"Are you on the List?": Be a Twitter VIP

The other day I was looking at the number of accounts our Blue Archer Twitter account follows.  It's getting up there; we're following almost 1,000 valuable and informational accounts. Our Twitter feed fills up quicker than parking spots at the Whole Foods down the street. Consequentially, there is a ton of information that we just aren't seeing on our feed. We're only humans; we can't be refreshing the feed every few minutes throughout the day. So how should we deal with the copious amount of updates?

We have to make them manageable. Enter, Twitter Lists.

Quite honestly, we haven't actually implemented Twitter lists up until this point. It just didn't seem to be a necessity. However, as your Twitter strategy grows, so too should you tactics. And we've decided to practice what we preach.

So what are Twitter Lists?

Twitter lists help accounts manage and organize both accounts who they follow as well as accounts that they do not follow.  Lists can be either private or public. Making a list public will allow the users on the lists to see which list you have made them a part of - hey, everyone likes to feel included. Private lists mean that you, as the account owner, are the only one who can view the lists. This is perfect for following the actions of your competitors without actually "following" your competitors. Stealthy, right?

How Do I Manage Them?

So how do you get to create these lists for your own business (or personal) Twitter account? It's simple:

1. Click the button to the right of the search bar.
2. Click "Lists"
3. Click "Create List"

Or, see below:



 

 

Your Turn.

Have you implemented Twitter lists in your Twitter strategy? If so, how have you found it helpful in managing your updates. Please share in a comment below! For more information on web design, Internet marketing, social media outreach and search engine optimization, contact a professional at Blue Archer in Pittsburgh, PA.

Carla Rosemarino
Internet Marketing Analyst
@BlueArcherPGH

Connecting - Trends in UI, Interaction, & Experience Design

This morning, we came across this video on user experience. But, this video extends far beyond user experience on the web. More so, it speaks to the importance of the human experience in every product and service we purchase or interact with. Interaction design is penetrating every corner of our world. Sound ambiguous? It is, in fact, a little ambiguous. It's also pretty fascinating.

We'll let the video take it from here...

 

How does this translate into designing the best user experience for your customer? On your website? In your store? With your product? Let's discuss!

Combining Mobile Responsive Design & Great Content

A couple weeks ago we had a guest blog post on why your company needs a mobile website. We all know that mobile search is on the rise. People can't seem to get their heads out from their smart phone devices. In fact, according to Google Analytics, most of our clients are seeing anywhere from 20% to almost 50% of their site traffic come from mobile devices.

This is a game-changer.

Site users act very differently on their mobile devices than they do on a standard laptop of desktop computer. By creating a stellar mobile user-experience - filled with quality content and marked by effective responsive design, you can turn your website into a money-making machine.

Designers may take some offense to the next statement, but I'm going to say it anyways.  Content - in the case of mobile sites- is far more important than a pretty design. People are on their phones because it is convenient. Perhaps they want to search for the closest coffee shop, or maybe they want to book a hotel. Whichever it is, they are doing it while they, in fact, are mobile. Therefore, simple and strategic content that incorporates easy-to-follow funnels for the user are the most crucial elements for designing effective mobile websites.

Give users the content they want.

Take a look at your current analytics for your own business website. In Google Analytics, they make it pretty easy for you to tap into the data regarding mobile site traffic.  Then, analyze how those users are viewing and interacting with your website on their small-screened devices. Where do they end up? Where are they dropping off?

If you are a restaurant business, and most of your mobile device users end up on the page that has a form for take-out orders, for example, you need to make that page extremely visible on the homepage of the mobile website. The key is to get them to the good stuff faster.

Alright so that was pretty obvious. What are some other elements your business' mobile website should tap into?

Many mobile devices have unique functionality - like touch screen capabilities, GPS and more. It's important to integrate these elements into designing the experience. In the case of a restaurant business, for example, the GPS capability of smart phones can detect a restaurant as within range of a specific user. Improve the user experience for a user searching for take-out in your area by implementing functionality that simplifies the ordering process. If you're a pizza joint, create a specific form that includes your standard meals as well as a field on that form that allows users to customize their orders. Anticipate mistakes. If your site user is in a rush, (s)he may forget that (s)he actually wanted to hold the cheese on the last order. Include a Contact-Us button on the landing page after a user submits an order to simplify damage control. Because nothing ruins a night quite like a take-out order blunder, right? Right.

