If you are interested in human behaviour, especially online behaviour, you might enjoy the Digital Behaviour Podcast. This is a podcast, produced here in Bristol, about human behaviour in the modern digital world.
In each episode, we [Dr Hanne Knight (Plymouth University) and Dr Tom Bowden-Green (Bristol Business School and BCI member)] discuss the latest academic research and chat to guests about how to understand human behaviour, and why this is important. In the latest episode we chat to another BCI member, Ryan Webb, about conversion optimisation and his views on ethics.
Please let us know what you think, and subscribe if you enjoy it! You’ll find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or whichever podcast provider you listen to. If you’d like to feature on the podcast, we’d also love to hear from you.
User experience (UX) comprises a vast array of principles and practices that help visitors navigate your website effectively, engage with your content, and progress to a desired outcome or transaction.
Businesses are becoming more and more savvy to the benefits of user-centric design and embracing the customer experience. But some are still overlooking certain elements of the user journey (thereby deprioritising the customer) – and to their detriment.
If an overly complex checkout process can deter 27% of potential customers, consider how many are likely to drop off before they even reach a buying decision. So, while it may seem fussy to agonise over clicks or the wording of your calls to action (CTAs), these seemingly small moments along the user journey can make a huge difference.
So, now that we understand the scale of the problem, how can we go about creating a streamlined user experience based on best practice and customer-centric design principles?
First, let’s define some key terms:
Website navigation is the backbone of your user journey. Without effective menus, buttons, and links, your site would have no direction. These elements should guide users to the information they need, and onto the next logical step.
Effective navigation can significantly enhance the usability and accessibility of a website.It also enhances customer satisfaction, improves engagement, and can lead to better conversion rates.
So how can you ensure your website navigation meets UX best practices? Here’s a simple framework (and mnemonic) you can use: SASS ME
An uncomplicated menu structure facilitates quick information retrieval and task completion.
Employ readable fonts, contrasting colours, and strategic placement to enhance visibility.
Clear, easy-to-read labels and buttons (with calls to action (CTAs) like ‘Contact us’ or ‘Request a quote’) provide users with direction and an understanding of what to expect.
Website navigation isn’t solely about your users. A sitemap needs to be readily available so that search engine crawlers can navigate it effectively too. It can also be a great place to start when planning your information architecture.
With over half of internet traffic coming from mobile devices, navigation should be touch-screen friendly for effortless tapping and responsive browsing across every device size.
Your navigation menu isn’t the only way your users jump from page to page, so use your content blocks and CTAs wisely. A more engaging user journey encourages longer sessions, improves conversion rate, and makes navigation intuitive and enjoyable.
Setting out the perfect user journey involves understanding and mapping out how users interact with your site from their first visit to the final action you want them to take. This could be making a purchase, requesting a quote, registering interest, or getting in touch.
The goal is to create a seamless, intuitive, and satisfying experience that guides users towards each of your desired outcomes.
By following just a few simple steps, you can create a watertight user journey that minimises bounce rate and maximises conversions.
1. Understand your audience and create personas
Start by understanding your target audience. Research their needs, preferences, pain points, and behaviours. Then, create user personas to represent different segments of your audience. This helps in tailoring the journey to different user needs.
2. Define user goals and business objectives
Identify what users want to achieve on your website (e.g. find information about your services, buy a product, read industry news) and align these goals with your business objectives (e.g., increase sales, generate leads).
3. Map the current user journey
Analyse the existing path users take on your website using tools like Google Analytics, heatmaps, and user feedback. Identify any pain points, bottlenecks, or areas where users drop off. You’ll also want to consider how users will enter your site (homepage, landing pages, blog articles) and optimise these entry points.
4. Tailor content and simplify conversion
Ensure your content addresses the needs, desires, and questions of your users at each stage of their journey. Crucially, minimise the number of steps needed to complete a conversion (e.g. making a purchase, signing up for your newsletter, or getting in touch) and ensure forms are simple and easy to fill out.
5. Optimise for different devices and channels
Ensure your website is responsive and provides a seamless experience on desktops, tablets, and smartphones. Consider how different channels (social media, email, ads) impact the user journey and optimise accordingly.
6. Incorporate feedback loops
Use surveys, user testing, and analytics to gather feedback on the user experience. Regularly review this feedback to identify areas for improvement. And finally: test, test, test! Constant testing and optimisation will ensure your site stays up to date, your users enjoy the best possible experience and you’re ahead of any issues or bugs that may arise.
