4 Ways to Make Your Website More User-Friendly

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Sharon Van Poperin
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When was the last time you actually read through a website? Increasingly, people are scanning websites to gather quick bits of information. You only have a few seconds to convey to a visitor that your site is relevant to them and that it’s worth their investment of time. Here are a few tips to improve your site’s all-important first impression.

Clear navigation

Have some websites made it seem like a mystery on how to get to the Home page? Seems simple, but a clearly delineated navigation bar either running across the top or down the left side helps users find their way. Having intuitive navigation with 5-7 main pages in the menu will provide a good base for the additional content of your site, which your users can find in drop down menus. In regard to naming pages, people have come to expect certain naming conventions–Home, About, Gallery, Contact–which gives an idea of what to expect. Be clear and concise with your page names.

Journalistic writing

Since people tend to scan websites rather than taking the time read them, write in the inverted pyramid style, as taught to journalists. This writing style places the most important information up top in the lead, which is then supported by other details. The lead is a great place to integrate your important keywords. Writing with focus will also help you say more with less.

Add visual interest

Videos, images, bullets, subheads–these elements help to add visual interest, as well as to break up the page into digestible bites. Just don’t go crazy with sidebars or Flash. I know I leave sites that take a long time to load. I’m sure you do, too.

Add a call to action–on each page

What do you want your web visitor to do next? Do you want to lead them through your site in a logical sequence of information gathering, or do you want them to contact you for more information? Internal links that tell people what to do next will get them to where you want them to go. If you don’t tell people what to do, they may not be clear on what to do and then leave your site.

Breaking up your content into attractive, concise bits will help your web visitors understand what you do and how you can help them. You will improve their experience with your company, and they will be more likely to linger and hopefully buy.

What are some other ways to make a site more user-friendly?

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4 Steps to Tame the Social Media Beast

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Sharon Van Poperin
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Feeling overwhelmed by social media? Cutting through the chatter to reach your audience can seem like a daunting task, especially when you have 5,000 other things to do.

When you are involved in social media, you need to be consistently involved, creating quality content and putting your stamp on the social media world. As the new way of talking to one’s neighbor over the backyard fence, social media isn’t going away, and it requires the active attention and full participation for a business owner or marketing professional. Here are a few tips to get a handle on the social media beast:

Develop a vision and a plan

What do you hope to get out of social media? Take the time to write out a specific vision of why you will spend your hard-won time on this method of promotion. Is it to increase short-term sales? Keep yourself top-of-mind? How do you plan to use social media to satisfy these goals?

Set-up an editorial calendar

Typically, for a blog to be effective, its contributors should post 2-3 times a week. Once a week would be the bare minimum, but generally, the more often, the better, as long as you’re producing thoughtful, useful content. To help with this task, come up with an editorial calendar, which can be as simple as a list of topics you’ve brainstormed or as detailed as “I’m going to write on this next Wednesday.” Or a blend of both.

Write ahead and schedule posts

Do you write better in the morning or the evening? If you know you are more productive, creative or verbose at one time of day versus another, block out some time to write a few posts at once. You can schedule when the posts will be made public on your blog, and you’ll get ahead on your blogging by a bit.

Use HootSuite or another scheduling service

If you plan on investing one hour a day on blogging and social media, in addition to scheduling your posts on your blog interface, you can also schedule your social media updates using a free online tool like HootSuite, among others. Using this type of service such will help to organize your thoughts and your time, so you won’t feel so scatter-brained.

As with most things, the seemingly huge task of managing social media can be overcome with some planning, scheduling and self-discipline. What methods have you used for managing social media?

 

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How You Communicate Markets Your Business

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Sharon Van Poperin
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You look at the time on your smartphone. It’s 4:30pm, and your mind flits from one undone task to another. On that list is getting back to your client about the two houses they are evaluating.

You know you need to get back to that client, but….

Smart phone

Brano Hukak, via stock.xchng

  • You don’t have the information you need to give them.
  • You’re afraid of giving bad news.
  • You can’t readily find their contact information.
  • You have a million other things come up, and you’ll get to that later.

