The Perfect Solution: The Web World's White Whale

So often in life we're faced with a problem that has several possible solutions. We then have to analyze our potential paths and determine which one achieves most of the desired outcomes. In some rare cases you get to find one solution that solves everything and reignites your faith in God and all of humanity. Unfortunately this doesn't exist in the web world.

When creating, redoing, or just refreshing your website, there will be hundreds of minor problems/choices that you'll have to address along the way. Everything from functionality to design will need to be sorted out. This makes the task extremely daunting and can slow a web project down to a slow crawl in no time. So often everyone obsesses with finding the "perfect" solution: "There must be a way to get everything right the first time." Well, from my experience, when it comes to websites, there is no way to get everything right on the first try. 

This can be frustrating for the more "detail-oriented" among us, while in actuality embracing the concept that "it won't be right the first time" is much better for the overall health of your website. Accepting that you are going to make your best guess up front allows for infinitely more freedom with the creation of the website. It allows you to try some things that you might otherwise have skipped; those "crazy" ideas that push the risk/reward line. In addition to the potential of something wonderful happening, you can launch sooner with a product that is better than what you have today. As the famous quote goes, "Don't let best get in the way of better."

The other, more important reason that stressing over every detail at once is a waste of your time is that no matter what you come up with, you're wrong. How you think your users want to interact with you is more than likely not how they actually want to interact with you. The wonderful thing about digital marketing is that it is built upon the "guess and check" method. When you start a Pay-Per-Click campaign you cast your net wide, find out what works, and narrow it from there. When you start a social media campaign you try all kinds of different types of posts and a wide range of content. After a while you see what your audience responds to and you work that more into your content calendar. 

Well, this is how your website works. You'll find that, no matter how "perfect" it is, there will still be unexpected problems and adjustments. You'll find that your customers use your website in ways you never could have imagined. You'll notice that some customers don't use search bars and some ONLY use search bars. You'll find that some customers like to wander through your website and like clicking through your navigation because it puts the content into context. Contrarily there will be those that want to find their content as quick as possible. 

The moral of the story is that fretting over each and every web decision is about as useful as a wedding cake at a bowling alley. Put your best guess out there and let your customers tell you what works. If you're stuck between a few ideas then try them all. Use A/B testing combined with Google Analytics to tell you which format worked the best and change your site accordingly. Figuring out which font to use for your links shouldn't wake you up at night. There is no such thing as the perfect solution.

SEO vs. User Experience: Where Do You Draw The Line?

I know what you're probably thinking, "Doesn't proper SEO make a website easier to use?". The answer to that question is yes... sort of. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization should, by default, make your website easier to navigate. When you address SEO you build your site so that Google will be able to "crawl" your pages and assign meaning to your website. So you go and add links, and assemble a coherent site map and then design pages with "obvious" content. This way Google, and theoretically your customers, can peruse your site and find what they need.

That all sounds well and good, but there are some areas where SEO can hurt the overall user experience on your website. One thing I've run into many of times as a marketer is people that try to over optimize. They insist that everything must be keyword-filled and every web decision must be made with SEO in mind. They don't understand that people use sites, and read content, in a different way than Google's spiders. Because of this they sacrifice several key areas of their web quality to attempt to show up as high as possible in search results

The first problem you run in to is your actual written content. I've heard from many people, and have experienced myself, that writing for SEO is counter-intuitive to writing a flowing and cohesive piece. The idea that specific keywords have to be inserted into sentences and paragraphs jams the creative flow of words. I've written many blog posts for clients that start as great ideas and, after optimized, are left as boring and generic posts. It makes it difficult to write catchy headlines, and enticing subheads. This is the result of wanting too much to squeeze every ounce of "Google Juice" out of your content, and the effect is a website that doesn't promote being read, and by extension, being explored.

Another area where you can over optimize is with your overall web content architecture. I've seen many people that insist that they house their blog internally on their site, or insist that every piece of content they can publish exist somewhere on their website. They forgo using easy third-party tools because they don't get credit for the content. They don't want to miss any possible opportunity to gain favor with Google. This makes for websites that are dozens of pages deep. They have sites that require a ton of clicks to drill down and find the information you need, and then they are confused when the find that no one is willing to search and find certain pages.

