MySpace is Failing Your Company…This is Why
Most companies have a standard website these days and the follow the basic rules when it comes to web design. Three of the basic rules are as follows: easy to read, easy to navigate, and consistent layout/design. MySpace, for some reason, does not follow any of these. For those of you that continue to have only a MySpace page for your company, I beg of you, please stop.
MySpace gives users many options when it comes to allowing colorful backgrounds or patterns as well as music that will play automatically when a visitor opens a page but that is where their problem starts. It is rather difficult (read: impossible) to change the layout of the page (i.e. links to a blog when no blog exists, links titled marketing and sales that brings you to member listing pages, not to mention impossible to see navigation). All of these make for a frustrating user experience.
To prove my point, please checkout Bergs Ski and Snowboard Shop’s MySpace page. This is not a stab at Bergs and it is not their fault but I happen to come across their page while writing this and decided to use them as my example. MySpace only gives you one “About Me” section to write all the information visitors will see; I don’t know about you but I do not think 200 lines of text blocked together qualifies as easy to read. Look below the search bar at the top of the page, there are links down there. You probably would not have seen them unless I told you to look; in fact, many of you probably still do not see them. Finally, the “great” snowflake background is not consistent (a good thing?), click on the pics link (if you can find it) and you will notice the snowflake pattern does not follow. I could go on all day however in the interest of brevity I think I proved my point.
Bergs was smart and made a real website also which you can check out here.
My argument: every company needs to have a real website whether professionally created or not. If you want to supplement your site with social networking feel free to do so but keep this in mind. According to an Alexa.com comparison, Facebook is on a serious rise (20% of global Internet users visiting daily) while MySpace is facing frightening decline (only 5% visiting daily).
The lesson: leaving your design, layout, and user experience in the hands of third party platforms can be dangerous when these platforms become obsolete (which happens quickly in the interactive industry).
I will leave you with a quote from Derek Leedy, a VP at West Coast ad agency Mediasmith Inc.. “Facebook is seen as a place for personal and professional networking… MySpace is seen as the digital equivalent of a booty call.”
5 Keys to Effective Website Content
Smart marketers know that website content is the backbone of a company’s web presence. It defines the first interaction between the user and the company and sets a tone for further communication. What many don’t realize is that the forces of search engines have changed expectations for effective website content. Only two years ago, we sent out an article highlighting that the keys to good website content were concise writing, easy scanning, objectivity, and credibility. While all these things are still true, the prevalence of search engines as a marketing channel has brought more considerations into the mix. So how do you write content that is effective for both the user and the search engines? Here are five keys to keep in mind: Read More…
Hey! Check out that Logo!
Logo’s are everywhere! They can be so simple and yet tell everything about the brand of the company. As you drive to work everyday you will pass over 5,000 logos, from delivery trucks to morning coffee cups; they are everywhere that you look. They can take a second to recognize and years for a designer to create. The logo is the identity of the company, the voice of who they are and what they are about. They can be symbols, letters, words, and can be almost anything. But did you ever stop to really look at them?
It’s hard to tell how effective visual cues really are; it is safe to say that the vast majority of people couldn’t care less about the thousands of visual aids and furthermore are unlikely ever to care because unless they want or need something, there’s no reason to do so. Read More…
Mobile Mania: What’s The Fuss?
Tomorrow is the launch date for the famous iPhone 3Gs - Apple’s latest, fastest, and most powerful iPhone. Along with all the hype surrounding the iPhone, and the recent shift towards the new “mobile marketing” field, we have been fielding questions frequently regarding websites that “work” on mobile phones. But the real question should be “Do mobile-friendly websites really matter?”
The fact of the matter is, if a website is well-designed, it will “work” on the iPhone. Getting it to work on the Blackberry, Palm Pre, or whatever other mobile device is the tricky part. But before you start to plan a mobile website redesign, make sure that you are approaching the project for the right reasons. Be specific about what tangible objectives you hope to attain, and how much value it will bring to your audience. Read More…
Technology Companies and Web Positioning
I was struck recently by an observation that in retrospect seems self-evident, but is often overlooked as I judged a variety of web applications for the MITX Technology Awards (disclaimer: I am the co-chair of this event). Specifically, the effective use of visual design, messaging and information presentation can take very similar products (speaking at the technological level) and radically alter the users’ assessment of a product. Read More…
Twitter: Should I Bother?
Due to an overwhelming response rate for last month’s newsletter, I thought I’d share a synopsis of the article “Twitter: Should I Bother?”.
There is no denying the incredible buzz around Twitter, the micro-blogging platform that has everyone from celebrities to CEOs singing (or tweeting) its praises. But what is still being decided is its relevancy to an organization’s marketing initiatives. Is this just another trend or can it be used as an effective marketing tool? Read More…
Boston Interactive’s Big Week
I don’t like to brag, but… we had a very big week at the Boston Interactive office last week, and I just have to share the good news. Five website / application launches, a few new hires, and a couple new projects made for quite an exciting week here! Read More…
Opening the Door - Keyword Phrases
When keyword phrases are entered into a query, a search engine searches its database of information to see what information matches that keyword phrase. As it searches its database for these keyword phrases, it filters the results according to its own algorithm and other factors so it only displays what its algorithm has calculated to be relevant. Read More…
Google Brings Waves Back to Surfing the Net
Remember back in 90’s when Chat was on IRC and surfing the net meant looking at the same three videos linked from everyones ‘web page’? (I liked the cat in the tutu myself). I can remember sitting on the 17th floor of the WEB Dubois library at UMASS locked in a closet sized room with a black monitor, green text and scheduled ‘chat rooms’ with my then girlfriend on the west coast. Surfing the web meant just that, surfing, not having a purpose, not looking up some ailment on WebMD or trying to put Orbitz and Travelocity against each other in a price war; just surfing. Read More…
Are you a Facebook or a Twitter?
Full disclosure: I am a recent college grad and have been on Facebook since my freshman year in 2004. But, it wasn’t until recently in my new role as a marketing specialist that I became involved with Twitter. That got me thinking: how is it that some social networking tools and trends gain momentum within the college crowd/young professionals, while others seem to be virtually unknown to this highly connected audience? Read More…