As you can see, responsive web design for mobile devices, tablets, and other devices needs to be just that - responsive. It is imperative that it is responsive to the user's needs. Don't skip out on great content within your standard business website. Instead, prioritize the content that users are searching for using their phones, and implement that information while designing a unique user experience for smaller and  condensed screens.

People simply won't use your standard site the same way they will use your site on a portable, small screen. Anticipate this, look at the data, and create a responsive web design strategy accordingly. For more information on designing user-centric websites, contact Blue Archer - a web design and development company based in Pittsburgh, PA.

Carla Rosemarino
Internet Marketing Analyst
@BlueArcherPGH

Forming Forms: Creating a Strategic Form for Your Business Website

Facebook Information Form

We've said it countless times: your business' website should be not only your best marketing tool but also a measurable tool.  It can bring you incredible insight into your target audience as well as your current customers.

One of the most crucial elements to your website is your one (or perhaps more!) form(s).

"There are clearly some potential conflict between what users and businesses want from forms. It is important to get the balance right between collecting enough user data for business needs and not overwhelming users with too many requests for personal details" - Jesmond Allen and James Chudley in Smashing UX Design

Here are some of the most important elements that your business must implement when designing a form for your website to ensure that you leave your users satisfied:

Short and Sweet

People are lazy; if they see a form that they have to scroll through in order to see the bottom, they are off-put.  People are also private; they don't want to give up too much information to a brand they may not have established a relationship with yet. If you need more information than you think will fit in a website form, simply include a field that indicates the user's preferred mode of contact.  This way, you can contact the user directly to obtain additional information. This also acts as a perfect lee-way into establishing a more personal relationship with your prospective customer.

It is also best to cut down on the work for the user whenever possible. Use strategic "default" field options. Frequently, site visitors use the defaults as a way to see what most other users choose for specific options.  Set the default values to whatever you deem to be your customer "standard" option.

Ease & Options

For fields such as dates, stick with selection boxes whenever possible. In this case, start with the month in word form, as it will cut down on the confusion from the user about if the month or day is first in your form. Calendar functionality also helps to increase the quality of the user experience because it enables users to determine the day number, for example, based on the day of the week.

If your form includes phone number or credit card information, make it easier for the user by adding the hyphens or parenthesis as a default so the user knows they are entering the information into your form correctly. These fields should also be strategically sized. A 10 digit phone number field should not extend the width of over 10 digits, or it will likely confuse and frustrate the site visitor.


Stand Up Straight & Stay in Line

As many user-experience researchers indicate, vertical layouts for forms work best. Left-align your labels so that a user can easily scroll through the form at a quick glance and see what information they will need to provide. While vertical forms are generally better for the user, there are some instances where it is more natural to have some components of the form be horizontal. An example of this includes a user's name. In an effort to mirror the natural way a user would write their name, this part of the form can be horizontal.

If you have split the form into multiple pages, the "continue" button should also be in line with your labels.  If that "continue" button is hidden, you're going to have some irritated potential customers at the end of your first section of the form, and they may exit the site as a result without finishing the entire form.

Test the appearance of your forms to ensure that the labels and the fields line up directly. Nothing is worse than a confusing form where the user cannot identify which field is associated with which label. Anyone else getting PTSD from tax forms? Use those as a perfect example of what not to do.

 

Clarity is Key

It's not optional to mark optional. If you don't absolutely need the piece of information, ensure that the user knows they may leave that field blank. While tech-savvy users may know that an asterisk indicates an optional field, those who are less familiar with online forms may not understand this. If a form field is optional, mark it as optional next to the field.

What's Happening?

As a business owner or web designer who is close to the company, you may loose sight of how your site users are viewing the website. Make sure you indicate exactly what the purpose of the form is at the top. Why should they fill out the form: Are you going to contact them directly? Are they receiving free information? Are they purchasing an item? It may seem redundant to you but the user wants to know exactly what is happening with the information they are providing to you. Be courteous, and walk them through exactly what you want, why you want it, and what they will receive in return.

