Digital business EXAM 1
Google Font Usage
"All of the fonts are Open Source. This means that you are free to share your favorites with friends and colleagues. You can even customize them for your own use, or collaborate with the original designer to improve them. And you can use them in every way you want, privately or commercially — in print, on your computer, or in your websites."
Web 2.0 can be viewed as four major, interrelated
(1)Social media (2)Content sharing (3)Filtering and recommendations (4)Web applications
Meta Descriptions
(another meta HTML element that can be updated in your site's code, but isn't seen on your actual page) is effectively your site's additional ad copy. Google takes some liberties with what they display in search results, so your meta description may not always show, but if you have a compelling description of your page that would make folks searching likely to click, you can greatly increase traffic.
Yelp Effectiveness
- A Yelp button or badge can be added to a business Website; - A link to Yelp can be included in email signatures; - A Yelp sticker can be placed in a store window; - Customers can be encouraged to check-in using Yelp's mobile app when visiting.
What is a Use Case?
- A formal way of representing how a business system interacts with its environment - Illustrates the activities that are performed by the users of the system - A sequence of actions a system performs that yields a valuable result for a particular actor.
Services Provided by Tweet Archivist
- Ability to understand more about Tweets. - Tweet Volume, Top Tweeters, Number of ReTweets, Top Words, Top URLs and the source of Tweets are all summarized - Discovering social chatter source - Allows businesses to understand more about clients, potential markets, and competitors - Information regarding business opportunities, quality management efforts, and general improvement is provided
Instagram Ads
- Instagram has rolled out a number of attractive advertising programs. Instagram provides photo, video and carousal ads (which allow a swipe function through a number of photos). -Ads are designed to move customers to a Website where items can be purchased or other actions taken. The ads are specifically formulated to mobile platforms and are created with wizards. - Case studies and engagement statistics from Instagram indicate its audience comprises a highly active group of users willing to make purchases.
Facebook's Business Manager System
- Allows businesses to securely access, share, and control Facebook pages, ad accounts, and other items. - Eliminates prior limitations on how pages had to be administered---page owners had to be linked by their personal profile pages. This created a conflict. - Anyone can be given permission to see all of a business's pages and ad accounts without sharing login information or needing to be connected to coworkers on Facebook. - Business Manager provides the ability to assign permissions to employees, partners, ad agencies, or others. - Prior to Business Manager, business page administrators had to be cautious to avoid mixing posts from their personal identities on Facebook with business interests. - Fake pages were a previous workaround that were often deleted and this cut off access to the business's page.
Lighting Guidelines
- Avoid recording directly beneath a bright light that causes shadows to be cast over the speaker's face. - Be sure the location is evenly lit with multiple light sources. - Avoid locations where light levels may change rapidly or shadows may be occasionally cast. Lighting and sound do not need to be perfect depending on your goals. Sometimes an amateur look/feel is desired to make video more personal and 'realistic'.
Using Twitter
- Be sure to define the business purpose for using Twitter. - Be sure to assign the correct tweeters (knowledgeable, good listeners and trustworthy). - Develop a voice. - Follow the right people. - Have a business-appropriate sense of humor.
Business with Instagram
- Business interest in Instagram is rapidly increasing. - Instagram's audience is highly desirable. The platform reaches many females (68% of its user base), most of whom are under 35 years old. And, many users fall into middle and higher income brackets, making them attractive to retailers seeking customers. - Instagram rolled out "Stories", a feature that allows users to post videos and photos that disappear after 24 hours. This competes with Snapchat.
Pinterest Business Model
- Businesses create pages to promote products and services. - Pinterest business pages can become virtual storefronts to be repinned on customers' pin boards. - Traffic driven from Pinterest results in higher revenues and greater percentages of sales than other social media sources. - Rich Pins - Buyable Pins
- Designed so users can organize and share images and videos - Shared media called Pins organized into Pin Boards - Pin Boards relate to a theme and can be followed by other Pinterest users - Content can be RePinned, Liked, and shared - Users follow each other as well as specific Pin Boards - Pinterest is visually-oriented and suited for use on mobile devices - Pinterest opened for beta use in 2010, making it a young and rapidly growing site. By 2011, it had over 11 million daily visitors making it a top social media site. - Its co-founder and CEO, Ben Silbermann, defines it as a catalog of ideas and not just another social network. - Users pin interesting items they find on the Web (or that they create for themselves). - Community aspect becomes important as individuals rely on others with similar interests to help find new relevant items. - Popular in areas where a visual component is important. - Often is used for interior design, art, fashion, recipes, food, cake decorating, and shopping. - Businesses benefit because traffic is driven to their Web sites . - Users communicate by reposting content, sharing pins on Facebook, tweeting pins, or embedding Pinterest material on blogs.
Facebook's Business Manager System
- Eliminates mix-ups between personal accounts and page administrators - Allows businesses to manage page roles and ad account access from one convenient place - Allows a business to see which pages and ad accounts have been assigned to a particular individual - Allows a business to see a list of people working on a particular page or ad account - Allows partners and affiliated ad agencies to request access to pages and ad accounts
The objectives for your homepage should include:
- Engage new visitors quickly - Channel visitors to the right content - Convert those visitors that are ready to try or buy.
Other Helps
- Get other sites to include links to your site! - Have good written content - Add a blog and other artifacts - Have your site linked in social media posts - Keep working a little every day. Make one connection per day as part of your routine.
Facebook Groups
- Groups are intended to allow a subset of people to interact and share information. - Groups are a private space that can be configured in various ways. - Groups can be secret and visible only to members. - A secret group could be used for company employees or a set of business associates. - Closed groups can be seen by everyone and everyone will be able to see the membership list. However, the content is only open to members. - Open groups can be seen by anyone; membership is open and all content can be seen by the public. - Groups are intended for use with profiles but can be used in some business settings
How to Choose Music for Business
- If providing detailed technical info, choose music that will not divert the attention of the users from the main info. A supportive underscore can be just fine for such videos. For explaining broader concepts, choose music that evokes emotion in your video. Foreground music can highly support such videos. Choose music according to the requirement of what needs to be conveyed and not because you like the song!
Instagram Premise
- Instagram use is driven by visual sharing and acquiring followers. - A posted photo or video appears on the account holder's profile. - Followers see the same post in their news feed. - Users have "Followers" and "Following" counts to display their level of popularity and potential interaction. - Each user's profile has a button that can be tapped to follow their posts. - Private profile follower requests need approval from the account holde
Consider your Audience
- Keep demographics in mind. - Does target audience listen to indie rock, hip-hop, electronic dance music or something else? - Do any music genres directly influence the audience you are trying to reach? - To reach a wider market or many age ranges, choose music that appeals to all kinds of people.
Instagram Facts
- Launched by creators Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger in October 2010. - More than 400 million monthly visitors. - Facebook purchased the service in 2012 but mostly has left it to continue without changes. - Unlike other social media services, according to its terms of service, Instagram does not claim ownership rights regarding any posted material (including photographs, music and videos). - This adds appeal for artists, musicians and photographers who want to obtain publicity for their material but do not wish to surrender their copyright.
Yelp
- Local business social networking site that provides reviews and discussions related to services primarily in food, restaurant and entertainment venues. - Large community of users in metropolitan regions but also has expanded into smaller, regional areas. - Yelp users submit reviews on places, products or services using a five-star rating system, and then add comments. - Businesses claim venues and provide updated information such as contact details, operation hours and other information. Businesses also can respond to user reviews.
How to Acquire Music/Sounds
- Music can be used in ads, on websites, or for other purposes. - Viewers make subconscious judgments in a split of second video/ad content - Music choices can play a major role in these decisions
How Individuals Use LinkedIn
- Obtain, store and distribute online recommendations that can be used to attest to professional abilities or character. - Obtain introductions to key individuals in relevant industries. - Obtain introductions to potential employers. - Search job listings placed on LinkedIn. - Create an online resume that continues to grow with experiences and career changes.
ImpactRich Pins From Retailers' Perspective
- Rich Pins are the best way to move potential customers to where product or service can be purchased. - Pinterest has developer's site which provides details regarding the implementation. - Rich Pins must be validated. - Retailer receives a validation code to embed in their Website. - Pin It Button can be added to the company's product pages. - Pinterest users will be encouraged to pin products and spread the word.
Role of the Home Page
- Role of the homepage has changed in recent years. •Likely to be the most highly trafficked and important page on a website •Tricky determining content. •Avoid too much information or duplicating info better suited to other pages. •Be sure to include the essentials.
Social Media
- Someone may belong to communities organized with social media tools - Same tools may result in crowd-inspired "waves" that move through these communities at incredible rates - Waves lack leadership or common purpose - Often referred to as viral - Enormous Business Implications - Twitter, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest, Foursquare and others create an infrastructure conducive to social buzz - Tools such as Social Mention and Klout help businesses track social buzz - Big players: Facebook and LinkedIn
Pay Attention to Lyrics
- Storytelling narrations in a video can be enhanced by adding lyrics - Dramatic elements can grab attention. lWhen you use lyrics, it shouldn't subdue the message you wish to convey. - Remember that on-camera narration or voice-overs should not contradict song lyrics - Be careful of obscene or unexpected messages in the songs you select
StumbleUpon Facts
- StumbleUpon drives over 50 percent of its traffic to the rest of the Web - Offers a great way to get people to link to a business site for comments and to boost subscriber numbers - Surpassed 25th million click in August 2011 - Tracks over 3 million sites
Trello Teams
- Trello offers features to facilitate team creation. - Teams have administrators and members with varying levels of access to boards. - Teams are intended to comprise a group that may have several projects. - Projects have members while teams cross multiple projects.
Twitter History
- Twitter was first imagined by Jack Dorsey while working for Odeo. - Dorsey suggested extension to existing SMS platforms that fell somewhere between texting, email, Listserv entries, and social network updates. - New tool would track friends' activities based on short status updates. - Dorsey worked with software developer Noah Glass who named it "twttr". - Twttr launched March 21, 2006 by Jack Dorsey with a tweet at 9:50 PM that read "just setting up my twttr". - Glass added vowels to name and twttr became "Twitter". - Twitter reformed as its own company in April 2007.
Yik Yak Origins
- Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington, graduates of Furman University developed Yik Yak after collaborating in a class that covered iPhone app development. - Following graduation, they developed Yik Yak more fully and released the app in November 2013. - By 2014, it was the 9th most downloaded social media app in the United States
Reddit Comments
- Used by businesses to promote blog or other content. - An article can be submitted and voted up resulting in even more readers. - Reddit works best with well written informative content, particularly when it has a social conscience . - Negative side: Reddit communities criticized for hive mindset and negative aspects of group interaction, crowd psychology and collective consciousness.
Waze
- Waze was developed in Israel and launched there in 2008. - A few years later it was purchased by Google. - Goal of using social media to save each driver five minutes a day. Since that time, Waze has become an application that seeks to collect and to develop a deeper understanding of why traffic happens. Waze has more than 50 million users. - According to Forbes Tech, Waze has become popular because it has figured out
Copyright
-Always include a notice about copyright and trademark. -For example, "Copyright © 2021. yourwebsite.com."
Limit Liability
-Basic disclaimer removing your liability from errors in your web content. Generally, it's a clause that says you can't be held responsible for any errors in content. -For websites that allow visitors to post content to your website, you need language that limits your liability from offensive postings and allows you to remove content that violates your policies. -Add a disclaimer that you don't endorse users and aren't responsible for the statements made by third parties.
Privacy Policy
-If you collect information from your customers (such as email addresses or credit card information), you need to post a privacy policy. This outlines how information will be used or not used.
Set Governing Law
-Your Terms and Conditions should also mention where your website is operating from in terms of the governing law (state/province and country). -For example, "These terms and conditions are governed by the laws of the United States of America and the laws of the State of Kansas."
How Web Servers Work
1) Client submits HTTP request 2) Server responds by searching through stored content 3) Server returns a response message which generally contains requested content
Steps in Navigation Creation
1)Start with Site Map 2)Prioritize and Order Pages -Think about where you want to lead visitors and how to eventually convert them to customers or fans. -What information do your visitors most need? -This is your 'primary navigation' should be as easily accessible as possible. -All pages in your primary navigation should appear in your site's main menu. 3) Stick with conventions and menu styles that are familiar to visitors. 4) Keep Menus consistent across all pages 5) Consider a 'sticky menu' (e.g. a menu that stays put even as visitors scroll down your site). To create this sticky (sometimes called floating) menu on Wix, go to 'Add' on the left-hand side of the Editor, then 'Menu' to choose menu style. Next, right-click on your menu and choose 'Pin to Screen'. 6) Limit items on Menu 7) Add drop down items to menu if many pages exist. 8) Add a search bar.
How to Choose Music for Business
1. Determine part the music plays in your artifact (e.g. ad, website or other item). Does the music drive the message, reinforce the message or just provide background? Could loud music distract the viewer and distract from the primary message?