By prioritising UX, businesses can ensure higher levels of customer satisfaction, but also engagement, trust and loyalty, leading to increased conversions and retention. So, investing in a meticulous, user-centric design approach is not just a best practice, it’s a strategic must.
If you would like a free consultation to discuss your website’s UX contact us at [email protected].
You’d be forgiven for thinking your web presence had a small, rather insignificant impact on the environment, but research shows this isn’t the case.
In fact, the average website produces 4.61 grams of CO2 for every page view. For websites that have an average of 10,000 page views per month, we’re talking approx. 553 kilograms of CO2 each year. For high-traffic websites and businesses with multiple domains, that figure represents just a fraction of the actual emissions you’re putting out.
That’s right. Your website has its own carbon footprint.
The internet consumes a lot of electricity: 240-340 TWh per year according to the IEA. In fact, if the internet was a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest polluter – ranking higher than the United Kingdom.
With businesses around the world committed to reducing their emissions and helping to fight climate change, it’s important we all take responsibility for our digital footprint, too.
By investing in more sustainable web design, we’ll also benefit from faster load times, a more enjoyable user experience, and a better chance of ranking higher in Google search results. Basically, everyone wins.
Sustainable web design is an approach to designing digital products and services that focuses on environmental impact first and foremost. It respects the principles of the Sustainable Web Manifesto, which calls for the internet to be clean, efficient, open, honest, regenerative, and resilient.
To help you navigate the world of sustainable web design, we’ve put together a few top tips. For more comprehensive guidelines, download your FREE checklist.
No, i’m not talking about harnessing the force. JEDI stands for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Remember, not everyone’s surfing the web with perfect vision, the latest tech and lightning-fast connections. Justin Reyna put it perfectly when he said: “Not creating accessible products is just rude”. So let’s make the digital world enjoyable for all, not just a privileged few.
By striving to meet the highest possible accessibility standards, you can enhance code quality, which in turn boosts energy efficiency and elevates your SEO rankings –it’s a no-brainer.
Did you know that 90.6% of web pages get zero traffic from Google? That’s why it’s best to prioritise page quality over quantity. Simplifying the user experience doesn’t only serve to help people find what they’re looking for. It’s also more energy-efficient, because it reduces the number of wasted clicks needed to navigate your website.
Lightweight pages load faster and consume less energy. Saving your assets in optimal formats and sizes, using video content efficiently, and embracing dark mode can all help.
Last, but not least, switch to a hosting provider powered by 100% renewable energy, e.g. Krystal. Unsure about your current hosting? The Green Web Foundation’s checker can help.
How do you calculate your website’s carbon impact?
Whilst it’s relatively straightforward to track the environmental impact for most major industries (e.g. miles per gallon for cars or energy per square meter for homes), it’s not as simple to measure the amount of CO2 produced while browsing the internet. Fortunately, the team at Sustainable Web Design have created a comprehensive methodology for estimating emissions.
If you have any questions about your website’s sustainability, you can request a free website audit here and we will send you a breakdown of different areas that you could improve. Or feel free to contact us at [email protected], for a no obligation chat.
Business customers do the majority of their decision-making online. Gartner research shows that in 2019 27% of buying groups’ time was spent researching independently online.
This figure has now increased, with Hubspot’s research suggesting that “58% of consumers say they’ve discovered at least one new product by searching the internet in 2022, and 44% say they’ve done so in the past three months.”
But a buyer’s time is precious and it’s important you aren’t cold calling or interrupting their workday, you want to meet them at a time that is convenient for them.
Digital marketing meets prospects where they are, whether that’s via their browser, their favourite sites or on social media channels such as LinkedIn. It can put your product or services in front of the right people, at the right time.
“86% of marketers increased brand awareness using one or more digital marketing channel” – Hubspot
While it presents great opportunities, the digital landscape is unique and ever-changing. It’s constantly evolving and updating to offer new ways of reaching your target audience.
So, with that in mind, we’ve put this guide together to help you efficiently create, optimise and maintain your all-important digital marketing strategy in just a few easy steps.
When it comes to digital marketing strategy, one size really doesn’t fit all. So, before you get started, it’s important to tailor your approach for your audience.