So the question becomes, "Where do you draw the line?". The answer to that question is simple; do all of the SEO that helps people navigate your site and/or exists in the background. Make sure that your meta tags, alt tags, title tags, etc. are all in place and make sure you have keyword links and page titles whenever possible. All that being said, your site is supposed to be designed with the end-user in mind. It should be created to provide the easiest path from your homepage to your purchase page. Your first priority should be to create the best content you can and make people want to look around your page.

SEO is not only a worthwhile endeavor, but should be considered a "must-have" in your digital marketing strategy, but, like most things in life, you can have too much of a good thing.

Marketing Agility

"Your company, no matter how large, should be able to maneuver like a jet-ski rather than a barge"

My career thus far has consisted of working on small projects, short run accounts, or with complete autonomy, which allows for quick changes and exploration into new areas. Work at small marketing agencies allows you to do pretty much anything; with your only hindrance being budget. Now that I am a part of an organization that employs well over 10,000 people, with a brand that is known across the world, I am rapidly becoming acquainted with the red tape, politics and overall bureaucracy of large businesses.

Marketing should be a dynamic environment. It should ebb and flow. An internal marketing department, with a staff large enough to accomplish any task, should be able to maneuver with ease between campaigns, initiatives and progressive ideas. Having nearly unlimited budget and resources should allow a department to create truly innovative and ground-breaking marketing.

This piece is not meant to be an indictment of my workplace- a place with this much prestige and tradition has to be cautious- but instead is meant as a cautionary tale. Marketing is a creative endeavor. The goal of it is to reach people, and I don't mean just to shoot a message at them, but rather to REACH people: speak to them. The best marketing and advertising cuts through the noise and affects people. It evolves and grows with a demanding audience and exists across platforms and media. There is no way to accomplish this when moving your marketing department is comparable to turning a barge. Your marketing should exist in the present and redirection should be something that is able to be done, and done regularly.

Think about it: how many of the marketing technologies that you use today were around a year ago? What about five years ago? If it takes you six months to set up a Facebook page, or a few years to set up a website, how far will behind will you be?

Your Marketing Strategy Should be like a Thanksgiving Meal

With Thanksgiving here and gone, we can now look back fondly on the good times, the laughs, and of course, the food. You can’t say enough about the food at Thanksgiving; it is the perfect complement to the cold days and the warm atmosphere. Like a perfectly planned Thanksgiving dinner, your business marketing strategy should work together to create a unified experience that is greater than any of its parts. While each dish passed is good on its own, it isn’t until they are eaten together that they really become special.

Turkey – Website

The turkey is the staple of most every Thanksgiving dinner. It is the centerpiece of the meal and takes the most planning in its preparation. For your business, your turkey should be your website. It should be developed with careful planning and attention and, when complete, will be the centerpiece of your brand. With more and more people going online to find products, and businesses, it has never been more important to have a website that meets your customer’s needs and leaves them feeling satisfied and full.

Mashed Potatoes – Search Engine Optimization

The perfect companion to the turkey is the mashed potatoes. The same can be said about Searching Engine Optimization (SEO) to a website. Adding an SEO strategy to your website will improve the likelihood of people finding it organically through search. You can build your website without SEO, but that is like, well, Thanksgiving turkey without mashed potatoes.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising – Corn

For many people, corn is an accessory to the potatoes on your plate. After grabbing a big ol’ scoop of mashed potatoes, they follow with a scoop of corn right on top. Those people feel that the corn adds something extra, and takes the potatoes to another level of taste. Such is the relationship between pay-per-click advertising (PPC) and SEO. By running ads on Facebook, or through Google, Yahoo, or Bing, you reach out to those that are looking for your services. This increases the reach of your pretty website and brings more customers through your door. Again, you can have a PPC campaign on its own, but when paired with proper on-page SEO, it creates a 1-2 punch for generating new business opportunities.

