Articles - The Web Showroom

Watch Out Facebook, Here Comes Pinterest

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -1100

Watch out social media bigwigs, there’s a new kid on the web and it’s sure to pin you down.

While Facebook, Google+ and Twitter have been battling it out for social media supremacy, a silent contender called Pinterest has slowly risen up the ranks unnoticed. This month the social photo-sharing site and app was reported by web development news site TechCrunch to have beaten YouTube, Reddit, Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace in total referral traffic percentage in January, garnering 3.6% of all traffic just slightly below Twitter’s 3.61%. This week Pinterest achieved an even bigger milestone, hitting 11.7 million unique monthly visitors in the U.S. alone, making it the fastest standalone site to ever cross the 10 million mark. According to technology journalist John Constine of TechCrunch, “users are spending so much time sharing their favourite images [on Pinterest] that now only Facebook and Tumblr have more social media time on site than Pinterest.” Constine states that according to comScore, average Pinterest users are spending 98 minutes per month on the site, not as much as the 2.5 hours spent on Tumblr or the average 7 hours spent on Facebook, but still a significant number considering the site was launched just 2 years ago.

Unique Features

Pinterest works by allowing users to post or “pin” pictures and other media and organise them into specific categories or boards. These images can be of anything, and can be viewed, commented on, re-pinned or liked by followers. From an SEO standpoint, Pinterest could be another good social media site to look into since like Facebook, its content can also go viral and it is already conveniently linked to Facebook and Twitter. Businesses can also take full advantage of it since pinned posts can link directly to business websites, making Pinterest, as Entrepreneur.com would call it, “a virtual store catalogue”.

Boosting Businesses

For businesses, Pinterest is becoming quite a valuable and significant marketing tool. Entrepreneur.com notes that in the last six months, retail deal site ideeli.com has experienced a 446 per cent increase in web traffic because of Pinterest, and sales resulting from those visits have increased five-fold. Many other businesses are experiencing the same positive results, but not all businesses can take full advantage since Pinterest is a highly visual site and won’t work for businesses with products or services that aren’t visual.

Paving the Way for Web Design

Speaking of visuals, Pinterest has been quite revolutionary in sporting a website design that has not been viewed very positively until now. An article on social media and web news source Mashable points out how the site does not use traditional web building blocks, but instead puts web content in small, vertically aligned blocks. According to Mashable, the site did not invent the basic design structure, but it has attracted so many users and garnered praises from plenty of web designers that several other sites are following suit. Among them are Quora, Chill.com, Scrolldit and social commerce network Lockerz. Pinterest is also receiving a lot of positive feedback for breaking the mold of arranging information in reverse chronology, which is what Facebook, Twitter and most other social sites have stuck to. According to Mashable writer Sarah Kessler, “It showed how the design could solve certain challenges eloquently and how the traditional reverse chronology layout could be broken without scaring users away. In fact, it was attracting them.” It may be too soon to say for sure that Pinterest could reach the ranks of social media giants Facebook and Twitter, but with the way things are going, it wouldn’t be a surprise if it does.

Watch Out Facebook, Here Comes Pinterest

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -1100

Watch out social media bigwigs, there’s a new kid on the web and it’s sure to pin you down.

Unique Features

Boosting Businesses

Paving the Way for Web Design

Watch Out Facebook, Here Comes Pinterest

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -1100

Watch out social media bigwigs, there’s a new kid on the web and it’s sure to pin you down.

Unique Features

Boosting Businesses

Paving the Way for Web Design

Watch Out Facebook, Here Comes Pinterest

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -1100

Watch out social media bigwigs, there’s a new kid on the web and it’s sure to pin you down.

Unique Features

Boosting Businesses

Paving the Way for Web Design

EU Calls for Halt on Google Privacy Policy Update

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -1100

Google has been on a roll these past few months delivering constant changes to their services, changes that always seem to face opposition. Just last month Search Plus Your World, Google’s update to its leading search engine raised brows and voices of companies and search engine marketing experts everywhere. And just days later the search titan announced its intention to update its Privacy Policy beginning March 1, merging more than 60 privacy documents from its different products. This too did not escape suspicion as last week the European Union’s (EU) data protection asked that the proposed update be postponed to give them time to verify that it does not break the bloc’s data protection laws. The news has somewhat disturbed Google, which according to The Sydney Morning Herald replied that they had already informed data protection agencies ahead of time without receiving serious concerned feedback.

