is noticeable but doesn’t detract too much.

Lastly, decide if the page needs more work than you can do right now. Every now and then you’ll come across a page that needs more attention than you can give it in 5 minutes. Decide if this is one of those pages and notify the page owner or subject matter expert that it needs a bigger review and update.

By making these small improvements in each site page as you update your content, you’ll find that over time you have improved the entire site.  If each journey begins with a first step, the path to a better website can be filled with many small improvements.

Additional Resources:

• Don’t Make Me Think by Steve Krug
• Writing for the web articles from Useit.com
• Ten Usability Tips Based on Research Studies from Six Revisions

I took notes, got Monica to do a quick video interview after the session, and had high hopes. I started drafing this post many times and yet, the words never made it online.  But then I realized that the first point of a content marketing strategy is to just do it!

So as an association content expert, what do you need to know to get your content marketing strategy working for you?  Here are a few quick tips from her session and our experience at Vanguard Technology with building websites for associations:

Bring the Party to You

The main reason associations should care about content marketing is the fact that you have competition trying to get your members to their sites.  This could include for-profit publications, vendors and even other associations.  By developing a content strategy and embracing content marketing, you make sure that those eyeballs are staying on your site and keeping engaged.

Spread the Content Creation Around

Associations are rich in talent when it comes to creating knowledge and learning (just look at all those conference speaker submissions).  Enlist others throughout the organization to create content for your association website.  Go beyond your traditional journal editorial staff and embrace department directors, members, task forces and committees to create content.

Find a Common Voice

Even if your content is created by many, it still needs to have the same voice as the rest of the organization. Create an editorial guideline for content creators and include an editorial review to ensure consistent quality.

Monica had a number of other great points for associations to consider which I captured in this video interview after her session:

Side note to conference planners: We had to hunt for a place to shoot this video and this was the quietest place we could find. (Sorry for the background noise.) If you have content creators attending your conferences, include a “quiet spot” for these quick video interviews.

Monica has a number of other great points on her website, but the best way to embrace content marketing is to embrace her Content Marketing Manifesto (recapped below):

1. I am a Marketer
2. I hold the hottest tool for driving member retention: content
3. My content topics are aligned with our organization’s business
4. I am in the influencing behavior game
5. I am in an ongoing dialogue with our audience
6. My association has an organization-wide content strategy
7. I am not deterred by internal silos
8. I use all tools and channels available to engage
9. I am accountable for the efficacy of my content
10. I am an innovator in identify new content ideas
11. I take thoughtful risk

And to her manifesto, I’ll add one.

Just do it.

Don’t let fear and excess caution get in the way. Create some content, publish it, learn, and repeat. You’ll be glad you did.

In today’s day and age, you’re nobody without a website.  People can’t find you, don’t know what you do, or why you do it.  Without it, you just don’t rank against competitors with an established, robust internet presence.  Associations and non-profits used to be immune to this phenomenon, but this has begun to apply to them as well.

What to do?  Associations are strapped for cash, time and people.  Websites are expensive.  They take people and man-hours, and both are already spread thin. In my short time using Sitefinity, I see how its simplicity and user-friendliness makes it a perfect solution for associations. This product is so easy to use, it enables an organization to have a first class, dynamic and professional website without specialized, technical staff.

Sure, I know this sounds like a well-practiced sales pitch. But let me assure you, I have seen other website content management solutions out there. It’s not pretty.  In my previous life working in one of those short-staffed, small budget associations, one of my many tasks was to maintain the association website.  Through various stages of the site’s life, I used a few CMS products.  None of them were good.  Those tools are the main reason behind my rapid acquisition of HTML – the user interface was that bad.

My role at Vanguard was at first related to different aspects of the web redesign process and I was using other products and tools to assist our clients with their projects.  But with some looming deadlines, I got thrown into working with the Sitefinity CMS – without much training since everyone else was so busy.  (Don’t worry. We provide great training for our clients.)

And let me tell you, this CMS is definitely a thing of beauty.

The shortage of Sitefinity training proved to be a non-issue.  It is so intuitive, it truly is as easy as breathing.

