In building digital assets you want to be three things:
Genuine. Available. Targeted.


Being
genuine means thinking about your ‘why’ .. why do you exist, and what you believe in. Introduce your team, some of your key industry partners and even some of your tight five (customers) .. it could be that you already know why they chose you, but if you don’t let’s go and find out. You’ll find these conversations heart warming. Then share those insights with your audience, through your digital content. Showcasing your partnerships speaks of the way you acknowledge and celebrate others in your space. It also says a lot about your values. (p.s. just as pivotal is to include your customers when we think of your partners, as they are fundamental to your success). Consumers today are looking to differentiate between the myriad of products, so leading with being genuine, open and celebrating others, is key.

Being available means making your social content and your website easy for your guests to navigate. Provide multiple avenues for access - email, phone, Facebook, Linked in, Instagram. Please don’t spoil the experience with ‘join our newsletter’ pop-ups or old school requests asking them to submit a written form to reach you .. this builds a time delayed space between you and your consumer. Madness when you are trying to build open pathways and connection. I leave a website immediately if they have a ‘join our mailing list’ pop-up or if they have no contacts except forms (and I don’t think I would be alone). If people are curious enough to reach out to you let’s make it super easy for them to reach you .. and yes have your name in your email address.
And share your costs .. please don’t hide them and make people email you for pricing .. no-one has time for this and you risk loosing such a powerful opportunity by putting in a time delayed barrier. Potential clients may look for cheaper options and that is fine, not every client is going to align with what you offer and pay what you want.
Instead, be everything to the ones who choose you.


Being
targeted means producing content and a narrative specifically for your (target) audience. Knowing who you are serving (who you are ‘for’) what they enjoy doing, what language and tone they use, their lifestyles, their goals, their aspirations and their stressors .. helps to build genuine content of value. Choose a community you want to serve, get to know them, build content and messages specifically for them, and position it in front of them. People buy from a place of perception, they buy into vibes. They resonate with aligned values and voice .. so say what you stand for on your website and social content.


My last thought here is to consider adopting an ‘attract’ over ‘chase’ mindset. This means building a strong brand, with a story and a personality and positioning that content in front of your audience with an invite to connect. Lead with integrity and in turn, attract engagement and loyalty.


I love the following websites .. they understand brand and deliver bang on websites. There is not a sales’y word in sight. Their visuals are spectacular and evoke a ‘feeling’ of clarity (depth of brand) and class. They quietly share their story and invite you to be part of their journey. These are beautiful examples of ‘new’ school soft (integrity led) digital design.

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* click on their image and it will shoot you to their site(s). Disclaimer: I am in no way related to these businesses, I celebrate them, and showcase how ‘best’, ‘boss’, ‘dope’ and ‘king’ can look.

Treespace.. their digital awareness is bang on, minimal (no words over imagery) and visually engaging. A perfect example of attract over chase.

An outstanding concept and visual display of imagery nature and calm and remote architectual homes .. leading the show ..soft backgrounds, a more is less approach .. beautifully modern warm fonts. hinter your concept and site is stellar .. bravo bravo bravo.

Davaar is the farm, brand and brainchild of Kate Macdonald. Kate and her family farm in Te Anau, a rugged and beautiful landscape in the deep South of New Zealand, producing lambs and exceptional ‘strong wool’ which they partner to craft into a curated selection of beautiful New Zealand produced woolen wear.

An outstanding website for Maori not for profit, Te Awhi based in the Waikato and more recently also in Te Tai Tokerau. Soft colours, clean lines, no words on top of their beautiful imagery and crafted narrative. A very classy piece of integrity led digital design.

Ruataniwha Hut is the brainchild of Andrew Stroud .. the site is as clean as the property which sits in the Ruataniwha National Park in Ben Ohau … beautiful.

The Beards is a Wanaka based strategy, brand, photography and film team doing some absolutely beautiful work. Naturally when it came to their website, they knew a thing or two. Super classy, not a single work on an epic image. Say no more.