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At the core of any web strategy is a well defined content strategy. And writing content for the web can be a challenging, time consuming endeavor. Web copy functions in many ways and is read with varying degrees of thoroughness. At first it’s usually scanned quickly, but once there’s interest a reader may go very deep. Web copy also gets read from many directions and perspectives, one page does not always follow predictably from another. In fact, sometimes a deep level sub-page may be the first page viewed, especially when traffic originates from search engines. On top of the structural issues, there are also technical search engine optimization matters to consider. And the larger the website, the more complex the inter-relationships of its pages become.
Kristina Halvorson is a web copy expert. She founded Brain Traffic as a specialist in writing copy for the web. Brain Traffic offers content strategy and website copywriting services as well as web copywriting seminars.
Brain Traffic clients include large companies in the healthcare, financial, high-tech and medical fields. They usually have complex sites, sometimes with thousands of pages. Brain Traffic knows and believes in the power of content on the web. They’re clients know this too, and look to them as a valuable adviser and implementation partner. They don’t just take copywriting orders for “x” number of web pages. They help craft and implement the overall web content strategy.
Most adverting agencies would not have sites large enough to qualify as a Brain Traffic client themselves, but many of your clients may very well may need their help. Especially if you’ve done your job persuading them of the importance of a robust content strategy for their web marketing.
The very first agency website I reviewed for “The Crit” was Currency Marketing. I’m re-writing the post. My original post was far too brief for such an excellent example of agency positioning and such an exceptionally executed content strategy.
Positioning: Tim McAlpine founded his agency in 1990. But it wasn’t until 2003 that he took the bold step to re-position The McAlpine Group (their former name) as Currency Marketing, a specialized Credit Union marketing firm. It’s rare that creative firms overcome their initial terror at the idea of such focused positioning. Fears of opportunities lost or being passed over for other kinds of work (not to mention the fear of boredom from doing “just one thing”) often give agencies pause. It’s sometimes easier for agencies to warm up to the idea of positioning the way Tim did at the time, by maintaining two “brands.” In 2004 Tim created Currency Marketing for credit unions and Passport Marketing presumably for everything else. But three years later the fruits of Currency Marketing’s positioning were so profound he dropped Passport and now enjoys a laser focused specialization, which gives him valuable expertise and a leading position in credit union marketing.
Content: Any agency can (and should) pick a bold and narrow position and build their brand around it. But declaring a position is just the first step, proving it is what ultimately counts. That’s where a robust content strategy can be invaluable. And this is where Currency Marketing shines. I guarantee if you go to the Currency Marketing website and spend ten minutes (or many hours) you’ll be completely convinced that they have a profound degree of expertise and knowledge about credit union marketing. If you were a credit union looking for marketing help you would be sold before ever picking up the phone. The content of the site is focused, broad, and deep.
It’s focused because it always centers on credit union marketing issues. For example, in a recent blog post, instead of merely adding his two cents about the Seinfeld/Gates Microsoft ad (like everyone else) he asked the question, “Are your credit union’s marketing efforts worthy of comment?“
Their content is broad. They have a blog (that’s updated almost everyday), an e-newsletter, a podcast, whitepapers, and speaking seminars viewable as embedded slide shows.
And the content is deep. The blog is extremely robust, the podcast and newsletters are consistently created.
Currency has also created two programs that both extend their focused content and generate new business opportunities. The invented a “Young & Free” licensing program and a cuckoo marketing program for small credit unions. Not only do these two programs extend their offerings, they further demonstrate and prove their expertise and positioning.
Platform: From what I can tell their site is built on a Cold Fusion platform. I cannot discern the content management system though I assume it’s K1 Techology’s product. They’ve avoided all the main platform gaffes common to many agency sites (splash pages, Flash, overuse of graphics for text, etc.). They certainly have no barriers to getting their content online since the site is updated so consistently. They could stand to improve their page specific title tags and meta descriptions to improve search engine optimization. I also find it a bit strange that their newsletter links open up into a new browser window and have extended, encoded URLs. I assume this is for tracking/measuring purposes (which, if so, is great to see), but the new window seems unnecessary. I do like that they are using Google Analytics to measure their site’s traffic.
Design: I think the visual design of the site is very clean, balanced and easy to read. Navigation is fairly intuitive. I think their sub page navigation gets a little lost and could use a visual boost or get relocated closer to the main navigation bar. The only significant flaw is a problem with their home page call-to-action animation. There are a few different messages in rotation (which I’m not sure is a great strategy to begin with). One of these begins “Hi There…” and ends with a call-to-action link that goes to a quiz, but the quiz is not online yet. If a first time visitor happens to get this version of the animation and goes to the quiz page to find it’s not there, they might abandon the site without learning how powerful the firm really is. Another very minor detail is the e-newsletter list. The oldest is listed first, giving the impression that the newsletter hasn’t been published since February 2007. Since many people scan a site before digging in, it’s important to read a site quickly to find elements that may give an incorrect quick initial impression. Of course these are very minor flaws in an otherwise amazing example of strong agency positioning with a powerful content strategy to match!
In my opinion, Erickson Barnett sets the bar for advertising agency websites. While there is still room for growth the site does very well on all four of the most important factors for agency web strategy. I really like their positioning. Not because it’s the tightest, boldest positioning I’ve ever seen, but because it’s so genuine. Let’s face it, B2B technology marketing is the bread and butter of most mid-sized advertising agencies. Yet agencies would rather highlight one or two consumer brands than feature their more substantive work done for B2B clients. Erickson Barnett embraces this focus and leverages it on their site. B2B technology prospects will be drawn right into this site.
The content of the site is excellent. They have a “thoughts” section containing white paper like topics, as well as a frequently updated blog. The content orbits their positioning with refreshing consistency. They’ve also integrated video commentary from clients and staff. I would like to see a bit more content integrated into their portfolio section.
And as far as platform goes, the portfolio is the only part of the site I’d reconsider. There is so much potential for an agency’s portfolio section (especially for lead generating SEO). Settling for a slide show presentation leaves a lot of value on the table. Simply giving each sample a unique URL with thoughtful strategic copy can significantly increase performance.
I give the design high marks. The site is navigable, clean, easy to read and visually compelling. None of the design features get in the way of the content, yet every part seems considered, balanced and executed with skill. Erickson Barnett demonstrates that they understand web strategy both with how they’ve built their own site, and with its content. And this proves they can put the web to work for their clients. Nice job!
The Currency Marketing agency website shows very clear positioning (Credit Unions). Their content strategy execution includes a robust blog and regularly produced podcast. The content is not optimized for search engine optimization due to the use of generic browser titles throughout the site. The user interface is not bad, a little bit clumsy in parts, and the visual design is clean, professional and consistent, but not remarkable.