Using an analytics platform, you can answer the crucial questions that will inform your marketing strategy and ensure you’re targeting the right people. With platforms like GA4 (previously Google Analytics) you can learn who your target audience is and how current website visitors are engaging with your content.
Using the information you’ve gathered from your analytics platform, you can enhance your strategy with detailed buyer personas. Getting to the heart of your audience and their needs is vital. You need to work out where they are most likely to spend their time and how they prefer to digest digital content. This will give you a benchmark on how to create yours.
You will need to review your existing digital marketing channels. We recommend using the paid-earned-owned media framework.
This will ensure you can maximise value from existing assets and fill in the gaps where needed.
Review and rank all your existing content according to what has previously performed well. The idea here is to figure out what’s working and what isn’t, so you can set yourself up for success when planning new content. You’ll then need to identify the gaps and build out a new content plan.
“Worldwide ad spending in the digital market is projected to reach 679.80 billion USD in 2023″ – Statista
Once all the planning is out of the way, it’s time to define your digital marketing toolkit. This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a go-to selection to get the wheels of change in motion (and by change, we mean growth).
The first thing you’ll want to get right is your website. How is it ranking in organic search results? What keywords are your competitors ranking for that you’re not? Is the user journey working well? Are your CTAs converting? Does your website meet accessibility standards and user experience (UX) best practices? These are all questions you’ll want to ask yourself before working to get more traffic to your site.
A great, well-written blog that solves a customer problem is a great way to attract new audiences with a genuine interest in your products and services. And because you’ve crafted your personas and drilled down into the pain points of your target audience, you’re fully prepped to write or commission highly targeted content that’s helpful for your reader.
Social media advertising can drive leads, boost revenue, increase brand awareness and more. It’s where your customers feel most at home, and where they prefer to spend their free time. This creates an opportunity to engage more authentically and have more meaningful interactions.
Did you know according to Hubspot research there are over 2.38 billion monthly active users on Facebook? And 500 million daily Instagram users?
Social media has an impressive reach and great effectiveness, it allows you to nurture leads in real time. With social ads, you can set your budget and easily adjust it within the platform you’re using.
PPC (pay-per-click) advertising is a highly favoured part of the digital marketer’s toolkit. This is because it can have a big impact in the short-term and show clear results. But it’s worth noting that it’s most effective in combination with always-on brand activity and well-optimised organic content.
PPC (pay-per click) is a form of advertising that allows you to pay a fee each time a user clicks through to your website from another platform.
Typically, when we talk about PPC, we mean advertising on the search engine results page (SERP). PPC advertising is commonly seen on Google results, showing up like this:
View image in blog here.
“63% of people have clicked on a Google ad” – Statista. How can PPC boost your digital presence? PPC advertising increases the number of leads and customers you’re reaching, unlocking otherwise untapped potential.
Google Ads is one of the most recommended tools for lead generation. If your campaigns are set up properly with a clear user journey, it has the potential to send extremely targeted leads to your website, opt-in form or other online property.
Google Ads allows you to focus on the people who are searching for the exact services your business offers, it’s also flexible. You can easily customise campaigns to focus on specific demographics of online users. For example, you can target people by location, the type of device they’re using, and the Google-owned websites they’re accessing (e.g. Google search, Google Maps, YouTube).
You can even set your own budget for specific parts of a campaign. For example, you can set daily budgets, or limits on the amount you’re willing to spend on clicks for specific keywords.
“The average cost per click on google ads is £0.75-£1.50″ – Demandsage
But you won’t get far on spending alone.
To get a clearer picture of what will give you the best results, you must continually test, track and optimise your campaigns.
“The average conversion rate on Google Ads is 4.40%” – Consolidata
So, now you know how to prepare a digital marketing strategy. And all the key components that will help you grow your online presence.
But as every marketer knows, the proof is in the pudding. By which we mean, growth relies on constant trial and error, A/B testing, research, analytics, and a constant stream of top-quality content that brings all your goals to fruition.
And that’s a hell of a lot to implement – even for a whole team of marketers.
That’s why we’re offering a free, no obligations consultation on your digital marketing strategy and marketing automation potential.
Confused by giga-whatsits and tetra-terra-RAMs? Lights go dim when you’re in earshot of someone talking about metrics and benchmarks? Then you, dear reader, are who I’m writing this for. If you also happen to be marketing adjacent in your role, then you, dear prospect are definitely who I’m writing this for.