Want to link to a document right here?  No problem, type the text, click a button, pick your file and bam – you’re done!  Want to have one of those menu items actually go to another website?  Simple.  Just label it a redirecting page.  Next time you click on that item, you’ll be at your new destination.

Getting content into the site is a breeze and styling it even easier!  Yes, I know HTML now, but I almost never need it, that’s how easy to use the interface is.  The styling buttons are so easy to interpret and create very attractive results.

When I first came to Vanguard, I said I was getting to keep all the parts of my association job that I loved like client interaction and working with websites, without any of the stuff that I don’t miss.

I had no idea that I could fall in love with web design all over again.  Thanks Sitefinity.

Vanguard features the Sitefinity CMS from Telerik. We are the only Sitefinity Platinum Partner in the association space with more than 40 clients on the Sitefinity platform.  For more information, visit www.sitefinity.com or contact us.

If you’re new to this experiment, the question I asked was simply, “Does tweeting at a conference affect your Klout Score?” (For more background, view the original blog post.)

Why do we care? As association communicators, we want need to know the influencers of our industry. And key to that, is knowing who is sharing relevant industry information and what their effective reach is.

Associations also typically have a cycle of knowledge creation focused around annual meetings and other conferences. And a few key questions that can be asked include “What is the shelf-life of this knowledge?” and “How can we spread this knowledge beyond the most engaged members that are here?”

What better way than to test this in our own industry by measuring the statistics provided by Klout.com – a service using social media analytics to measure one’s influence across various networks and bills itself as the “Standard for Influence.”

So given our industry’s biggest conference of the year. With lots of learning, networking and information sharing going on. What effect did all this tweeting, Instagramming, sharing and such have on our supposed influence?

The answer is… not much.

• 14 people participated in the experiment (admittedly, not statistically huge)
• The average pre-conference Klout score was 56.29 (out of 100)
• The average post-conference Klout score was 57.92 with a net shift of 1.63
  • The biggest score increase was 8.63 points by Linda Chreno (@lindachreno)
  • The biggest score decrease -2.21 points by Pamela Strother (@SponSpecialist)

Overall, this represents a pretty small shift among the participants.  However when looking at a few specific scores, some interesting data points pop out.

• The Klout Style of 86% of the participants changed after the conference
  • Did that burst of activity make Klout think we changed our personality?
• The amount of Twitter activity at ASAE 12 seemed to have no influence on the score.
  • I sent approximately 60 tweets over the 3 days I was at the conference and my score went down 1.18 points
  • Sandra Giarde (@sgiarde) sent approximately 62 tweets during her time at the conference and her score went up 6.36 points
  • Maddie Grant (@maddiegrant) sent almost 100 tweets and her score went DOWN 1.08 points

So what do I take away from this? What should we keep in mind?

Social influence must be measured over the long term

This experiment was conducted around our industry’s biggest event of the year and captured a blink in the timeline of our online interactions.  Yes, new influencers may emerge during an event like this.  But when you have an established group of social influencers, the overall makeup of the social sphere isn’t going to change radically over one event.

Interestingly, while the small results show that a flurry of activity doesn’t move the needle too much in the positive direction, a lack of activity will negatively impact one’s Klout score. I experienced this when I was on vacation in June and was off of social media for two weeks. Other participants commented on the same experience.

A single “measure of influence” doesn’t capture true influence

My experiment participants represent some of the most prolific commentators in associationland including Maddie Grant (@maddiegrant), Jay Daughtry (@chatterbachs), John Chen (@johnyschen) and more. Yet, the net shift was “meh.”

Even more important, is that this single measurement is incomplete.  The best example is to compare my influence that of ASAE’s CIO Reggie Henry (@reggiehenry).

The chart below shows how our two Klout scores changed over the past 30 days (my score is red, his is light blue).

Klout Scores of @rvanhilst and @reggiehenry

Note that I actually had a HIGHER score than Reggie before ASAE Annual and after 30 days he and I are neck and neck.  According to Klout we are even influential on the same topics of media, marketing, technology, speakers and smartphones

So I’m calling “bullshit” on this one. First, there is no way I have ever come close to being as influential Reggie (let’s face it, he is “Mr Technology” in our world). Second is the fact that he presented at ASAE annual and was quoted, retweeted, photographed and warmly greeted by all who know him.  I merely attended and tweeted other people’s thoughts.