FAQ Page Design Hints
1. Write clear and concise pages - be straightforward and brief when providing answers. 2. Regularly update each page - Ensure FAQ pages are accurate. Review each page and revise after launching new features. 3. Include a search bar - Customers usually come to a FAQ page with a single question in mind. Don't make them scroll through tens or hundreds of other questions to find theirs. 4. Organize questions by category - Divide up questions into overarching topics, such as products, security, and billing. 5. Link top questions - Top questions should have their own section and a link to their answer at the top of your FAQ page. 6. Stick to the basics - Customers aren't on FAQ pages to be entertained. It's typically best to stick to a basic format and simple design that can be quickly accessed and easily read.
website design guidelines
1. simplicity 2. visual hierarchy 3. navigability 4. consistency 5. responsivity 6. accessibility 7. conventionality 8. credibility 9. user-centricity
Hints for Great Meta Descriptions
1.Make Each Meta Description Unique and Specific to Page Content 2.Use Unique Key Words in Each Pages Title without much Overlap 3.Don't Make Meta Descriptions too Short (giving up free advertising!) 70-130 Characters 4.Don't Make Meta Descriptions too Long (search engines may truncate or abbreviate in strange ways). Keep under 130 characters. 5.Write for Humans not Robots (e.g. readable not just a list of keywords)
Hints for Great Titles
1.Make Each Page Title Unique 2.Use Unique Key Words for each Page without much Overlap 3.Don't Make Titles too Short (giving up free advertising!) 30 - 60 Characters 4.Don't Make Titles too Long (search engines may truncate or abbreviate in strange ways) 5.Write for Humans not Robots (e.g. readable not just a list of keywords)
Hints for Navigation (from Wix)
1.Plan your navigation 2.Prioritize your pages 3.Stick to conventions 4.Consider creating a sticky menu 5.Limit the number of items in your menu 6.Create mega dropdown menus if necessary 7.Add a search bar 8.Label your menu clearly 9.Link the logo back to the homepage 10.Indicate what page the user is on 11.Ensure visitors can reach any page from any page
Video Conversion
1.Used to transform video from one type to another (usually for editing) 2.WMV or AVI for Windows Movie Maker 3.MP4 for most other editors 4.FLV or SWF for flash video editors 5.QuickTime (.mov) for Apple applications
Conventionality
A big challenge in web design is balancing originality with your expectations. Most of us are expert internet users, and there are specific conventions we've grown accustomed to over time. •Placing the main navigation at the top (or left side) of a page. •Placing a logo at the top left (or center) of a page. •Making the logo clickable, so it always brings a visitor back to the homepage. •Having links and buttons that change color/appearance when you hover over them. •Using a shopping cart icon on an ecommerce site. The icon also has a number badge signifying the number of items in the cart. •Ensuring image sliders have buttons users can click to manually rotate slides.While some might opt to throw these out the window for the sake of uniqueness, this is a mistake. There's still plenty of room for creativity within the constraints of web conventionality.
Law of the Generic
A brand with a generic name is difficult to differentiate from competition. For example, at GNC stores, dozens of brand names start with "Nature," like Nature's Answer, Nature's Gate, Nature's Plus, Nature's Herb...the list goes on. How can anyone tell the difference between these brands when they all sound the same? they cant
Management Tools for Followers
A business should use a follower management tool. These tools enable a user to classify her or his followers, watch trends that might include people that become followers (or stop following), and, to find new connections. Tools that help with this include http://unfollowers.me and FindUnfollow (a mobile app)
Desktop and Print Licensing
A desktop or print font license is a basic, standard font license that applies to most of the typefaces that come on your computer or with any other software you install. This license allows you to use the font on your computer and use it to make static images, such as designing something for print. This applies to everything from posters to t-shirts to business cards to mugs.
Use Cases: Here is a scenario for a medical clinic.
A patient calls the clinic to make an appointment for a yearly checkup. The receptionist finds the nearest empty time slot in the appointment book and schedules the appointment for that time slot. We want to write a use case for this scenario. Remember: A use case is a summary of scenarios for a single task or goal. Step 1 Identify the actors As we read the scenario, define those people or systems that are going to interact with the scenario.
Why social media needs To be Strategically Considered
A social media strategy defines how your organization will use social media to achieve its communications aims and the supporting platform and tools it will use to achieve this. At a basic level it's a simple statement of intent, outlining the goals and measurable objectives for using social media, and the target outcomes you want to achieve. It does this in the context of the overall business and communications plan so that social media isn't in a silo but working in parallel with other channels. It isn't a detailed plan of action - you'll also need a plan but without a clear strategy, how do you prioritize the activities for a plan? Think strategy first, plan second.
Verified Accounts
A special symbol is displayed next to the account name to show Twitter has ensured account accurately represents person or company depicted
Online Software
A third low-cost option is to investigate online video editing services.
Use Case Analysis: What is an Actor?
A user or outside system that interacts with the system being designed in order to obtain some value from that interaction
Actors
Actor is outside or external the system.lIt can be a: •Human •Peripheral device (hardware) •External system or subsystem •Time or time-based event Represented by stick figure
Raw File
After shooting video using a camcorder or other device, the raw file is transferred to a computer.
__________ from Amazon can be used to help determine a website's target market.
Alexa
LinkedIn Company Pages
Allows businesses to post additional details of interest to current or potential employees, stakeholders, and the general public. A company page can provide news feed type features where changes, updates, and other information can be posted.
Videocasting
Also called vodcasting. Adds a visual element to podcasting.
User-Centricity
At the end of the day, usability and user experience hinge on the preferences of the end-users. After all, if you're not designing for them, who are you designing for? So, while the principles detailed in this list are a great starting point, the final key to improving the design of your site is to conduct user testing, gather feedback, and implement changes based on what you've learned.And don't bother testing usability by yourself. You've already invested a lot of time into your design, which brings your own biases into the equation. Get testers who have never seen your site before, the same as any first-time visitor.
Auto Follow
Auto Follow Concepts The auto follow had previously enabled "an immediate and programmatic means of following another user back after they follow you." Auto Follow Twitter Disabled Auto Follow Twitter removed it to stop large numbers of followers from being automatically generated. Twitter also removed the auto follow back functionality from its API and stopped third party applications from providing that service. Better Ways to Get Followers With the programmatic features gone, the primary ways of acquiring followers become: to follow other users (including your followers); to publicize a Twitter handle, and to write clever, timely tweets likely to be retweeted.
design
Be sure to design for usability, how easy your website is to use, and user experience (UX), how enjoyable it is to interact with your website.
Geography Related Social Media Concepts (Google maps and other location services)
Big advantages of social media include the reduction of geographic and time-based constraints. This means that no matter where a person is located, she or he can interact with others around the globe at any time.
Trello is a Set of Boards
Boards can be shared and used for interaction as online checklists
Free Software
Both Windows and Apple OS generally provide free editing software such as Movie Maker and iMovie. Also, most digital video cameras include software with editing features.
Use Case - Relationships
Boundary •A boundary rectangle is placed around the perimeter of the system to show how the actors communicate with the system.
Business on Facebook
Businesses on Facebook: Developing a business presence on Facebook is a must. Family and Friends: Many people view Facebook as a primary method for communicating with family and close friends. Business connections, advertisements, and intrusive messages may not be welcome. Work Within Facebook Norms: Businesses need to carefully plan their interactions in ways that respect typical Facebook use. Support Tools: Not all people prefer to avoid commercial contact on Facebook. On any given day, millions of Likesare given to business pages and business content is viewed, downloaded, and commented upon.
Twitter Business Suggestions
Businesses use Twitter for a variety of purposes: from marketing to customer service to product development. Twitter can be powerful for new companies and can result in the quick dissemination of information.
Using Twitter
Busy People Twitter user names needed to be identified within the context of a tweet. Uses Small Amounts of Idle Time Users find a convenient moment to access their smartphone and send a tweet or check on recent tweets from others. Twitter Anywhere Twitter works well in spare moments when waiting in line at a store or during commercial breaks in a news broadcast. Twitter Data Twitter collects new information and provides it in easy-to-access ways during short bursts of time.
Find Unfollowers Mobile App
Can help with discovering: New followersRecent unfollowersUsers not following backFollowers that the current account holder does not follow back Knowing this information can help provide a mechanism for ensuring that key followers do not slip away unnoticed, and so new followers can be contacted and better integrated if desired.
Video Conversion
Changing from one format to another using a software system 1.Used to transform video from one type to another (usually for editing) 2.WMV or AVI for Windows Movie Maker 3.MP4 for most other editors 4.FLV or SWF for flash video editors 5.QuickTime (.mov) for Apple applications
Yelp for Business: Paul Chaney Tips
Claim Your Business Page Provides a place where photos can be added, links can be provided to the business Website, restaurant menus or other business artifacts can be added, offers listed, and business operating information updated.
Visual Hierarchy
Closely tied to the principle of simplicity, visual hierarchy means arranging and organizing website elements so that visitors naturally gravitate toward the most important elements first.
Commercializing Flash Mobs
Commercial Flash Mobs Dancers hire their services out to corporate clients wishing to draw attention to new products or inject life into marketing efforts. Bay Area Flash Mob Dance groups like Bay Area Flash Mob, in San Francisco, which mainly did free flash mobs for the fun of it, began getting inquiries from businesses in about 2010. Golf Shoe Launch Nike paid about $1,000 to stage a flash mob at a San Francisco golf-shoe launch. A YouTube video documented the event and dancers pumped footwear in the air to Lady Gaga's 'Poker Face'.
Managing Followers
Complex Networks Networks formed with Twitter can be extremely complex with large numbers of people who follow and stop following for a variety of reasons (called 'unfollow' in Twitter lingo). Follower Pools The pool of followers can be a latent resource bringing a wealth of knowledge and other benefits. Wise Twitter User A wise business Twitter user can find ways to become better acquainted with his or her follower base, to target new followers, and, to follow key players in strategically relevant areas.
What do you want to Express?
Connect with your target audience and understand their likes and dislikes. How do you want your viewers to feel? Do you want them to feel warm through customer testimonials or do you wish to evoke humor? Each has distinct styles of musicSome of the licensed music libraries tags their music by emotion attached to it like peaceful, playful, empowering, etc.
Yik Yak and Ethics
Cyberbullying is a broad and thorny challenge faced by all social media networks and Yik Yak has taken steps to minimize it. "Do investors and business advertising on platforms such as Yik Yak have a social responsibility to ensure it does not harm anyone?"
Digital Video (DV)
Developed with a wide range of cameras including the inexpensive webcams and video recorders. Mobile devices such as an iPhone or iPad can also be used. Canon, Panasonic, and Sony all offer a wide range of excellent mid-price video camcorders. Videomaker provides excellent insight.
Audio Considerations
Digital camcorders come with built-in microphones. In many instances it becomes necessary to attach an external microphone for better sound quality.
Snapchat and Business
Discover One example is Snapchat's Discover feature. Discover provides exclusive content from a variety of partner networks such as CNN, Comedy Central, ESPN, and People Magazine. Partner Channels Having partner channels provides a natural location for advertising and permits content to be viewed by a wide audience. Users can Snap Discover stories to their friends.
StumbleUpon Approach
Discovery for Fun Designed to help a user "discover new and interesting stuff on the Web". Data Repository Users provide basic information about likes (a marketer's dream come true) and are given a journey to relevant Web sites, videos, blogs, photos and other material. Stumblers The more other users like a page, the higher it is rated and it is more likely to be viewed by more 'Stumblers'. Monetization User profiles become more specific and better tailored as they provide feedback on pages.
Acquiring Existing Material From the Web
Downloading images from Google searches and so forth is easy. In many cases 'fair use' policies permit you to use the image. A major complication is that the material might be copyright and the owner is enforcing their rights. More on this in a moment.
Basic Twitter Concepts: Modified Tweet
Embedding Tweets Some users embed a tweet into their message or add his or her own thoughts to a tweet. MT Occasionally, the user will start a message with 'MT' for Modified Tweet. Courtesy This is a courtesy to the original tweeter and indicates the user has edited the original message. Trimming May occur if user needs to trim characters from the original message to enable more room for added comments.
FAQ Page Considerations
FAQ Pages provide answers to commonly frequently asked questions. FAQ pages include a series of questions that are commonly asked by customers. They cover a variety of topics including product or service usage, business hours, prices, and more.
1 - Use Service Data or Customer Email Inquiries to Identify FAQs
FAQ page should address most common questions customers have about your products, services, and brand. Tap into your customer service data and see which problems customers are consistently experiencing If you answer a general question for a customer, make the answer a FAQ If you have a help desk or call center software you can easily discover the most popular questions that customers have for your team. Ticketing systems may offer tagging features that allow agents to label individual tickets which then automatically categorizes them in a stored database.
Facebook Page for Ram Trucks
Facebook is structured into profiles, pages and groups. These structures give different levels of interaction and have been used to varying degrees by businesses and individuals.
Page Recommendations
Facebook recommends that businesses use pages to develop rapport with customers. Regular posts help foster relationships and stimulate an active online community. A consistent voice and authentic, original information can encourage people to interact with the business.
What About Fair Use?
Fair use is not the same as free use. Fair use is a legal exception to the exclusive rights an owner has for his or her copyrighted work.It has little to do with what we may think is fair, and everything to do with keeping the balance tipped in favor of the public interest. It's a delicate balance, mind you, but one that often leaves the copyright owner wanting to scream.
A small box of information that tries to answer the original search query directly and quickly on Google Searches is called a _____________.
Featured Snippet
Many Software Packages Exist For This
Free and expensive software exists for these functions.
Twitter Lists
Filtering A key to successful use of Twitter is to reduce the 'noise' and focus on connections consistent with goals. Like Groups Twitter lists essentially the equivalent of groups in other social media.3rd Party Tools Twitter and a number of third party vendors provide tools to create and manage Twitter lists. Trimming For instance, one list could be created for business contacts, another for personal friends, one for organizations of interest, and yet another for collecting celebrity tweets.
Free cloud-based mobile photo and video sharing social networking service. An easy-to-use app that allows users to quickly share pictures and videos taken with mobile devices.
Problem Tools Related to Twitter
Follower Tools Tools appeared that promise to quickly add followers to subscribers' accounts. Many took the form of mass follow bots which attempted to automate the follower-acquisition process. Problem Tools Related to Twitter Less Reputable Services Less reputable services would create fake users and make these followers of subscriber accounts. Other tools appeared which would automatically follow back any follower. Hashtag Services Users began placing a #followback, #teamautofollow, or #teamfollowback hashtag in their message to indicate they would follow anyone who followed them. Little Customer Interaction Value Had the effect of creating large numbers of followers with little or no value----not potential customers or business partners.
