Michael Reynolds

How to make your website socially aware

8 Feb 2010

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.

Your call to action should be a click

In: Design| Marketing| Technology

6 Feb 2010

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.

Stop shouting from behind your logo

In: Marketing| Technology

21 Jan 2010

It seems like more and more businesses are starting to use online tools to market and communicate their messages. Social media is new and shiny and companies are eager to find more ways to broadcast commercials using Twitter, Facebook, and other social networks. However, it frustrates me to see that so many businesses are still applying marketing 1.0 tactics to web 2.0 tools.

Traditional marketing utilizes techniques that broadcast a message to the masses. Make a commercial, buy some airtime, and shout at your viewers for 30 seconds in hopes that the message sticks. Buy a billboard, paint it with your logo, and capture as many eyeballs as possible. Now that social media has opened up new channels of communication, business owners and marketers are eagerly applying the same tactics to new mediums and then wondering why it’s not working.

Facebook? Sure… let’s put a company logo in place of the profile photo, insert the company name, and splatter commercials all over the news feed. No one really knows who works there. Twitter? Great… let’s just use a single Twitter account for the company and shove all communication through it without letting anyone get to know the employees.

What businesses are consistently failing to understand is that people are craving contact with actual people. Social media is a space for humans to communicate, not faceless logos. Rather than hiding behind your logo and keeping your employees a secret, empower everyone to exist online as a person. The CEO should be blogging and signing his name to his postings. The marketing director should actively talk to people on Twitter as a real person. Employees should be encouraged to connect with clients and associates on Facebook as themselves.

Setting up a company Twitter account with your logo on it is a good thing. However, the messages distributed through this account should be redistributed through personal accounts because this is where real conversations happen. A Facebook fan page for the company is the right anchor point for publishing information. However, it’s the personal profiles that should share the content with their networks. This is where conversation happens.

This is an age of personal contact and human stories. Successful companies need to embrace the shift in customer expectations and blend corporate branding with personal branding. If asked what their most valuable assets are, most companies would quickly respond with “our people!” If that’s true, let them show their faces to the world and to your customers. If you are creating a positive environment and hiring the right people, your employees should be proud to represent your organization.

Remember, people want to do business with people they like and trust. Let your people show their faces. Stop shouting from behind your logo and instead have a real conversation with your customers.

I’m tired of social media

In: Lifestyle| Marketing| Productivity| Technology

20 Jan 2010

Gasp! There, I said it. I have a suspicion that others are thinking it, too. At this particular moment I am tired of social media. I have taken a few days to focus on other things and it has been great. I didn’t post anything to Twitter for a few days, I didn’t spend much time on Facebook, and I didn’t read any blogs.

Instead, I did some writing, worked on my book, did some strategic planning for my business, and had some very productive meetings with my team and my networking circles.

I think many times I am guilty of getting caught up in the fast-paced, “new and shiny” appeal of social tools and I get a little carried away in thinking that if I don’t engage in social networks all the time, then I will be missing out on something. Well, as it turns out, there is a world outside of Facebook. Who knew?

So am I actually tired of social media? Not really. Rather I acknowledge that I need to remind myself that social media is simply an evolution in how we communicate. It’s not a replacement for traditional marketing. It’s not a replacement for phone calls or meetings. It’s not a replacement for human contact. We need to look for ways to enhance our communication with social tools. If engaging on a social network adds value to my relationships, then it makes sense. If it distracts me from my goals, then it doesn’t make sense.

You know what else? Simply admitting my burn-out on social media helped me reevaluate how I engage with my networks and actually recharged my interest in jumping back in.

Social media will continue to be a part of my lifestyle. I will continue to learn, develop relationships, educate, and generate leads using social media. However, I will also get better at finding balance in my activities.

Oh look… Twitter is back up. Gotta go!

The truth about credit card safety online

In: Technology

12 Jan 2010

E-commerce has been around for a while now and to most of us, it is a normal way of shopping and purchasing products. However, I occasionally encounter someone who is uncomfortable using a credit card online. I’d like to clear up some misconceptions and provide some insight into what happens when you use a credit card online and why it’s safer than using your credit card at a gas pump.

First off, keep in mind that when you buy something online with a credit card, your credit card number is typically not ever seen by a human. When you type in your credit card number, you are entering it into a page that is encrypted so that even if someone were electronically eavesdropping, he/she would not be able to acquire the number. Once you click the “buy” button, the order information, along with your credit card number, is sent directly through an encrypted connection to a merchant gateway (like Authorize.Net) which checks the validity of the card, available funds, and tests for fraud. If all goes well, the transaction is complete and the money is batched to go from your credit card to the bank account of the merchant from which you purchased. All this happens within seconds and with no human intervention. As you can see, there is really no realistic opportunity for anyone to see your credit card number.

