The company reckons that there will be 1.78 billion PCs in use that year, outstripped by the 1.82 billion install base of smartphones and browser-equipped feature phones.

“Websites not optimized for the smaller-screen formats will become a market barrier for their owners,” claims Gartner. “Much content and many sites will need to be reformatted/rebuilt.”

At first, I thought this fantasy – but when you consider what is happening in the mobile phone industry today with smart phone technology, I believe this is where our efforts as web designers and developers will be. Technologies such as M-commerce, location based services, mobile banking, information services, mobile vouchers, coupons and loyalty cards are already in advanced stages of release and many in use today.

For the general ‘company’ website, ensuring your site is optimised for mobile web browsing will become increasingly important. Some important questions need to be considered :- Can customers navigate your site by touch? –  Can they use your online map on a mobile?  - Are unsupported technologies like Flash in use? – Do you have a mobile template for your site? – Can you make use of other installed apps? …

The transition for most websites from PC based browsing to mobile device browsing isn’t rocket science. If you are operating a fully content managed site, a dual template is pretty much all that is needed in the short term. Although there are often other challenges to meet and a longer term strategy to consider…

If you would like to discuss your strategy to stay ahead with the mobile generation, please don’t hesitate to talk to David on 01647 433 475 or email me.

Did you know that 52% of people who watch a video take action?

That’s a stunning statistic.  Even if only half true, it’s something businesses can’t ignore if they are depending on their online presence for business.

Differentiation

One of the biggest problems with competitive websites is differentiation. Anyone can have a website and it can be difficult to determine whether you are dealing with a company operating from the back bedroom – or an established business with sound credentials. Most people take an immediate decision on whether a website is worth pursuing based on how it looks and how easy it is to find the information they are looking for.  Good design has much to answer for!  The one thing that many viewers do find appealing  – is a short video.  It needs to be relevant, short and well executed.

Videos can be simple screen cams to demonstrate a software product or service (such as this MailCentric video) or may involve location footage, interviews, and animation. A video puts a face to your business and a personality. It can help make the viewer feel they have already met you and therefore build familiarity and ultimately relationship. After all – isn’t that what all businesses are trying to achieve?

Popularity

You only need to view the YouTube stats to realise the popularity of video over the Internet…

•  YouTube exceeds 2 billion views a day, nearly double the prime-time audience of all 3 major US broadcast networks combined.
• 24 hours of video are uploaded every day
• 70% of traffic comes from outside the US
•  94 of Advertising Age’s 100 top advertisers have run a campaign on YouTube

YouTube is just one video streaming avenue, but perhaps the most well known. Video can be hosted on such a service and embedded onto your website very simply.

Production time

Internet video does not have to be professionally produced. Chances are, you have pretty much all the hardware and software you need between the phone in your pocket and your PC to produce a basic video blogg.

However, to make an engaging and well-crafted video, some consideration is needed.

We can help you tackle Internet video at any level – from video bloggs to corporate presentations. We can help you storyboard and plan out your production, even film it and edit it. We can help you with video streaming sites (such as YouTube, Vimeo, etc.), share your creation and embed it on your website…

You may even find yourself picking up an Oscar.

The QR Code is basically a bar code format that can be automatically read by mobile phone cameras. Built in apps recognise the code and link the viewer to a webpage, telephone number, video clip, music file, or text message. They have become very popular in Japan and are fast becoming the next hot marketing tool for the mobile generation.

Given the surge in smartphones and the Gartner predictions for web browsing (see below), I suggest you may well see more and more QRCs on products, literature, advertising, business cards, stationery, tickets, invitations…  They are easy to implement and quite intriguing.

QR Codes have been put to various uses over recent months, from helping conferences run more efficiently to linking t-shirt labels to MP3 files. Now German company Qkies have given the QR Code the edible treatment, combining them with cookie mix to create munch-able personalised messages.

Qkies — a cooperative project of Juchem Gruppe, a German food trade company, and DFKI, the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence — can be used as a playful alternative for a variety of things, from party invitations to business cards. Consumers make and bake the cookies before decorating them with the enclosed QR Codes, printed on edible paper. The recipient of the cookies scans the QRC with their phone to be directed to either a video on YouTube, a photo on Flickr or a personalized web page containing a specific message, as dictated by the sender.

So  – gimmick or serious marketing tool?

Ultimately it’s going to depend on how this technology is used, I’m sure we’ll see plenty of gimmicks. However, QRC uses a intrinsic part of human nature – curiosity. I know I can’t help myself when it comes to using newfound gadgets and QR Codes are intriguing.

Brands are continually competing for our attention. We are going to see a lot more QR Codes in general advertising – and perhaps not just advertising, but instances where information can be linked from printed matter, such as: timetables – find out when the next bus is due, brochures – link through to up-to-date information, concert advertising – link through to immediate booking. The creative solutions are endless. Worth considering for your next campaign?  Talk to us.

An interesting prediction

Gartner predicts that there will be 1.78 billion PCs in use in 2013, outstripped by the 1.82 billion install base of smartphones and browser-equipped feature phones.

“Websites not optimized for the smaller-screen formats will become a market barrier for their owners,” claims Gartner. “Much content and many sites will need to be reformatted/rebuilt.”

The Internet has been with us for some time and I think it is fair to say we have all engaged and accepted this technology as key to our communications and marketing strategy. However, social media technologies and blogs are currently under used or used without proper understanding.

Research shows that more people are reading blogs, those people expect your company to have a social media presence, and blogs influence their purchasing decisions. Those sound like very compelling reasons for companies to start blogging or to improve their existing blog!

THE RESEARCH

My apologies for the US related research – but when you look at the dates of this research and consider the UK is typically 1 – 2 years behind – I think this speaks well of where we (the UK) are today.

