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Well it’s been the better part of a month since the seminar and I thought I would go out into golf website world and take a good look at whats going on. I have spent time looking at golf course websites,  some from those that came to the seminar and many that did not. While I see golf courses getting closer to Web 2.0, I still see that many courses are still falling woefully short of creating a compelling online presence. With the golf business continuing to struggle to get more rounds we need to be working hard to insure our websites are working for us to their capacity.

Here is what I see:

• Courses are definitely getting better at producing content that is relevant and timely
• Courses are starting to embrace some social media. I see a lot of Facebook and twitter icons.
• Specials, News and Promotions are becoming more standard on home pages,
• I am seeing less of my old favorite, the description of the course and what it has to offer.

Here is what is missing

• We are still afraid to give. I see almost no one with a tip, or giving something away.
• We still aren’t creating a dialogue with our golfers. Too much one way communication.
• We are still making it hard to book a tee time online (had to get my plug in)
• We are not anywhere near being effective in utilizing our social media avenues to drive business to our facilities.

What do we need to do?

What I think is golf courses need to create an action plan that consists of a plan that communicates, gives rather than always takes, and that makes the site simple and easy to navigate. But above all we need to start somewhere and get going. It’s one thing to embrace technology and web 2.0 intellectually, it’s quite another to get off our collective behinds and do something!

Here are a few ideas that may make it easier to get started.

• Find a new way to communicate to your golfers. Open a twitter account and instead of saying join us on twitter, create an incentive to join and tell your golfers that they will get a twitter update on how they can redeem their incentive. Use a company like survey monkey and create a simple survey that asks them what they would like to see in e-mails and on your website. Give them a small incentive to fill it out. (give) Ask for their opinion, you might be shocked at what they say!!
• Start telling them what is going on and what events have just happened. Show them how fun it is to play golf at your facility. Photos, testimonials, upcoming events, upcoming programs. Do you have a Thanksgiving shotgun?? While I know that is still considered early November, I can’t find a website that tells me what’s going on for Thanksgiving Day? Not a photo anywhere showing me a past successful event? Start creating compelling content to get your golfers coming back to your site.
• Last but never least GIVE.  How about that golf tip of the week. How about finding a cool golf instructional tip on the internet and linking to it. (There are 1000’s) How about a tip of the week, that’s not instructional related.  Give them a link to a cool golf book on Amazon. Find some golf e-books and share why you like the e-book and why your golfers might be interested in purchasing. (Eric Jones has a great one if you need an e-book to start with) How about telling them how good the hot new restaurant around the corner is with a link to their website. You can get 100’s of ideas if you just take a minute to change your paradigm and start to find ways to give rather than always trying to find ways to sell them something! (Classic web 2.0 vs. web 1.0)

So in conclusion I am starting to see lots of improvement, but we could, should do, and need to do a lot better. Just take action and get started. Here are the 3 keys to get going and succeed in there simplest form.

1. Communicate Now
2. Create Compelling Content Now
3. Give Now

Do all 3 of these on a weekly basis for your golfers, and soon you will be embracing web 2.0 and with a little patience, I think you will start to reap the benefits of creating a real dynamic online presence for your golf course.

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Tags: Web Site Design, Web-Based Marketing for Golf Courses and Golf Professionals // Add Comment »