Contrast this with other ways that we use credit cards every way. We swipe our credit cards at gas pumps which leaves us vulnerable to skimming. We hand our credit cards to servers at restaurants, which leaves us vulnerable to anyone in the back of the restaurant with a camera phone. We withdraw money at ATMs, which leaves us vulnerable to both skimming and photo espionage. There are so many times that we offer up our credit card number in the physical world that are much riskier than purchasing online. Yet, sometimes we feel that buying online is mysterious and scary and so we feel unsafe. Purchasing online is typically much safer than a physical card purchase.

Remember that when your credit card is swiped at a store or restaurant, it’s going through exactly the same type of network as it does on the Internet. The only difference is that in a store or restaurant, a human gets to see your credit card number. Which sounds safer?

Some things to look out for when purchasing online:

1. Look for the “s” in “https://”. If you are on a secure site, the address in your location bar at the top will start with “https://”. Notice the “s”.

2. Make sure you trust the website. Amazon, Zappos, and Apple are all big companies with trustworthy websites. Buying from ugly, mom and pop websites that look like they were designed by your neighbor’s 5-year-old may not be all that safe. Make sure you have some level of trust with the merchant. Feel free to call them and ask how they handle e-commerce and what gateway they use.

3. Use a credit card, rather than a debit card. This ensures that if theft does occur, you are not liable for it and it does not deplete your bank account.

Though purchasing online may seem a little scary to some, it’s actually much safer than physical card purchases. If your credit card number is stolen, it’s much more likely that it occurred at a gas pump, restaurant, or through documents in your trash. Remember to shred often, be cautious about where you use your card, and look for the signs of a secure transaction and you will minimize your chances of being a victim.

In a ROWE, every day is a snow day

In: Lifestyle| Productivity| Technology

7 Jan 2010

Remember snow days? As a kid, the first big snow of the season was an eagerly-anticipated gift because it could mean that school was canceled, which would be followed by sleeping in, sledding, and other recreational hi-jinks. As we got older, snow days started to affect us in different ways. As employees, snow days could be dreadful because we were still required to drive to an office, which meant getting up earlier for the dangerous commute so we could get to work on time. Or perhaps we had a “flexible” boss who said we could stay home as long as we were working during business hours. The temporary telecommuting was mixed with pangs of guilt as we tried to make sure we looked busy by sending lots of emails and making phone calls while watching TV. Or perhaps the grumpy manager-types among us would become annoyed at the employees who were not committed enough to make the drive to work in the snow. Wow… so much drama and anxiety over some beautiful snow!

As I sit in my cozy living room by the fireplace, I am enjoying the minor snowstorm we’re having here in Indianapolis. Every time we get a good solid snow here, it seems to play havoc with the typical workday. Why? Because most companies in Indianapolis are still stuck in the 8-5, 40-hour week mindset. Because of this, we have things like “rush hour” and “commutes” which become worse during inclement weather. The Mayor of Indianapolis is even urging workers to “leave early” or “stay late” to avoid hitting rush hour in the snow.

In contrast, SpinWeb is a ROWE, which means that we are absolutely unaffected by this lovely day of snow. Why? Because we focus on results, not time or physical location. We have 10 employees but only two of us even showed up at the office today and it was just to briefly pick something up. No one “checked in” at 8am. No memo was sent out urging employees to leave early to avoid rush hour. It simply was not an issue. Emails were sent to clients, conference calls were held, websites were being built, and work got done – just like any other day. I’m sure many of our employees slept in and enjoyed some coffee by their own fireplaces as they watched the snow. Since our phone system is cloud-based, those who called our office got a live person who helped direct their calls to the appropriate person’s cell phone, just like any other day. The technology exists to allow us to break free of the need to sit at a desk with a hardwired phone. With laptops, cell phones, and the right infrastructure in place, we can operate with extreme flexibility under any conditions at at any hour of the day or night.

In a ROWE, the company focuses primary on one thing: what gets done. It doesn’t matter when it gets done, where it gets done, or much time is spent on it. What matters is that work is getting done correctly and on time. Employees take control of their own time and their own lives and everybody wins. That brings some excitement and enjoyment back into work, doesn’t it?

When you work in a ROWE, every day is a snow day. Enjoy!

How to Keep Your Emails Out of Spam Filters

In: Technology

28 Dec 2009

In this age of spam warfare, it’s very common to send a message to someone only to have it end up in that person’s “spam” folder where it can take days or weeks to be found, if it’s found at all. So how do you ensure that your messages get past your recipient’s spam filters and sitting happily in the inbox where it belongs? Here are some tips.

1. Send messages in plain text, not HTML or rich text. Plain text is clean, elegant, and lean. Since most spam is sent in HTML format with lots of bold, color, images, and other annoying elements, most spam filters will penalize messages that include these elements. Unfortunately, most email programs send messages in HTML or rich text by default so you must change your settings to default to plain text. Tempted to place your company logo or a cute image in your signature line? Don’t… spam filters will slap a penalty on your message. For more information about the joys of plain text email, try Googling for “plain text email“.

