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February 8, 2010 By 1 Comment

How to make your website socially aware

Social media is everywhere. It’s new and shiny and everyone is trying to figure out how to use it, talk about it, and make money from it. However, once we put aside the hype, it becomes clear that social media is simply an evolution in how we communicate. It does not replace traditional marketing and communication, but rather augments it and breathes new life into what we do.

One great way to blend social media into your existing framework is to extend your website and make it more “socially aware”. Your company website is your information hub and should be a high-quality, interactive source for constituent engagement. However, many websites need to be upgraded to extend the organization’s reach into the social space, as well.

Here are some ways your next website can utilize connections to social media:

1. Include a company blog on your website. Your company blog should be integrated into your website, not hosted somewhere else or worse, on a free blogging service. It needs to be hosted under your domain name to maximize your search engine visibility and needs to follow your organization’s branding. A blog also gives you a platform of content to publish on other networks. Publish high-value articles that educate and position your company as an industry leader.

2. Add a Twitter feed to your home page. By placing your Twitter activity on your website, you are allowing others to see real-time updates on your events, news, and announcements that you can update externally from other sources, like your mobile device. This also allows visitors to subscribe to your communication channel via Twitter.

3. Use Ping.fm to distribute content. By connecting your website content to Ping.fm, you can automatically push out news, events, blogs, and other content to social networks. This ensures that your content comes from a single, central location and is then distributed across many networks.

4. Include RSS options for all dynamic content. Make sure that your blog, events, news, and other dynamic content can be syndicated via RSS to make it easy for visitors to stay in your communication channel or publish your content on other sites.

5. Show the faces of real people in your organization. Many corporate websites shy away from displaying information about employees. However, today’s customers are interested in real people. Create a directory of key employees and provide links to email addresses, LinkedIn profiles, Facebook profiles, and Twitter accounts. Make it easy for customers and prospects to engage in conversations with your team. This builds trust.

6. Make sure your blogs, articles, and other landing pages publish correctly on social networks. This means that your code should be structured so that the proper image or logo appears when the content is shared on Facebook, and the right content blurb appears so that the preview is informative. This may involve an upgrade to your website structure.

7. Link back to your website from all other social profiles. This should be obvious but it is often overlooked. Be sure that your website link appears everywhere you have a social presence so that all traffic is driven back to your information hub. Also, make sure your social profiles are designed to match the branding on your website.

When creating your next website, be sure to make it socially aware so that you extend your points of capture into social networks and maximize your permission-based followers.

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February 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Your call to action should be a click

I get a lot of email promotions. Some are newsletters I have asked for, while some are spam from Indy Chamber members who have decided to subscribe me to their mailing lists against my will. In any case, one thing I notice about many of these email campaigns is that no matter how well-designed or appealing they are, they frequently miss the boat on the call to action.

For example, I often get an email inviting me to an event. Let’s say I want to go – what do I have to do? Much of the time, the campaign invites me to call a number to register, fill out a paper form, or reply to the email. If it’s a paid event, sometimes I’m told that I should bring a check or cash to pay at the door. Really? All I should have to do is click a link and register online. Anything more complicated than that is guaranteed to encourage people to ignore your message.

What about a spa offering 20% off selected services this week? The email should contain a prominent link that allows the recipient to book services online immediately.

Here’s the thing. When people are scanning emails, they are in a certain context. That context is clicking on things and getting information as a result of that clicking. Trying to make the user change contexts to make a call or print a form is working against the momentum that is already in place. The path of least resistance to the user is to remain in that context of clicking and processing. This is why you should allow your customers to get what they need or perform a transaction with a few clicks.

Don’t make it difficult for your customers to do business with you. Make sure your call to action is a click.

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December 22, 2009 By 2 Comments

Bad website design is expensive

Some people think great website design work is expensive. On the surface, this is true since you generally get what you pay for. However, how often do we stop to think about how expensive bad design can be?

Bad design leads to frustrated website visitors who cannot find what they want. If you are a government entity with no competition, this means your constituents will end up having to call your office to get the information they need. This means that you will have to hire more people to cover the phones and spend more time on support issues. This costs more money. I love my community and I am very loyal to Indiana but the State of Indiana website is an example of an extremely poorly-designed website. Finding anything on this site is practically impossible. I know… I’ve tried! After spending 15 minutes on the site looking for something, I ended up having to call.