Yet, he and I have the same level of social influence?  I don’t think so.

Continue to “experiment in the open”

The social media sphere of associationland continues to evolve. From the first bloggers huddled together years ago at ASAE Annual to today’s tweet-ups and people meeting for the first time IRL (“In Real Life), the tools and techniques for social engagement continue to change.

Some of the comments from my fellow experimenters reflect these shifts:

• “The growth in Tweeting from ASAE11 to 12 seemed like a big jump in the diversity of ‘conversations’ happening in any given moment. It was moving so fast it was hard to jump in.”
• “Coolest thing for me was finding and meeting all of the people that I have been tweeting with for the past two years and meeting them in person. Also having a conversation in more than 140 characters.”

As change agents for our industry and our organizations, we have been given a laboratory to play in. We should embrace it and be willing to try new things.

And I think that is the best conclusion that can be drawn from this experiment.

Note & Disclaimer: As some people pointed out, Klout changed the scoring method during the experiment. For everyone that participated, I looked up their profile on Klout.com and recorded their scores on August 7 and August 21 capturing the 2 weeks around the conference. I overlaid it with their feedback and participation data to get these results.  Also, Klout is now rolling out their new look. So finding users and this data again will be difficult.  So take this all as “one bloggers opinion based on directional data.” But I still think it’s pretty accurate.

I guess it also means the other lesson learned is to be ready to adjust your plans when these “free” tools change things on you.

But just because Twitter is one of the fastest-growing social media site in the world doesn’t mean your association will explode with new members and even attendees as soon as you create a Twitter handle.

Here are five tips to consider:

1. There’s no “I” in tweet. Association tweets are about the brand personality – not the personality of the employee tweeting. The best way to tweet as an association rather than yourself is to avoid the first person singular (I, me, my) and stick to the first person plural (we, us, our).

2. Spend some time on your Twitter bio. Your Twitter bio is like your “About Us” page – but in 140 characters or less. Like an elevator pitch, it should highlight the most crucial member benefits of your association without resorting to jargon. And don’t forget to include a link to your website.

3. Choose a graphic design background that mirrors your brand. The most effective Twitter backgrounds feature custom designs or photographs, rather than canned templates. You can (and should) switch your backgrounds every so often, but make sure they remain consistent with your association’s personality.

4. Make some noise. Hold a contest, take a poll, make a Twitter-only offer, ask a question, or start a hashtagged discussion thread. Participating in existing discussions doesn’t hurt, either, provided they’re related to your industry sector. Also good to retweet and engage your own employees to humanize your brand!

5. Keep a separate Twitter account for support. Your association Twitter page should look like a showroom, not a repair shop. To avoid having your page cluttered with responses to member concerns, keep a separate page that’s 100% dedicated to customer service.

This post is an adaptation of a recent Vitamin T newsletter.

I’m going to #asae12 next week!

(also known as “ASAE 2012 Annual Meeting” for the hashtag impaired)

How much will you tweet at #asae12

When I attend conferences or education events, I’m one of those people with the iPhone/iPad/computer busy tweeting away comments, asking questions, and nodding my head in agreement up at one of my fellow attendees’ Tweets.

So I wondered… “What is this going to do to my Klout score? What is the cumulative effect on Klout scores for all of the Tweeps actively participating?”

Which leads us to the Conference/Klout Connection Experiment.

• Capture pre-meeting Klout scores and Twitter Profiles
• Follow-up after the meeting to collect Klout scores and other data
• Analyze and see if there are patterns in the changes (or if there even are any changes)

If you are curious and want to participate, fill out this quick survey.

Then Tweet away and have fun. After the meeting, I’ll email everyone with the link to the post-meeting survey.

And if you would like to discuss or take a look at some of the preliminary results – Tweet me (@rvanhilst) or come by the Higher Logic booth (booth #617) where I will be hanging out.

Oh…. And thanks for participating in my experiment.

