Agog in Cyberspace

We still hear people say - 'I already have a web site, so we don't have a need for your services.'  My response  back is this:  Is your web site working for you?  Is it keeping pace with your changing environment? Is it as compelling and fresh as the day it was launched? When people search for you online, do they find you easily? 

The way people use the Internet to shop, get information, or communicate evolves continuously.  As Internet Presence professionals, it is our job to stay on top of the latest trends and technology.

Influence is defined as 'the action or process of producing effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of another or others'.  As an Internet Presence firm, we deal with helping our clients gain 'Influence' on the web everyday

As a people, we are influenced everyday by other people, events and experiences.  We base many of our choices by the words and and actions of others.  That is where Social Media Marketing comes in.

Your customers are meeting each other and sharing ideas. Don't you want to be involved in the conversation?  Just having a Facebook Page and Twitter account is NOT going to get you the results you expect.  Let us demonstrate to you what we do that makes Social Media work for you.  We will customize a monthly Social Media Marketing program for you which will drive BUZZ and qualified leads to you and your web site.  You'll see results within the first month. 

Our monthly service comes with periodic reports measuring the results against the goals we set.  The key to an effective Social Media Marketing program is Message, Consistency, Follow up, and Measurement.
 

Content Management Systems (CMS) have been around for more than a decade, but really didn’t start getting popular until a few years ago.  Designers and web professionals have been producing websites on CMS platforms because it allows for quick and simple editing.  There isn’t a real need to master special design software, and updates can be made from any browser/internet accessible device.  Up until a few years ago, businesses that had in-house technical support also preferred CMS websites because it allowed them to make updates and edits to their websites without contracting out the work to expensive consultants.

Today’s business owners have become much more tech savvy.  With the proliferation of technology in our lives, almost everyone processes the computer skills necessary to edit and update a CMS website.  If you are reading this, chances are you too fit into that category.  The question is – is your website a CMS website?  Is your website built on a WordPress, Joomla, or Daupal platform?  Maybe you went a bit more high end and commissioned an Adobe Business Catalyst, Rocketship, or Volusion website?  If your website is not built on a CMS platform, you are either paying a web developer to update your website for you, or you are one of the many small business owners who simply launch their website and forget about it.

Updating your website on a regular basis is the single most effective way to ensure you are getting the most out of your online marketing.  If you don’t have the cash flow to hire someone to edit and update your website, then owning a CMS website will save you money.  True, you will need to devote an hour here and there to edit and update content on your website, but it will pay off quickly.  Your website will show up higher in the Search Engine results and attract more potential customers.  Stale and outdated websites get passed over by today’s discerning customers.  Search engines will drop you from the first page if your website hasn’t been updated in a while, or hasn’t kept pace with today’s web standards.

Converting your existing website to a CMS format can save you money in the long run.  If you are in the market for a new website, be sure to consider a CMS website.  Web designers can change upwards of $80/hr to maintain your website.  Instead, contact a professional design firm such as ours, and ask about getting a CMS website developed with the option to retain the firm to be available to maintain your website when you’re busy with running your business.  Don’t be held hostage – take control of your own website. 

The answer seems obvious – the number of Internet Searches from Mobile devices has increased by 55% in the past year.  Mobile searches now account for over 10% of all internet searches in the US. Since you will be getting additional traffic, you need a site that 'works well' on mobile devices.

Where it gets confusing is when you start hearing different terms thrown around.  Mobile Friendly? Mobile Optimized? Responsive Design?  Are these different things?  How do they differ and how does this pertain to your Internet Presence project?

Mobile Friendly Website*

Mobile friendly refers to a site that displays accurately between your desktop/laptop computer and a mobile device such as a handheld phone (iPhone, Android, Blackberry) or tablets (iPad, Galaxy, etc.). While it will appear smaller on a phone and may not work perfectly on a touchscreen tablet, a mobile friendly website will be perfectly functional. Many developers view mobile friendly as a “best practice” for all website developments.

Ensuring your website is mobile friendly is critical. As we discussed above, the percentage of mobile users is quickly rising. What are critical features of a mobile friendly website?

• Text-based phone numbers, physical addresses, or email addresses that can trigger a call, directions, or email message from your mobile device
• Slideshows or image rotators that function without Flash support (Adobe Flash is not supported by Apple and some other mobile devices)
• Small image sizes to allow for fast loading over mobile connections—don’t count on even a 3G connection

Mobile Optimized Website*

A mobile optimized site is a far more advanced website. Mobile optimized means that the site will reformat itself for a list of handheld or tablet devices. Larger navigation buttons, reformatted content, and differently optimized images appear when the user is on an iPhone or other device.

Why reformat? Reformatting allows the website to easily engage a large mobile audience when key buying decisions come up. More and more consumers are turning to their mobile devices right in the store. Having a website developed that allows the user to easily navigate and engage from the small screen of their handheld means reaching a decision faster.

