Engagement in digital: a cheat sheet
Engagement is how we and our clients measure the success of our work. When we follow digital best practices we ensure maximum engagement. Content is always king, but these items below are the elements that will elevate your content and maximize success.
- Mobile-first design — great experience across devices, lower bounce rates, users spend more time engaging, leading to more taps/clicks
- Bite-sized, skimmable content — encourages more time spent engaging, leading to more page views and more taps/clicks
- Keep it simple — avoid bells and whistles that don't add any value for the user; these can lead to frustration and bounces
- Well-written, meaningful CTAs — crystal clear and eye-catching (and accessible), leading to more taps/clicks
- UX principles for link affordance — eye-catching and effortless to engage with, leading to more taps/clicks
- Loads fast — better Google ranking, lower bounce rates, leading to more taps/clicks
- ADA compliant — accessible for users with disabilities, as well as easier to engage with for all users, leading to more taps/clicks
- Good meta data, search-friendly content — better Google ranking, leading to more taps/clicks
- In general: never ignore the consultation of our UX or accessibility colleagues — everything they do is focused on making sure users can easily engage with our content; every time we veto something they suggest, we decrease our chances of engagement.
Do a lot of these things seem obvious? They should! But I do see people forget about these concepts every day when they're just trying to produce work that's persuasive and beautiful. As digital professionals we need to focus on the entire package, in order to produce the best results for our clients. A persuasive, beautiful website (or other digital piece) won't realize its full potential if we're not using every technique at our disposal to make sure people can and will engage with it.
– Manning
Questions/comments? Feel free to contact me at manning@manningkrull.com. I update these articles pretty frequently — best practices evolve over time as the world of digital quickly changes, and I always welcome insights from others.