Is there a legal req to implement WCAG?
For federal agencies and their contractors, yes, they are required to conform with WCAG 2.0. For private businesses, the answer is more complicated: they're not required by law to comply with any specific standard like WCAG, but their websites do have to be accessible.
Social networking is the 'what' and social media is the 'how'. In other words, social media are tools that facilitate social networking
For instance, LinkedIn is social media. Social networking takes place in LinkedIn each time people form connections, exchange information, share, or discuss. Twitter is social media and each Tweet represents the act of social networking. Social media makes social networking easier.
Different Names
Found under an option such as ʻExportʼ, ʻCreate Movieʼ or ʻRender ʼ.
Foursquare and Swarm Facts: history
Foursquare is a young company, founded in 2009 by Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai. Over 60 million users as of June 2016.
Other Lists to Create
Friends - Many Twitter users keep their business and personal lives separate with two different accounts. Personal Interest - Can include those from areas outside the business domain but can provide insight, ideas, and creative outside-the-box concepts.
Strategic Considerations for Digital Business
Goal 1: Understand the Environment for your Digital Business. Goal 2: Avoid an easy mistake which is "Build First and Design a Business Solution Second". Understand how an online presence helps accomplish business goals! Goal 3: Develop Sustainable, Business-related Custom Digital Identity and Presence in a Thoughtful, Smart, Orderly Way.
Opinion Leaders
Goddard (2012) states that "[s]ocial networks are made up of peers seeking and giving advice to make better decisions. Advanced social networking science can even tell us which people give out the most advice in the network and have the most influence. These people are called opinion leaders."
Keyword Tools
Google Adwords
Sharing, Cooperation, and Collective Action
Group undertakings resemble a ladder of activities. Shirky suggests groups are improved by social tools (sharing), conversation (cooperation) and governance (collective action).
Basic Twitter Concepts: Handle
Handle - A user name that starts with the '@' symbol is a Twitter handle. Users register their handle and use it as an identifier for their tweets and other users can send messages to it (like an address). Examples Include: @MLB - Major League Baseball twitter handle @BarackObama - U.S. President Barack Obama's Twitter handle @nytimes - New York Times Newspaper Twitter handle
Twitter and Celebrities
High Profile Users Developers of Twitter recognized the benefit of ensuring that Twitter could be used by high profile individuals. Virtuous Cycle Celebrities benefit and Twitter's popularity surged each time a celebrity tweet was publicized in mainstream press. Twitter employs staff members to work with publicity agents and media public relations staff to ensures Twitter is used in high profile advertising and publicity campaigns. Twitter provides support and promotional tools that can help create buzz among potential followers.
Inexpensive Technology
High-quality visual media can be created with video cameras, various editing software and an internet connection. Video production ranges in cost from nearly free (e.g. using a webcam or mobile phone camera to capture and post video) to high budget production.
Home Page Considerations
Home Pages make visual first impressions just like your business property might in a bricks and mortar operation.
Example User Innovation: #
IRC Roots Initially, hashtags were used on IRC (Internet Relay Chat) networks to help find group messages related to a particular topic. Idea of the '#' Twitter users began using hashtags to help group conversations and searches. Becomes Permanent Twitter developers took notice and on July 1, 2009, Twitter started to hyperlink all hashtags in tweets to facilitate searches. Home Page Prominence About one year later, "Trending Topics" added to Twitter home page to list most popular hashtags.
Navigability
Ideally, a visitor should land on your site and not have to think extensively about where to click next. Moving from point A to point B should be as frictionless as possible. •Keep the structure of your primary navigation simple (and near the top of your page). •Include navigation in the footer of your site. •Consider using breadcrumbs on every page (except your homepage) so users remember their navigation trail. •Include a search bar near the top of your site so visitors can search by keywords. •Once you've settled on what your site's main (top) navigation will be, keep it consistent. The labels and location of your navigation should remain the same on every page.
Lens Size
Impacts amount of light and image quality. Larger lens enhances light and provides better image.
Consistency
In addition to keeping your navigation consistent, the overall look and feel of your site should be similar across all of your site's pages. Backgrounds, color schemes, typefaces, and even the tone of your writing are all areas where consistency has a positive impact on usability and UX.
Twitter Analytics
In situations where important, mission critical information can be learned by mining tweets, a business might want to use more sophisticated search tools. Business analysis of Twitter is truly in its early stages and the available tools have not yet fully matured. However, advances are being made.
Skorr
Influence Measure Skorr takes a different approach to understanding social buzz by developing a measure of online influence. It provides insight on the following: Do others trust your opinions online?What topics are you the most influential on?How do you compare with your friends? Skorr uses metrics from interactions within Twitter, Facebook and other social media. Then looks at reach (e.g. audience size) and amplification (e.g. how others reuse and interact with posted material and tweets) and network (measure of connected community's overall influence).
Which of the following is NOT true about a Web Page title tag?
It is generally found at the top of a web page between <H1> tags
LinkedIn Functions
Jobs LinkedIn will generate a list of relevant jobs based on a user's resume and job history by trying to match up key words in job listings. Discussions LinkedIn offers discussion groups to provide additional methods for finding (or listing) jobs. And to showcase your expertise. Communication Group members may post direct emails or Web links to pages specific to particular jobs.
Facebook Overview
June, 2016, Facebook had more than 1.65 billion active monthly users. Over 100 billion social networking connections exist within Facebook. Businesses cannot overlook this global communication channel.
Image Stabilization
Keeps images from shaking and bouncing. Camcorders may offer either optical or electronic stabilization. In most cases optical stabilization is better and will result in better video.
Keywords
Key factors to take into account when determining the keywords you want to target on your site - meta tags - titles headers - page names - information content •Search Volume (Do Searchers Use this Word?) •Relevance (Is it the correct Word?) •Competition (How many sites use this Word?)
Twitter.Good Ways to Get Legitimate Followers
Leslie Walker suggests: 1) Start following. Find others with shared interests and hope that they return the favor and follow back. 2) Create a complete and compelling Twitter profile. This will put others at ease and help them identify reasons for wanting to follow. 3) Follow those who have followed your account. Many users appreciate the engagement and will remain as a follower longer. 4) Tweet regularly. This will keep an audience engaged and provide more notice. 5) Ensure that tweet content is relevant, timely and contains recognizable hashtags. Again, good content makes a world of difference in Twitter.
Twitter Goes Viral
Life of Its Own Twitter is a rare example of a social media service that took on a life of its own. User-Driven Use Conventions Users began organizing their tweets and introducing new conventions. Jargon Jargon developed that described a variety of actions within Twitter.
Posting a Videocast
Like Podcasting Posting a videocast follows the same basic process as posting a podcast. Web Formats (MP4 usually) One difference is that a videocast needs to be rendered into a viewable format that can be shared on the Web. Wizard Most video editing software packages provide a wizard to make this easier. Different Names Found under an option such as ʻExportʼ, ʻCreate Movieʼ or ʻRender ʼ.
LinkedIn Main Functionality
LinkedIn has become the primary location where all business contacts, skill inventories, training records, and experience histories are maintained. LinkedIn is useful for maintaining communication and contact with business associates. For instance, if a member changes jobs, locations, or receives a promotion, she easily can send the updated information to her business associates.
LinkedIn has become the social media venue of choice for businesses and individuals seeking to network with a career focus. Founded in December 2002 and publicly launched in May 2003. By mid-2016, LinkedIn had more than 430 million registered users. LinkedIn was purchased by Microsoft in 2016.
Jobs on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is well known for its capability as a job search tool. It has become the new standard for posting resumes, recommendation letters, and providing career histories. Potential employers can see prospective hires' networks of contacts which can add to the applicant's credibility and relevance.
Use Unique Selling Points (USPs)
List of keywords useful for attracting traffic Build into your site titles and meta descriptions For Example (plumbing clients may seek): - 24/7 - Fast Response - No Call-Out Fee - Drainage Problems
Facebook Lists
Lists define what people can and cannot see by adjusting privacy settings. It is possible to create custom lists for common groups of friends. For example, a teacher might have family, personal, student, and colleague lists. By assigning friends to a specific list, privacy settings can be manipulated to allow only certain material to be accessible by individuals on a particular list.
Business Benefits Using Live Streaming
Live Product Demos Audiences can benefit from watching a new product launch via live streaming. Potential customers can interact during the demonstration by asking questions. Industry News Reports A business can provide general news related to their industry. This will provide a sense of connection to interested people, provide exposure and a sense of relevance to an organization, and give customers insights that extend beyond a particular company's offerings. Connections with Opinion Leaders Live streaming is a great way to connect with opinion leaders who already have a voice and audience. These people appreciate representatives from a company showing up in an influencer's broadcast, asking interesting questions, making insightful comments,and sharing with followers. Publicity The platform can provide a place where a product can be showcased and initial public knowledge created for potential customers. Bring Viewers Behind the Scenes Broadcasts that provide glimpses inside an organization can be enticing and attract attention. Remember, people using social media want personal connections and this is a great way to do this. Build a List of Followers A list of users can be collected by following people watching the live stream. Over time, an extensive list can be created. Collect Content During Live Event Broadcasts can be recorded and then used as raw material in other multimedia offerings. Blog posts, informational videos, source material for YouTube videos and many other items can be created from material created during the live streams.
Foursquare and Swarm: iPhone example
Location-based mobile platforms enable users to "check in" via a smartphone app and share their location and other details with friends and businesses. Foursquare and Swarm create competition between users by encouraging them to earn points and stickers for leaving tips, information, and photos of their current location.
Yelp for Business: Paul Chaney Tips (Continued)
Maintain Businesses need to update and maintain operating information. Yelp provides places for business name, address, phone number, hours of operation, and other items. Pay Attention to Reviews Read those and identify what customers are saying. Positive reviews help rank the business higher, and negative ones can be used to make improvements. Showcase Photos can be added to showcase a business and add visual interest. Tools Yelp provides tools to encourage customers to visit a business. These incentives include deals and gift certificates. Business Analytics Yelp provides business analytics related to user visits. The administrative console offers a set of tools to track visitor engagement, customer leads, revenue estimates, and other features. Advertising Yelp offers a variety of advertising options. The pricing ranges from free to full service. Among the more popular options are features to remove competitor ads, calls to action, slideshows, and targeted ads.
Edit for Website Use
Make sure the image is professional and appropriately sized.
Business Whispers
Many businesses are working to develop non-intrusive approaches to get their messages out. Some businesses post whispers with their images and hope users spread the message. Users do not know which Whispers are campaign items and which are just messages posted by other users. This keeps people from immediately discounting an item because they believe it is an ad.
Location Services Can Be Enabled on Mobile Devices
Many devices can passively or actively determine their location based on satellite, cellular or other information.
buy
Many people sell images and artwork for use by businesses. A complication is cost.
Draw, Paint or Create Your Own With Software
Many software packages exist to enable you to build your own artwork and logos.
Twitter Enters Picture
Meerkat first to appear (February of 2015) but met with competition from Periscope (March of 2015). Twitter purchased Periscope and integrated it into their social media platform giving it a huge advantage and a large pool of potential users. At the same time, it cut off Meerkat's access to Twitter.
Basic Twitter Concepts: Replies
Mention Twitter replies can be generated by clicking on a mention. Reply Options Several options appear at the bottom of a tweet including Reply. Private Response A reply will format the response tweet as a private message. Going Public If any character is placed ahead of a tweet's '@' symbol, the reply becomes a public tweet.
Basic Twitter Concepts: Mention
Mention - When a handle appears in a tweet, it will automatically trigger a mention and will be placed into that user's mentions folder.
Tracking Mentions
Mentions can be posted to a service such as Scoop.It
Mission Critical Twitter Use
Mission critical information may be discovered by mining Tweets. Business needs sophisticated search tools.
The social web is growing fast
Mobile - people accessing the internet via mobile continues to increase Older user adoption - Some of the fastest growing segments are the 55-64-year age demographic with 79% growth rate since 2012; the fastest growing demographic on Facebook and Google+ is the 45-54-year age bracket.
Yik Yak
Mobile app for anonymous communication among people within a five-mile geographic radius. Can be fun but has been criticized as a platform that enables cyberbullying. Yik Yak built controls to block use near all high schools and middle schools. Yik Yak is a good place to put out public messages, called Yaks, on items like party or event locations, gripes about university classes, or searches for nearby, like-minded companions. Many Yaks are jokes, quips, funny sayings, sarcasm and plain venting.
Basic Twitter Concepts: Direct Message
Most Private Direct messages are Twitter's most private form of communication (a 140 character version of nearly-real-time email). 'D' or 'DM' Type a 'D' or 'DM' followed by a handle to start a direct message tweet. Mistakes Happen Direct messages are sometimes mistakenly made public when the sender forgets to include the 'D'. Replies Replies to a direct message must also have the 'D' or 'DM' or it becomes a public tweet. Followers Can only be sent to a follower. This reduces the amount of spam sent to Twitter message boxes.
Other Items Besides Photos (Videos, Documents and so forth)
Most Web Site Builders include tools for attaching PDF Files or embedding Videos. Depending on your platform the exact details will vary.
Who needs a Font License?
Most designers need a license except when using tools such as Wix and its commercially available fontsWhen in doubt a designer should always assume that a license is necessary. A desktop license is typically enough for anything you are doing on your computer that is not for a client. Likely, you'll have a nice collection of typefaces that come installed with software or from downloads that you like and can carry you through most personal projects. For Client Projects When it comes to working for someone else, the best option is to work with fonts that the client has licenses for. Before using any font for a commercial project or use, make sure it is ok.
