The Flexiss Toolbox

Social Media Overload and How I (halfway) Keep Up With It

Posted on August 18, 2011 by scott

Yikes.  I started this morning 3 days behind on all my social media “stuff” and here it is 3 hours before I get it all caught up.  The wonder is that I was able to get caught up at all.

Here’s the challenge: Now that social media has become an obligatory part of my web developer life, I’m following my own Facebook and Twitter accounts, plus the Facebook page for FLEXISS and Colorado Web Workshops (another of our ventures), plus the Facebook pages for about 10 customers, plus the Twitter account for FLEXISS, plus all the Twitter accounts I follow to stay abreast of trends in my industry, plus my LinkedIn account, plus the several LinkedIn professional groups I have joined.  And the list is growing every time I friend someone or follow someone on Twitter.

Here’s how I can at least get it all into a manageable format.  I use something called Nutshellmail by Constant Contact.  Nutshellmail logs into all my social media accounts for me and then sends me an email update of the activity.  It will show me what happens on my Facebook wall, my Facebook pages, my own Twitter accounts, the Tweets from everyone I follow.  It will even show my Twitter saved searches.

Social media tool nutshellmailIt will also let me know about activity on LinkedIn, Youtube, Yelp.  (But they’ve got to get Google+ into the mix fast).

If you’re like me, and you find it impossible to log into a ton of different social media sites to stay current, you really need to check out Nutshellmail.  However, to use it you need to sign up to a free trial of Constant Contact.

Posted in Information Technology, Social Media | Comments Off on Social Media Overload and How I (halfway) Keep Up With It

Website Homepage Design Tips

Posted on August 5, 2011 by scott

Amex open forum logoWell, despite being a faceless, soulless corporation American Express has sure proven to be a good resource for basic digital marketing tips.  Case in point is the article I was just reviewing: 8 Tips For Small Business Homepage Design.  Nothing spectacular, just good basic principles.  In case you don’t want to read the article, here’s my paraphrase (the article has too many words for me):

  • Keep it simple
  • Keep any scrolling to a minimum
  • Be thoughtful about the links you put on your homepage to contents within your site: what’s needed and only what’s needed (which is really part of keeping it simple)
  • Put anything important “above the fold”
  • Make sure the homepage is current (shameless plug: for this it would help if you have one of our content management websites, powered by WordPress)
  • Keep your homepage look consistent with your brand identity and logo
  • facebook like icon to indicate the need to make your website thumbnail compellingMake sure your homepage has an compelling image that will get picked up by Facebook as a thumbnail…I’m looking into this one: how the heck does Facebook decide which image it’s going to pick up as a thumbnail?  (I should know this stuff!)
  • Be quirky…or at least that’s what they call it.  I’d just say avoid being boring.  My wife would tell you that’s a tough enough job for me.
Posted in Trends, Website Design | Comments Off on Website Homepage Design Tips

Most Online Purchases Still Start with a Search

Posted on August 4, 2011 by scott

Link to the article on search at ScribdI’m finally catching up on some of my dense reading.  In terms of online services, that means taking to Scribd.  One of the articles I bookmarked (was it really way back in February?!?) has the exciting title: “The VirtuousCircle – The Role of Search and SocialMedia in the Purchase Pathway.”

But beyond the academic title, it confirms something we already know, but really need to actively keep in the front of our collective marketing minds: 60% of online purchases start with a search.  Not a catalog.  Not a visit to a store.  Not a postcard.  Not a blog post.  Not a tweet.  Not a Facebook status update.

This is one of the reasons that, for all the talk about Facebook and Apple, Google is still the frontrunner in the race for world domination.  As the authors of the study state:

The ubiquity of search is also revealed in this study. Survey respondents say the top reasons they use search first are: the quality and scale of information, the fact that they always use it, and because search is easy to use.

So the question is, is your website optimized for search?  Here’s a good way to find out: attend one of our Google 101 and Google 201 workshops.  The next set are happening in Westminster (Denver Metro area) on August 17 and 18th.  Click here to read a description of the classes on our sister website: Colorado Web Workshops.

Posted in Search Engine Marketing, Social Media | Comments Off on Most Online Purchases Still Start with a Search