As the Fullerton Top 5 Campaign grows bigger and bigger, we have noticed that the need for having an official published criteria becomes even more important. I’ll go ahead then and take you through the exact process Ron and I use when determining what makes the cut.
Process – 5 Step Process
Every time we start one of these lists, the main goal is to try getting to a shortlist. I’d like to tell you that we go through a strenuous process of evaluating each and every entry, but honestly that would take way too much time.
1. The Search
The first part of the process is of course, to go looking. So if we are looking for the top 5 food websites in Fullerton, we hop online and start combing through google, yelp and so on. We use as many resources we can, including business directories and the Fullerton Chamber of Commerce.
2. The Eyeball Test
It’s pretty simple here. With an establish criteria, we go through everything we can find and start taking note of the ones that seem to stand out above the rest. I call it an eyeball test because really you can just tell when you click onto a site, blog or social media account. (Don’t trust me? Go read Malcom Gladwell‘s Blink.)
The main goal of this part of the process is to ensure that we have a healthy list that we can compare once we get closer to the top 5. So, pretty much we are shortlisting.
3. ShortList
Once we get that shortlist down, that is when the strenuous process begins. It is up to the responsible party, Ron or I, to then look at the criteria and then start cutting down that short list into a top 5. This part is really just about comparing. This is a top 5 list and so it revolves around the best quality and performance. So at this point, we are really just comparing and finding the best of the best.
4. Top 5 Scoring
Okay at this point, the list should be down to five, maybe six or seven. Here is when the actual scoring begins. Both partners print out or write out the criteria in a table for scoring. Then individually we look at the respective subjects and score. Scores are tallied up and then ranked from highest to lowest. Easy, peasy!
5. Review and Re-positioning
At this point, writing and further research begins. I (Jason) handle most of the writing so from here I research exactly what we liked and the characteristics of the subject. From there, before publishing I will go back to Ron and discuss whether or not the original rankings were adequate. Rankings can change after further research and understanding. Here we may do another scoring or just discuss and swap two of the rankings.
Done!
There you have it. That is how we go through our ranking of the top 5. Ron and I try to make it as professional yet smooth as possible. At the end of the day an effective website or social media campaign is, yes, content and complicated coordination but it is also just a natural spontaneous thing. In other words, sometimes you can just tell in a couple seconds if a business is successful or not. We try to mimic that with how we rank our top 5 lists.
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