Wizard
Most video editing software packages provide a wizard to make this easier.
What is your Budget?
Music costs fluctuate rapidly. Some music is free, or it may require a royalty fee.It is important to ensure you have legal permission to use music before you deploy it and risk a lawsuit. Music from a licensed library can cost from $10 to $100 for personal or small business use. In other cases, a composer can charge approximately $300-$1000 for a quality original track for the small video.
Page Items Needed to Build a Facebook Community
New Content Stream: Photos, videos, menus, sneak peeks, new product information and event announcements. Stimulating Questions: Stimulate customers to provide feedback and opinions about products and services. Events: Information about new product launches, anniversaries, promotions, in-store events and sales. Stories: Posts that provide stories about products, successes, or other customers
Every Creative Commons license allows the world to distribute, display, perform, or webcast a work. In addition one may apply the following conditions:
No Commercial No Derivative Share Alike
More Features of Pages
No Friends: Pages do not accumulate friends. Instead, people become fans. Pages are Searchable Outside of Facebook: People don't have to be logged into Facebook to view a business page. Each page is indexed by Google and other search engines and will be listed when searches are conducted. Pages: No Limits Profiles are limited to 5,000 friends but business pages can have an unlimited number of fans (for instance, the late pop star David Bowie's Facebook page has almost 7 million likes). Promotions: Pages can be promoted with sidebar ads on Facebook, customized tabs with coupons and other items (e.g. maps, videos, et cetera), or discussions with fans.
4 - Monitor Use of FAQs
Occasionally visit customer data that you used to create your FAQ page and see if issues are less likely to appear. Use page stats to see what items are being accessed by site visitors Are the same problems affecting your customer base? If you're seeing this type of positive change, then you know your FAQ page is effective.
Creating Connections
Once a profile has been created, a LinkedIn user can publish it and begin creating connections. Connections are current and can include former colleagues, teachers and classmates, business associates, and other professional contacts. The idea is to create direct connections by adding people relevant to the user's professional circle. These connections can provide introductions to additional professionals who can help to build a network in particular specialty areas.
Got Keywords? Now what?
Once you have your keyword list, the next step is implementing your targeted keywords into your site's content. Each page on your site should be targeting a core term, and a "basket" of related terms.
Web Formats (MP4 usually)
One difference is that a videocast needs to be rendered into a viewable format that can be shared on the Web.
Managing Twitter Lists
One way to acquire a useful list collection is to visit the profile page of other Twitter users in the same business domain. Their public lists are visible after clicking "View all" on their lists. Another way of finding lists is to use a third-party application that maintains a directory of Twitter lists like TwitListManager.
Trello
Organizer Social media influenced, collaboration tool useful to people wishing to organize projects. Can be used as a standalone productivity system. Social Interaction Designed in the era of social media and incorporates many ideas and concepts that provide value related to interaction. History Developed by Fog Creek Software, a company started in the year 2000 by Joel Spolsky and Michael Pryor. In 2016, Trello had more than 10 million users.
Planning for our Website and Pages
Our Use Case (functional view of what site will do) and Site Plan Documents (structure of website)
Concerns for Digital Business
Out-of-the-box solutions are needed to engage users and convince them why your business needs to be given a shot. This requires more than the basics of search engine optimization (SEO) and other 'standard' practices.
site map
Page Hierarchy: Use Cases Should All Be Considered Trying to decide how to navigate the site. It may help to see other website and review their approach
Paid Fonts
Paid fonts can be unique and give a site very distinct design element that accurately captures a business personality Pros •They often come as a complete font set of different weights and styles that supports multi-language. •No need to worry about copyright or licensing issues. •You are supporting independent creators and their typography talent. Cons •You need a budget, of course. •You may incur additional costs such as payment according to how many page views your website receives; different weights; licensing •There may be usage restrictions, so check the small print.
Peer Recommendation
Peer recommendation has the most influence on holiday gift purchases, more than blogger or celebrity endorsement. Plan how to encourage people to share and talk about your products.
Types of Lists for Business Professionals
Peers - At the same level and in the same industry Pros - Charest suggests creating a list of experts and thought leaders within a relevant industry Patrons - These people fall into the categorization of customer or client
Website writing and content should focus first on ______________
People (e.g. target audience)
Live Streaming Examples
People are compelled to share via rich media. Streaming Lives Periscope will reveal people walking their dogs, jogging, cooking, complaining about a hangover, driving somewhere, watching TV, playing a video game, or putting on their make-up. Many users are just looking for someone to talk with and to find common interests. Friends and Family Represents a way to keep in touch with friends in a more personal way. It might be used by those separated from loved ones to keep in touch or for someone to meet new friends.
Virtual Crowds and Business
People can be separated in time and space, or belong to multiple crowds simultaneously through the use of social media such as Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon and Reddit.
Guiding Principles
Perceivable: Visitors are aware of the content on your site. Operable: The functionality of your website should be possible in different ways. Understandable: All content and alerts can be easily understood. Robust: Your website is usable across different assistive technologies, devices, and browsers.
Buyable Pins
Pinterest announced the addition of Buyable Pins---a simple, secure way to buy products pinned on Pin Boards. Customers are able to shop, checkout, and buy without leaving the mobile app or Web site. Pins with blue prices are an indicator that the items shown can be purchased right through the app.
Video Pixel and Resolution
Pixel is smallest addressable screen element. In other words, pixels are the dots that comprise an image. More pixels result in a higher video resolution.
Making Online Artifacts
Podcasting, blogs, and RSS are technologies rooted in the idea that broadcasts can be created and made available to listeners at their convenience.
Like Podcasting
Posting a videocast follows the same basic process as posting a podcast.
Whisper
Premise Allow users to post anonymous messages that can receive replies. Whispers The messages, called "whispers", are superimposed over images supplied automatically by Whisper or provided by the user sending the message. History Whisper was released March, 2012 by Michael Heyward and Brad Brooks. Big User Numbers By April of 2016, whisper had 30 million monthly active users
Foursquare and Swarm for Business
Premise Foursquare specifically designed for business use. Software allows businesses to find, interact with, interest, reward, and retain customers. Venue Businesses control and personalize their venue and have access to user traffic, comments, and other statistics. Specials Businesses can create specials to reward loyal customers using Foursquare services. Data Services Business have access to free data services to better understand customers
Premise: - Users submit content (text-based posts, images, links or other items) - Most posts are discussion related or controversial statements - Users vote posts up or down - Most popular posts reach the Reddit's front page - Comments to the posts can also be voted up or down - Web site divided into subject areas called subreddits - Often used to raise public awareness regarding issues - Often considered revolutionary - Provides a platform for individuals to build a following - Reddit users turned off by self-promotion
Snapchat Capabilities
Private Chat A recent addition to Snapchat is a one-to-one private chat feature. This feature enables users to chat via private messages that disappear when the session ends (unless users choose to save the chat which allows both parties to have access to it after the session is over). Video Chat Video chat capabilities have also been added to Snapchat. Other Features Users can apply fun filters and stickers to snaps. Another feature called Snapcash permits users to transfer money through the chat function. . Snap Chat Stories - Good for Business! A compilation of videos and photos available to a user's friends. Stories persist for 24 hours and can be viewed multiple times.
Great Lighting can Make Videos Look Professional
Professional lights can be purchased at a reasonable price. Lights help eliminate shadows and even out the video's appearance. Many companies provide low-cost, studio lighting solutions
Facebook Profiles
Profiles are the basic structure in Facebook and are intended for individual use. Some businesses have created profiles, but this practice violates the terms of service agreement with Facebook. Profiles are intended to represent a person's identity.
Free Fonts
Pros •They won't burn a hole in your pocket •Free doesn't mean low quality — it's easy to find some beautiful fonts •You can download several fonts and test what works well with your design. Cons •Often there is only one weight that is offered for free •They may not come with multi-language characters •Some fonts may not show up on certain webpages and platforms •Fonts may be plagiarized or have licensing issues.
Facebook Business Support
Provides ability to manage a page from an administrative panel. Business owner can track activity, respond to comments, and view page statistics. Facebook locates page statistics or metrics on its Page Insight Dashboard. Business can learn the identity of its visitors, the day of the week most visitors come to the page, the frequency of comments and which posts generate the most interest.
Provides paid advertising service. Allows business to reach those reading and posting in particular subreddit areas. Reddit ads also include comment threads where viewers can discuss the ad and the product being advertised.
Numerous Applications to Help People Connect
Quick Connections A number of social media applications have emerged in response to consumers wishing to have easy-to-use, rich media applications that permit them to quickly interact with peers, anonymous like-minded temporary friends, or people in close proximity. Relation to Business Plans Not central to most business social media plans, nor will many businesses roll out a presence on these platforms. Exert Influence in Other Ways May exert an influence on potential customers and on the reputation of a business.
Example RSS Feeds
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) provides a mechanism for making information available and for filtering relevant material.
RSS FeedsRSS Feeds
RSS enables a business to selectively move content onto the Web and reduce information overload
Using RSS Feeds
RSS includes a family of Web feed formats used by publishers to disseminate material. Online news services such as CNN.com and BBC.co.uk use this technology to publish news articles, headlines and other material in a standardized format.
Example User Innovation: RT
Retweet The 'RT' convention gave users a way to repost tweets sent out by others. Idea of the 'RT' Another example of user innovation in Twitter is the use of the characters 'RT' to represent retweets. Becomes Permanent Twitter developers, in August of 2010, incorporated 'RT' into their core platform. Popularity Counting retweets provides a measure of popularity of a particular message.
Basic Twitter Concepts: Retweets
Retweeting Occurs when a user forwards received tweets. Generally starts with the characters 'RT'. However, can also just be forwarded tweets. Viral A tweet can go viral when it is retweeted by enough people. Attribution Occurs when a user forwards received tweets. Generally starts with the characters 'RT'. However, can also just be forwarded tweets. Success Measure Many organizations use a tweet's retweets counter as a measure of impact.
Which of the following words is best to use in a 'call to action' on a website:
Risk Free
Yelp History
Russel Simmons and Jeremy Stoppelman, formerly of PayPal, founded Yelp in 2004. By 2010, it had yearly revenues exceeding $30 million and boasted more than 4.5 million user reviews. It went public in 2012. In 2016, Yelp.com has 135 million monthly visitors and over 95 million user reviews.
SEO embedded into Design
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is all about getting your message in front of the correct people. You need to use Search Engines (like Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo and others) to connect with your target market Your Website design needs to consider SEO from the very beginning!
SMS with Twitter
SMS or Short Message Service is the most widely used data application in the world SMS technology allows tweets to move over the Internet, through fixed line phones, and within mobile communication systems.
FAQ page is important because:
Saves time for both customers and employees. Customers don't have to go through the trouble of contacting a customer support team to get answers to simple questions. Employees don't have to waste time offering support for questions that are frequently asked and could be easily answered with a standardized response.
Twitter Searches
Searches use a variety of tools provided by Twitter and third-party organizations
Rich Pins From Pinterest and Consumer Perspective
Six types of Rich Pins: app, article, movie, recipe, place and product. More to be added! - Do not directly provide a money stream for Pinterest through subscription fees or other means. - For consumers, Rich Pins include extra information about certain types of items being pinned. - Rich Pins automatically show current pricing details and have direct link to retailer's product page to make purchasing easier.
Skorr Analysis
Skorr provides data regarding connections and allows a business to understand who they influence or who their competitors influence. Understanding how online information flows and which sources provide the most influence becomes possible. This can become excellent business intelligence that will help guide the direction of future social interactions.
Snapchat
Snapchat is a popular, free, trendy mobile messaging application used to transmit photos, videos, text, images, and drawings. It has resonated with younger users for a variety of reasons---one of which is that messages disappear from the recipient's phone a few seconds after receipt.
How Twitter Works
Social Media Classified as microblogging service and social media platform. Messages are called TweetsHow Twitter Works Changes User constructs a message (originally limited to 140 characters) sent to a list of followers. In early 2016, Twitter announced it would lift the 140-character tweet length in a limited way. A user would be able to continue typing until he or she reached a 10k character limit but only 140 are displayed without clicking on a link. Size Matters 140 character message size enables the technology to work within the 160 character limitations of SMS protocol on mobile phone networks.
Waze
Social Media and Geography Waze is a community-driven social media application that gathers map data and traffic information from users. It provides a good example of the local-based applications emerging in mobile user environments. Pay Attention to Reviews Waze is tied closely to GPS and map systems, and learns from user driving times and experiences to provide real-time routing and traffic updates. Personal Observation Data Personally observed data items reflect driving experiences. Among these are real-time accidents, traffic jams, police presence, and speed traps.
Considerations for Background Music
Sometimes, good background music just sets a mood and is otherwise ignored. lDo not let music overpower a conversation or words of someone talking on screen. lSonic elements in a song have the power to fight a human voice. lWhistling or poppy piano melodies can compete with a human voice. lChoose music wisely.
Snapchat History and Background
Started by Students Snapchat was developed by Stanford University students Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown. Started as a product design class project, called Picaboo. Communicate Enables users to communicate using short-lived images. Snapchat now a mix of private messaging, public content, business brand networks, publications, and live sporting and music events. Messaging In spite of the public social media content, Snapchat remains most popular as a personal messaging service. Big Usage Numbers Users like the idea of being able to send a message that will not be available after a couple of seconds. By the end of 2015 users were sending 6 billion videos per day. In 2016, Snapchat videos were being viewed over 10 billion times daily
Basic Twitter Concepts: Period
Starting with '.' Twitter users will place a '.' in front of the handle. First Character Since Twitter looks at the first character in determining whether a message is meant to be 'private' or public, the '.' ensures that the message will be broadcast to all followers of a sender. Reader Innovation The period came into favor for this function because it is a small character and will not distract the readers.
