Why You Shouldn’t Have a Dancing Bear On Your Website

Posted on September 4, 2019 in Branding

You’ve probably never stopped to wonder whether your website needs a dancing bear.

Well…does it need a dancing bear??

If you saw such a talented animal online, you would probably remember the website…

…and you might even spend more time on the site just to watch the bear (especially if they had a great sense of rhythm).

“That’s a good thing, right? Don’t we want people to remember our website and spend more time on it?”

Wellllll…not necessarily.

Why Dancing Bears Are Bad News

Here at Drive Creative, a “dancing bear” is our term for an element on a website that’s super flashy, eye-catching or colorful…but a bad idea.

Sure, a dancing bear may help you engage audiences. It also may leave an impression.

But here’s the catch – as advertisers and marketers, we have to keep our eyes on the prize. Remember the words of the immortal David Olgivy:

“If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.”

In other words, if it doesn’t serve your end goal…do yourself a favor and get that shit off your website.

Focus On the End Goal

I’m no mind reader, but I know you built your website to achieve a few of the following goals:

• Sell products or services
• Promote products or services
• Build a brand
• Drive engagement with your audience
• Recruit top talent
• Streamline customer service
• Etc.

A dancing bear isn’t going to help you achieve any of that.

In fact, it’s only going to distract your audience and make those goals harder.

Sell, Sell, Sell

Every single element of your website should be carefully designed to not only “wow” audiences, but to push them to the contact button, the buy button, the learn more button…whichever aligns with your goal.

Every element needs to work together to drive a clear message and guide audiences gracefully toward that action. A website should always be selling, regardless of whether it’s selling a product or a phone call.

Resist the temptation to make your website blink, flash, or even dance. Instead, just make sure it sells.