What are people doing online?
What do they use the Internet for?
The answer is easy but it’s not what you think.
I know. It seems like it but the majority of people, at least, those polled by two research firms, have this to say (you can read the full article by Jay Conrad Levinson, the father of guerrila marketing here).
But the gist is what I’ve been saying (and advising my clients) all this while is true. The research just proves it true.
In a nutshell, here’s a quick summary:
1) People go online for a reason - the reason is to find information. They’re not surfing aimlessly.
(My thoughts: That’s why your website must provide good, solid content. Otherwise, they leave.)
2) People go for two things mostly - getting the news and checking email.
3) People want to be in control of what they see. They want to be the ones in charge.
4) People who used the Internet were more connected to their family and friends compared to those who did not use the Internet. And they used email regularly.
(My thoughts: Email is becoming the way to get connected. So get the emails of your prospects. It’s easier to keep in touch with them and keeps you constantly in front of them but never too intrusive.)
5) When these people were not emailing their family and friends, they were:
* buying things online
* finding out more about the things they wanted to buy online
* visiting travel websites
* finding out about the weather (makes sense right? If you want to travel, you best know what weather it’s going to be!)
* finding out more about academic/education-related stuff
* finding out more about health and medicine stuff
* visiting Government websites (which probably means looking for information)
* looking for job opps (again, information)
Only a small percentage were playing games online or trading stocks. Surprising, isn’t it?
(This reminded me of myself really. Two weeks ago, I was searching for something online and I was, you guessed it, hunting for more information before I bought it off eBay. About 2-3 days of reading up on the best buys, looking for alternative sources and the like. Finally I settled on one eBay seller, paid for the stuff and had it shipped. Again, in my own case, I had a goal to go online - to find information to make my buying decision easier.)
6) This is important - Good sites do not flash about, good sites are simple, straight-to-the-point and give people the information they need. People who visit your website don’t want to play hide-and-seek, nor are they impressed when all they see are what Levinson calls “razzmatazz”. A simple, clean website with useful information will always be the clear winner. That’s why I don’t do Flash for clients. I can, but I won’t and I will tell them why.
Thank God for Levinson and his article.
Have a good New Year celebration wherever you are going, and I’ll see you next in 2006!