Basic Twitter Concepts: Private
Starting with '@' If a tweet starts with a handle (e.g. @handle), it will be placed into the home tweet streams of only people that follow both the sender and the one being mentioned. Viewed by Public?Although considered a private tweet by Twitter, it can still be viewed by the public (Just ask certain politicians about this one!). Accessing 'Private' Tweets A 'private' tweet can be accessed on the sender's and receiver's public sites or on the sites of anyone who follows both the sender and receiver.
Credibility
Sticking to web conventions lends your site credibility. In other words, it increases the level of trust your site conveys. And if you're striving to build a site that provides the best user experience possible, credibility goes a long way.One of the best methods to improve your credibility is to be clear and honest about the product or service you're selling. Don't make visitors dig through dozens of pages to find what it is you do. Be up-front on your homepage and dedicate some real estate to explaining the value behind what you do. Have a pricing page, also linked on the homepage. Rather than force people to contact you to learn more about pricing, list your prices clearly on your site. This makes your business appear more trustworthy and legitimate.
Preparing to Record a Videocast
Storyboards often are the starting point for a videocast. The storyboard provides a working plan with details specifying how a video director envisions the end product.
Periscope and Meerkat
Takes concept of Tweets & Snapchats one step further. Users broadcast live events via phone Periscope and Meerkat are competing social media apps vying for the instant video marketplace. Whereas Vine and Instagram allow users to post recorded video clips on social media Websites, Periscope and Meerkat stream live video into a social media environment.
Create Your Own
Taking videos and photos of your business items is a good way to go. A minor complication is getting them into the correct format.
Take Photos and Videos
Taking videos and photos of your business items is a good way to go. A minor complication is getting them into the correct format.
Sample Whispers
Target Advertising Whisper recently released keyword targeting to potential advertisers interested in providing embedded messages within its app.
Web 2.0 Enables
Technology makes it possible to use. Web 2.0 concepts enable businesses to reach their customers and stakeholders in real time via video.
Foursquare Splits
The Foursquare App acts as a venue rating and review site. Swarm deals with checking into venues, meeting friends, and in a sense turns visits into a game.
Accessibility
The goal of web accessibility is to make a website that anyone can use, including people with disabilities or limitations that affect their browsing experience. As a website designer, it's your job to think of these users in your UX plan.
Real Time Communication
The idea of synchronous communication on the Web has captured the imagination of many developers who have introduced products ranging from live radio broadcasting software to television-like live streaming sites.
Editing
The raw file needs to be edited and put into a form that is suitable for a videocast.
Low Cost Video Editor ExampleLow Cost Video Editor Example
The raw file needs to be edited and put into a form that is suitable for a videocast. This means adding title screens, music, commentary, and arranging the various shots in a meaningful way.
Video Software Editing Additions
This includes adding title screens, music, commentary, and arranging the various shots in a meaningful way.
Twitter Analytics Limitations and Potential
Time and Number Searches limited by time and number of Tweets accessible at any given time. Disorganization Vast unorganized volume of Tweets has been generated since 2006. Library of Congress In April 2010, Twitter donated public Tweet archive to U.S. Library of Congress. Every public Tweet will be preserved and eventually made available to public Grass Roots History Historic donation removes social responsibility from Twitter and enables rich, grass-roots level history, generated as people lived through events
Examples of #FF
To create a #ff tweet, a list of Twitter handles is inserted into the message followed by the hashtag. Sometimes a short message is also inserted. The recipients of that tweet, trusting its source, may choose to follow the list of names provided. Example 1: @mchaney @edutech @susanb #ff
Give your Website and Business Name Careful Consideration
To find a name for your brand, business or by extension, Website, take a regular word and "use it out of context to connote the primary attribute of your brand." Examples: Blockbuster Video, Staples and Budget Car Rental. If Budget had been named Low-Cost Car Rental or Blockbuster had been Video Entertainment Rental, chances are, they wouldn't have been half as successful as they were. Choose simple but memorable names to help find success.
Follow Friday
Tradition Tradition on Twitter which can result in more followers. Hashtag The idea is to send tweets on Fridays with the hashtag #ff or #followfriday. Getting Good Introductions Tweets are meant to help followers identify new people that they in turn may wish to follow. Friendly Gesture of Welcome Being mentioned in a #ff tweet is considered a friendly gesture.
Boards Filled with Detailed Cards
Trello is a set of boards. Each board is a list of lists filled with cards. Cards contain multimedia information about each item in the list.
Boards Filled with Detailed Cards
Trello is a set of boards. Each board is a list of lists filled with cards. Cards contain multimedia information about each item in the list. Teams (or individuals) use the cards to track activities, communicate, and document work. Trello helps organize, track, and facilitate projects in a social media setting
Challenges of Tracking
Trying to track every social media mention related to an organization can be daunting and may not be completely possible. The combination of keywords, abbreviations, foreign language translations and so forth makes it very hard to anticipate every way an organization, brand, product, employee and related entity might be mentioned by anyone, anywhere. Budgetary constraints are a reality for all businesses and impact tracking efforts. - Facebook pages use a comprehensive analytics suite called Insight to enable site owners to better understand fans and their use of the site. - Facebook Insight provides basic user information including likes, unlikes, active users, traffic counts, and referrers. - Information helps an organization acquire data regarding the reception of its posts and gives a better understanding of posts or updates with the most impact.
Other Tweet Searches
Tweets Are Public Twitter communication is public so Tweets are available to everyone. Default Search on Twitter Twitter's default search only extends a couple of weeks back in time. Extending Search Capability A wide variety of third-party applications have emerged to provide additional search capabilities and interface with business intelligence tools. Trimming Competition is fierce and new search applications appear regularly.
Twitter Overview
Twitter Use Over 320 unique million monthly users send 350,000+ Tweets per minute. Twitter Related-Industries Industries have grown up around Twitter ranging from data analytics, to developing marketing channels, to creating social platforms.
Popular Twitter Lists
Twitter lists have taken on a life of their own. For instance, popular twitter lists allow people to have a ready-made group of similar people to follow.
Long-tail keywords
Two to five word phrases that a searcher might type into a search box to find you, or a business like yours. For example, 'best cupcakes' or 'sturdy hiking boots' generate millions of results, making them much more competitive. Try to find precise keywords by adding your specialty and/or location. Looking at cupcakes example, you could go for 'gluten-free and vegan cupcakes in Manhattan KS'. The more targeted your keyword, the better as you'll be able to attract the right audience and increase chances of searchers clicking on your website from search results. Later we will find more about keyword generation
Simplicity
Unnecessary design elements (i.e., those which serve no functional purpose) will only overwhelm and make it more difficult for visitors to accomplish what they're trying to accomplish. •Colors: Basically, don't use a lot. The Handbook of Computer-Human Interaction recommends using a maximum of five (plus or minus two) different colors in your design. •Typefaces: The typefaces you choose should be highly legible, so nothing too artsy and very minimal script fonts, if any. For text color, again, keep it minimal and always make sure it contrasts with the background color. A common recommendation is to use a maximum of three different typefaces in a maximum of three different sizes. •Graphics: Only use graphics if they help a user complete a task or perform a specific function (don't just add graphics willy-nilly).
5 - Update Regularly
Update your FAQ page to include any new questions that become popular over time. Update troubleshooting tips and remove information that becomes obsolete. Helps customer trust to increase
Which of the following is not really true about the text written for a website.
Use 'I/Me' rather than 'you/your' words so the customer understands the
Utilize Images to Complement Your Copy.
Use relevant images to complement your text and enhance your site's visual appeal.
Example User Innovation: @
User Names Twitter user names needed to be identified within the context of a tweet. Idea of the '@' Someone came up with the idea of placing the '@' symbol in front of names to help identify a username. Becomes Permanent The idea caught on and was added to the Twitter platform as a permanent feature. Support ToolsNow, @username is the standard way of addressing a Twitter user (called a handle).
If This Then That (IFTTT) Is A Helpful Tool For Monitoring Online Mentions
Users create recipes for anything deemed noteworthy (e.g. from Facebook posts to weather service updates). Recipes are rules sets. Each recipe has a trigger channel (relates to the "if this happens") and an action channel (relates to the "then do that"). Text messages, emails, and other actions can be taken.
More Followers
Users tend to seek easy methods to build their follower base. According to TwitterCounter.com (in July, 2016), celebrity singer Katy Perry has the most followers with teen idol, Justin Bieber, in second. Taylor Swift and Barack Obama are not too far behind.
Developing a Facebook Policy
Using Facebook for business requires functional organization and a consistent approach. It is important to assign the responsibility for Facebook or any social media updates to the correct entity within a company. This means social media used to communicate with those outside an organization is best served by a media specialist or someone from a marketing or customer service background. Internal use of social media may come from human resources or various departmental managers.
Other Video Tools
Video Grabbers - Getting video from YouTube or other sites for reuse (May not always be legal. Be sure to check before copying).
Video Conversion Tools
Video conversion tools are needed to change video formats for viewing on different platforms.
Software
Video editing software comes in many different categories and cost ranges.
According to Danny Maloney, CEO of Tailwind
Virtual Database Soon, Pinterest will be able to introduce smart tags which will leverage its visual database with knowledge acquired from smart pins. Data Analytics Pinterest will have the capability to use image recognition technology to group pins of similar images for brand analytics and be able to add those smart tags as a service.. Services to Purchasers Pinterest will be able to provide potential purchasers with tagged items that include links about where to buy even if the pin didn't come from that retailer's site. Monetization Pinterest will monetize this service by syndicating its product search to e-commerce sites, making social commerce a reality across the Web.
Finding Streams on Periscope
Visual Interface Periscope provides a visual interface that lists many of the live streams currently being broadcast. Map Periscope's map tab reveals red circles to indicate ongoing broadcasts from a location. Blue dots are recently completed broadcasts. As a user zooms in, more specific locations are revealed.
Time and Geography Independence
Web 2.0 has enabled crowd behavior to become independent of time and geographic location. The manifestation can be vastly different and triggered by social media. Egypt's 2011 Tahrir Square Revolution Protests against former president Hosni Mubarak relied heavily on Facebook pages maintained by a rotating staff of twenty during the uprising (BBC News, 2011) Franciscan Friars Flash Mobs Group of Franciscan Friars gathered at Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy for their event, Missione Giovani Firenze 2015. Flash mobs were used to encourage young people. Nuns and friars used social media complete with hashtags (#liberiperamare) and an anthem, "Esci Fuori!" (Come out of there!).
Social Mention
Web site-based social media search and analysis platform that aggregates user generated content into a single stream of information Monitors more than 100 social media Web sites including Twitter, Facebook, Digg, WordPress, Google, and YouTube. Its sources come from blogs, microblogs, bookmarks, comments, events, images, news, video, audio, Q&A, and networks Social Mention provides measures of passion, of whether the mentions are positive or negative, and which keywords are most related to the mentions
Alternate Social Media Approaches
Web sites such as StumbleUpon and Reddit have become giants on the Web. Both provide venues for finding and sharing interesting material. For a business, this can mean publicity, new customers and free exposure
Questions for Identifying People Actors
Who is interested in the scenario/system? Where in the organization is the scenario/system be used? Who will benefit from the use of the scenario/system? Who will supply the scenario/system with this information, use this information, and remove this information? Does one person play several different roles?Do several people play the same role? What other entity is interested in the scenario/system? What other entity will supply the scenario/system with this information, use this information, and remove this information? Does the system use an external resource? Does the system interact with a legacy system?
Make it Mobile Friendly
Wix Websites Come with Mobile Versions
Font Final Words
You likely need some sort of font license for most of the work you will be doing and not all font licenses are the same. •The creator of the font determines the license•Whether you use a typeface for personal or commercial use is important. •Check each license carefully based on how you will be using it. •Make sure each typeface is licensed for your work and personal and commercial licenses are kept separate. •If doing client work, you might want to invest in software to keep track of it all.
Wix Fonts
Your business has a personality. Now it's up to you to find the font that fits. Whether you're going for a light look, a bold statement, or something fabulous, there are a ton of fonts out there to suit the tone of your website. The good news: choosing the right one shouldn't be too tricky - check out this article for the ins-and-outs of selecting the font for you, and read on below for some great places to find a whole world of fonts.
Social Media
a recent arrival on the scene, has provided a new set of tools to make social networks easier to create, join, manage and use. Social media includes blogs, online videos, social news, social bookmarking and much more.
absolute control vs anarchy
all rights reserved vs no rights reserved (CC some rights reserved)
The purpose of the Fair Use Doctrineis to
allow for limited and reasonable uses as long as the use does not interfere with owners' rights or impede their right to do with the work as they wish.
Use Cases
describe the interaction between users of the system (the actor) and the system itself as a scenario.
Use case diagrams
describe what a system does from the standpoint of an external observer. The emphasis is on what a system does rather than how. - Use case diagrams are closely connected to scenarios. A scenario is an example of what happens when someone interacts with the system.
Web tools
enable businesses to create content then share and disseminate it to potential customers and others. This has become so easy and widespread that content has spread far beyond what any person can comprehend.
Alexa's Audience Overlap Tools
find what kind of sites are in the same competitive groups
active vs passive
harry ate six shrimp at dinner (active) at dinner, six shrimp were eaten by harry (passive) put into active to keeo simple
Breadcrumb Navigation
is a way for users to visualize their location on a website. It's a secondary navigation bar that typically appears as horizontal text links, separated by the "greater than" symbol (>). Breadcrumb navigation improves the findability of your landing pages, and helps users reach higher-level pages faster if they initially found your site from search or a deep link.