What are some good formatting elements that go into a mobile optimized site?

• Simplified navigation that is “thumb” friendly with large touchpoints, especially critical is contact information
• Reduced graphics that don’t interrupt the quest for critical information such as product listings or commoditized content
• Avoid making users type unless absolutely necessary
• Give users the option to view the desktop version of your site

Responsive Design Website*

As website design continues to evolve, a fantastic form of development has come into play. Responsive design is a method of developing a site that is completely flexible regardless of device. Rather than detecting a specific browser type or device type, the website automatically orientates itself based on the screen size of the device. A combination of reformatting and re-optimizing the site as a whole give a practical flexibility beyond imagination.

Responsive design, while more costly to develop, is the wisest development investment if you’re dealing with a consumer or audience-base that is active on mobile devices or need to make purchases on the go. Impulse purchases are obvious, but this is equally critical for commodity content such as blogs or news outlets.

*Definitions are arrived from multiple sources.  

Mobile browsing—from tablets to smartphones—is growing at an unprecedented rate. The consumer’s passion for immediate gratification of their informational needs requires effectively delivering your product (physical or intellectual) via the mobile web.

What about small business or a non-profit organization? Is mobile friendly good enough? Should an organization discuss a mobile optimized version? Will investing in a responsive design site bring a measurable return?

Excellent questions with answers only you can provide. Every situation will be different, but give serious thought of what percentage of your site visitors are on mobile devices? Google Analytics will tell you. What does your current site look like? Pull out your smart phone and find out.

You do have options.  Web designers, like us, can enhance your sites chances of displaying properly on mobile devices by incorporating some advanced design methods and technology.

With Mobile phones and Tablet devices growing in market share, now more than ever it is critical that your Website works well with those devices.  Our designs automatically size for your devices screen resolution.  Another design system we use Responsive Web Design.  This design methodology “automatically" adjusts content layout to the users device screen size.  We believe in using the latest technologies and web design tools in our service to our Clients. 

If your business sells a product and you do not have an eCommerce website, you are leaving revenue on the table.  Calls from potential eCommerce Clients typically express concern about COST and PAYMENT SECURITY. 

Internet technology has evolved leaps and bounds over the past couple of years.  You'll still find a few web designers that will develop an eCommerce site by coding the shopping cart and payment system manually, but for the most part, CMS based solutions are taking over.  Today's technology allows a seamless integration of modules.  This saves you - the Client - time and money.  The added benefit is that you have the piece of mind that your website shopping cart is certified by your Banks merchant account provider.

Most eCommerce solutions include a customer database which integrates into your email marketing and customer loyalty systems.  By using a CMS based hosting platform for your eCommerce website, you can manage the content of your website yourself, if you choose. 

When you are ready to hire a Firm to design and develop your eCommerce website, be sure to consider these 6 things:

• Flexibly - Can you update the products, prices, descriptions and images in your website yourself at the time you choose?
• Marketability  - Customers need to find your shop. Can you get advice and help with implementing targeted and accountable solutions to bring you new business?
• Security - Do they employ the industry standard SSL technology to safeguard your customer information and payments?
• Professionalism - Do they take the time to consult with you on implementing your brand image throughout your site?  Have they worked with a number of companies across a wide range of industries?
• Legal - Do they deliver sites conforming to the Disability Discrimination Act, and advice on your Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions?
• Reliability - Where is the website hosted and who supports you?

Here are a couple of What if’s.  What if you could communicate with your website visitors as individuals? What if you could cut through the noise and talk to their personal interests, actions and preferences? What if you could do it in a way that is scalable and within your existing web hosting budget?

In simple terms, Behavioral Marketing is capturing your website visitor’s behaviors and segmenting them into relevant ‘silos of data’.  The idea is to generate real-time, cross-channel, extremely relevant campaigns to one person at a time automatically driven by the analytics of their actions, preferences and profiles.  When you put individual’s behaviors together with marketing automation, you end up with Behavioral Marketing.  Study after study shows that you receive higher rates of opens, clicks and conversations on emails when they are triggered by recipient actions rather than generic “Batch and Blast" messages.

Interested in learning more?  Our CMS Hosting, combined with our Internet Presence Services, will launch your business into new online heights.  Contact us today for a FREE 1 hour consultation.

A content management system (CMS) can be your best friend if you take your online presence serious.  When it comes to online life, we all use content management systems in one way or another: social media, blogging, building websites, maintaining websites, selling products online, marketing and more.

The refined notion of CMS in the 21st century involves creating a system that can separate the creation of design and content, and then work together to publish these two elements.

Content you can manage with CMS includes news articles, blogs, operators’ manuals, technical manuals, sales guides and marketing brochures. The content you manage might include computer files, images, media, audio files, video files, electronic documents and web content.