I don’t want to brag, but this blog provides easily consumable, highly understandable insight into the importance of speeding up your digital performance. So great is this insight that it has its own acronym: F.A.S.T.
View image in blog here.
This is quite simple really. So simple, in fact, that it can be bullet pointed:
You can Google (or ChatGPT) these things until you’re blue in the face, and you’ll likely find hundreds of books on these topics. So, to save reinventing the wheel, I’m going to explore three areas that can contribute to your digital speed and agility.
Those of you paying attention will notice that I’ve used automation for the title of this section, not AI. Why have I done this? Is AI not the fire that draws the marketing moths nearer? The AI magic silver bullet that makes everything better, faster, stronger?
The truth is, AI is used far too broadly and often incorrectly, so I’d like to try not to spread any more misinformation.
With that in mind, let’s define our terms:
Let’s use a couple examples and explain why the two are often confused.
Writing a piece of content, running it through a translation service, assigning a status of ‘needs review’ and sending an email to a staff member to prompt the need for proofreading or fact checking.
This is an automation.
Writing a piece of content, running it through a translation service, assigning a status of ‘needs review’ and sending an email to a staff member to prompt the need for proofreading or fact checking.
This is AI… and also automation.
They’re the same, right? Yes and no. In our example it entirely depends on how the translation service has been created. If that service has been written as a complex system for converting one language to another, it’s not AI. However, if that system has been trained to translate using vast multi-lingual datasets and machine learning techniques, it is AI.
So, let’s apply the lens of performance. Given the two above examples what is the driver for increased performance? Automation, not AI.
To increase the performance of your digital processes, look at which manual activities can be automated. What can you connect to what and allow ‘the system’ to take over.
How do we do this? This is actually computing. It’s what software and hardware engineers have been doing since Babbage built his difference engine – we’re taking an input, applying certain rules or changes to it, and manufacturing an output. In software engineering this is done in code. The real revolution we’re currently experiencing lies in the way these powers have been put in the hands of ‘we, the people’. APIs have become commonplace. Tools like Zapier, Make, and others have created capabilities to connect the APIs of the largest and most common services.
In the not-so-distant past, if you wanted to automate a process using computers, you’d need to have a team of developers. Today, you just need an idea and a set of off-the-shelf tools.
The automation of systems and processes has become democratised. If you’re not automating your processes, you should be. Others are, and they’ll be moving faster than you.
You can’t rush the creative process. I wouldn’t dare suggest you can. My partner and the mother of my children happens to be ‘a creative’ and it’s more than my life is worth to sully the craft with such a cold, clinical word as ‘performance.’
But what I am suggesting you can do is grease the wheels a little – remove the friction. Essentially, you want to cut out the middlemen – the great unwashed tech folk that often serve as content gatekeepers in processes that time forgot (I can make that joke, because I am / was a developer. I promise I did wash… occasionally.)
Back in the day – ‘the day’ being just a quick hop back to the year 2017 – it wasn’t uncommon to need to make a clear and distinct choice when considering content creation capabilities on your website.
The predominant choices? The tried and tested form-based CMS, equipping droves of content editors with the power to put text into little boxes. Or a protracted, high-design process: content that made its way to the web via many a designer, developer and tester.
BUT, creating and publishing content on a website has undergone substantial change over the past 5 years. We are officially living in the future. The content editor experience is now more important than ever. Fast-paced marketing, ever-decreasing attention spans and increased marketing agility require the modern content editor to act quickly and assuredly. This need has been a call to action for editor tooling, and we’re firmly living in the age of low-code / no-code editor experiences.
Now, given the aforementioned rate of change and the average lifespan of a website, it’s quite possible you’re still experiencing this clunky mechanic. You might feel a world away from the nirvana of which I speak. On the contrary – you’re likely best placed to take advantage of this brave new world. And it’s about time you underwent that website refresh you’ve been dreaming of.
Allow me, if you will, to paint you a picture of the awe-inspiring world of frictionless content publishing.
Using these tools, your content editors can log into your CMS, choose from a collection of branded, pre-built, design-approved patterns. They’ll drag them into a page that’s ready to be populated with content, preview the fruits of their labour in real-time, easily change layouts, nest components. The result is an entirely unique page or website, confidently consistent with your brand.