Length of Title and Meta Descriptions
look at graph
successful groups...
promise, tool, and bargain
Where Do I Find Keyword Places On Web Pages?
right click on page
small data samples
samples an analyst develops a hypothesis in advance and then tests against it. We are flawed decision makers often with an unconscious bias towards the interpretation of data. Big data is unbiased and will find facts.
Web 2.0
search: finding info through keywords search (google) links: connects info into a meaningful ecosystem using the model of the web and provide low-barrier social tools (bookmarking websites in browsers) authoring: ability to create and update content leads to the collaborative work of multiple authors (undo, redo) tags (tagging photos with friends names) extensions (adobe reader) signals (notify users of new breaking news)
A meta description is _______________
used by google as a search result description
Use Case Components
the use case has three components. The use case task referred to as the use case that represents a feature needed in a software system. The actor(s) who triggers the use case to activate The communication line to show how the actors communicate with the use case
What is true about knowledge graphs on Google Searches?
they often contain local knowledge
Understanding Accessibility
visual accommodations limited motor function accommodations
Example: Facebook API:
• Manage audience data for custom audience targeting • Create campaigns and ads • Build custom dashboards and run analytics • Manage campaign assets: pages, accounts etc.
Don't Lose Customers Because they can't find you!
•'Contact Us' pages are among the most important yet frequently overlooked website pages. •Great website design almost always brings to mind a homepage, blog, or product pages. •But what about a website's 'Contact Us' page?
On Your Website: 2 RSS Application Areas Apply
•1) Add your own Blog (e.g. Pages and Posts)• 2) Add Feeds from other sites' Blogs or RSS Feeds to your website using social stream or other Wix App.
Ways Google Displays Results
•10 Blue Links •Carousel of Linked Images •Knowledge Graphs •Featured Snippets
Lack of strategy hands the advantage to competitors
•A marketer with a strategy has a framework through which to plan, prioritize, execute, measure and optimize. This typically will lead to better results because the activity has direction, even if the direction needs to evolve and change as the marketer learns from real data .•If you invest in a social presence without a clear strategy, you won't know whether your campaigns are successful. •With no structured approach to communication and measurement, you risk wasting resource on undirected activity.
Submit a site Map
•A sitemap is, in simple terms, a plan of your website. •It's useful to send a sitemap to search engines so that they can crawl your website more easily and quickly, which will improve your overall SEO. •Basically, it's just like when you check out a map before visiting a new city. One way to submit your sitemap is via Google's Search Console. •Use Wix SEO Wiz. All you need to do is connect your domain and submit your sitemap.
Responsivity
•According to Statista, 48% of page global views were from mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. And according to our research, 93% of people have left a website because it didn't display properly on their device. •Responsive design means investing in a highly flexible website structure. On a responsive site, content is automatically resized and reshuffled to fit the dimensions of whichever device a visitor happens to be using. This can be accomplished with mobile-friendly HTML templates, or by creating a special mobile site.
Terms and Conditions Page
•After perfecting your home page and the rest of your website: what is needed? •Is legal mumbo jumbo required at the bottom of website pages? •Does anyone even read it? •You're a small business, do you need a Terms and Conditions page for your website? The short answer: not technically, but you probably should.
Inexpensive Market Research
•Audience survey to ask questions directly •Viewing actions people take on Wix website using analytics •Looking for common traits among your best customers •Researching competitors yields important insights
More Twitter History
•By 2009, Twitter became a favorite of celebrity users and public figures. •Kevin Rose, founder of Digg, made public aware of how Twitter fame translated into cultural capital. Celebrities, athletes, and politicians became regular Twitter users. •Twitter's appeal became undeniable for those seeking publicity. •Provided a direct link without needing an intermediary. •Previously, celebrities relied on the popular press and publicity agents. •Unedited messages sent directly in real time to millions of connected followers. •Control over content remained with the celebrity. •Politicians were able to maintain connections with their supporters. •Barack Obama tweeted messages, received tweets, and used the information to fine-tune his campaign.
Commercial Licenses
•Commercial use should be handled with care; •Even a typeface labeled as "free download" may not always be free if used commercially. •Make sure to check the EULA carefully for each typeface. •Designers may need multiple font licenses. One for personal use, and one for the client.
4. Calls to action
•Convert a Visitor into a Lead •Homepage is one step on this journey •Must feature calls to action relevant to a visitor's stage in their decision-making process •Think Customer Experience! •New Visitors: Provide links that channel them to the most relevant pages and content within your site. •Return Visitors: Make sure your homepage features a free trial or consultation or other content.
Navigability (con't)
•Don't offer too many navigation options per page. Again, simplicity!•Include links within your page copy and make it clear where those links go. •Don't make users dig too deep. Try making a basic wireframe map of all your site pages arranged like a pyramid: Your homepage is at the top, and each linked page from the previous forms the next layer. In most cases, it's best to keep your map no more than three levels deep.
Pay attention to key influencers in social networks
•Don't underestimate the power of peer and/or influencer recommendation. •Expert endorsement increases brand credibility. •Social media channels have influencers, from the celebrities to self-made social media stars. •Be an insider with knowledge of your customers' social media world. •If you're not part of that world, you're not relevant.
Changing Page URL
•Each page on a Website has its own unique URL •URL is changed easily, but it impacts your SEO •If you change the page URL of a published site, the new URL is treated as anew page by search engines and your old URL no longer works •Any third-party links to the old URL will stop working and the SEO rankings for the page will be lost. •So, having great page names to start with is important •Page URLs are case-sensitive. Changing the case of any letter after .com, changes the URL's unique page address. For example, "mystunningwebsite.com/home" won't load if the page URL is "mystunningwebsite.com/Home".
Contact Us Page Best Practices
•Easy to find so a visitor can quickly get in touch should they need it. •Explain why someone should contact them and describe how they can help solve their visitors' problems. •Include an email and phone number so visitors can quickly find the right information. •Include a short form using fields that'll help the business understand who's contacting them. •Include a call-to-action to provide visitors with another option if they choose not to complete the form. •Showcase the company's thought leadership, whether that's by including a list of recent blog posts or articles about the company in the press. •Link to active social media accounts like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn to give visitors a way to engage with the business. •Redirect to a thank you page that explains when and how you'll be contacting them and links to helpful content and resources. •Are creative and memorable so visitors associate contacting your brand with a positive or funny memory. •Show off what your brand does so visitors and potential customers can get a sense of the work you do before they even get in touch. •Avoid unnecessary fields and words so your page remains as straightforward and simple as possible — no fluff!Now that we've gone over best practices, let's review examples of some of the most effective contact pages on the Internet.Time to get inspired.
Explainer Videos
•Explainer videos tell customers how your business, product, or service works - and how it benefits them. •When done right, they communicate information in a clear, concise, and engaging way. •Explainer videos are usually animated, because animation is the perfect vehicle for translating complex ideas into a simple language everybody understands. •Any topic, no matter how sophisticated, can be made accessible with a combination of eye-catching visuals and narration.
3 - Provide a Live Support Link or Email Link if Possible
•FAQ pages are a quick solution, but more specific issues may arise •Be sure your customers are not frustrated •FAQs cannot replace your entire support team, but rather supplement your support channels as an additional, lightweight resource. •Have options available to directly connect to support team===add a link that opens a new support ticket or call center's phone number at the bottom of the page. •Customers shouldn't have to navigate back to home pages to locate your company emails or phone numbers.
Contact Us!
•Far too many website designers put contact pages near the bottom of their priority list in terms of copywriting and design. •Some pages don't provide clear contact details. •Think about how many contact pages you've stumbled upon that look like they were built in the 1990s, even if the rest of the website is beautiful and updated. •The 'Contact Us' page is one of the most important pages on a website. •For most companies, it's one of the most-visited site pages.
Where to Get Your Wording? 2.Use a Terms and Conditions Generator
•Find a Website to generate Terms and Conditions based on a Wizard •Google "Terms and Conditions generator" and you'll see countless options •Find a public domain version of Terms and Conditions that can be modified
Purchasing decisions are influenced by social media
•First era of social media was audience building and engagement •Current era is focused on commerce and personalization •Major platforms invested in advertising solutions to lure marketers with the promise of improved APIs and smart targeting •Research from Crowdtap revealed that 64% of 3,000 people surveyed use social media to find inspiration for shopping
Types of Font Licenses
•Fonts are technically bits of computer software and should not be installed or used without a license. •Definition is evolving and primarily applies to desktop fonts; web fonts have rules that are somewhat different. •Trademarks, design patents or copyrights often legally protect typefaces, fonts and their designers. •Obtaining the proper license ensures that the right person (or company) is compensated for their work. •And, Fonts can be tracked!
Thinking About Fonts
•Fonts can convey the feeling behind your digital identity — from playful to professional, modern to traditional, simple to fanciful, formal to relaxed. •Review favorite websites for inspiration and think about what feelings their fonts evoke. •Use this to guide your font selection.
Reputations can be enhanced or destroyed on social networks
•Good things can come from social media, primarily in terms of providing a voice to people and groups who previously struggled to be heard and of making information transparent and portable. •Social Media also amplifies the voice of discontent and vitriol is not uncommon (e.g. 2020 US presidential elections). •Jumping on angry bandwagons is also something that social media seems to fuel periodically.
Adding Quick Action Bar for Mobile
•Helps visitors contact you instantly from their mobile phones. •Offers various channels such as phone, Facebook and email. •Create custom links for your QAB to important parts of your website •Choose which actions that appear on QAB, and then customize design to match your mobile site
Explainer Videos Can Work
•Increasing visit time. Capture and hold attention quickly - long enough for you to present your offer and give them a call to action. •Boosting conversions. Using video on your landing pages can increase your conversion rates by 20 percent or more. •Increasing brand awareness. With rare exceptions, customers don't buy from you on their first visit. It takes multiple interactions to build enough trust for the sale to happen. With explainer videos, you can make that first interaction memorable enough that people will seek your brand out later, when they are ready to decide. •Swaying undecided customers. Video is an excellent way for persuading undecided customers to pick you over your competition. •Driving traffic. Video content is more attention grabbing, more shareable, and converts better than text, images, or audio. •Building engagement. Customers who interact with your brand are the ones most likely to buy. •Onboarding and retention. You can use explainer videos to create an amazing customer experience that will encourage loyalty - and future purchases.
Tik Tok
•Known in China as Douyin •Video-sharing social networking service owned by Chinese company ByteDance •Social media platform used to make a variety of short-form videos, from genres like dance, comedy, and education •Video duration from three seconds to one minute.
Local SEO
•Localizing your site provides relevant SEO. •Claim your business on Google My Business, and fill in profile •Your business can be found when searching on Google Maps. •Do the same for other local business sites such as Yelp, Apple Maps, Yahoo and others. •Sign up to as many local directories as you can. •The Wix Site Booster app makes this process super easy for you by finding the most relevant places across the web and reminding you to sign up.
Your customers are active on social media
•Mobile, social and the underlying technology have combined to provide an environment in which people can access, use and share information on their terms. •People are less likely to read blogs or emails; they use Facebook as their content stream. •The disintermediation of content means that you must understand the role social media plays in customer communication. •This is a subset of the total audience, but likely some customers will want information via a social network.
Licenses for Fonts
•Most fonts have been developed by a typographer or graphic designer •Depending on the license, it is free or sometimes costs. •The website owner has the responsibility to use it as specified in the license. •Each font or typeface usually comes with a license; even the free ones. •Limitations may arise within the usage of a downloaded font. •Ensure that any fonts you use have a webfont license and are not limited to print usage. •In addition, check commercial use clauses.
General Navigation Types
•Navigation menu in the website's header: This is a classic menu that appears at the very top of each page of your website, generally running horizontally across the screen. •Sidebars on the left or right of a website: This is a list that is located on the side of your page. It can be minimal, or can take center stage and become an integral part of the design. •Split up menu: This relatively new web design trend breaks the standard menu by placing links to each page in the corners or sides of the screen. •Hamburger menu: While this is often seen on mobile web design, this simple three line icon is now being seen on many desktop versions of websites, too. The hamburger menu offers a minimal icon that doesn't interfere with the website's design and is especially useful when real estate is limited (like on mobile screens). •Footers: Your website footer is a great place to add your social media links, and any other important links that site visitors may find useful. It can also repeat the navigation menu at the top of your page
How to find Music
•Often, media producers choose a music library and use it for regular production. Sometimes a subscription fee is required, other times, it is based on music piece. •Most have powerful search functions with filters based on different music genres, sonic density/sparseness, organic versus electronic score, instrumentation, and much more. •If music will be background with a voiceover required and the mood is more or less consistent, you may choose music from the library as it has a lesser role to play. •If you need music where it needs to be featured, you may hire a composer or access the music libraries music with a specific license. •Every library has separate price points and licensing agreements depending on what music you opt for.
301 Redirects
•One workaround to keep your old links working and prevent your SEO from being lost is to set up a 301 redirect from the old URL to the new URL. •Wix requires a Premium Plan with a domain to do this.•To learn more: https://ahrefs.com/blog/301-redirects/
Open Source Licensing
•Open-source fonts are among the top choice for digital designers. •Open-source fonts are free to obtain, free to use and free to share. •Often open-source fonts come with the ever-increasingly standard Open Font License by SIL International, an international language expert. •The OFL is "a free, libre and open source license specifically designed for fonts and related software based on our experience in font design and linguistic software engineering." •OFL fonts can be distributed and modified. The primary rules for us are that you do not sell and OFL typeface and give proper credit for use. •Google fonts is an example
Page Name vs. Page Title
•Page Name appears on your site menu. •Page Title is the headline on page and will be seen in the browser tab. •Page Title more important to SEO and Google search results •Use meaningful page titles. •Page Names can be shorter but should still be description (e.g. Login versus Page1)
Renaming a Page in Wix Editor
•Pages can easily be renamed in the Wix editor •New name is automatically updated on all menus that display the page •Changing page name also changes text on your site's menu.