Disclaimers:

• This experiment is for fun, curiosity and information only. Unless you request it, I will only email you to follow-up or share the results. 
• I also think Klout scores are an inaccurate measurement of true influence. But since it’s a tool that’s out there, let’s play with it. I could go on, but Maggie McGary captures many of my sentiments in this post better than I can here.
• Vanguard Technology is a Higher Logic Solutions Partner and will be participating in their booth.

Ray van Hilst is Director of Client Strategy and Marketing at Vanguard Technology. Connect with him @rvanhilst or rvanhilst(at)vtcus.com.

However, hopes were dashed as I noticed it was my “Weekly Influence Summary”:

What?? My Klout score went down!! Do my friends no longer love me? Do my colleagues suddenly think I’m a blithering idiot? Does the world now think of me as a lonely dweeb babbling away in a remote corner of the internet?

I quickly realized I wouldn’t need to drown my sorrows so I put down the (unopened) bottle of Jack Daniels, gathered my composure and remembered this:

• I had just returned from vacation and had been off social media. OF COURSE my score went down.
• More important, my Klout score is not a measure of who I am or the quality of my work.

Too often, outsiders decide the metrics that define online success. Questions around the number of Twitter followers, Facebook likes and your Klout score have come up in job interviews (Check out this VP candidate who didn’t get a job because his score was too low) and have even defined the most influential thought leaders in the association space.

So why does this matter to your association – and your association’s website?

It’s a good axiom that “You can’t manage what you can’t measure” and as a website manager, web analytics play a key role in defining how to manage your website.

So who defines this? And what should you measure?

First, it helps to know what your website’s goal is so you can align measurement with those goals. Some high level examples might include

• Advertising Revenue = page views and time on site
• Thought Leadership = number of referring sites
• Industry Expert = page views of specific content areas (e.g. white papers)
• Global Expansion = increase in visitors from other countries

The list can go on and on, but it starts with knowing what your goals are so you can align the metrics to know if you are getting there.

Beyond the basics of “we had x visitors who spent x time and viewed x pages,” here some other metrics and items to consider:

Page Views Over Time

The default view in Google analytics is generally one week of traffic. This gives a quick glance of what’s going on right now – but web traffic patterns take months to define. Improve your analysis by expanding the timeframe to at least 3 months and check “compare to past.”

Google Analytics Report Range Settings

Also keep in mind that associations follow activity patterns throughout the year – annual meeting, elections, fundraising campaigns, etc. So looking at a limited view doesn’t take into consideration the timing of this activity (“My traffic is up 200%. Oh wait, annual conference is next week.”).

New Visits and Bounce Rate for Search Traffic

When users find your site through a Google search you want to know two things – Are they new visitors (e.g. potential members) and did they find what they were looking for (e.g. user value)?

Two metrics to help you know this are if the number of new visitors is higher than your site average and if the bounce rate is lower than the site average (did someone land on your site, think “not what I was looking for” and exit right away?).

Google Analytics Search Traffic Overview

From here you can start looking at specific sections and pages and identify areas of your site that need more (or better) targeted content and some improved search engine optimization.

What your users REALLY doing?

The key to website management is going beyond knowing what you WANT your users to do and knowing what they actually ARE doing. When you first open the traffic reports it can be daunting to look at a list of URLs and see the page views. And if you are a visual learner it gets even more confusing.

Enter Visitor Flow!

Google Analytics Visitor Flow

This interactive tool was introduced last year and is my favorite Google Analytics tool. You can quickly narrow your focus to a country (or state), review traffic through certain pages and groups of pages called “nodes,” and see where users drop off. As you test and make changes to layouts and conversion points, you can monitor over time to see if your changes are getting users into your site’s most valuable content.

Conclusion

Of course, there are many more tools such as in-page analytics, goals and more. But the key is to start by knowing why you want to measure something in your site, and then figure out what the right measurement is.  Track it over time to see how site changes, new content and external campaigns affect your traffic and visitor’s experience and share that with your teams.

And most important, don’t let someone else define what is important to you. Only you know your site, and it’s your job to measure and manage it.

Ray van Hilst is Director of Client Strategy and Marketing at Vanguard Technology. Connect with him @rvanhilst or rvanhilst(at)vtcus.com.