2. Use proper spelling, grammar, and formatting. It seems that this age of instant communication and frenzied messaging has made it ok to throw style out the window when writing email. I get messages all the time from people who omit the first name greeting, write in broken sentence fragments, don’t capitalize anything, and can’t be bothered to use spell check. The occasional typo is forgivable but it seems that many email users simply don’t care about proper formatting or readability. Since most spam is written poorly and makes use of odd attention-grabbing formatting and language, many spam filters analyze the content of the message and penalize messages that are formatted poorly and have lots of misspelled words. Crafting your messages with care and style will not only get you past spam filters, it also makes you look more professional. More about proper email formatting can be found by Googling for “proper email formatting“.

3. Don’t use a “weird” email address. Ever notice how lots of spam comes from an email address that it made up of a bunch or weird letter and numbers? This being the case, if your email address is “LuckySurfer845601@hotmail.com”, you’re probably going to be penalized for it. By the same token, Hotmail, Yahoo, or AOL (or any other major consumer email service) should never be used for business email. Not only are you more likely to get blocked by spam filters, but it looks unprofessional. Instead, use your company email address for business. Example: “michael@spinweb.net”, “john.smith@ibm.com”, or “bsmith@apple.com”. Your email address should match the address of your company web site.

These are some simple tips for getting past spam filters. By following these simple guidelines, your emails will become more professional and more inbox-friendly.

160No Comments2009-12-28+13%3A00%3A25Michael+Reynolds

Bad website design is expensive

In: Design| Marketing| Technology

22 Dec 2009

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.

5 emerging marketing tools you need to start paying attention to

In: Marketing| Technology

18 Dec 2009

As 2009 wraps up and we look toward the new year, it’s nice to re-evaluate plans for the upcoming year and use the holiday downtime to focus on some initiatives for 2010. I know that the holidays are a great time for vacations but it can also be a great time to work on high-level strategic items, such as business plans, marketing strategies, and processes. It’s also a good time to make some personal commitments about what you will do differently to build your business.

Here are 5 marketing tools that are becoming more relevant all the time. I would encourage you to take a serious look at these tools and decide for yourself if they can help you grow your business.

1. Blogging. Though blogging is not new, it is still uncomfortable to most people. Nobody wants to take the time to blog on a consistent basis and no one knows what to write about. Well, that may be true but at the same time, nobody wants to take out the trash, either, but it must be done if we want to run a tidy business (or household). Blogging is a fantastic way to improve search engine rankings as well as build authority. It gives you a platform for producing re-usable content, visibility, and expertise. It helps build trust with your audience and also is a great personal development vehicle. If you prefer not to write, consider a ghost blogger.

2. Twitter. Out of the big three (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn), Twitter is still the social network that is the scariest and strangest to most people. I encourage you to do whatever you can to get over it. Twitter is an incredibly powerful tool for communication, lead generation, and research. I see referral opportunities almost every day on Twitter that most businesses aren’t even aware of. Pick up a copy of Kyle Lacy’s “Twitter for Dummies” book or attend a SpinWeb Twitter Seminar to learn how to get started. Just don’t be scared. You can grow your business with Twitter.

3. SlideShare. I love SlideShare and I think it is an under-appreciated gem in social media. SlideShare allows you to post your presentations online and share them with others. It also allows you to create a profile to give more information about yourself, and it also allows you to capture leads from viewers. Posting your presentations online is a fantastic way to build your platform of content and authority. Many of my speaking engagements have been facilitated by my use of SlideShare to clearly publish my presentation content.

4. GoToMeeting/GoToWebinar. Going a step further than SlideShare, GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar allow you to give live demos and presentations to people anywhere in the world on an almost unlimited scale by sharing your screen with your audience. Though I prefer in-person presentations, when it’s not possible or practical to travel these tools allow you to remove geography from the equation and present your content to a huge audience from varied locations. This allows you to build your authority, reach new prospects, and capture qualified leads. It also allows your sales team to deliver rich web-based demos to anyone in the world. If you become comfortable hosting web meetings and webinars, you will open up a whole new opportunity for marketing your business.

5. Your website. Ok, so business websites are not as new as some of the other tools listed here but I have to include it because I am constantly surprised at how often organizations neglect their own websites. Your website is your primary information portal and should be an investment that supports your marketing efforts and goals. It should be well-designed, well-planned, and should have the right tools in place for your organization and your audience. An outdated, poorly-designed, or poorly-managed website is absolutely unacceptable in 2010. Make the investment in a great website.

Make 2010 a year of positive change and new ideas. Step out of your comfort zone and build your business with some tools and methods and you may not have tried before. If you have any other tools that you would like to suggest, please feel free to leave a comment here. I would love to hear what you think.