Effect FAQ Page
•Reflects your audience's needs.•Covers a broad range of intent (transactional, informational, etc.). •Frequently gets updated based on new data insights. •Lands new users to the website by solving problems. •Drives internal pageviews to other important pages. •Fuels blog (and deeper content) creation. •Showcases expertise, trust, and authority within your niche.
Where to Get Your Wording? 1.Don't Copy Another Site
•Review other sites and create your own •Find a public domain version of Terms and Conditions that can be modified
3. Proof
•Show you can do what you say you can do! •Remove risk . •Justify further interaction. •Show customer logos, testimonials or case studies. •Consider video. •But keep it brief here and link to longer content if necessary.
Some Businesses Can't Wait
•Some organizations that need to analyze older (this may mean only a few months!) Twitter content and cannot wait for the Library of Congress •Twitter's full data feed, called its Firehose, provides all Tweets being sent through Twitter •Gnip currently provides access to Twitter's data streams and dozens of other social media feeds •Gnip is an authorized reseller of Twitter data. •Gnip extracts the subset relating to a particular firm, its products, and other interests Some Businesses Ca
Taking Photos
•Take High Resolution Pictures (Can be resized later). Websites don't need as high of resolution as Printed Material (Most Monitors are at 72 DPI) •Pictures can be edited and cropped for size. •Pay attention to lighting and shadows. •Enhance using software. •Always Upload and Review in your Website Before Releasing. •Avoid Resizing out of proportion.
Accessibility
•The goal of web accessibility is to make a website that anyone can use, including people with disabilities or limitations that affect their browsing experience. •Accessibility applies to your entire site: structure, page format, visuals, and both written and visual content.
Terms and Conditions Overview
•Undeniably the dullest page on your website, the Terms and Conditions page sets the rules for using your website. •While most websites seem to have one, there's actually no legal requirement for defining Terms and Conditions. •Terms and Conditions may not be required by law, but it's still a smart thing to include. •These pages can limit your liability should a customer take you to court, as well as protect your rights to the content contained in your website. •If you're ever facing a legal battle, a court will look at your website terms to determine the contractual terms between you and the customer. •When creating this page, you'll want to take approach it with the goal of having it hold up in court.
Tracking Social Interest
•Use of social media is inexact •Creating content and posting it can be controlled but what happens after is not predictable •What may happen with postings or community interaction can be derived by tracking social interest •Tools have been created to help monitor social media activity and detect the attitude toward a brand, product, or organization •Social interest tools are competing for leadership and use a variety of approaches •Each tool provides different social measures
Use Psychological Triggers
•Using the right emotional words •Read: "380 High Emotion Words Guaranteed to Make You More Persuasive" Examples: - Learn - Save - Discover - Proven - Exclusive - Solve
Four Essential Elements
•Value proposition •Differentiation •Proof •Calls to action
Webfonts and Licensing
•Webfonts are used online. •Font is formatted so browsers can see and render it accurately. •Also called a dynamic font. •Creator and user must both have the font to see it properly. •Webfonts often embedded in a design project to ensure it can be used by the viewer. •Fonts can be embedded by the designer (but most licenses do not allow for this), while others include hosted embedding (this is how most WebFont services work).
Describe Photos and Images
•Websites really need images •Images need to have their descriptions accurately filled in because Google and other search engines can't 'see' images. •This is why you need to add text to help them understand what's on your photos, graphs and other pics. •Adding textual descriptions will enable your images to be found on Google Image Search, which allows you to get even more traffic to your site. •Search engines tend to perceive websites with optimized images as more polished and grant them with a better overall ranking. •Add unique and descriptive alt text to all of your images. •Using Wix, it's actually really easy to insert alt text for your images. Learn how to do it and become an alt text pro.
2. Differentiation
•Why are you better than any alternative? •Conveyed in a many ways. •Show this real, not just make believe or matched by every competitor. •Remember, points of differentiation are found in your product or service AND other areas of the value chain such as your culture, organization or the way in which you meet the needs of specific users.
Choosing a Font
•Wix Editor offers free customization options to personalize fonts with cool effects, color palettes, and outstanding styling options. •Can upload your own font for more font possibilities. •Can get fonts in multiple languages •Various web sites offer font catalogs
1. Value proposition
•You only have a few seconds to engage visitors The most effective way to establish the desired engagement is to state what you do and who you do it for •Your value proposition can convey what problem you solve and for which users•Instantly remove all doubt that they are on the right site. •Get specific, citing actual services and customers. •Avoid the kind of vague puffery that has plagued the web for years, •Don't be afraid to change and update your value proposition statement
2- Organize FAQs
•Your FAQ page might consist of a single page with a list of questions or several pages linked together. •Organize to best serve your clients. •If your FAQ has multiple pages, then consider is your navigation bar. •Allow customer FAQ searches •Use searchable keywords in both your post titles and in your writing. This will make your pages easier to find since they'll include the same terms and phrases that visitors searching for.
Twitter-based communication has become:
•daily part of news broadcasts •repository of knowledge •source of business intelligence •tool for mass communication •organizational aid •wealth of helpful hints•real time repository of cultural interaction records
Title Construction
•Length of title tag Google will show varies (based on pixels, not character counts). •In general 55-60 characters good rule of thumb. •If possible, work in core keyword in a natural and compelling way. Maybe add related modifiers around that term.
tipping point
•Magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire •Business Community at large is rapidly approaching a Tipping Point after which nothing can never be the same •Embrace it and thrive •Ignore it and fade
How do you research your audience?
•Many ways exist to research audience •Companies such as Amazon are getting into the game •Amazon's Alexa offers useful tools.
Stickiness Factor
•Message makes an impact. Sticks in your memory: •Information technology, the platform for business, is proving its stickiness (consider video gaming)
Protect Stakeholder Data
•Online businesses must prioritize protection of consumer data •Uber, eBay, Target and others have fallen victim to cybercrime •Need for top-notch security is at an all-time high •Governments stepping in to assist businesses •Customers need to know their information is safe so establishing trust is crucial Promote your business by ensuring true online security---worth the cost
Sensor Data
Sensor data is exploding. We have wearable sensors for heart rates, but you can also buy sensors for your house plants or for the air quality in your office.
What to consider:
Separate Pages for Different Functions Don't Over Crowd Pages (so in other words make your pages concise) Think about the users.
Principle 3: Chunking
Short, grouped paragraphs Write small bits of succinct copy. Why? Because readers scan web copy. And because it takes longer to read words on a screen. 1.One uninterrupted idea. 2.No transitions from one idea to the next.
Good websites
involve more than technology and the latest tools. An effective website is a communications platform that requires a solid strategy.
Datafication
is the unearthing of data from seemingly undatafiable sources. Almost anything can be datafied - from pressure points across a retail floor, through to measuring sleep patterns via our mobile phones.
Principle 2: Don't Clutter
keep simple and short
Principle 6: Use Multimedia
•Images •Audio •Video •Charts •Graphs •Polls ...but always remember not to clutter or "turn off" your audience by too many design elements or text...especially LOUD, multi-colored, distracting designs.
Gladwell's three agents of change
•Law of the Few: Mavens, Connectors, Advocates •Stickiness Factor: Impact •Power of Context: Web 2.0
Transforming Diagrams to Pages
•Name your pages something meaningful because search engines use those names (e.g. never call a page 'page1' and 'page2' or something like that. Use 'products' 'about us' and so forth). •Make all pages consistent. Wix site templates generally make that happen.
Principle 5: Use Links When Possible
Create links rather than more copy whenever possible Remember, readers will scan...
Advocate law
- Amplifies effect of Connector - Gladwell uses the term salesman - Extols benefits and spreads the word - Knows how to create mass appeal - Moves a trend from local to international - Uses more formal mechanisms
connectors law
- Amplify impact of Maven - Charismatic, extensive network of causal acquaintances - Cut across social, economic, professional, and class boundaries - Introduce people that share interests but are unlikely to meet - Reinvent themselves to span worlds. - Gain prominence through weak social connections - Actively cultivate relationships
Economy of Abundance
- Digital Goods and Services - Reduction of Centralized Control - Hitmakers, TV executives, anyone with power resulting from scarcity are in trouble - Sum of Niche markets greater than 'Hits'
Digital mavens law
- Intense gatherers of information and impressions - Detect and pick up on promising trends - Sensitivity to subtle changes in their environment - First to know when something is afoot
Title Tags (Wix takes of this for you!)Title Tags (Wix takes of this for you!)
- The single most impactful place you can put your keyword is your page's title tag. - The title tag is what you can see at the very top of your browser, and is populated by your page's source code in a meta tag:
Promise
- the promise is the reason why we join or contribute to a group - Do we believe in this social network? - Is there a desire to participate? - Does the promise offer higher value than other things we could be engaged in? - What is the actual lived promise of the group rather than the stated or explicit promise? - Will group members believe other people will also join and engage in this group?
Domain Names
1) Stand alone website• Ex. Your businessname.com 2) Your website is part of a larger website •Ex. Earthlink.com/yourbusinessname •yourbusinessname.wix.com •Can register a domain name without creating a website •Can Register with a Website Builder (most preferred method for new us).
The world has been driven by hits and hit-makers. Changes to IT have enabled a new marketplace based on niches:
1)Available variety is far greater than realized 2)Within reach economically 3)All niches, when aggregated, can make up significant markets 4)Niches are now accessible and not controllable
Long Term Keys to Success
1)PARTNERSHIPS •Getting great content and synthesizing knowledge in local, relevant ways 2) CREATING SOCIAL NETWORKS that last a lifetime •Facebook •Digital natives expect virtual space to connect with businesses •New revenue models •advertising-supported funding •Eliminate the twin tyrannies of time and geography 3) TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE LONG TAIL
Principle 4: Use Subheadings
1.Read your headline out loud. 2.Get to the point. Keep it simple. 3.Write a bunch of headlines—pick the best. 4.Examine your subject. 5.Write in one or two syllable words.
Use Case First
Actor: Actor in ause case diagram is any entity that performs a role in one given system. In our instance, these are different web site user types. Start with your most desired visitor and then add from there. Use Case: A use case represents a function or an action within the system. Its drawn as an oval and named with the function.
Software Architecture Lesson 101 (for Websites)
Building the Framework for Your Site
Write the Content for Each Page
First, Define the Purpose of the Page. Then build in Keywords!•Different pages have different goals. •Make sure copy on each page serves its intended purpose. •Home page serves as a main entrance to your site and helps people quickly understand its purpose •Include information about the most important concepts and help people find where to go next. •Other page Types-Landing pages---focused pages that are designed for a special purpose and are linked to other sites or search engines. -Click-throughs: a page designed to lead the user to another web page -Lead generation: a page designed to lead the user to enter their information in an opt-in form -Purchase: a page designed to lead the user to make a purchase -Blog posts are website content, too, but their purpose is usually to educate and build brand awareness.
Bargain
The bargain sets standards of behavior and norms for and by the group. - What bargain are we entering into if we join and participate? - What is expected of us and what is the code of conduct? - How do the users co-create the bargain of the group? - What can you expect of others and what can they expect of you in this group? - Do the users agree to the bargain and is it a lived interactive experience in the group?
Wearable Computing
The first trend is wearable computing. Google Glass is the most visible example of wearable computing, but there are also already hundreds of Bluetooth-enabled devices that connect people directly to computing power.
What is The Long Tail?
The probability of having a hit is getting lower, but abundance is flourishing! - The probability of having a hit is getting lower, but abundance is flourishing! venture capitalist Kevin Laws
Use Case: ideal customer
View Products Learn About Company Find Contact Details *Thinking about who will use the Website and all reasons they might be there.
Datafication of People
We are seeing the datafication of people, and their relationships. Facebook's 'likes' have datafied sentiment but the rich data of all the personal interconnections provides a great source of analysis - Facebook's user base of 1 billon represents 10% of the entire world population
Research the Audience
We write for People! What and how you say things depend on: - Audience level of expertise. If you expect to be speaking to experts in your website copy, you're going to use different language than if you're speaking to novices. - What they want to know. The key to writing effective website content is to answer audience questions better than anyone else. You have a greater chance of winning them as a customer or regular visitor. - How they get to your site. Understand where your users come from or what they may be searching for when they land on your page. This guides how you position content. -Their interests. Knowing your audience's interests beyond the landing page can help guide elements to add to your website content to keep them engaged.
Add Non-Copy Items
You can break up the page to draw the reader's eye to important information using: - Images - Buttons - Text call-outs - Icons - White space - Gifs - Charts and graphs - Videos - Line breaks - Variations in background colors and images
Excellent Writing Resource
alexa blog
Technology Evolution Creating Environment for Web 2.0
public (mainframe computers 1945-1965) personal (the personal computer 1965-1985) private (mobile devices 1985-2005) intimate (self-technologies 2005-2025)
How Do We Determine Key Words?
•What types of things are your visitors interested in? •What problems do they have? •What type of language do they use to describe the things that they do, the tools that they use, etc.? •Who else are they buying things from (this means your competitors, but also could mean tangential, related tools)?
Carousel of Linked Images
•Used to draw person's eye and first click •Collection of similar results
Information overload
occurs when too much information exists for people to make good decisions.
