Kiwi websites raise the bar for engagement
Kiwi businesses are doing more than ever to engage with consumers on the web, according to a new report from national IT company Intergen.
The company has released its second Engaged Web in New Zealand report, finding that 90% of our top websites have increased their level of engagement, with the majority also looking to branch out into social media and mobile devices.
The report measures engagement according to criteria like personalisation, use of multimedia, stickiness of content, ease of use and design.
The top five websites in the country are measured across ten sectors, including news - media, shopping - classifieds, education, government and lifestyle.
News - media recorded the highest level of engagement, at 82% compared with 53% last year. Shopping - classifieds was second, up from 51% to 78%, followed by entertainment, up from 67% to 72%.
Banking and finance also recorded a significant increase, from 45% to 71%, reflecting the increased use of mobile apps and innovative online campaigns.
The worst performer last year, government, nearly doubled its engagement, rising from 27% to 47%. Only health - medicine experienced a fall, dropping from 51% to 45%.
On the drop, the report says, "we found this surprising given the many opportunities there are to liaise with an interested community, although there could also be regulatory considerations that come into play here.
62% of the websites assessed had made some attempt to provide a mobile device experience, he vast majority focusing on iPhone and iPad.
As for the social aspect, 90% of websites now feature a community as part of their website, up from 73% last year. Facebook and Twitter remain the most common platforms for creating these communities.
"Businesses are recognising that they need to embrace social media. It's not about jumping on the latest social media bandwagon, it's about considering each medium strategically and finding a way to make it work for their company or risk getting left behind.
