Why lessons from the classroom can help your web strategy

Posted by Toby Jenkins

Have you ever felt daunted by the number of communication options available to you on the web? I know I have.

There’s my website, Facebook page, YouTube channel, iPhone app, email, Flickr, Twitter, articles, blog posts… The list seems endless sometimes! Now, though I feel like I am starting to get a better understanding.

Back at high school, I remember sitting in classrooms sometimes listening, sometimes not. I knew I should be listening, but that didn’t mean I actually listened. I think of the different teachers I had and the ones that truly stood out have 1 thing in common.

Variety.

My best teachers often employed different methods to grab my attention and help me learn. They used a mixture of routine (eg weekly quizzes – biology) and surprise (eg a spontaneous game of petanque on the school oval – French). They stood in front of the class and lectured us as a group on simultaneous equations and then monitored our individual progress on solving x-3 = y, x + 2y = 30 (answer at the end of the post!). Some lessons would be by audio tapes, other lessons by educational videos, others with handouts. And of course there were always experiments to be done.

How does this tie back to your web strategy?

At the heart of good web strategy you are trying to solve problems for your audience. Knowing, like teachers know, that everyone learns in different ways means it is your responsibility to present your information and solutions to those problems with as much variety as you can. This doesn’t mean you have to take on every possible option immediately, but keep in mind how your audience would most like to learn.

Whether it is by video, audio, download, article, photo or interactive application ask yourself:

1. How can I make it easy for my audience to learn?
2. How can I cater for their different styles?

Then you’ll be able to start making decisions about your web strategy and how you share your content.

Answer: (x = 12, y = 9)

Managed web strategy: If you’re wondering how to solve the simultaneous equations of your web strategy, please call Bluewire Media on 1300 258 394.

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About Toby Jenkins

Toby Jenkins is co-author of Web Marketing That Works. He also released 33 free marketing templates, is CEO of Bluewire Media and co-hosts an iTunes podcast and has written for Fairfax Media, ProBlogger, Jeff Bullas and many other blogs. Toby is an Athens Olympian.

• The Olympic story I reluctantly shared – Nov 20, 2015
• Time Management and Productivity Hacks of Billionaires & Olympians [Podcast] – Nov 18, 2015