Page Titles and Meta Descriptions
•Two separate pieces of HTML code that should be found on every web page •Tells title of current page and summary of that page. •Used by search engines to create an easy-to-read link to a website from their index •Web browsers use page titles in browser bars to make them easily identifiable on the tabs •Titles become bookmark names you may save •Singular line of text in search engine results •Used for bookmarking a page •Used as a tab in browser bar •Normally a short description of the linked page Code for page titles is simple HTML:<title>This is a Title</title> More on Meta Description •Short descriptions of a web page •Summarizes content when clicking on page link on a search engine's results page Code for meta description tag:<meta name="description" content="This is a meta description of a page">
How Users Read the Web
•Users SCAN the web (79%) •Credibility is important •Users detest promotional writing style •Users read at most 28% of text on Web
10 Blue Links
•What Google "thinks" the searcher wants to see. •Classic results display •Google tunes algorithm based on what searcher chooses •Hopes that users chooses result at list top
Improved Decision Making
- BIG DATA WILL BE USED AS THE PRIMARY DEFAULT MECHANISM FOR MANY DECISIONS AS IT INCREASES ACCURACY AND REDUCES IRRELEVANT INFLUENCE - PREVIOUSLY, ONE HAD TO TAKE SMALL SAMPLES OF DATA BECAUSE IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO PROCESS IT ALL. RANDOM SAMPLES START FALLING APART WHEN WE WANT TO LOOK IN DEPTH AT SUB-CATEGORIE - N=ALL' SHOWS CORRELATIONS THAT WOULD NOT APPEAR UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
Tool
- The tool determines how the social media will work. - Which tool or tools will help people make and keep their promise? - What are the best tools for the intention of the site or media? - Will the tool help people do what they want to do? - How do I choose the appropriate tool given the geometric growth of social media tools? - Does the tool help deliver on the promise?
What is Digital Identity?
- Your Digital Identity consists of information about you—in digital form. •Do you build a specific Digital Identity? -Facebook -Twitter -TikTok -Instagram -World of Warcraft?
Focus on Networking
•Not always what you know, it's who you know •Networking increases chances of success and improves communications •Social media takes communication to a whole new level by removing the barriers that limited traditional networking •Items such as travel expenses, time zones and geographical locations no longer stand in the way •Regardless of technology, basic ground rules of communication remain the same: finding something in common. Establish connections by sharing your interests, hobbies and passions.
Edit, Edit, Edit!
•Set the content aside for a while. When you come back to it with fresh eyes, you'll see ways to improve it.-Correct typos-Improve weak word choices-Rewrite sections that are unclear-Strengthen the headline-Link to other content on your site
Write Final Page Copy
- Use the inverted pyramid. This means giving the reader the most important information at the start and less important information toward the bottom. - Focus on benefits over features. As you highlight products, services, incentives, or offers, show the reader what's in it for them. Instead of listing features, explain how each feature benefits the reader. For example, don't talk about a bike's gear system; talk about the bike's ability to provide a smooth ride. - Explain the transformation. Give the reader an idea of how the product, service, incentive, or offer will change their situation. Explain what life is like before and after they take action, and tell the reader how their life will improve once they take the next step. - Be concise and clear. Use short sentences and phrases. Avoid complex language that loses readers, and cut out any information that is unnecessary or flowery. Stick to saying just what the reader needs to know - Avoid buzzwords and jargon. Don't confuse or lose readers by using high-level terminology they don't understand. Write using the same language your audience uses when they speak. - Use bullets and formatting. Help readers find the most important points in your copy by breaking up the text. Highlight main points using bullets, bolding, italics, and variations in font styles and sizes. Most readers scan, so be sure the key points stand out. - Speak directly to the reader. Copy is more effective when directed right at your audience. Use the same language you would use to speak to your reader in person. Use words like "you" and "your," and when appropriate, incorporate words like "us" and "we." - Stray from grammar rules - if it sounds natural. While you don't want your copy to include glaring grammatical errors, it's OK to stray from strict academic writing rules. If it sounds more natural to end a sentence with a preposition or use an incomplete sentence, break the rules. But only break the rules if it adds clarity and a natural sound to the copy. Don't push the boundaries so much that your copy looks unpolished and sloppy.
Research Competitor's Websites
- Very important to have a well-rounded view of the competitive landscape. •Comparing your site to your competitors' site yields important insights - Your visitors visit your competitors' websites, too. - Learn what they read there, so you can offer something different or better. - Identify industry trends in website content. - Find strategic shifts or new tactics competitors are trying early on, rather than being the last to know. - You can use competitor data to benchmark your performance. Get a sense of the traffic, backlinks, and keywords your competitors' sites rank for, so you can set realistic goals to measure against each month. - It can inspire new content topics to write about. You'll be thankful to have a source of ideas at your fingertips. •This exploratory phase helps you evaluate your options before you write.
Alexa
- helps reach more of your target audience - share of voice among audience: improve SEO,SEM, and content marketing by knowing how to effectively reach audience. compare with competitors to know who performs best in search - site and topics attract audience: reach more by knowing these. identify potential adv opportunties, marketing partnership - key words attract audience - topics my audience love - key words audience use when ready to buy - sites lead in search results for topics audience cares about - what sites compete for audience attention
Searcher Intent Categories
- informational searches seek more information about a service, event or product you're about to buy. - Commercial searches seek best prices for a product, service or occasion. - Transactional searches seek to make a direct purchase, try before you buy or hire something or someone. - Navigational searches seek a page you're looking for, such as the download page for Instagram's app. Know Intent to Inform WritingTitles and Meta Descriptions
principal 1: keep it short
- use short para. (4 sent max) - use short sent (twelve on avg) - skip unnecessary words - aviod jargon - avoid passive tense - avoid needless repetition - address your web visitors directly - shorten text
Location Data
Location data is also exploding, doubling every 18 months. This is being driven by the ever-growing use of mobile phones, supported by the use of apps like Foursquare and Vibe-It.
Revisit Headline and Titles
•After writing the whole page, revisit it and tweak it to make it more powerful. •Watch for typos in the titles!! •Headlines for website content should be: Clear: Puns or clever headlines may occasionally work for blog posts or social media but avoid using them for landing page headlines. Always get right to the point and clearly explain what the page is about. Relevant: The headline must be relevant to the content on the page, the call to action, and the link that led the user to the page. Match headlines to the language of the call to action, ad, or promotion that brought the audience to the page. Then ensure that the rest of the copy and call to action are relevant to the main title of the page. Desire-focused: Use your headline as an opportunity to introduce the action you'd like users to take when they've gotten what they want from your page. In the headline, present the main solution, benefit, or result the action will provide
How does Content Fit to Website?
•Before website content writing, make sure there's a plan for how all the pages work together. •Think through: What pages you'll need and the purpose of each How people will navigate to each page •Website content comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. From long-form content and blog posts to sidebar blurbs and product descriptions, copy is prepared and displayed in varied ways to serve different purposes.
Knowledge Graphs
•Boxes that appear on the right-hand side of search result page •List details for key result that matches search term •May provide 'local' responses
advocate
•Champions in higher management •Provides resources and training support •Angel Investors •People that Provide Guidance for Start-ups
Attention Economy
•Competition at a global level means consumers have unlimited options. •Limited room to expect consumer compromise when they can switch to a competitor. •Simply put, if your website takes too much time to load, you can bid the user goodbye. •User experience (UX) is a massive priority for search engines and should also be for your business. •Just an extra second delay in page load can downgrade customer satisfaction. •A website needs to be straightforward and easy to use. •By using data analysis, site usage and experience can be identified, and areas of improvement pinpointed.
Managers/Entrepreneurs must become digital connectors
•Continual movement between academic resources, people in industry, online resources, traditional information, and new mavens •Use discussion boards, chat rooms, and a variety of tools to enable their activities •Starting to tap the power of online social networks •Facebook and LinkedIn •Wonder why existing businesses don't look more like their worldview •Why separate and compartmentalize rather than integrating and synthesizing
Domain Names (URL)
•Domain name is an internet address/identity •Typically the business name -Ex. Mercer Vu Farms - www.mercervufarms.com •Can be a product name -Ex. Mountain Dew - product of PepsiCo, Inc www.mountaindew.com
The Explosion of Data
•Dramatic increase in the amount of data. •When the Gutenberg press was invented there was a doubling of information every 50 years. •Information now doubles every three years.
Content is King
•Every piece of content available on the internet today (infographic, video, blog post, music, picture et cetera) contributes to online presence of the producing business •Content marketing excellent way to introduce brand and create a digital identity/personality •Producing content that's relevant, engaging and informative is a priority •Content should reflect brand's core values and add business value •Google prefers high-quality content, which improves website's chances of being ranked better.
How Do We Manage?
•Everyone knows everyone = Social Networks •You know who to ask = Recommendations / Filtering / Searches •You can rely on people for help = Content Sharing / Collaboration •You know where everyone lives = Places / MapsLocation Services
Featured Snippet
•Formerly called an "Answer Box" •Small snippets of information try to answer the original search query directly and quickly Results in one of the following: 1.The user clicks the link within the answer 2.The user reads the answer, doesn't click a link, and leaves
Determine the Purpose of the Website Content
•Good content for a website depends on knowing why you're writing it. •Examples: •Is the website content selling a product? •Is it meant to attract new clients? •Is it building traffic to support advertising and sponsorships? •Knowing the main goal of the website content positions you to write copy that achieves that goal. Before writing one word of content, know who it is for
Keyword Analysis
•Google and other others offer keywords that correlate with various searches. We explore this later in the semester. •Informs your writing to build in SEO---we discuss this more later in the semester. •Helps determine approach to website content. Spend some time visiting each of the top competing sites to absorb their style, topics, and how they differ. •At this stage, looking at competing websites as a whole. Later, look at individual pages that compete against the web pages you're writing.
Group Complexity
•Groups are complex, often experiencing difficulties in the ways they form and are sustained. •Traditional institutions have been shaped as a response to those difficulties. •New social tools relieve many burdens, allowing new types of group-forming and organization to emerge.
Challenges of Writing for the Web
•Harder/slower to read on screen •Stiff competition—users can always go somewhere else •Text is often afterthought in site design/architecture
Digital Mavens
•Hoards information about technology without realizing it. •Must enable Digital Maven by providing forums for sharing to enable and facilitate advances •Create a community within businesses to embrace the contribution of the maven •Added challenge of conveying meaning and context •Successful business has Mavens---inside and around periphery
Actively establishing a stronger online presence adds potential sales and loyal customers
•How a business portrays itself online is a vital strategic success factor •Social media, from a wide range of choices and approaches, can be used to establish a positive image and create a digital brand •For entrepreneurs trying to make a name for themselves, this is even more important.
Domain Name
•Site's URL structure can be important from a tracking perspective (you can more easily segment data in reports using a segmented, logical URL structure), and share-ability standpoint (shorter, descriptive URLs are easier to copy and paste and tend to get mistakenly cut off less frequently). •Create a short, descriptive URL. •Domain Name and Page Names
Power of Context
•The final determinant of a tipping point •The emerging context is incredibly evident •Most significant change to global culture ever •Time of rapid change •Social networks; blogging; wikis; texting; Twitter; Googling; online collaboration •These things are transforming life
Body Content
•Thick & Unique Content - Construct a few pages of quality content on your site with a handful to a couple hundred that are unique and relevant to your page. •Numerous small pages or duplicated content where nothing changes but the page's title tag could get you in trouble. •Engagement - Google is increasingly weighting engagement and user experience metrics more heavily. You can impact this by making sure your content answers the questions searchers are asking so that they're likely to stay on your page and engage with your content. Make sure your pages load quickly and don't have design elements (such as overly aggressive ads above the content) that would be likely to turn searchers off and send them away. •"Shareability" - Not every single piece of content on your site will be linked to and shared but have some quality good material! And hooks into social media. •Alt-Attributes for Images
Strategic Errors
•Thinking a Facebook page or a LinkedIn profile isn't necessary •Thinking a Facebook page or a LinkedIn profile is all that is needed •Forgetting the face behind the business is as crucial as the business itself •Not actively trying to establishing a stronger online presence •Only using the same old strategies, approaches and looks that everyone else uses
Why Create a Digital Identity for a Business?
•To become identifiable on the internet •You want Customers, Investors, Employees, and other Stakeholders to recognize you online •Create online identity as a cyberspace representation •Digital identity is used for identification purposes when connections are made from cell phones, laptops, PCs, tablets, social media, and so forth •Your known Digital Identity provides protection to your customers and others •Your digital identity should grow organically over time through an ongoing exchange of information and connections •Result: A trusted relationship with those you wish to connect with
Why Create a Digital Identity for Yourself?
•To become identifiable on the internet •You want Friends, Acquaintances, Relatives, et cetera to recognize you online •The best you can do is to create online identity as a cyberspace representation •Digital identity is used for identification purposes when connections are made from cell phones, laptops, PCs, tablets, social media, and so forth •Your known persona provides protection to you and others •Your digital identity should grow organically over time through an ongoing exchange of information and connections •Result: A trusted relationship with those you wish to connect with
Write an Outline and Gather Resources
•To write good content for a website, start with an outline. •Gather ideas and resources •Factoring in time for interviews with subject matter experts •Create rough draft of the web page copy.
End Pages with Call to Action
•Websites are designed to trigger action by readers, so use a clear call to action at the end of every page. - Include proof. Show readers why they can trust you. Back up your statements by including testimonials, stats, data, and social media mentions that provide proof and support. - Overcome objections. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience and imagine what objections are holding them back from taking action. Address those concerns and provide options like free trials and money-back guarantees to make it impossible for the audience to resist your offer. - Use action words. Don't let your audience be the least bit confused when they reach the end of your page. Include a call to action that uses action words (get started, click here, sign up, call, fill out, etc.) that tells them exactly what they need to do to take the next step.
What is Wix?
•Wix is an easy to use, powerful, and affordable website building and hosting tool. •It can create business/personal websites, online stores, portfolios, and other applications. •Wix's strength is its ability to build a website from scratch easily while providing access to a deeper level of customization for the specialist. •Wix uses templates, which are customized to your site. You can add pages, catalogs, products, calendars and more.