Why is this better? It empowers your team, unlocks creativity, removes developer requirement, reduces the concern of brand variance and inconsistency, and eliminates human error and duplication of efforts. In short, it shifts left and speeds up the entire content creation process.
Sounds good, right?
But I do have one word of warning. Not all that glitters is gold – some modern architecture patterns could easily land you in hot water. If you’re looking for that website refresh, do find a partner that will create the right product for you, not for them.
Alright, it’s just ‘edge computing’ – you’ll have to forgive the acronymic crowbarring.
I fear by this point I might be losing you dear reader. I’m sure you’re tiring of my pithy rambling, so I’ll take a cue from edge computing and move my point closer to you.
Edge computing is the practice of utilising geographically optimal server locations to reduce data travel distance.
Edge computing can provision your databases, your web servers and your code closer to the customer. Picture a user in China purchasing a product from Apple. They open a browser and visit Apple.com. That request, in a non-edge world, would likely travel halfway across the world and land on a server. The server then needs to send response data back across the globe via cables running under large bodies of water. This takes time. When you add in compute time back at the server this compounds. When you add in data size this compounds further.
Milliseconds can turn into seconds, forcing users to wait, which hurts your SEO performance, impacts conversion and damages your brand.
All this in just a few seconds.
Well, what if I told you that your data need not travel at all.
Edge computing also tends to include the use of a content distribution network (CDN). This handy practice can cache major parts of your website to, in some cases, completely invalidate the need to visit your servers at all – no travel, no computing, no wait (well, very little wait).
Companies that provide CDN capability can have copies of your website as close to your customers or users as physically possible ready to fire your website into their eyeballs at break-neck speeds. They also add a whole bunch of security advantages, but that’s a topic for another time.
We live in a global world. Unless you’re geo-locking your website, you can have visitors from anywhere. Is their money worth any less than Brenda from Bromley’s?
If you would like to discuss your website with one of our experts, or have any questions surrounding this blog, please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
Whatever you call it, online brand building is no new concept. But it’s often overlooked when it comes to digital marketing, which often favours the short-term gain of lead generation or performance marketing campaigns.
Long gone are the days when a strong online presence was a nice-to-have. In today’s digital age, it’s a must. But beyond simply being visible, you also have to put online engagement at the heart of your brand strategy.
Online brand standards are higher than ever. If customers or prospects see that your website, social media, digital content, or messaging is inconsistent, of poor quality, or non-existent, you lose something that will prove nearly impossible to regain – their trust.
So, how can you build a great online brand? It’s simple – you incorporate digital as part of the development process, growing your visibility and reputation online alongside your brand.
Whether you’re starting from scratch or refreshing your identity, you’ll probably want to begin with design and top-level messaging, but it’s important not to look at your brand or online presence in isolation. The two go hand in hand and need to be developed in tandem for maximum impact.
It’s tempting to fall into the trap of undertaking SWOT analysis, consumer research, qualitative and quantitative research, and simply leave it as just that – research. A report for the archives. But by identifying your mission, values, segmented audiences, and USPs, you can root every stage of your brand development in data – ensuring that, as you grow, your brand grows with you.
From an online brand perspective – if you have a website, you can track user behaviour and align it with your research, allowing you to gather information not only about your customers’ perception of your brand, but their interactions too. Don’t miss the opportunity to use what you’ve learned from your online presence to shape the direction of your brand.
Data will give you a strong sense of the way your brand is perceived, what your customers expect, and what they want from your business moving forward. Armed with this information, you can change their minds, engage them better, and grow your brand.
Your website is an integral part of your brand.
It’s often at the heart of the customer journey – it’s where customers buy from you, how they contact you, where they find out about you, and often, where they make their first impressions after a quick search of your company name.
“…if customers or prospects see that your website, social media, digital content, or messaging is inconsistent, of poor quality, or non-existent, you lose something that will prove nearly impossible to regain – their trust…”
So why wouldn’t your website be at the core of your branding? It’s critical to the reputation of your business that your website is easy to navigate, visually appealing, a clear representation of your identity, and helps customers reach the next step in their journey – building trust with every interaction.
Accessibility should also play a big role in your online brand strategy. Does your website work with screen readers? Are fonts clear, high-contrast and easy to read? All of this plays a role in garnering, and building, trust between brand and consumer.