Cone Finds that Americans Expect Companies to Have a Presence in Social Media: September 25, 2008

Sixty percent of Americans use social media, and of those, 59 percent interact with companies on social media Web sites. One in four interacts more than once per week.

According to the survey, 93 percent of social media users believe a company should have a presence in social media, while an overwhelming 85 percent believe a company should not only be present but also interact with its consumers via social media. In fact, 56 percent of users feel both a stronger connection with and better served by companies when they can interact with them in a social media environment.

“The news here is that Americans are eager to deepen their brand relationships through social media,” explains Mike Hollywood, director of new media for Cone, “it isn’t an intrusion into their lives, but rather a welcome channel for discussion.” (Quoted from Cone: September 25, 2008)

Forrester Research: The Growth Of Social Technology Adoption on October 20, 2008

One in three online Americans now read blogs at least once a month, while 18% comment on them. Blog readers as a group grew by nearly 50% over this past year. (Quoted from Forrester Research: October 20, 2008)

BuzzLogic: Blog Influence on Consumer Purchases Eclipses Social Networks on October 28, 2008

Blogs influence purchases: One half (50 percent) of blog readers say they find blogs useful for purchase information.

According to the study, blogs factor in to critical stages of the purchase process, weighing most heavily at the actual moment of a purchase decision. When it comes to respondents who said they have trusted blog content for purchase decisions in the past, over half (52 percent) say blogs played a role in the critical moment they decided to move forward with a purchase. (Quoted from BuzzLogic: October 28, 2008)

A QUICK SUMMARY: What This Means for Companies

For those of us who regularly consume information from blogs, we expect to be able to grab an RSS feed of your company’s blog to keep up with news and information relevant to your industry. The research above shows that the number of people who read blogs in growing, and these people expect you to have a blog. Not only are more people reading blogs, these blogs are influencing purchasing decisions, which is important for every company.

ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO is probably one of the biggest advantages of having a corporate blog. Because blog content is updated frequently, blogs have some built-in search engine benefits. The blogging culture also encourages linking to other blogs, which can also improve your rankings in search results.

Thought Leadership. A great blog can position your company and key employees as thought leaders within the industry, which puts your company in a position of greater authority within your industry. The O’Reilly Radar blog is a great example of how O’Reilly employees and the company are seen as thought leaders, thus putting O’Reilly in a greater position of authority for books, events, and other products.

SHOULD EVERY COMPANY HAVE A BLOG?

Yes and no. The benefits of blogging seem to be fairly clear; however, these benefits are only achieved when the blog is updated regularly with great content. Unfortunately, this can be a significant time commitment. For companies who are not willing to put in the time and effort, it is better not to have a blog than to have a blog that hasn’t been updated in months.

Here are a few things to think about:

• Can you commit to at least one post per week? (2-3 is better)
• Do you have people who have interesting things to say and with good writing skills?
• Is someone available to manage the process and make sure that the blog never gets neglected?

If the answer to any of the above questions is no, this might not be the right time for you to start a corporate blog.

If you are still on the fence, here are a few tricks to help overcome the above hurdles:

Start a group blog with several authors to spread the load across more people. With 4 authors, each person could write one post a month to meet the minimum requirement of one post per week. A dozen authors writing 2 posts per month would give you content for a post each business day.

Recruit bloggers from the lower ranks of the company who are smart and passionate about the industry. While the CEO might not have hours to spend blogging, someone further down the org chart might be able to carve out a little more time.

Manage the blog process by having someone who already manages content for other purposes also pick up management of the blog. A community manager is a good choice for this if you have one.

Acknowledgement: D Foster (article edited for Marketing Insight by davet)

Branding Microsoft SharePoint is an important part of a businesses’ corporate communications and brand strategy, ensuring consistency of look and feel and the projection of brand values – yet it is something that is often overlooked.

Brand is not simply a company’s logo or corporate identity. Brand encompasses how you are seen (visually, verbally, by actions and content), your attitude, your personality and brand promise.

John Lewis is a well-respected business we all know. They have a strong brand. It isn’t just what they look like that matters – it is how they do business. You know that when you shop at John Lewis, you will meet helpful well trained staff. You know you will see a range of products that are chosen for their quality. You know their restaurant will serve high quality food. This is no accident – John Lewis understand and promote their brand values strongly throughout their organisation and via every communication channel they can.

This is where branding SharePoint becomes an important part of a businesses communication strategy. It’s about taking your people with you, presenting consistency of communication, promoting and enforcing brand values, corporate styling, attitude to business etc.

For many companies, brand is their most important asset. Branding SharePoint in-line with your businesses corporate identity becomes a little more important when you realise the power of brand management and the consequences for underestimating its relevance.

Branding SharePoint is a specialised service we undertake working alongside technical partners Deltascheme Ltd. Deltascheme are Microsoft Gold Partners and have been working along side Design Centric for over twenty years.

The Internet age has markedly changed how businesses go to market with their products and services. Not so long ago it was about smart, online automated services. Today it’s about personal relationships (funny how trends come around again!).

Big business is struggling to have a face; perhaps the time of the SME is here! The fact is people want to do business with people – not automated smart machines – which make mistakes; you can’t speak to, or get in front of. WE are more complex beings!

Follow me on a journey to discover how your business can leverage the power of social media, online networking, web video and much more… I will be posting a series of practical articles to help businesses engage with the new marketing mix and leverage the technologies that are available to them.

Design Centric works with new media solutions to help businesses stay on top of the ever changing marketing landscape. We can help you implement some the latest tools and help you build a marketing strategy based on the New Marketing Mix… social media, online networking, web video, blog spots, viral campaigns, website tools…