Cause for Concern?

NDTV.com reports that in a letter addressed to Google Chief Executive Larry Page, Jacob Kohnstamm, chairman of 27 national privacy regulators in the EU stated that the French data protection agency has already started a probe of the updated policy and is looking closely at how it will affect Google users in the EU. "We call for a pause,” Kohnstamm wrote, “in the interests of ensuring that there can be no misunderstanding about Google's commitments to information rights of their users and EU citizens, until we have completed our analysis." NDTV reports that the data protection agencies of several other countries including Ireland and Germany have also expressed their concern over the new policy.

In response to this Google published a letter by Global Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer, stating that the main goal of the updated policy is to combine and simplify the numerous and varying rules for Google’s many services. "Our updated privacy policy makes it clear in one comprehensive document that if a user is signed in we may combine information she has provided from one service with information from other services," Fleischer stated. Google’s official blog about the update states that information can be easier to share among their services as well, and search results have become more refined and personalised with these changes.

But not everything is changing, as the blog points out, data liberation (taking personal information elsewhere) still remains, and Google pledges not to sell personal information or share it externally without permission.

From Concerns to Criticisms

The official Google blog on the privacy policy update notes that this change has long been requested by regulators, and having one policy covering several products is “fairly standard” online. Despite this Google still became subject not only to suspicion but criticism, particularly from rival company Microsoft, which according to The Herald ran a full-page newspaper ad criticising Google and its new policy. In the ad, Microsoft pointed out how their users don’t have to worry about the content of their emails being used to help target online ads, something Google has obviously done but isn’t ashamed to admit. For Google, it is simply better Adwords management- placing relevant ads in the right places to the right kind of audience- a move that benefits users by eliminating the ads they would otherwise ignore and likewise benefits those involved in Pay per click and search engine optimisation. It just so happens to also benefit Google by eventually boosting their ad revenue.

Great Guidelines for Going Viral

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -1100

About a decade ago, when mentioning the word ‘viral’ people automatically thought widespread disease and plague, things that clearly needed to be avoided. These days though, practically everyone wants to go ‘viral’-- on the web that is. Viral hits in the form of videos, blogs and various other content have made superstars of small-town nobodies, shot quirky and entertaining characters straight to stardom, and of course, established mega-brands out of otherwise unknown start-ups and small companies. With brand supremacy and retail races getting more and more intertwined with the online world, the pressure to get ahead in terms of search engine marketing and website development is constantly increasing, and viral content is becoming one of the top ways to reach success in these areas. Most people would attribute virality to luck, but as SEO expert Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz points out, there are ways to improve your odds, and have your brand, your content or your message spread like wildfire across the web.

Why Go Viral? Why NOT?

Going viral can have a lot of perks when done successfully. Aside from establishing brand supremacy and getting huge amounts of publicity, from an SEO perspective Fishkin states that going viral can not just get you links but also social shares which are growing significantly more important, mentions on other blogs as well as getting talked about and emailed around. It will also determine how successful content will be in the entire Web, not just in inbound, SEO or social but overall. There’s hardly any reason why you shouldn’t go viral, except maybe that it is quite tricky and risky. But you can avoid risks simply by following these few simple guidelines.

Viral Myth Busting

First, let us point out what viral content need not be. According to YouTube and Display head of media solutions Karen Stocks, the first mistake that people often make when embarking on viral-content making is trying to make it for everyone. Stocks says that some of the most successful videos on YouTube weren’t designed to please everyone, and attempting to do so would be an enormous feat as audiences, particularly on YouTube, are highly diverse. “Successful businesses understand they don’t need to connect with the whole YouTube audience,” writes Stocks, “you don’t need to create a video that has mass appeal. You need a video that has personal appeal to people you want to talk to and who are interested in what you have to say.”

