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November 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Web 2.0 Expo in New York

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of speaking at the Web 2.0 Expo in New York. My session went very well and we got excellent feedback but I also had a wonderful time attending the other presentations and learning from other speakers.

The first session that really piqued my interest was “The Elephant in the Room: Social Media ROI.” It was an interesting session and the presenter did a really good job of keeping the concepts simple and productive, like reminding us that ROI is simply “(Profit – Investment) / Investment” – a concept that we sometimes over-complicate as marketers. I was a little disappointed that the presenter ran out of time because he kept answering questions from the audience rather than finishing his outline.

The next session that I really enjoyed was “Business and Community in the Facebook Era” by Clara Shih. Clara was an outstanding presenter who was very competent and had a smooth and articulate delivery. The subject matter was also more conceptual in nature, rather than technical, which made it easy for the audience to adapt the concepts to individual businesses.

From an entertainment standpoint, the highlight of the conference was “There’s a #Hashtag for That,” a Keynote by Baratunde Thurston. This presentation was absolutely hilarious and very insightful at the same time, covering creative uses for hashtags on Twitter. I’m normally not a fan of using foul language in presentations but he was so good that I was able to enjoy it anyway. Be sure to watch the video.

The last presentation that I enjoyed was “Effective Twitter for Business,” by Sarah Milstein. Sarah was a great presenter and the session was full of solid material but it was a bit more on the beginning level for my taste. It was nice validation, however, for my own Twitter presentations.

The next day was spent preparing and presenting my session, “Social Media – Secret Weapon for SEO.” I presented with John Limbocker and was sponsored by Verio. John, Janine, and everyone I worked with at Verio were fantastic and the session was a great success.

I learned a few other neat tricks, like the fact that you can place a plus sign at the end of any bit.ly URL to see its click-thru stats – even if it’s not your link. Pretty cool!

The Web 2.0 Expo was a great experience and I not only learned some great marketing and technology tips, but also gained a lot of new insights into speaking and presenting and have enjoyed polishing my own presentations as a result. I encourage everyone to take the time to attend conferences like this to continue to push your skills and knowledge to the next level. I will be able to serve my clients and my constituents better as a result of this continuous learning. I look forward to next year’s Web 2.0 Expo!

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November 24, 2009 By 5 Comments

Thanksgiving Reflections

This Thanksgiving, I’d like to share a few thing that I am thankful for, both in business and personal life.

1. My faith. Out of respect for others and their beliefs, this is not something that I bring up too often without invitation. However, I would like to take the opportunity to express my gratitude for my knowledge of Jesus Christ and His plan for us. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Chris of Latter-day Saints and my testimony of this faith and the happiness it brings to me is something I am incredibly thankful for. It is the foundation for my life and guides my way in all things. I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to choose to believe and that I live in a country that offers me the freedom to worship as I see fit.

2. My friends and family. I have been very blessed to have a fantastic group of friends and a family that loves me. My life is constantly enriched by all the conversations, arguments, and great times I share with friends and family.

3. My team at SpinWeb. The people I work with are incredible. They are the smartest, most dedicated, most ethical people I know and our success is a result of their efforts. Our team is among the best in the city and I am grateful every day that I can rely on them. They care about our clients and about each other and it shows.

4. My clients. Without terrific clients, SpinWeb would not exist. Our clients truly “get it” when it comes to online marketing. They listen to us, they communicate with us, and they respect us. Our clients are progressive, forward-thinking business owners, marketing professionals, and executives who have a strong desire to build a better business and go to the next level. I learn a great deal from my clients and I am deeply grateful for the trust they place in me and my team.

5. My country. I am proud to live in the United States and am extremely grateful for the freedom and way of life that I enjoy here. Though certainly not perfect, this country offers unprecedented opportunities for business and personal achievement and I feel very fortunate that I have been able to live here and start a business here.

Thanksgiving is certainly a time for great food and friends and family, but it is also nice to reflect on what we are blessed with and thankful for. Soon I also hope to be thankful for warm pumpkin pie with vanilla ice cream :) Happy Thanksgiving!