It’s even worse for businesses. If you’re a business, your customers have plenty of choices. If their needs aren’t met on your website or if it doesn’t inspire confidence, they won’t call – they will simply go elsewhere. This is expensive because that could have been a sale.

If you think great website design is expensive, try bad design. It can be even more costly.

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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 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?

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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?

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October 19, 2009 By 4 Comments

Your customers want simplicity, not features

I was extremely amused by a story I saw today about the new Droid smart phone offered by Verizon. I always get mildly amused when I see the next “iPhone killer” but this one in particular got my attention because of the direct head-to-head challenge to the iPhone as seen in this teaser commercial.

Is the commercial cute and a little bit clever? Sure. Is it going to make people buy the Droid instead of the iPhone? I doubt it.

I don’t understand why the Verizon, Motorola, and all the other players in the industry simply continue to remain oblivious. What they (and most companies, for that matter) don’t get is that features do not sell products.

Now I realize that this is a generalization and that there are some cases where features do indeed make a difference but on the whole, it’s not about features. It’s about how your product enhances the life of your customer.

The problem is that most engineers design products for other engineers. Technology-driven people like features. They read manuals and compare features and get excited over technical specs. The rest of us don’t care. The rest of us want something that’s easy to use.

The Droid boasts lots of features that the iPhone doesn’t have. Guess what? Nobody cares. Does my mother care that the Droid has a “real” keyboard? Nope… the iPhone’s software keyboard seems to work just fine. Does my neighbor care that the Droid takes 5-megapixel photos? Nope… what’s wrong with the iPhone’s photos? They look just fine on Facebook. Does my co-worker care that the Droid runs widgets? Huh? What’s a widget?

Guess what the iPhone does that the Droid doesn’t? It enhances your life by being simple. The iPhone is pretty, shiny, colorful, and easy to use. Want to make a call? Press the big green button and you’re only a few clicks away from any phone-related function. Want to check email? Press the big jelly-filled envelope. Want to get on Facebook? Look! There’s a big bubbly icon for that!

Additionally, how many moving parts does the iPhone have that could potentially break? One: the big round “home” button. The rest of the phone is basically one smooth unit with no other moving parts. It’s hard to break something that self-contained.

What most engineers and the companies that employ them fail to realize is that the vast majority of people do not care about a long list of fancy features. They want technology to make their lives simpler, easier, and more productive. They want to accomplish simple things and then they want the technology to get out of the way so they can get on with their lives.

In fact, people will often avoid buying a product if it appears too complicated. What’s the best way to make a product look complicated? Show off a long list of features.

Whether it’s a consumer product, a piece of software, or a website, people want simplicity. They want your product or service to make their lives easier and simpler. This is why “iPhone killers” continue to miss the mark.

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October 6, 2009 By 1 Comment

The importance of high-quality photography on the web

The quality of your photos can make or break a website design.

The right photos make a huge difference in the overall impression and effectiveness of your website. I’ve seen many otherwise decent websites that are ruined by poor photo choices or low-quality photos.

Do not skimp on photography. The best case scenario is to have custom professional photos taken for your website. If this is not possible, at the very least choose good stock photos that properly represent your brand.

When visitors view your website, they are making a snap decision on the credibility of your company. Your website is setting a tone. This is your chance to create a specific reality that will influence your prospective customer through imagery. Great photos will have a positive impact.

Here are some guidelines in using photography on your website:

  • Always use professional photos – hire someone or ask your design agency if they offer this service. Photos taken by someone in your company as a hobby don’t count.
  • As an alternative, utilize high-quality stock photos from a leading photo site.
  • Photos of people are good – people relate to seeing other people.
  • Even though photos of people are good, avoid the meaningless “business people shaking hands” photos.
  • Always show positive imagery – smiling, happy people invoke the proper positive emotions in website visitors.
  • Resist before and after photos – only show the after. Nobody wants to go to a dentist’s website and see photos of ugly teeth. Just show the final result: beautiful teeth.
  • Fewer, bolder photos are better than lots of little photos. Less is more. Make each photo significant.

When planning your website, be sure to budget for tasteful, high-quality photos. It will make a significant difference in how your company is perceived.

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