Another myth Stocks wants to bust is the belief that content, particularly viral videos, need to be humorous and/or targeted towards younger audiences. On the contrary, Stocks notes that with the millions of visitors on YouTube (800million every month, to be exact), you can be guaranteed to reach your specific and desired audience in the form and style that most appeals to them, which may not necessarily produce heaps of “LOLs”. Lastly, Stocks states that viral content need not be professionally produced, especially when it comes to viral videos.

Going for Viral Gold

With the myths aside, it’s time to get acquainted with the steps that do lead to valuable virality:

Aim for the Right Audience.

This is connected to what was mentioned earlier. Viral doesn’t immediately equate to being liked by everybody, it is above all else being liked, shared, etc. by your specific audience. If your company sells antiques, covering the latest trends would of course, be counterproductive. Your content should be consistent with your brand, your image, your product, but also be interesting enough for your specific audience to want to share endlessly with others.
Get the Right Format.

This refers to user experience. Fishkin points out that a lot of times, people will stick to the same formats that may have produced mediocre results in the past, but this often leads to stagnation. Fishkin notes that content often performs better when placed in a separate and clean format, so try to make content as easy to access as possible (above the fold) and let it be the focus of the page. He adds that placing interesting, compelling and relevant visuals alongside written content can do wonders. These visuals can be anything from Flickr images to charts and graphs to your own drawings. Lastly, Fishkin suggests editing your URL to be shorter, more memorable and to the point of what your content is about. That way, people can remember it easily and when they see it or hover on it, they can easily understand what it’s about and click it should they find it interesting.
Get Influencers Involved.

Getting influential people to share or have a say in your content really boosts credibility and also grabs the attention of the influencer’s followers, so if you can, get influencers involved. Influencers are usually people with the powerful forums, key bloggers who run popular sites and social networking accounts with thousands of readers and hundreds of followers. Fishkin states plenty of ways you could get them involved, such as asking them for their opinion or feedback on your content before sharing it to the world. This works in two ways: first, they are more likely to share your content on their own page this way and second, you get their vital feedback that enables you to better your content before publishing. You could also gather input from their communities, or mention them in posts, with their permission of course.
Topic, Timing, Seeding.

Content that’s right in the thick of the most popular or trending topics are usually going to perform better, so make sure you time it properly. If you can, Fishkin notes, it would be better to catch news content before it gets hot so you get the opportunity to be featured in other sites covering the topic. In terms of timeliness, it is also best to share B2B content during the weekdays, particularly Tuesday to Thursday, and more personal, Facebook- suitable content on the weekends. Fishkin also suggests really nurturing your online relationships, so sharing content will be easy and genuine. Just make sure not to abuse these relationships, and to share only the content you think these people would be interested in.
Testing.

Various topics work differently for various audiences at various times so test, test, test. Fishkin suggests watching your click-through rates and analytics for this. Eventually, you’ll get the hang of who you should be making content for, which content works best, with whom to share it and when to publish it to achieve optimum virality.

Great Guidelines for Going Viral

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -1100

Why Go Viral? Why NOT?

Viral Myth Busting

Going for Viral Gold

With the myths aside, it’s time to get acquainted with the steps that do lead to valuable virality:

Aim for the Right Audience.

This is connected to what was mentioned earlier. Viral doesn’t immediately equate to being liked by everybody, it is above all else being liked, shared, etc. by your specific audience. If your company sells antiques, covering the latest trends would of course, be counterproductive. Your content should be consistent with your brand, your image, your product, but also be interesting enough for your specific audience to want to share endlessly with others.
Get the Right Format.

This refers to user experience. Fishkin points out that a lot of times, people will stick to the same formats that may have produced mediocre results in the past, but this often leads to stagnation. Fishkin notes that content often performs better when placed in a separate and clean format, so try to make content as easy to access as possible (above the fold) and let it be the focus of the page. He adds that placing interesting, compelling and relevant visuals alongside written content can do wonders. These visuals can be anything from Flickr images to charts and graphs to your own drawings. Lastly, Fishkin suggests editing your URL to be shorter, more memorable and to the point of what your content is about. That way, people can remember it easily and when they see it or hover on it, they can easily understand what it’s about and click it should they find it interesting.
Get Influencers Involved.

