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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 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 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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July 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment

7 Habits of Highly Effective Websites

All websites are not created equal. At SpinWeb, we know this and take great care in crafting association and corporate websites that provide clear benefits to site visitors and assist our clients in meeting their marketing and communications objectives. So what makes an effective website?

1. Design. Good design matters. When prospective customers or members visit your website, they are making a snap judgment about your organization. I have lost count of how many times I have heard my friends say (when talking about an organization) “Have you seen their website? It looks terrible!” People notice your image. It matters and it makes an impression.

2. Content. Along with good design, quality content contributes to the impression your website visitors have of your organization. Not only should your content be grammatically-correct and well-written, but it should be current. If you are posting news items, blog entries, or time-oriented items, be sure that these areas are kept up-to-date. Otherwise, your organization looks stale. Consider hiring a content writer to ensure that your organization is presenting itself professionally.

3. Usability. Resist the temptation to cram everything on the home page. Instead, craft a logical navigation structure that allows your site visitors to progress through information in a way that makes sense to them. This can be done through a simple card sorting exercise or by consulting with your website design agency (who may use card sorting as part of their process).

4. Transaction-ready tools. Today’s websites must be far beyond the days of the “online brochure”. Site visitors today demand interactive tools that allow them to purchase items, register for events, get answers, communicate with others, pay bills, and acquire content. In order to be competitive, your website must provide these tools and process data in real time. These tools must also make it easy to capture information and process it for later communication so that you don’t lose touch with visitors. Don’t make visitors call to register, fill out a paper form, or wait three days for an answer. These activities must happen in a matter of minutes via your website.

5. Structural quality. Most people don’t ever see the code “under the hood” that makes up a website, but how that code is structured makes a difference in the user experience. Clean, well-crafted code will result in a website that loads quickly, is search-engine friendly, and is accessible to users with disabilities.

6. Social media integration. Today’s websites must integrate seamlessly into social media in order to have an effective presence. Be sure your press releases, blogs, events, and other content items include a “Share This” button to allow site visitors to easily share your content. Your website should also automatically post content to other networks to automate the distribution process (done via Ping.fm). After this, be sure your employees are re-posting and participating in the resulting conversations.

7. Search engine marketing. Where do people go to find information? You guessed it: Google. If you are not targeting topical keywords and aligning your website with these terms, you are missing a huge opportunity. Creating a well-structured website is one prerequisite, but your organization must also invest in a systematic search engine marketing strategy that targets your audience correctly and collects leads from the resulting traffic. Organic search marketing is the most effective but AdWords are also effective.

While not a comprehensive list, these are the minimum requirements for an effective website. Whether your organization is an association or a corporation, these guidelines will help maximize the effectiveness of your website.

Are there other habits that you would like to add? I would love to hear your comments.

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May 18, 2009 By 2 Comments

12 Tips for a Great Chamber / Economic Development Alliance Website Design

At SpinWeb, we have a particular interest in helping local communities thrive and flourish using the Internet.  For this reason, we love working with municipalities and agencies within, which includes chambers and economic development alliances. I have been researching both chambers and economic development alliances recently in preparation for an upcoming project and I’ve noticed that though they have different objectives, the two entities can often co-exist in the same website and be very complementary. So what are some ways a website for a chamber and economic development alliance can serve the community?

1. Publish a user-friendly online sites and buildings database. Make sure it is easy for interested businesses to research locations in your community via your website. You want to attract new business, so be easy to work with by giving businesses the tools they need to get information fast and allow them to search on detailed attributes.

2. Invest in a high-quality image. Your website represents your community and should be attractive and modern. Chambers and economic development alliances with beautiful websites make the community look like an attractive place to live and do business.

3. Offer educational and networking events with online registration. By offering events and classes, you not only promote networking in your community, but also increase the skill level of your local work force. Be sure your website clearly lists your calendar of events and offers online registration, which increases attendance.

4. Offer an online Chamber Marketplace to promote commerce. Allow chamber members to create online profiles and place projects out for bit to other chamber members. Then, allow members to submit bids on those projects via your website. This encourages commerce between chamber members, as well as increases the value of a chamber membership.

5. Include social media links to make information sharing easy. Make sure that your sites and buildings, jobs, news, projects for bid, and events all include a “share” option to make it easy for site visitors to post your web site information to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and other social networks. The easier it is to distribute your content, the more likely it is to be seen.

6. Publish an online employment database. Stimulating employment in the community sh0uld be a strong objective for your website and one great way to do this is to offer an online employment database. Allow chamber and/or community members to post job openings on your employment database and offer candidates the ability to apply online for those jobs. This creates an easier way to connect jobs with candidates and increases the value of your site. Don’t forget to include a “share” button to make it easy for site visitors to post jobs to their social networks.

7. Invest in search engine marketing to attract businesses. A great chamber and/or economic development alliance website is only useful when someone finds it. Be sure your community is found by creating targeted keyword campaigns that attract the right visitors to your site.

8. Promote notable local businesses via an active press room. Recognize your local businesses via your website by publishing regular articles that feature local businesses. This keeps your website full of fresh content which has a positive impact on your search engine rankings and helps your local businesses get more visibility.

