Survival Guide

Creative is different on the web. Of course you already know that. You know it’s a conversation. You know people click through or click away. And you know that, by and large, information is the calling card, while entertainment boosts engagement.

But there’s another consideration when crafting creative — or a media buy for that matter — for the web: What are your prospects thinking about when they come to your site, or see your ad? What’s their mindset — that very minute?

Gosh, that sounds so simplistic. Which is precisely why it’s easy to overlook. But it’s a big factor in how your brand is received online. Which means it needs to be a big factor in your creative content and media strategy.

On the web, the answer to what your prospects are thinking isn’t as easy to pinpoint, because almost everybody uses the web for something different — almost every time they log on. In fact, many or most people will navigate to or through the same site multiple times during the day, with a very different mindset and agenda each time. Understanding each of those mindsets is critical to the development of effective messages.

Take my own web use as an example. Not a benchmark, but not an anomaly, either. During the course of any given day, I’ll be online to check my mail, read business news, read general news, read opinion columns, actively search for new developments in the digital world, and communicate with my friends and associates via social networks. But I’ll also log on to find a present for my wife, compare new cars, buy plane tickets, watch some videos for a quick break, look up a phone number, or find the location of a meeting I’m headed to. Later, I’ll play around with sites I think are cool, sites that have been recommended to me, sites for products I’m interested in, or sites I just happen to land on. Admittedly, my web usage is heavy and varied for someone within my demographic. It is what I do for a living, after all. But compared to most twenty-somethings I know, it’s a drop in the bucket.

Each session on the web, I have a different mindset and agenda. If I’m looking for a birthday gift for my wife, and you help me by advertising something I think she might want, I’ll click, assuming you can get my attention with a good piece of creative. But if you’re trying to sell me a new mortgage at that moment, no matter how much I might need or want one, I’m going to ignore you. That’s not what I’m looking for. At least not right that very second. Which is all that matters to me — or anyone else on the web at any given time.

On the flip side, if I’m seeking entertainment — bouncing from site to site, or video to video, you have a better chance of diverting my attention on impulse. The only problem is, the amount of time I’m on the web just surfing and stumbling is miniscule, when compared to my total usage.

This thinking applies to your site, as well. The motivations of a user who’s browsing cool videos and animations that contain a brand message for a pair of athletic shoes they might like and buy is vastly different from the motivations of a user who’s comparing lawn mowers. Yet, the person browsing both of those sites might be one and the same, just at different times. Thinking different things each time.

The web is a lot like life. You act differently at a formal dinner than you do at a football game. You are the same person. You’re just thinking differently in each situation. So messages, and message style, that are appropriate for one situation, aren’t, most times, for the other.