When it comes to building a brand online, you want to make sure your business is synonymous with great design, as well as streamlined and efficient customer experience. So user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) best practices become a really important part of the conversation between brand and consumer.
While trends are popular, it’s best practice that lasts. So here are some key principles to remember.
Social media is where you can start to build out the personality of your brand. Encouraging customers to engage with your brand in a more direct, organic way is a fantastic opportunity to further your reputation and recognition.
“…data will give you a strong sense of the way your brand is perceived, what your customers expect, and what they want from your business moving forward…”
Different platforms such as Instagram and LinkedIn will demand different approaches to content – and you can experiment to find the right way to engage your audience across each channel. But the mission, vision, and values established as part of your brand identity should always remain consistent if you want to build trust.
One misconception about branding is that it’s a one-and-done activity. But even the world’s most established, well-known brands update and refresh their identity regularly, and they’ll use always-on brand marketing to hold their market share and monitor engagement.
“…when it comes to building a brand online, you want to make sure your business is synonymous with great design, as well as streamlined and efficient customer experience…”
Equally, your online brand must evolve with the expectations, demands and behaviours of your customers. You want to gauge how your brand is performing, but also keep an eye on competitors to make sure you stay relevant and on-trend.
While the steps above detail how to build your brand online, the question remains: why should you put time and effort into it?
We know how tempting it is to spend your entire marketing budget on lead gen, but there are serious gains to be won for those brave enough to invest in always-on digital brand campaigns.
Your online brand is an opportunity for visibility and credibility. Through pairing your online brand with the right SEO, content, and marketing campaigns, you have a prime opportunity to significantly increase the visibility of your brand – in the same breath however, your visibility can be damaging if you haven’t invested in a credible online brand.
“…it’s critical to the reputation of your business that your website is easy to navigate, visually appealing, a clear representation of your identity, and helps customers reach the next step in their journey – building trust with every interaction…”
Your brand and marketing must work hand in hand to be truly successful.
Not only are customers more digitally engaged than ever, they’re also more sceptical than ever. As consumers, we’re flooded with newsletters, purchase alerts, email campaigns, and social media posts – how many of these do we actually take in?
If you’re not taking the time to understand what your audience engages with, and investing in branded content that matters to them, you can quickly fade into obscurity.
Developing an online brand that resonates with your customers can not only garner engagement, but loyalty too. If they know the messages you’re sending are of value to them, they’ll be more likely to pay attention the next time a sponsored post appears on their feed.
“…your online brand must evolve with the expectations, demands and behaviours of your customers…”
And engagement doesn’t just mean keeping up with competitors by producing like-for-like content. It means finding new ways to connect, stand out and speak to the emerging pain points or demands of your audience.
Brand is often seen as an immeasurable investment. At the end of the day, how do you measure how effective your new colour palette, logo, or typography has been?
You’ve invested your money, and you want to prove ROI, which is exactly where an online brand is critical.
Your digital ecosystem is entirely measurable. You can test your pre- and post-launch brand performance, as well as continuing to optimise and gather insights.
“…keep an eye on competitors to make sure you stay relevant and on-trend…”
Furthermore, you can compare against your sector and competitors. Your online brand is not only a snapshot of performance, but it can also help build a picture of where you stand in the market.
This information can help inform wider business decisions, by providing insights on which products or services are performing well, which processes needs reviewing or streamlining, and where you should invest your marketing budget moving forward.
So whether you want to grow your brand or boost your bottom line, building a robust online brand is a must for businesses of all sizes.
Whether you need advice or support with positioning, visual identity, a digital refresh, or all of the above, we’re here to help. Get in touch and book a free consultation today.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44 (0)117 923 2282
When we talk about brand, technology isn’t generally the first thing that springs to mind. Brand is, more often than not, considered to belong to the realm of “creatives”.
However, without touching on the levels of “creativity” required to conceive of and build the applications and services our modern world runs on today, we’ll spend some time looking at why technology is crucial to the success of a brand.
Technology tools are ubiquitous in our lives and day-to-day work, so we’ll take it as read that technology plays a role in crafting a brand, but once that brand lives and breathes, what critical role does technology play in ensuring its growth and prosperity?
Starting with a grandiose analogy, technology is to brand what “organisation” was to the Roman Empire: an enabler of massive growth and innovation or, when overstretched or ill-conceived, a potential cause of damage. In this way we can see that technology is an amplifier for brand, in both positive and negative directions.