Traditional Media – Stuffing

Stuffing is one of the more debated dishes on the menu at thanksgiving. Most people believe that it is a must, and HAS to be included for the meal to be complete, and yet others totally hate the stuff and don’t see any reason why it needs to be present. This can also be said about incorporating traditional media into your marketing strategy. There are those out there that say that traditional marketing is “dead”. They say that everything is going digital and there is no place for TV and radio in your marketing budgets. There are also those that still believe that nothing can deliver the reach and general awareness generated as a well-executed TV spot can. We tend to believe that, like the stuffing at dinner, it should be addressed in the planning stages and, depending on the goals of the campaign, incorporated into the strategy in a way that makes sense. If there isn’t a way to make it work then there is no need to force it.

Gravy – Branding

So now we have a plate full of food; mountains of deliciousness that your taste buds are dripping at the thought of. There is just one last thing to bring it all together: a generous portion of gravy. This final piece ties the whole meal together and blends everything into a sweet symphony of flavors. This is the role of Branding in your marketing mix. Branding is the unified message and personality of your business. It includes everything from your company name and logo to your color scheme and tone. Like the gravy on your plate, your brand needs to extend over all areas of your marketing strategy to ensure that your customers are receiving a unified message from your company.

Social Media – Your Family & Friends

After all, what is the point of having this wonderful meal if you don’t have anyone to share it with? You now have your meal made, and you sit down at the table with your family and you discuss. You talk about the meal, you talk about your life, and you talk about everything and anything. You learn about each other and strengthen the bonds between you. Social Media serves the same purpose. Giving yourself a table to sit at with your customers will allow you to connect with them in a way you have never been able to before. You can tell them about yourself, and learn about them. Find out what they like and what they don’t like. Give them access to you, and let them know they can trust you. After all this has happened, when they need what you have, they will come to you first.

This holiday season is about so much more than presents and food and days off of work. It is about a sum of experiences and memories that will stay with you forever. Your marketing strategy should incorporate the same belief. By taking the time and energy to craft more than just a website, or a Facebook page, you can create an experience for your customers that will endear them to you and create relationships that will last forever.

Setting Up Your Facebook: The Little Things Count

At this point in time we’ve established that having a Facebook page for your business is probably not a bad idea. The area that a lot of business owners are still struggling with is the creation and management of their page. Many have decided that a Facebook page is something that could, or should, be managed by themselves or their staff, and for most of those pages it shows. There is a big difference between a page built by someone who has experience and one that is built and managed by someone that doesn’t. Here are some “little” things that will improve the look and functionality of your page.

Deleting links from posts

Many people copy a link and paste it into the status box which generates the link preview. Then they type in their comments and hit "post". What this does is send out a post with your comments, the actual URL, and the link preview. When you are sharing a link from an obscure page on a large site (like Amazon for example), it generates a massive link for that page. I can’t think of a quicker way to get someone to look away from your post then to have a bunch of URL code in the post.
Luckily, this one is an easy fix. When you get ready to post your update with the link and comments in it, just highlight the link and push backspace. The link is gone from the text but still attached to the post. This way anyone that sees it will just see your words and the link preview - nice and simple.

Adding a cover photo

When Facebook added the cover photo last fall, the intent was to create a way to customize your page and add some visual impact. Now that it has had time to become one of the more popular features of the “new” Facebook, it is something that people look for when they visit a page. To a new visitor, the lack of a cover photo is a very obvious sign that you don’t place much value in your presence online.

Resize logo to fit “Profile Picture” box

This one in particular I never quite understood. Often I see business pages that have a wide or tall logo. Since the box where your profile picture is located is square, Facebook crops your logo to make it fit. What you end up with is a square portion, from the middle of your logo, that shows up every time you post - or comment, or share, or anything. That does you no good if you are trying to attain some brand recognition.

Take the time to resize your logo to fit in the space provided. You can do it easily in Paint or a similar program, and it will make your logo more recognizable and valuable to your brand. You could also hire someone to design a square version of your logo to use in similar applications. It will cost you, but you’d be surprised how many ways you could use it.

12 Quick Tips for Building Your Online Following

The hardest part about social media marketing is finding people to market to. Since the medium requires you to get people to follow and interact with your page, you have to go out and convince the population that there is value in connecting with you. Here are some quick tips that will encourage people to follow you.

