I’ve been thinking a lot about the psychology of taking things away from people or offering them only limited options. In my personal life I’ve been contemplating no longer eating red meat. I don’t indulge very often anyway, but the idea of saying that I will not eat red meat feels much more like deprivation than a choice. It’s a mental thing. Plus, I’d have to swear off bacon and I’m not sure I can do that.
But the idea is that taking things away from people or restricting them creates a different mental state. It’s the same for content. People don’t want to be restricted. Let people consume various type of content in the ways they choose. Give them options – RSS feeds, twitter alerts, blogs, video, audio. Make your site a content buffet.
I think of it like hosting a cocktail party. There are some guests that will only consume from the cheese plate, some that hate the olives, other that will gravitate towards the sweets and yet others that are there just for the drinks. But at least all of the guests will have be able to pick and choose what they want. You don’t want people to leave the party or your site feeling hungry or unsatisfied.
Think about your content like a menu. You wouldn’t serve only hardy entrees to your dinner guests. You need appetizers, main courses, and, of course, deserts. Have various type of content on your site Not everything content element needs to be an in-depth article or a long blog post. Mix it up with graphics showing research, brief audio clips, smaller interviews or product reviews, longer articles, links to relevant news, polls, short video clips, etc. A variety of content types and lengths makes it more interesting for your audience and ultimately more digestable.
And most importantly, deliver what you promise, when you promise it. If you say, every Tuesday and Friday there will be a new blog, and then make sure to have that blog ready for Tuesday and Friday. If it’s not there, people will not trust your word and may not come back.
Again, it’s like food. If my favorite dish is only available as the Friday special at an eatery and I make an effort to go to that restaurant on Friday for that dish and it’s not on the menu, I will be disappointed and I will be hesitant to return the next week.
Also, don’t forget to get feedback from your audience. Invite comments at every turn. Ask people to take a survey a couple of times of year. Knowing what kind of topics they are most interested in and how they want to get that information will help you better plan your content menu.
Bon Appetit!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Great, now I’m hungry
One of the things that hung me up for a long time was just what you alluded to - not everything needs to be a long, in-depth article or post. For the longest time I’d go weeks without updating my blog because I couldn’t put together something long and in-depth. I’ve learned to get past that, for the most part, and I’m doing 2-4 short/medium posts a week now. I try to do a longer piece once every two weeks or so.
Good post, Lisa
daniel,
i think we all struggle with the concept that each piece of content needs to be long, profound and cover all the bases. i know i do.
but that’s just not the case. the most successful sites post often and have a variety content elements. sometimes short is better.
@Lisa
Options are good to have and the precursor - knowing what they might want, and a post-mortem - seeing what they actually ate (or didn’t) is fodder (pun intended) for putting together the next meal.
Maybe a followup to this piece?
{ 1 trackback }