9. Publish a video podcast featuring local businesses. A podcast is easy and inexpensive to set up and is a great way to promote members of your community. Send an intern from your local university out with a video camera once a week to a local business to do a 5-minute “spotlight”. This gives local businesses a chance to get exposure when they might not otherwise be able to afford advertising. It’s also a recruiting tool to help attract businesses to your community since it shows that you are committed to supporting them once they arrive.

10. Sell products online. Many businesses in your community would like to sell their products online but don’t have the resources to do so. Help them out by offering to sell their products online for them via your website. Additionally, you can also sell city/community-branded merchandise online, such as clothing and other items. Build your community’s brand while adding revenue!

11. Auto-bill your members via self-serve online tools. Make it easier for chamber members to renew and submit payments by allowing them to log in and manage their accounts via your website. Be sure you accept credit cards and e-checks. This not only reduces barriers to renewals, but reduces administrative expenses in your office.

12. Publish a great e-mail newsletter. Send out your email newsletter on a regular schedule and highlight community events to increase attendance.

Whether your chamber and economic development alliances are using separate web sites or integrated into one site, these tips will help add value to your online presence, attract new businesses to the community, and help local businesses grow and flourish.

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May 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Top 10 Information Architecture Mistakes (Jakob Nielsen)

Every now and then, Jakob Nielsen publishes a great article that really hits home and embodies all the rules we are trying to explain every day as we create web sites for our clients. Take a moment to read this one:

Top 10 Information Architecture Mistakes

It’s a great review of some of the little details that can make the difference between a mediocre website and a great web site.

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May 3, 2009 By 1 Comment

7 Ways Manufacturing Companies Can Increase Sales with a Great Website Design

At SpinWeb, we love working with manufacturing companies. So much opportunity exists to help them utilize their websites more effectively to facilitate growth. Many of today’s manufacturers, however, are facing significant challenges in utilizing the Internet to increase sales. So what are some things that make a difference?

1. Invest in a great design. Image matters. Companies that make great products need to present a strong image and the corporate web site is the place to do it. A great image can make the difference in lost or closed sales when prospective customers are performing the “sniff test” on your company to see if you can deliver.

2. Present your catalog online. I’m not just talking about a PDF download. I’m talking about having a full-fledged interactive product catalog that allows your customers to search, browse, and research your products online. Products should not simply be listed on a page, but should be part of a true product database so that individual product listings can be sent to prospective customers electronically as a link or via social media. This speeds up the sales cycle and gives your sales team better support as they present products. If possible, include video demos.

3. Collect leads. Manufacturing websites should be asking site visitors for names and email addresses so that email communications on new and updated products can be delivered. This keeps prospective customers in your funnel and improves your chances of reaching them when it comes time to buy.

4. Facilitate an ecosystem. Manufacturing companies can benefit a great deal from creating online communities that their customers can use to communicate with each other and share knowledge. This helps build value around your company’s brand and improves retention. An ecosystem can be an online forum, an extranet, or even a Facebook Group.

5. Utilize search engine marketing. Most manufacturing companies are not investing very heavily in search engine marketing. This opens up a huge opportunity for those who do. By investing in targeted search engine marketing, smart manufacturing companies can ensure that their products show up at the top of the list when prospective customers are doing reasearch online. This can make the difference between lost business or closed business.

6. Distribute documentation. If your products come with documentation that helps your customers better understand how to use or implement your products, post it on your website – all of it. By driving your customers back to your website, you are reinforcing the value of your brand. It also allows you to eliminate or reduce printed documentation, which saves money. Online documentation can also be updated in minutes – a huge advantage over printed documentation. I’m not referring to PDF downloads, I’m referring to an online database of documentation that your customers can search and sort easily to find what they need. This makes you easy to do business with and improves retention. It’s also a great sales tool because prospective customers can see how easy it is to get the supporting information they need about your products which reduces anxiety.

7. Increase your PR efforts using Social Media. Manufacturing companies should be investing in PR to increase brand awareness and tell a story. Social Media is a great way to extend your PR efforts. Press releases should be listed on your company website and then distributed via Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. This improves your search engine rankings and encourages others to re-distribute your content for you. Make sure your website content includes “share this” buttons to facilitate easy distribution by site visitors.

Many manufacturing companies are not taking full advantage of their company websites to leap ahead of the competition which means that the ones who do will have a significant advantage. Support your sales team and your customers with a great website and enjoy greater customer loyalty and increased sales.

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March 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Interested in Feedback? Keep Your Surveys Short.

As a member of a number of associations and networking groups, I receive a lot of surveys. It always amazes me how long and cumbersome most of these surveys are. Inevitably they will be multi-page monsters that require me to type things in and fill in blanks. 99% of the time these surveys end up falling prey to my delete key. Do the senders of these surveys really expect to get a reasonable response when the surveys are this long and complicated?

In order to maximize your response rate, use the following guidelines:

  1. Keep your surveys short. 5-7 questions should be the maximum.
  2. Make all questions one-click multiple choice. Do not ask your readers to fill in blanks or type in text unless it’s an optional final question for other comments.
  3. Keep your surveys to one page.

Additionally, it’s a good idea to tell your readers that your survey will take 2 minutes or less to complete. This sets expectations and reduces the anxiety caused by all the other awful surveys they received. If I can see the entire survey on one page, then I know exactly what to expect, which lowers my anxiety level. If every question is on it’s own page, then I get more and more anxious as I continue because I keep thinking “when will this end?”

If you really want a useful response from your recipients, keep your surveys short and to the point. This will result in data you can actually use.

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