One other quick note, here: The "submit" button can come off as cold and distant sounding. It's generic, and users generally don't react well to it. Consider swapping in a more defined word or set of words that fit the purpose of your form more distinctively (ie: "continue", "next", "buy now", "learn more" "send note" or "purchase").

Contextual Text

In some instances, your form labels are going to need a bit of explanation. Make sure to keep this contextualizing text separate from the label, itself. Consider including roll-over functionality where the user can scroll their mouse over a small image (such as a question mark) to reveal a description of the information needed. Some successful forms have even included the words "What's this?" below the field. If you are including contextualizing words within the form, itself, ensure that there is a clear differentiation between the form label and the supporting descriptive text.

Error or Incomplete Messages

People hate when they are told they screwed up. Your users may be rushing through your form, and from time to time, they are going to inevitably skip a field or leave a typo. Your form should react in a reasonable fashion, because chances are - the mistake that your user made is completely understandable. When you are engaged in face-to-face conversation and someone slips-up, do you shout "INVALID" in their face? Probably (hopefully) not. 

Just as you most likely point out exactly where the disconnect is, so too should your form. An ambiguous error message can leave a user feeling incredibly frustrated.  You've done everything right in order to funnel them to the form, and loosing them in the home stretch would be quite a shame. Make sure to tailor your error messages to exactly what field they have to edit. A polite message goes a long way, and it can act as an extension of your brand personality. "Whoops! We're going to need your phone number" sounds infinitely more friendly than "ERROR" or even "Invalid Phone Number Field". 

Confirmation Message

Once users give you all their information, they at least want to know you got it! Once they submit the form information, take them to a landing page that has a short message thanking them for completing the form and addressing what they should do next. Should they look out for an e-mail confirmation? Let them know. If you don't have anything else to provide the user in that moment, just add a short message thanking them for completing the form.

For more information on user-experience-centered web design, contact a professional at Blue Archer.

Carla Rosemarino
Internet Marketing Analyst
@BlueArcherPGH

1st Annual Social Media Outstanding Citizen (SMOC) Awards!

Well, it’s award season for celebrities (isn’t it?).  Since many of us will never have to prepare an acceptance speech for the Oscars, let alone a local talent contest, we at Blue Archer have decided to hold our first annual “Social Media Outstanding Citizen” Award show. The name was chosen mainly for the incredible acronym it forms. SMOC? That’s catchy right? “SMOC award winner” – hey, we like it.

This year we did the footwork ourselves, climbing through the mountains of social media awesomeness, diving into the pools of customer-service brilliance, and making our way to digital communicative grandeur. We poked and prodded at several contestants on their several social media platforms, and rated their overall effectiveness. Here, (drum roll, please) are our results!

1. Tactical Tweeter:

@pepsi

Congratulations to…. Pepsi! Ever heard of them? They make fizzy drinks, and they are the winner of our “Tactical Tweeter” SMOC award. We’re not the only ones who think they have something to say; they have over 1 million followers. The Pepsi brand does an awesome job of being completely culturally and socially aware (with the help of the gang at Deep Focus). They tweet memes, photographs, jokes, music, oh- and stuff about their brand – all while staying true to their company personality: cheeky, quirky, and refreshingly entertaining. Unlike a lot of companies, Pepsi isn’t afraid to tweet like a real person (imagine that!). They aren’t afraid to enter into random conversations with tweeters, and they aren’t above a completely “random-thought” tweet. But, that’s what we find not only endearing but more importantly effective. They aren’t throwing their product down the throats of the digital community; followers are willfully sipping from their pot of social media glory. See how they get the buzz started:

 



 

2. Pinteresting Prodigy:

Whole Foods Market

Congratulations to… Whole Foods! Yumm… these social media all-stars rock most social media platforms out there, and they populate them all really well. In an effort to not have Whole Foods monopolize our Social Media Outstanding Citizens Award (Hello? We have bylaws to uphold), we decided to pick what we thought they did best- Pinterest. Whole Foods – a brand that could easily stick to strictly food-related pins – has managed to create a surprisingly eclectic pin board. They include recycling, strength, architecture, technology, and beauty in their pinned-themes. All of their boards include creative names like “Cheese is the Bees Knees”, which we once complimented them on via Twitter AND received a response from them (See? They totally own the Twitter realm too). Additionally, a significant amount of their boards are community boards, meaning other non Whole Foods employees and regular people can pin to them too, making their pin’s viral radius even greater. Almost 2 thousand pins and over 115K followers later, we’re giving Whole Foods 2 thumbs up and their very first SMOC award!