Getting influential people to share or have a say in your content really boosts credibility and also grabs the attention of the influencer’s followers, so if you can, get influencers involved. Influencers are usually people with the powerful forums, key bloggers who run popular sites and social networking accounts with thousands of readers and hundreds of followers. Fishkin states plenty of ways you could get them involved, such as asking them for their opinion or feedback on your content before sharing it to the world. This works in two ways: first, they are more likely to share your content on their own page this way and second, you get their vital feedback that enables you to better your content before publishing. You could also gather input from their communities, or mention them in posts, with their permission of course.
Topic, Timing, Seeding.

Content that’s right in the thick of the most popular or trending topics are usually going to perform better, so make sure you time it properly. If you can, Fishkin notes, it would be better to catch news content before it gets hot so you get the opportunity to be featured in other sites covering the topic. In terms of timeliness, it is also best to share B2B content during the weekdays, particularly Tuesday to Thursday, and more personal, Facebook- suitable content on the weekends. Fishkin also suggests really nurturing your online relationships, so sharing content will be easy and genuine. Just make sure not to abuse these relationships, and to share only the content you think these people would be interested in.
Testing.

Various topics work differently for various audiences at various times so test, test, test. Fishkin suggests watching your click-through rates and analytics for this. Eventually, you’ll get the hang of who you should be making content for, which content works best, with whom to share it and when to publish it to achieve optimum virality.

Great Guidelines for Going Viral

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -1100

Why Go Viral? Why NOT?

Viral Myth Busting

Going for Viral Gold

With the myths aside, it’s time to get acquainted with the steps that do lead to valuable virality:

Aim for the Right Audience.

This is connected to what was mentioned earlier. Viral doesn’t immediately equate to being liked by everybody, it is above all else being liked, shared, etc. by your specific audience. If your company sells antiques, covering the latest trends would of course, be counterproductive. Your content should be consistent with your brand, your image, your product, but also be interesting enough for your specific audience to want to share endlessly with others.
Get the Right Format.

This refers to user experience. Fishkin points out that a lot of times, people will stick to the same formats that may have produced mediocre results in the past, but this often leads to stagnation. Fishkin notes that content often performs better when placed in a separate and clean format, so try to make content as easy to access as possible (above the fold) and let it be the focus of the page. He adds that placing interesting, compelling and relevant visuals alongside written content can do wonders. These visuals can be anything from Flickr images to charts and graphs to your own drawings. Lastly, Fishkin suggests editing your URL to be shorter, more memorable and to the point of what your content is about. That way, people can remember it easily and when they see it or hover on it, they can easily understand what it’s about and click it should they find it interesting.
Get Influencers Involved.

Getting influential people to share or have a say in your content really boosts credibility and also grabs the attention of the influencer’s followers, so if you can, get influencers involved. Influencers are usually people with the powerful forums, key bloggers who run popular sites and social networking accounts with thousands of readers and hundreds of followers. Fishkin states plenty of ways you could get them involved, such as asking them for their opinion or feedback on your content before sharing it to the world. This works in two ways: first, they are more likely to share your content on their own page this way and second, you get their vital feedback that enables you to better your content before publishing. You could also gather input from their communities, or mention them in posts, with their permission of course.
Topic, Timing, Seeding.

Content that’s right in the thick of the most popular or trending topics are usually going to perform better, so make sure you time it properly. If you can, Fishkin notes, it would be better to catch news content before it gets hot so you get the opportunity to be featured in other sites covering the topic. In terms of timeliness, it is also best to share B2B content during the weekdays, particularly Tuesday to Thursday, and more personal, Facebook- suitable content on the weekends. Fishkin also suggests really nurturing your online relationships, so sharing content will be easy and genuine. Just make sure not to abuse these relationships, and to share only the content you think these people would be interested in.
Testing.

