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Yesterday I was reading Seth Godin's blog and quietly nodding and smiling to myself - although this time not brought on by the early signs of insanity, but rather complete agreement to his post on role models.
Seth points to an article for free optimization tips that contains numerous clichés - from the red headlines to the PS, PPS and PPPS.
Also, disturbingly, the ad is written by "The Conversion Rate Squirrel" and about one-third of the way in the copy reads "Why increasing your conversion rate is more exciting than sex (well, at least more exciting than sex with me)"
Why would I want to have sex with a squirrel? I don't care if it is The Conversion Rate Squirrel - that is just sick and wrong.
But I digress...
Back to Seth. He says, "The look and feel of the page don't just influence the way I think about the offer, they completely change the way I think about it. That doesn't mean it's wrong, it just means that it's not for me. This sort of graphic approach, like the layout of the spam I get all too often, is the Barbie of the Internet. For now. Next time you put on a suit or choose a conference room or design a page, realize that you're modeling your behavior after someone. Who? Why?"
Good advice for anyone. I can't help but wonder why these sorts of pages still exist. Regardless of whether or not the product is good, the whole point becomes moot when the design looks like every other spam site peddling a quick fix, easy solution.
One of the best parodies I've come across is courtesy of Guru Hype - whoever s/he may be! Enjoy it in all its glory, from its breaking code to the "Dear Friend" beginning to the multiple PS ending. Without further ado... visit Guru Hype.
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I've got to admit it…I'm a bit of a Facebook junkie. I love the way I can keep in touch with friends as well as clients and business colleagues without having to dash from blog to blog, email, or if I'm feeling old-school, pick up the phone.
There have been numerous conversations in the blogosphere about how Facebook is being used as a media outlet for personal branding, for creating a sphere of influence and for marketing.
Last week, Rafat Ali from PaidContent.com reported on the speakers at the Fortune iMeme conference, saying:
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, is on the opening panel: Facebook is a technology company...media companies are about content, technology companies are about building layers in the stack so that others can build in top of it.
I thought that was a curious statement, and apparently so do a lot of other people, as Rafat Ali later noted the response from Chris DeWolfe (founder, MySpace):
Facebook is a media company: any time you are competing for eyeballs, and you are getting people’s attention, it is a media company. It is a different and unique way of consuming media.
But we all know it isn't just about consuming media, it’s about creating it as well. This week, one of the comments that resonated with me about this topic came from Mitch Joel, or one of his numerous clones. (There is no other explanation…how can one guy do so much??!). Mitch was commenting on Sebastien Provencher's The Praized Blog post Robert Scoble Is Media as well as Scoble's reply post My Facebook Secret Is Out… and noted two key points:
1. Content is media. Scoble, Sebastien, you, me and anyone else who creates content is creating media. That is the advertising. Everyone keeps searching for the ad model in Blogs and Podcasts not realizing that the content and the individual producing it are the media.
2. Personal brand. Steve Rubel over at Micro Persuasion had a killer post last week called, The Golden Age Of Individualism, where he states: “Individualism is as old as American ideals, though it's certainly not a global phenomenon. However with the Net Gen taking over the work force, the value of personal brands will continue rise and perhaps be a prickly force to be reckoned with. This means big changes in the workplace and a critical importance for everyone to be team players even as their stars rise online. It also means that personal brands will become unofficial spokespeople at times (perhaps involuntarily).”
Yep, that's it in a nutshell. And with the freedom of social networks like Facebook comes not only personal branding, but the very essence of branding - personal responsibility. We are fully accountable for the message we transmit via Facebook or any other web community. As social networks continue to climb in popularity and our definition of 'friend' becomes a little footloose and fancy-free, here's something to consider:
Too many people know too much about each other. Our new environment compels commitment and participation. We have become irrevocably involved with, and responsible for, each other. There is absolutely no inevitability as long as there is a willingness to contemplate what is happening." (Marshall McLuhan, 1967)
Today, Nielson/NetRatings, the Internet media and market research company, announced that they have expanded their metrics to include time spent on the site, scrapping the longtime yardstick of page views. Although Nielson/NetRatings already reported the average time per site visitor, the company is now looking at the total time spent and sessions for all visitors to give advertisers a big picture look for "greater perspective on total engagement across sites."
