21. 1. BUILD WITH OLD PROGRAMS
• Flash breaks on iPads and sometimes
computers too—ditch it!
• Programming languages change
• Social media outlets change
their plug-ins
25. 2. HAVE A BAD HOST
• Some hosts don’t monitor for traffic spikes
• Some hosts don’t isolate your space from your neighbor’s
• With many hosting plans, someone else’s high traffic or improper usage can affect you
26. STAR WARS CRASH
Did anyone try to buy tickets for the new Star Wars movie when they went on sale?
27. WHAT HAPPENED?
• Massive traffic
• Server Overload (Like when you try to open 100 files on your computer at once)
• Sites slowed, eventually leading to crash
29. WHAT CAN YOU DO?
• Scale server capacity during peak times
• Buy more servers and split processes
• Invest in dedicated server space
(more expensive but fewer or more reliable neighbors)
• Make sure the platform your website is on is up to date
30. 3. BE INVISIBLE TO GOOGLE
Most people that search for your fair name are going to find your website.
What about other things they type?
• What keywords are strong?
• How can you use keywords to get a better rankingon Google?
32. LONG TAIL WORDS
• More descriptive = fewer searches = more likely to find you
• More descriptive = more interest in you anyway!
• More descriptive = costs less if you advertise
• EX: Family fun, music festival, animal exhibits
36. 4. CREATIVE SITE NAVIGATION
• A place to watch “design over function”
• If there is a place to keep it simple, this is it!
• Your map to your content
40. FAVICON IMPORTANCE
Users (especially a younger audience,
opening multiple pages in rapid-fire
succession as a way to remember the
items on those pages and revisit them
at a later time.
41. 6. NEVER CHANGE YOUR CONTENT
1. Visit
2. Visit with same content
3. Never visit again
44. SERIOUS OFFENDER: NEWS & BLOG
• If you have them, keep them updated
• Pro tip: Don’t say how often you're going to publish.
A “once a month” newsletter is a surefire way to be behind.
46. 7. FORGET ANY CALLS TO ACTION
What’s the action for someone visiting your site?
SMALL
• Listen to Music
• View Photos/Videos
BIG
• Sign up for your email list
• Buy tickets
55. 9. DISREGARD MOBILE
If you:
• Send email (something people check on their phone!)
• Post Facebook ads (something people check on their phone!)
• Sell Online
• Have a website
YOU MUST BE MOBILE!
62. 11. HIDE CONTACT INFO
Very poor customer service to only have a contact us form on your website
• Utilize email aliases if you’re worried
about spam
• At least one phone number should always
be available
64. 12. FEATURE TEXT INSTEAD OF PHOTOS
Engagement per follower is 58 times higher on Instagram than on Facebook.
65. DOES IT REALLY MATTER?
PHOTOS:
• Provide a personal connection to your event and your brand
• Evoke desire to “do what they’re doing”
• Allow visitors to virtually experience your event all year long
66. DOES IT REALLY MATTER?
Albums do even better than single photos, so don‘t forget those!
68. 13. SHOW MORE LOVE TO ADS
THAN YOU DO YOURSELF
A lot of websites make the mistake of using their most important real estate for ads
instead of their content.
73. 14. DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT VIDEO
Visitors will engage with your site if they’re watching videos or listening to music!
• Video brings an average of 3 times more visitors to your site per month
• Organic search traffic increases by 157%
• The average website visitor spends 88% longer on sites with video
74. APPEALS TO MILLENNIALS
4 BILLION videos are watched every DAY on YouTube
• 18 - 49 year olds watch more YouTube than any cable TV network.
75. • Use an eye catching thumbnail to encourage moreclicks
- Use what you just learned about photos!
• Film “behind-the-scenes” with performers, event organizers etc.
• Tour of the grounds videos can be fun and informative!
VIDEO TIPS
76. SHORT AND SWEET
Use what social media has taught us about video.
• Vine – 6 seconds
• Instagram Video 15 seconds – outperforms Vine
• On Facebook, videos can be any length but they automatically play as you scroll past, so first
few seconds must be compelling!
77. VIDEO REFERENCES IN EMAIL
Using the word “video” in an email subject line:
• BOOST open rates 19%
• INCREASE click-through rates by 65%
• REDUCES unsubscribes by 26%
78. 15. BURY CONTENT IN .PDF
PDFs are the easiest way to keep customers from seeing your content!
• Poor SEO – Search engines can’t always read the content
• Your internal site search can’t read them
• Adds an extra click for your customers
• No exposure to photos/videos on your website
80. 16. DISMISS USER-GENERATED CONTENT
That’s what social media is right? We already know people love it!
• Allow customers to share photos, info
• Ask sponsors/guest writers to contribute to your blog
• Put customer YouTube videos on your website
• Share Vine, Instagram
• Integrate customer reviews
82. 17.FORGET WHAT MAKES YOU SPECIAL
Find your differentiators and sell the heck out of them!
• Scenery
• Attractions
• Special Events
• Culture/Tradition
• One-of-a-Kind Experiences
91. 18. IGNORE CUSTOMER VIBE
If your people are talking about memes, include memes on your website.
• If snapchat is all the rage, use snapchat
• Current events can provide great content
• Not every option is good for every event
92. 19. IGNORE YOUR ANALYTICS
What should you watch?
• Google Analytics
• Facebook post analytics
• Email opens & click-throughs
95. EMAILS
• Test layouts and content
• (Almost) always include more than one topic.
• The things peoplecare about will shock you!
96. GOOGLE ANALYTICS - LOCATION
• What are you doing to make strong places strong? What could you do to increase areas you
wish were strong?
97. GOOGLE ANALYTICS - MOST VIEWED
• How can I make those pages serve me better?
99. 20. DON’T ASK FOR ANY INPUT
Sometimes we are the softest critics of our own work and websites
• Ask your friends to buy a ticket from your website while you watch
• See how easy it is for them to get to important information
• The thing you’re missing may be the thing they catch!