Mobile Site Madness, Pt 1

December 27, 2011 By Jeremiah Staes Leave a Comment

Mobile Web Site TipsIt’s yourself that you hurt when you make fundamental website mistakes. And one of the areas that people are tripping up the most is on the mobile web.

There was another post in the queue for this week, but I had to move it after running into a slew of sites that made some basic errors that made it almost impossible to link to them because I knew the that people on the other end were going to have a bad experience.

I’m not going to publicly excoriate these guys.. but they’re major agencies and companies that have the budgets to know better that are making this crucial mistake.

This week, we’re going to kick off the series with the first of three critical mobile site mistakes.. The walkabout link.

The Walkabout Link

You receive a link in email on your iPhone, Android, iPad or other mobile device to a deal. Or a press information. Or whatever. You click it. And then end up on their.. home page?

Many poor implementations of mobile sites will redirect any page that isn’t in the mobile site tree to the home page. This is a critical mistake, because people want to go where the link is advertised to take them. Users get frustrated and leave in this scenario, and there’s also a high probably a savvy content person isn’t going to share your link because they know their mobile audience can’t see it.

The solution: Every link on your site, if you’re going to have a mobile version, should auto-detect that it’s being used by a mobile device and reformat the content with the same URL. Also, at the bottom of the page, the user should have the ability to turn off said mobile formatting. In almost all cases, there should not be a separate setup for mobile sites. At the very least, let people see the regular sized page and give them the content they were expecting.

Stop by next week for part two of mobile site madness. Your users will thank you, and so will your pocketbook.

Filed Under: Love Your User, Social Media, Social Media Fundamentals, Tips Tagged With: fix your mobile site, Mobile sites, mobile website design, mobile websites, redirects, usability, user experience

Don’t give away all the keys to your social media accounts

March 15, 2011 By Jeremiah Staes Leave a Comment

I am against wholly third party managed Twitter, Facebook and other accounts. Because they simply don’t work as well.

I know. Some of my colleagues in the space are having a heart attack right now. But I don’t care as much about my company’s bottom line as I do the client’s, and the maximum benefit comes from an integrated, holistic approach.

I’ve tried both. Here’s the deal: the team, the INSIDE team needs to be part of the process, and share the keys and the voice. If your firm doesn’t have a desk or equivalent in the client’s office, experience tells me you’re not close enough to work with their social media. And working with social media is a communications function; not a standalone. We happen to stand side by side with PR, Marketing, and at times, Customer Service – but there’s also other uses for social as well. See, social media is none of them but all of them at once.. (remember, social media is not a profession unto itself).

There are agencies and consultants that do this with the big picture in mind. I know of more than a few. But I’m seeing this total outsource trend, and it misses the point in the name of more profits for the agency. Social media’s “special power” is that personal relationship. Focus on that personal relationship to deliver the maximum results for everybody: not just you, but your followers and community.

Bonus tip: if you want to really shine, make social media a part of your regular life. I have family who have met their significant others on Twitter; I’ve made some great, hopefully life-long friendships. And if you want to know a secret to really connecting, it’s that it’s more of a culture change, not simply a marketing, PR or customer service channel. There’s no “wrong” way to make it a part of your life, but do so.

Filed Under: Social Media Fundamentals, Tips Tagged With: Don't outsource twitter, facebook, Social Media, Tips, Twitter

Robocop, revolutions and retweets: 5 tips for you

February 21, 2011 By Jeremiah Staes Leave a Comment

There was a time when one could, to some degree, ignore the power of the people who use online tools. Now, it seems, there is more power in them than ever. In recent weeks, that power has helped grease the wheels to overthrow an Egyptian government. Locally, it’s funded an oft-discussed statue of Robocop, which has opened a passionate Pandora’s box of feelings on both sides of the issue here.

Things are different now. This small group of influencers (for instance, in the case of Egypt, only 5 million of their 80 million population use Facebook) have outsized power because they’re willing to be vocal. There are visible doers, as I would call them, around the world.

“If you ever doubted the power of the people on Twitter, don’t. You could end up with a revolution or a big ‘ol statue in your backyard.” – A status update of mine

The game has changed.

In some ways, our president, Barack Obama, was the bellwether for this change. His election out of virtual political obscurity and against long initial odds was due to the fact he was able to capture interest and, in some ways most importantly, harness the monetary power of his online supporters.

In short, if you’re an advocate of anything (be it a brand, a presidential candidate, a cause, a musical sound) you have to be listening to and participating in the conversation happening (what we might call “engaged”) or your desires may well be ignored. There is simply no choice because the pendulum of power is quickly moving in that direction.

Personally, in the case of Robocop, I don’t like the symbolism. But I do think the marketing was brilliant. Many people didn’t like what Barack Obama stands for, but they sure are taking his success strategies to heart. This post isn’t meant as a debate about the merits of the causes themselves; this is about how they were effective and how YOU can be effective in your endeavors using the tools at hand.

Five quick mobilization tips:

1) Keep it simple. People like to rally around things they can quickly grasp and understand. Ask your mom. If she gets what you’re trying to do, you have a shot.

2) Be authentic and funny. Like the Red Cross recently showed, even an accidental tweet about getting drunk after work can turn into positivity. Your listeners stay engaged.