3. Facebook Fanatic:

L.L. Bean

Congratulations to… L.L. Bean! These guys may not boast the millions of followers that other brands have on Facebook, but they treat their 150K "likes" as individuals. Firstly, their Facebook timeline looks clean and professional. They update their cover photo based on different seasons, specials, and brand happenings, and their updates are unique while encouraging customer engagement. Custom tabs help to direct Facebookers to limited-time promotions and sales through their “daily mark-down” tab. The “Share Your Story” tab helps to support social media engagement by acting as a center for customers to talk about their own experiences and memories with the L.L.Bean gear.  The posts range from informational to downright inspirational.  Sure, they aren’t above a few product promotions here and there, but they do it in a non sales-y approach, making their content more user-friendly and appealing for brand followers. There sheer volume of their Facebook updates makes it current and fresh without being spammy.

 



4. LinkedIn Leader:

IBM

In case you have yet to catch on, we’re fans of alliterations here at Blue Archer. This year’s LinkedIn Leader is…. IBM! No surprise, there. IBM enjoys a staggering 1,035,422 followers. Additionally, over 300,000 of their employees are connected via the LinkedIn network. Their homepage displays frequent updates complete with both pictures and videos. Many of their updates link directly to their various IBM niche blogs, like their software blog, for example. Other updates include third-party business articles focused on IBM or even simply relevant industry news. As a colossal company, IBM also makes use of their careers page. Their professional image header and embedded video regarding careers at IBM help to showcase their company culture as an attractive work environment for prospective employees. IMB’s Products and Services page, like many other LinkedIn profiles, functions as a highly informational page. Consequentially, it looks pretty text-heavy. However, their recommendations on the right column from hundreds of clients help to break up the text with individual pictures.

5. Wild Card Winner:

Bethel Bakery

We couldn’t wrap up our Social Media Outstanding Citizen Awards without representing a little guy. As a small business, we love other small businesses.In a lot of ways, small business' tenacity and spunk online makes them some of the more interesting brands to follow. That’s why this year, we are giving our Wildcard Winner to…. Bethel Bakery! For those who know the people behind Blue Archer, it should surprise no one that – as food enthusiasts – we might be a little biased. But, sweets or no sweets, Bethel Bakery has gleaned an impressive following on Facebook of about 3,800 “likes”.  So how did a Pittsburgh small business gather such an impressive online audience? Well, the frequent pictures of downright delicious treats probably don’t hurt. But, furthermore, Bethel Bakery shares images of daily specials they’re selling each day. What better way to lure in sweet-toothed Pittsburghers? They complement their photos with engaging text, like asking their customers which flavors they would like to see them offer in the future. The social media masters at Bethel Bakery have also built up enticing profiles and impressive followings on Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest among others. For their well-rounded social media technique and their sweet digital demeanor, we’re awarding them as this year’s Wildcard Winner.

And there you have it! Congratulations to all of our Social Media Outstanding Citizen Award winners for 2013. If you think we made some good decisions, please link and share this post. Think we missed some deserving citizens of the social media realm? Let us know with a comment and a link to the profile you think we should have highlighted. We’d love to highlight some additional social media pros, especially in our favorite city – Pittsburgh!

Need some social media help of your own? Check out our own services at Blue Archer for social media and more. We’d love to develop an offering that’s perfect for your own business needs, whether that be web design, custom software development, search engine optimization or more!

Carla Rosemarino
Internet Marketing Analyst
@BlueArcherPGH

Speaking  of social media... we wouldn't mind at all if you strolled on over to our new Blue Archer Facebook page. "Like" us for updates in social media, web design, web development, custom software, small business, Pittsburgh and more!