1. Follow others – Pretty simple, follow people and some of them will follow you back.
2. Send people messages – There are occasions where someone that SHOULD connect with you just needs to be made aware that you exist. Send people a message and let them know you’re there.
3. Share other people’s content - You’d be surprised how far a retweet will go in building a relationship online.
4. Tell people offline to follow you online – If you are in a business that has a physical location, or if you utilize “traditional” advertising, you should be including some sort of notice that lets your customers know that you have an online presence.
5. Tell people online to follow you online – Put it on your website that you have Facebook. Put it on your Facebook that you have Twitter. Tweet that you have a Blog. You see where this is going.
6. Share shareable content – The best way to get people to follow you is to get your followers to recruit new people for you. Let them do the work. Share things that your target audience will like (Pictures and Videos work best) and let your followers share it.
7. Ask Questions – One of the most underrated aspects of Facebook is the “Poll” feature. This allows you to ask questions of your followers and they can vote on the answer. What makes it special is that when people answer your questions it posts on their wall. Ask the right questions and you will find some new followers.
8. Make your content searchable – Utilize hashtags for Twitter, and make sure your YouTube video descriptions have keywords in them.
9. Become an expert on something – Showing people that your page is a go-to page for a certain topic will give it life of its own. If you truly become an expert at a topic people will find you, share you, and your following will grow.
10. Give stuff away – People flock to free stuff. Give away something, anything, and people will find you.
11. Advertise online – If you have the budget, pay-per-click ads for Facebook and Google can draw people to your page. You will essentially be “paying for followers” but sometimes you got to do what you’ve got to do.
12. Be Different – This is pretty straight forward, do something that isn’t being done online and people will notice.

These are just some tried and proven ways to “get” followers, but they aren’t the only options. Try something bold, and try something new. You might find that a handful of your ideas will fail miserably, but it only takes one to make a name for yourself. Change the way you think and you will become memorable.

How To Fill Your Blog When You've Hit the Creative Wall

One of the issues many people have with blogging is they don’t know how they’ll be able to find things to write about on a regular basis. This gets even harder when you choose a specific theme or direction for your blog. The first thing to realize is that there is always something to write about. If you REALLY think about it, unless you focus your blog on something unnecessarily specific like “Eastern European World Leaders from 1834-1836”, you should be able to find something to write about. There are always different angles or perspectives with which to approach your subject.

Having said all that, there are those times where your mind just can’t work out a subject to blog about. That’s fine, it happens to the best of us. When this happens there are several ways that you continue to get content up on your site until your juices start flowing again.

1. Have a backup stash
   This is a great tip for those that find they have times of creative feast or famine. When you are in a mindset where your ideas are overflowing, it would be a good idea to write down EVERY idea that comes to your mind. Put down on paper anything and everything that comes to your mind, even if it is just a word that you’d like to explore.  Then, hide that paper and save it for when you run dry of ideas. It is important that you don’t pull that out until you’ve exhausted all of your other options.
2. Find a guest blogger
   If you just can’t think of something to write about then try to find someone that can. Most of the time there are other people out there that are interested in the things you are, and a lot of the time you can find one that has something to say. My guess is, if you are passionate about something enough to blog about it regularly, you are probably aware of others in the same circle that could help you out.
3. Write about not knowing what to write about
   Sometimes what works best is to just get the block out of your system by addressing it head on. Write a post about how you are struggling with finding new and exciting things to write about. Write about how you know there is more, but your mind is totally blocking you from thinking of the ideas you need. You’ll tend to find that addressing the problem will help you move past it. Also, if you have some supportive followers, they might suggest new topics.
4. Look at other blogs for inspiration
   It’s not doubt that if you are a blogger you probably read other blogs to stay current on the latest news and info. If you find yourself getting stuck, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to spend extra time reading through other blogs and see if an idea hits you. Often spending time reading other people’s views on your subject will spark an idea, or opinion from you.
5. Review blog-related items
   This is perhaps the easiest thing to do if all of these ideas fail to generate content. The idea is centered on writing a review of a book, or website, or iPad app, or anything you can find that is focused on your subject of choice. For example, if you write a photography blog, you could write a brief review of any one of the photography books, photo editing software, or photo tutorial websites you come across. Depending on how specific your blog is, you should have little to no trouble finding something to review.

Fighting through these times can be difficult, but having some contingency plans can make the lulls easier.