Note: this entry is posted in support of Tweetsgiving, by Epic Change. Consider attending the Indianapolis Tweetsgiving Event. You may make a donation online.

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November 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Know when to use your hammer

“When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” I’m sure you’ve heard this phrase before and it makes a great point. In business, we all have hammers and we are all looking for nails. This blog post was inspired by a post by Seth Godin, in which he explains that different professionals will tend to recommend their own “hammers” for the same problem based on what they are familiar with. He goes on to say that it’s a good idea to know when to switch to a different hammer for different circumstances.

It’s a great point and I happen to agree but I would like to approach it from a different angle. I would argue that something more businesses need to get better at is knowing which nails to hit.

Many smart businesses are realizing the value of specializing and narrowing their targets in order to become really great at a few things rather than mediocre at many things. The problem is often that businesses have a hard time admitting it when their hammers don’t fit the nails that are in front of them.

As service providers, businesses need to have a clear picture of what they are good at and what they are not so that they can discern properly and know when to say yes and no to customers. A business that eagerly accepts every customer that comes along is inviting disaster since this can often lead to failed promises, unmet expectations, and inefficient work.

At SpinWeb, we have some great systems, processes, and tools. We know when to use them and who we can help. If we have an opportunity to work with a client and we know that the project will fit our systems well, we are eager to deliver. However, if we are asked to do something that does not fit our processes, tools, and skill set, we are very quick to politely decline the work and make every effort to refer that client to another resource that might be a better fit. If we can do a great job at something, we will. If we cannot, we will say so clearly and honestly. We know when to use our hammers and we want our clients to be happy.

In your business, do you know how to decide when to use your hammer?

Filed Under: Design, Lifestyle, Marketing, Productivity, Technology Tagged With: , , , ,
November 17, 2009 By 1 Comment

Credit union website design tips

In today’s market, credit unions are enjoying renewed popularity among consumers due to their membership-driven policies, personal service, and local community ties. Many people are drawn to these features of their local credit unions and are starting with research on the web.

For this reason, progressive credit unions must capture the attention of these researchers with a compelling online story via a modern corporate website.

Great design. This should be obvious but many credit unions still utilize outdated websites with poor design and awkward usability which hurts their credibility. Prospective customers are making decisions about where to put their money. They need to feel trust and a strong design is necessary to communicate brand integrity. Credit unions should focus on a clean, crisp design that stays very content-driven.

Social media. Today’s consumers are on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter and they sometimes read blogs. Smart credit unions will take advantage of this by creating special promotions for “fans” or “followers” on these networks in order to build a list of permission-based constituents. Each presence on a social network links back to the appropriate content piece on the credit union website.

Blogging. Every credit union website should feature a blog. Educational blogging helps build authority and places the credit union in a position of “trusted advisor” to its customers which opens the door to up-selling additional products. Blogging also boosts search engine rankings.

Up-to-date rates. When consumers are researching your credit union online, makes it easy for them to find rates. Keep in mind that your rates do not have to be the best. If you post your rates clearly and your competition keeps it a secret, you will create more trust in prospective customers because you are giving them an easy path to information, which increases their comfort level.

Online registration for seminars/webinars. Being very member-focused, credit unions are in a great position to offer educational seminars to their customers. Make it easy for people to sign up for these events via your website. Also consider conducting webinars to allow your customers and prospective customers to learn valuable financial information by participating from their computers over the Internet.

Usability. Credit union websites should pay strict heed to common usability norms. Navigation should be in logical places, nav items should use common naming conventions, and sectional or sub-navs should be well-structured. Since credit unions typically have so much content to publish, card sorting exercises should be used to determine the most logical structure to present to users. Over and over, most organizations are finding that “About Us” and “Contact Us” are the two most popular nave items that website visitors click on. Don’t deviate from common conventions like these.