Sound familiar? Salespeople, project managers, anyone who regularly deals with clients or customers encounters these situations at one time or another. How do you overcome letting important communications fall through the cracks? Here are a few tips:

Make client communication an appointment on your calendar

Based on the relationship with and expectations of each client, set up a regular communication schedule for them to update them on the status of their home. Once you have an idea of how regularly you need to communicate with certain people, block out a portion of time on your calendar each day to do that and only that. When you’re sending these emails or making these calls, try not to let other ones slip in (see the third tip below). The attention you give to clients is one of the most important marketing tools you have.

Bad news is better than no news

Most people appreciate hearing bad news rather than finding out about it later. Being forthright with your clients will show that you care about them, have their best interests at heart, and are knowledgeable about the process. If you wait to tell them some less than favorable news, they may take your reticence for trying to conceal something, damaging your integrity in their eyes.

Check your email only 3-4 times a day

If you’re constantly responding to every request, you won’t get anything done. Seems simple enough, but I’ve found for myself that I’m much more productive when I only check my email a few times a day, instead of once an hour (or more!). For times when you are not expecting a particular email or don’t have some important situation transpiring, resist the temptation. I promise you’ll feel more productive. And you’ll have more focus and do a better job of communicating when you do return that email.

Input all of your information immediately

When you receive a new business card, phone number, or email, input it immediately into your smartphone or whatever system you use to record contacts. Developing this habit will keep cards from getting lost in your car or at the cavernous bottom of that big purse.

How you communicate with your clients directly influences your marketing, your brand perception and how apt people are to refer you in the future. Focusing on one thing at a time will improve the quality of those communications and improve your brand in the eyes of your client.

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6 Ways Facebook is Changing on March 30th

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Sharon Van Poperin
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Beginning March 30th, Facebook will be converting all business fan pages and personal pages to its new Timeline format. To help with the transition, here is an explanation of some of the changes you’ll see to your page.

Facebook Timeline graphic

Points to the changes Facebook is making on March 30th

Cover photo – More than a pretty picture

Timeline’s most prominent feature will be its Cover Photo, the large photo across the top of your page. This real estate provides an excellent opportunity for branding your company. Facebook does have rules as to what can appear in the cover photo, as it is likely wanting to avoid overt advertising and foster a sense of community.  Here are the features your Cover Photo cannot have:

  • Price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it at our website.”

  • Contact information such as a website address, email, mailing address, or information that should go in your Page’s “About” section.

  • References to Facebook features or actions, such as “Like” or “Share” or an arrow pointing from the cover photo to any of these features.

  • Calls-to-action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends.”

  • Covers must not be false, deceptive or misleading, and must not infringe on third parties’ intellectual property.

Think of the Cover Photo as a billboard in its impact more than just being a big picture. What would you say on a billboard, given the above rules? The smaller profile photo in the bottom lefthand corner of the Cover Photo allows an opportunity to place your logo there. What will you do with the rest of the space?

Landing pages

The Welcome Page many companies used to greet visitors will be going away, replaced by the Cover Photo. So, whatever branding you had in place there will not be seen on your page after March 30th. If you have any online links directing visitors to that landing page, those links will need to be changed.

Private messaging from fans

In addition to posting directly onto your wall, fans will be able to message the page’s administrator to ask direct questions. With this feature, companies will be able to use Facebook in a more definite customer service function, addressing specific situations in a more private way. Page administrators will only be able to respond to questions via private message, not initiate discussions that way.

“Pin” or highlight content

By pressing the star icon on the top right corner of a post, you’ll be able to highlight that post at the top of your stream for seven days. This would be useful in showcasing a new product or an award your company has won. Pinning content “above the fold,” or where users don’t have to scroll down, can maximize the exposure of certain messages or news you want to convey.

Special apps and tabs

If you have custom applications or tabs for your page, those will be highlighted more prominently in the bar underneath the Cover Photo, where your “About,” number of Likes, and “Photos” links are. For apps such as the Mail Chimp email signup page I have on my Facebook page, you can add a custom graphic.  I replaced MailChimp’s monkey character with “Updates,” for example.

Milestones

Since the new format is based on a timeline, you’ll be able to add company milestones to help tell your story. You can create milestones from throughout the life of your company by pressing the “Milestone” button on the top right corner of your status update box on your page, filling in the relevant information and uploading a photo.

These changes to Facebook business and personal pages offer an opportunity to better brand your business visually and include more company information on your page. How will you make the most of them?

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