Various topics work differently for various audiences at various times so test, test, test. Fishkin suggests watching your click-through rates and analytics for this. Eventually, you’ll get the hang of who you should be making content for, which content works best, with whom to share it and when to publish it to achieve optimum virality.

Facebook, Twitter to Google Search Plus Your World: ‘Don’t Be Evil’

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -1100

“Don’t be evil”- this was the original slogan which Google took as its own, its central message a beacon guiding Google’s actions as the world’s leading search engine operator to always do what is in the best interest of the public, and not their own. Recently though, the motto has become the response of Google+ rivals Facebook, Twitter and MySpace to the newest update to Google search, called Search Plus Your World (SPYW). Though still only being released in the U.S., the “improved” search engine has already raised a lot of questions and complaints from other social networking sites and users alike due to SPYW’s obvious preference for its own social networking site, Google+ when ranking search results. Some engineers from Facebook, Twitter and MySpace decided to take their stand a step further, banding together to form a group called “Focus on the User” and creating a bookmarklet named “Don’t Be Evil”, directly referring to the famous Google motto. The bookmarklet alters Google search results to make them more like they were before SPYW, and beyond that, proves to Google and the world that it is possible to give unbiased search results despite Google’s claims of being unable to feature the other social networking sites in SERPs due to “technical limitations”.

How It Works

In an article on Search Engine Land, search engine marketing expert Danny Sullivan explains exactly how the “Don’t Be Evil” bookmarklet works, which is basically by changing the three parts of SPYW dominated by Google+ information, namely:

People & Pages results
Google+ Sitelinks
Google+ Suggestions In Autocomplete

The bookmarklet can be obtained by simply going to the Focus on the User website and dragging the “Don’t Be Evil” button to your bookmarks bar. Once installed, simply clicking on the button after making searches will automatically change results, turning them into more relevant and up-to-date ones.

A video posted on YouTube and narrated by Facebook director of product Blake Ross shows some examples of ‘Don’t Be Evil’ working its wonders. One example shows how a search on SPYW for “cooking” immediately leads to renowned chef Jamie Oliver’s Google+ page, which hasn’t been updated in almost 2 months. Clicking on ‘Don’t Be Evil’ changes these results and instead leads the searcher to Jamie Oliver’s more updated Twitter page, with tabs leading to his Facebook, Google+ and MySpace pages. The same thing happens with searches for music, cars and even Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg, as illustrated by Sullivan.

Sullivan notes that the bookmarklet works by checking links from a plethora of social networks, including Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Flickr, Foursquare, LinkedIn, MySpace, Tumblr and many others, and all information gathered by the bookmarklet comes solely from Google itself. This proves to be a weakness- since all the bookmarklet’s results are based on Google+ suggestions, those without a Google+ page will never get suggested, even with the bookmarklet on.

How Will It End?

Though the engineers of Facebook, Twitter and MySpace openly admit their involvement in ‘Don’t Be Evil’, the bookmarklet is by no means an official product of any of their social networking sites, and has an open-sourced code for anyone to use or tinker with to make better. From here no one can really tell how far this could go, but for sure ‘Don’t Be Evil’ has proven that a better, more comprehensive social search experience is possible even with SPYW, and it has definitely called Google out on this. No official comments have been released by Google as of yet, but for their sake let’s hope they don’t stay tight-lipped or passive for long.

Online Marketing Trends to Take On for 2012

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -1100

Whether you’re a freelancer, a programmer, a small business owner or a web designer, one thing is for certain- and it is that now, you’ve got an online business in your hands and you need to market your brand tenaciously or get lost in the sea of endless competition. But as general knowledge and probably personal experience will tell you, marketing is quite difficult. Marketing trends are highly-evolving, with various channels popping up every now and again, changing consumer behaviour within a blink of an eye. It is high time to orient yourself with the latest and most effective measures of marketing, particularly online marketing, to keep you and your online business afloat this 2012. Below is our list of leading marketing trends you can definitely brush up on and apply this year.