While Neilson/NetRatings analyzes the giants like Google, Yahoo, AOL, etc. what's the message for small and medium-sized businesses? Stickiness is the metric to watch. How well does your site engage your visitor? Do they feel like sticking around and building a relationship with your brand? It's not only about attracting people to your site, it's also about keeping them there.
Next time you're looking at your stats, be sure to factor in not only traffic but the time spent on your site.
For far too long I've subscribed to the movie stations on Starchoice. I never watch them. So, over the weekend I finally got around to axing them from the monthly satellite package and setting up a new package. I called the customer service line.
There was no smile in the voice - rule #1 in telephone customer service agents. The poor chap I got was not only a 'soft talker', but quiet frankly sounded rather morose.
Anyway, I was told that I have a choice between getting my feed from Seattle or from Spokane. Um, sure, flip a coin... so in all innocence I asked, "What's the difference?"
Huge pause. Then came a voice laced with sarcasm. "They're different cities."
If there's one word that should never be mentioned in the same breath as customer service it's sarcasm. I understand that customer service is hard work. You hear from a lot of unhappy people on a daily basis. This was a simple transition from one satellite package to another... there was no need to burst my customer experience bubble.
A simple tonal cue moves me from potential citizen marketer ("I called my satellite company today and they were so nice!") to blog ranter. And, unfortunately, in customer service one bad apple on the frontlines can ruin the whole basket.
I was recently on the site of one of my favourite lunchtime restaurants - I adore the place. It's completely charming, the staff is friendly and, even better, they've raised the sandwich to an art form.
But, I don't adore the web site.
It's so bad that it's almost like a parody…a kind of "what not to do" approach. There isn't just one, but two (count 'em, two!) splash pages to inhibit the visitor. There is a whole litany of crimes against web users, but for now I'll stick to talking about splash pages.
Unless you are selling creativity, for most SMEs (and, really, for most corporations as well) they aren't needed. In fact, splash pages are detrimental to the site.
Why?
First and foremost, because the site ceases to be about the visitor and instead is all about the company, the company, the company. It's incredibly egocentric. The web site experience should be about the site visitor. Visitors should never have to wait to access the info they're looking for. They shouldn't be told which browser or version of Flash is needed to access the site. (Usability, people!! Heard of it??) Studies have shown that splash pages increase bailout rates, and yet, still, they persist.
Jared Spool of User Interface Engineering at Macromedia said it best when he responded to the question posed to him by Anne Holland of MarketingSherpa "Flash intros - good or bad?" this way:
"When we have clients who are thinking about Flash splash pages, we tell them to go to their local supermarket and bring a mime with them. Have the mime stand in front of the supermarket, and, as each customer tries to enter, do a little show that lasts two minutes, welcoming them to the supermarket and trying to explain the bread is on aisle six and milk is on sale today.
Then stand back and count how many people watch the mime, how many people get past the mime as quickly as possible, and how many people punch the mime out. That should give you a good idea as to how well their splash page will be received. That's the crux of it."
If that's not enough, consider this…they inhibit your site from being indexed and showing up in the search engines. From a search engine optimization aspect, splash pages are particularly bothersome. They lack visible body text and are seen as "empty" pages by search engines. Why on earth would anyone want the prime real estate of the homepage to be seen as essentially worthless by the search engines?
As well, most splash pages link to only one interior page - the "real homepage" with the words "skip intro" or "enter site." These are not keyword-rich phrases. And it gets worse: It tells the seach engines that only one page of your site is important. So, all of those lovely product or service pages? Unless your site visitors get past that annoying mime at the front door, there is a good chance they will never be seen.
Tip: Want a luxurious, upscale feel? Incorporate Flash into your html homepage, surrounded by readable text and keyword-based links.
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