A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away my wife & I went to a movie. I don’t remember what the film was, but I do remember the trailer for a future attraction called “Star Wars”, billed as the ‘story of a boy a girl and a universe’… really! As we and the rest of the audience watched the trailer in disbelief, it looked corny to say the least. It was like a bad kids’ cartoon plot mixed with ‘Star Trek”. We all laughed and hooted, then I said to my wife, “That’s one we’ll miss!” Needless to say, the movie was better than its trailer.
Sadly, the ‘Star Wars’ experience was the exception. There are countless bad, bad movies with great trailers. The Hollywood marketing machine has become expert at creating fantastic trailers to lure us in, only to endure such torture as “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” or “Howard the Duck” (yes, both real and bad movies!)
In today’s world, your website is where you tell your story. It’s your feature film and your web marketing, and SEO is like your trailer. If you’re like most companies, your marketing department works hard on Search Engine Optimization to bring more people to your website. They write blogs, post on Facebook and Twitter, sends press releases and pay for Google Adwords. But what do visitors see when they go there?
Are you telling your story in a compelling way that engages each visitor? Do they pick up the phone or order or hire you from your website? Are you showing a great trailer but a bad movie?
If you blow it, your visitors will look for competitors. And in a mouse click, they’ll be ‘Gone with the Wind’.
-Coppermoon President, Rod Garlick