Going Mobile. According to Mashable writer Ernie Cormier, “mobile is becoming a substantially more capable vehicle for driving brand awareness, affinity and purchases.” Consumers are using their mobile devices more and more for everything, from connecting via social networking sites to finding various establishments to shopping. Online business news hub Smart Company reports that a survey released last year by online payment firm PayPal revealed a significant spike in the number of online transactions being made via mobile phones in Australia.

One key advantage to this rapidly growing trend is that it is location-based, which means advertisers are able to reach local consumers more readily; and according to Cormier, these consumers respond quickly to deal-, coupon- and event-based advertising and are steadily increasing in numbers. SEM resource Search Engine Watch points out that among those already using deals to drive local sales are top daily deal sites Groupon and LivingSocial.

Implications: For website developers, this means making sites more mobile-friendly is a must. Consumers purchasing via mobile from your website should find it just as easy and hassle-free as purchasing elsewhere. Marketers will also have to invest a certain amount of time and money into “mobilising” their offerings, putting more emphasis into mobile transactions.
Tribalism. Nina Hendy of Smart Company states that this is one of the more recent marketing trends of the year, giving a whole new perspective and approach to marketing. “Brand tribalism goes beyond brand development,” writes Hendy, “it refers to the creation of a micro-culture for your brand.” This “micro-culture” assures you of a very loyal following from customers, because they feel that your brand won’t just reflect what they like, but who they are. You not only get customers here, but brand ambassadors, willingly doing some of your marketing for you totally free.

Implications: Web developers will need to make sure that the “tribal culture” they create through their site, social media or other marketing medium is genuine and in line with the kind of consumer they want to attract. Marketers will have to pay very close attention to their existing consumers or followers. Search Engine Watch suggests increasing emphasis on “building an engaged community as opposed to simply amassing numbers.” This community of followers should be engaged and energised with “a variety of things like product development, market research, and special product discounts.”
Blogging. Blogging has certainly come a long way from being just a venue for expression, and businesses are starting to recognise its influential and marketing power. Blogs can establish authority of a brand in its own industry, influence opinions, trends and consumer preferences, all without spending a single dollar. Hendy reports that a staggering 92% of females read blogs, with 50% of all online women in Australia having one. It is a great tool not only to reach consumers directly but also establish and support brand image and authority.

Implications: If you can’t write a decent blog, then it’s about time you got a reliable and capable writer to produce your company blogs for you. Make sure your blog is consistent with your brand and image, and of course, your target consumers. Once your blog is established, make sure to respond to queries posted on it immediately.
Social Networking. Facebook, Google+ and Twitter were indispensible last year, and this year is no different. With more than a billion users altogether, these social networking sites are no doubt essential to connecting with consumers, and with their latest integration into SERPs, for top site ranking as well.

Implications: If you don’t have company accounts to these social networking sites, it’s about time you did and keep them updated. Like, share and +1 tabs should be placed on your webpages and blogs as well.
Quality Content. Content still continues its reign as king, only this time there is more emphasis on quality and relevance not only because of the looming presence of Google’s guard dog Panda, but also because consumers are getting smarter and are gravitating more towards content that really speaks to them and engages them.

Implications: You’ll need to get creative here and offer not just meaningful content but a variety of them- articles, whitepapers, videos, images- to demonstrate expertise and keep your consumers engaged and educated at the same time.
Crowdsourcing and Collaboration. According to Hendy, crowdsourcing “enables a brand to post a creative brief online, often with a crowdsourcing partner, as an open call for creative entries. Participants respond by submitting their work and the brand awards winners based on specific selection criteria.” Crowdsourcing not only lets you get in touch with and engage consumers but also gives you access to a very large talent pool.

Another way of reaching out and getting something back is through collaboration. This trend has been going on for a while, with companies seeking out other companies with which they can join forces to help each other out. The key here is to find a non-competing business that is willing to support your business as you support theirs. This enables you to learn new things and encourages you to take your business to new heights.

Implications: If you haven’t tried crowdsourcing yet, perhaps this is the year to try it. You can start small, perhaps just by asking your community of followers for their opinion or suggestions on a product, etc. As for collaborations, first decide if it is the right move for your company. If it is, make sure to do your research before jumping into a deal with just any company.