Web Content and Design28 September 2010by Ramsey Mohsen@ramseymwww.ramseymohsen.com

Today’s Agenda

• Headlines• “F” pattern• Numbers as numerals• Hedging• Various content tips• Social content tips

Ramsey Mohsen, Consultant and Social Media Strategist• Digital Evolution Group Practice Lead for Social Media

• Leads/executed/advised social media engagement efforts for Hallmark, Gordmans, Ferrellgas, Midland Radio, KC United Way

• Recognized regional and national speaker on social media

• Prolific video blogger, one of the first life-casters on justin.tv, over 1 million views on YouTube, globally featured video on YouTube home page for over three days, covered by national and regional mainstream media for video blogging efforts

• Named one of Kansas City’s inaugural “twenty in their twenties”emerging civic leaders in their under thirty

Digital Evolution Group, Firm Overview

Headlines

“On average, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest.”

http://www.copyblogger.com/writing-headlines-that-get-results/

Writing Headlines Online

• Rewrite your print headlines.– PRINT = written to save space, vague, short– ONLINE = longer, use proper nouns, first/last names

• “city” = “Branson”

“KU AD Perkins” = “KU Athletics Director Lew Perkins”

• The first two words are more important than the last words.

Writing Headlines Online

Spend at least half of the time it takes to write the article or blog post, to write a good headline.

•Useful•Urgency•Be specific •Unique•Intrigue•Can trigger actionable emotion about the subject•Proposition to get the prospect to nod their head

The “F” pattern

• Your eyes follow the F-pattern.

• Design your website for 1024px width.

Numbers as Numerals

• It's better to use "23" than "twenty-three" to catch users' eyes when they scan Web pages for facts, according to eye tracking data.

• The shape of a group of digits is sufficiently different from that of a group of letters to stand out to users' peripheral vision before their foveal vision fixates on them.

2415 looks different than four, even though both consist of 4 characters.

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/writing-numbers.html

Do not “hedge” online

Hedging is when you try to cover all contingencies in an argument. You should pick a stance and stick with it. Even if it's punchy and dramatic

Example:•“Nowadays many middle-school girls have at least some affinity for vampires.”

Re-written:•“Nowadays middle-school girls love vampires.”

Show, then go for “the ask.”

End your article or blog posts with open ended questions. Ask questions. Ask more questions.

•“What do you think”•“What do you do?”•“Do you do ‘x’ or ‘y’?”•“Tell me in the comments”•“Make a comment”•“What’s your take?”

Coffee Shop Talk

Example:The news that Hallmark has a valentine this year that plays video clips of kissing scenes from Disney movies got me thinking about movie kisses generally, and the ones that have stuck with me over my (many) years.

Re-written:I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for the often overly dramatic but mesmerizing movie kiss. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, it got me to thinking about my favorite all-time movie kisses.

Shorten your paragraphs & sentencesOmit needless words. Use the advantages you have with online text. Drive traffic to related articles or blog posts.

Example:Some people think podcasts are dead. I don’t

agree with them.

Use Vigorous English

Example:It’s muscular, forceful. Vigorous English comes from passion, focus and intention. It’s the difference between putting in a good effort and TRYING to move a boulder… and actually sweating, grunting, straining your muscles to the point of exhaustion… and MOVING the freaking thing!

http://www.copyblogger.com/ernest-hemingway-top-5-tips-for-writing-well/

Content Tips

“On average users will read 20% of words on a page.”

Nielson, Alert Box Study, May 2008

Content Tips

• Begin sentences with action-oriented verbs.

• Use bulleted lists, vary the content.

• If content is complex, consider developing a feature.

Content Tips

• Use descriptive headings subheads.

• Underline linked phrases and keywords.

• Add in call(s)-to-action, inbound vs. outbound.

• The "fold" matters (sort of).

• Better to write a positive statement ("do X") than a negative statement ("avoid Y").

Content Tips

• Use the word you’re thinking about, not a fancier, or more polite word.

• Analogies help people understand things better. • Give vanity to reader comments. Blog about great

ones. Possibly blog about negative ones.

The “4:1 Rule”It’s not about you.

“If you build it, they won’t come.”

Follow the 4:1 Rule

For every ONE social object (piece of content) that isabout you, there needs to be FOUR social objects that are:

• informative• inspirational• entertaining• engaging• re(markable)• promote others

Tips for social channels

• Twitter tips, “words matter” and “time of day”

• Photos, photos, photos.

• Most popular content shared:– “OTS” content– Food (venues and where to find)

• RE: Flipbooks and PDF galleries.

• Status update monitoring and practice on FB (friend lists)

Questions?

Ramsey Mohsen www.ramseymohsen.com

mohsenr@digitalev.com @ramseym