3) Be involved with the community before you need it. This is one of the most key parts. It’s almost impossible to voice criticism, answer it, drive action, or much of anything, if you’re starting cold. It’s hard to garner respect when you’re showing up late to the discussion.

4) Make the tools a part of your life. However you use Twitter or Facebook, make it a part of your life. There’s not a “wrong” or “right” way; just ways that accomplish certain goals better. It’s different strokes for different folks. Some use Twitter and Facebook as a news feed that lets them keep up with things of interest; some are more conversational, and others use it as a platform to share their ideas.

5) Shine the spotlight on others. There always needs to be an element of people getting recognition; this concept is ancient. As Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “It is clear to me that men will die for ribbons.” Nothing has changed since then, except the less dying and more tweeting part. :)

Filed Under: blogging, Social Media, Social Media Fundamentals, Tips Tagged With: Detroit, how social media works, retweet, revolution, Robocop, Twitter tips, visible doers

Put Links in Press Releases Or Your Story Goes In The Trash

July 17, 2010 By Jeremiah Staes 2 Comments

I’m finding a consistent issue. Public relations folks sending press releases or pitches to bloggers, digital news organizations, or others, that don’t even include links. Out of 100 items I see, 80+ will not have links. And this is by PR firms that frankly, should know better.

Most times, people want to help you. But I can guarantee your pitch, dear PR person, will be thrown in the trash or ignored unless you include links to relevant material. I have watched in multiple situations over the past few months otherwise good stories get chucked because it’s just too much work.

With so many things coming at once, the first revision of cuts goes to all the people who have made the story difficult to put together. And social media coverage? Provide no links and you can completely forget about it. That works in real time.

Do you have an event? Have a place where you have all the information online, and even better, a place to sign up.  A product reveal? Bloggers need to be able to easily get pictures of the thing.

No Excuses

The good news is that there is ZERO reasonable excuse to not do this. There’s free and cheap services – even some that integrate with email services like Constant Contact (disclosure – a PDM partner) that offer automatic archiving if you sent your press release via email. A press release isn’t the preferred link (a link in context to your site or blog is better) but it’s a start.

Let’s think about this logically. How is someone supposed to tweet, Facebook, etc. without a link to somewhere? They’re going to have to create all the content themselves. And that realistically just doesn’t happen very often. You’re making a for a much higher bar to get coverage or noticed.

Not to mention, even when writing their own material, journalists and bloggers want links to refer to. The links give their post credibility online, and obviously, some traffic to your site (not to mention, the easier you make the job, the better you’ll do).

So get more coverage for your clients – and look better yourself.  Put links in your communications.

I may add some suggestions, but I’d love to hear yours on ways folks can reinforce their press releases and communications with links, knowing that at times they might not even have access to their company website for changes (a real challenge in many more businesses than you may think).

Filed Under: blogging, Business, Rant, Social Media, Social Media Fundamentals, Tips Tagged With: Bloggers, links, links in press releases, pitches, PR, press releases, Tips

Questioning God

December 4, 2009 By Jeremiah Staes 1 Comment

in-garyv-we-trustThere’s groupthink in any industry, but I think ours in Social Media is full of it to an extreme extent.

Because it’s so relatively new (although some of us has been interacting socially on the web for 15 years before the tools got nifty pastel gradients and friendly icons reminiscent of songbirds) people are busy looking for any validation of their beliefs due to either their inexperience, their need to be like others, or simply professionally being able to point to someone else.

Unlike any other marketing/PR/customer service/etc. function, social media crosses so many barriers and traditional silos that it literally scares people. We who live “in the biz” forget that this isn’t second nature and intimidating to most not just because of the tools but the impending culture shift, contradicting what years of B-school and hierarchies reinforced.

And what do people do when they’re scared? Come together. At times through religion. Add into the mix it’s digital and many people over 40 don’t have much value for bits and bytes and/or culturally don’t understand their significance, you have a flock of converts under attack looking for leadership.

The Universal Law (Benefit) of Social Media

However, in order for our industry to grow, and for the real, universal benefit of social media – connecting people to make things happen, whatever that “thing” is to you – true progress is going to be made not by parroting the current leaders of the social media industry, but by taking their experience and trying new things. Working it. I say this with the utmost respect, but the only real difference between them and everyone else is the willingness to try something and do the hustle to make it work, and being willing to fail (which by the way, is much easier said than done, and one of many reasons to respect thought leaders).

After all, there is no formula when dealing with people; and this is dealing with people to the largest extent. Every situation you’re going to want to draw on yours and others experiences, real data, ask hard questions and be willing to listen to the answers, even if they don’t match your initial thought.

You need to be willing to act quickly, decisively, and comport to the needs of your community, not necessarily your needs.

So go out, be fruitful, be an evangelist for your brand, love your users, love your community, and charge on. We might have different sized caravans – or lone riders on a trusty steed. But if you want to make things happen – be that trailblazer with your own ideas.

Filed Under: blogging, Business, Industry News, Love Your User, Online Marketing Fundamentals, Social Media, Social Media Fundamentals Tagged With: questioning, Social Media, social media benefits, trailblazing, universal law of social media
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