AARP.org Relaunch: A Focus On Simplicity And Sharing
This week, AARP.org relaunched with new features, a new look and 13 different channels like Work, Personal Growth, Politics & Society, Relationships, Home & Garden, Food, Travel, Entertainment, Technology, Giving Back and Member Benefits. We were able to speak with Nataki Clarke, AARP’s vice president of marketing, about the site’s new look and launch.
Clarke told us that changes at the site were made after listening to feedback from the site’s users — not solely AARP members, but all interested people who routinely visited the site. Their research, conducted through focus groups and quantitative follow-ups, showed that social media was a primary interest among visitors. In fact, she told us, 40 percent of those aged 50 and over said they felt comfortable online, and 27 percent said they use social media to connect to friends and family.
For more on the relaunch, and a reminder of how the site looked before, click through the jump.
In their commitment to “meet members where they are,” AARP has, in addition to relaunching their site, implemented a robust presence on Facebook and Twitter. The site itself, meanwhile, is “completely new,” with features catering to readers’ specific wants and needs, like food and technology. Additionally, the site allows users to share content seamlessly between its own online community and other social networking sites, like Facebook. New navigation and enhanced search capability make visitors’ online experience simpler, and articles, images, and videos have been tweaked to be even simpler to navigate and share.
As for future plans to expand into other platforms, Clarke told us that 83 percent of AARP visitors have heard about the iPad, and 4 percent have smart phones. An AARP app for the iPhone and iPad is in the works for the future and will act, Clarke told us, as a supplement to the magazine. By Julyin fact, much of AARP.org’s content will be available on e-readers, smart phones and mobile phones. The AARP Digital Newsstand features online versions of AARP The Magazine, the AARP Bulletin, and AARP VIVA. Other features to look forward to are travel destination guides from Frommer’s Unlimited, as well other partnerships being introduced throughout the summer.
One major focus in AARP’s new initiatives is having fun in addition to seeking out news and information. Now through July 13, visitors to AARP.org can play AARP’s Ultimate Trivia Sweepstakes, a virtual scavenger hunt that encourages visitors to look through the site and get to know its features in order to answer questions for the chance to win instant prizes like gift certificates and AARP merchandise, or a grand prize of $5,000.
For comparison, here’s how the site used to look:
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