Professional content. The underlying foundation of all these other tools is content. On the web, content must be clear, concise, and logical. Follow the inverted pyramid rule and keep it simple. Make sure your content is written by a professional to ensure that website visitors feel a sense of trust and credibility as they research your credit union.

As member-focused financial organizations that value education and community, credit unions are in a unique position to connect with customers using web tools like never before.

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November 14, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Website load time may affect your Google rankings

I noticed an interesting article today on The Marketing Technology Blog about Google and its plans to account for website load times in its ranking system. The article was written by Doug Karr, who I respect a great deal and makes some good points. All opinion aside, however, this policy from Google is significant to businesses since it can impact how easily their websites are found.

Website load time is always an important factor to improve when creating websites, but as it becomes even more important, I’d like to touch on two things that play a huge part in ensuring your website is not penalized.

One factor is your hosting platform. As Doug points out in his article, if your website is hosted on a bargain basement hosting plan, it may get penalized by Google because of slower load times. I have always been in favor of high-quality enterprise hosting for business websites for a number of reasons but this only adds to the argument. At SpinWeb, we are very transparent about the fact that we are a Verio parter. SpinWeb websites are hosted in Tier 1 Verio data centers on high-quality hardware, extremely fast connections, and well-tuned servers. Verio is a owned by NTT Communications, which is a billion-dollar company with one of the largest and most reliable networks in the world. We rest easy at night because we partner with a business-class hosting provider which ensures that our websites load quickly and are backed by enterprise technology. We do not skimp on website hosting.

Another factor that affects load time is website structure. At SpinWeb, we take great care to utilize intelligent CSS techniques that accomplish more with less code. We also optimize images and Flash to ensure the smallest file size possible. If something can be rendered the same way with fewer lines of code and less overhead, we will do it. This leads to websites that load faster.

A fast-loading website is good for your visitors but now it is becoming good for search engine rankings. Make sure you are doing all you can to maximize your chances of being seen.

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November 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

How design affects credibility on the web

I hate ugly websites. I realize that I have a particular bias as a result of what I do so I’m sure that is to be expected. In fact, people often have fun with me by sending me links to ugly websites just to see how much I cringe.

All fun aside, however, how often do we really think about how design affects our credibility as businesses? Do ugly websites hurt business? Turns out, the answer is yes.

Many studies have been done on this topic, including this one from Stanford University. In these studies, we find out that there are a number of design factors that influence how your website visitors perceive your organization.

“Real-world” aspects of your organization. Do you list your physical address? Do you display professional photos of your key team members? In short, does your website reflect the legitimacy of your organization?

Ease of use. A website that is difficult to use damages the credibility of your organization because it gives the appearance you don’t care enough to present a logical, well-designed navigation. If you don’t care about your information infrastructure, how much do you care about your customers?

Markers of expertise. Your corporate or organization website is an opportunity to display credentials and examples of your expertise. Take advantage of this and increase your credibility through case studies and credentials.

Markers of trustworthiness. The Stanford study referenced above found that visitors responded more positively to websites that presented content in a transparent and unbiased fashion. By contrast, websites that crossed the line into being too promotional resulted in decreased levels of trust in visitors. Be honest and factual when presenting your online image to increase trust.

Tailor the user experience. If your site allows customers to log in, give them access to specific data that is relevant to them. Additionally, allow your website visitors to easily find data relevant to their specific needs or markets.

Avoid over-promoting or over-advertising. Advertising elements can sometimes be very effective when implemented tastefully. However, avoid the trap that many newspaper websites fall into when they plaster ads all over their home pages. Too much advertising damages credibility.

Pay attention to design details. Even small glitches like a broken link or misspelled word can damage credibility. Additionally, avoid outdated, amateur design. A professional design goes a long way toward legitimizing your organization and can make the difference between a transaction and a lost customer.

Ultimately, credibility is a significant factor in your bottom line because trust must exist for a sale or a transaction to take place. Does the design of your organization’s website inspire trust?

Filed Under: Design, Marketing, Technology Tagged With: , , , , , ,