Let’s continue with this handy framing and look at some examples of positive and negative impacts on brand facilitated by the duplicitous technology and see exactly why it is so crucial to the fundamental success of a brand.
Technology is to brand what organisation was to the Roman Empire: an enabler of massive growth and innovation or, when overstretched or ill-conceived, a potential cause of damage.
“Speak clearly, if you speak at all; carve every word before you let it fall” – Marcus Aurelius
The words of Marcus Aurelius ring true for every good brand operating today. What you say matters. But so too does how you say it – and crafting and broadcasting brand messages, communicating brand personality and demonstrating brand principles are all enabled through skilled use of technology.
It’s often helpful to look at brands in terms of component parts, something we love doing in the tech space. Lets consider a brand as having physical and non-physical properties. In the physical space we have written, visual and auditory assets and capabilities; in the non-physical space we have experience, behaviour and embodiment components.
When we break it all down like this, we can start to see how technology can play key roles in supporting brand, primarily in distribution, governance and implementation.
Let’s consider a brand as having physical and non-physical properties. In the physical space are written, visual and auditory assets and capabilities, in the non-physical space we have experience, behaviour and embodiment components.
In the physical space, distribution, governance & implementation is really about moving the assets that support our brand around effectively and efficiently, ensuring that whenever and wherever our brand needs to be referenced it’s being done so using the frame that countless hours and much effort went into establishing, and furthermore ensuring that those mechanisms are doing this work in such a way that supports our desired brand. I’m fairly confident in saying that few brands would say that keeping a customer waiting (to view an image of their logo) is in line with their brand message and values.
This is achieved through:
In the non-physical space we’re really talking about communicating and enabling those representing our brand to do so in line with our expectations. Technology enables this by providing ways to up-skill and support those people representing our brand. Learning tools, managed communication systems, and again asset management, consider a Tone of Voice document.
This can be achieved through use of:
When these systems are in place, well implemented and well managed, we can create a robust, well-oiled machine through which we can ensure that our brand is carried through to all digital touch points.
Because no story would be complete without a cautionary tale, let’s look at one now. Ticketmaster, the global purveyor of all things live entertainment, suffered some very serious brand damage at the hands of technology.
“He who is not a good servant will not be a good [Ticket]master” – Plato
It should go without saying that poor customer service is detrimental to a brand. I’m sure we’ve all sworn off a company after a bad experience, and possibly still warn others off said company to this day.
Customer service used to be fairly linear, and all about the human touch – direct customer contact. Nowadays, the number of touchpoints between customer and brand has grown and much of that increased surface area is digital. It’s perhaps for this reason that we’re seeing a move from ‘customer service’ to the increased use of ‘customer experience’ as a more appropriate term.
Now, back to our cautionary tale…
It’s November 2022. Having selected Ticketmaster as her exclusive ticket sales partner, Taylor Swift is set to launch the pre-sales of the US leg of her ridiculously highly anticipated Eras Tour. It’s fair to say this was one of the most visible tour launches in history. Droves of her fans were hoping for an experience they’d never forget. And they got one. A bad one. An unforgettably bad customer experience.
What followed wasn’t Ticketmaster’s finest moment: website outages, fans being booted from queues, cancelled sales and the resulting Twitter storm of frustration – delivered by panicked, angry Swiftie acolytes.
The damage of this incident to Ticketmaster and its brand cannot be overstated. The narrative that Ticketmaster finds itself still dealing with, is one of incompetence, poor planning, and bad implementation, rather than one that focuses on the fact that it helped Ms. Swift sell 2.4 million tickets in one day, an all-time record.
What will people remember about Swiftie Ticketmaster-gate? Incompetence, technology failures and a terrible customer experience.
What will no one remember? That it helped sell 2.4 million TS tickets in one day – an all-time record.
To rub salt into the wound, the blunder and increased exposure has kicked off a series of events that has resulted in a class action lawsuit brought by Taylor Swift fans and a Federal antitrust investigation into monopolistic practices. To further kick the downed Ticketmaster and its salted wound, parent company Live Nation suffered a 17% slide in stock valuation in the two weeks following the incident.
To further kick the downed TicketMaster and its salted wound, parent company Live Nation suffered a 17% slide in stock valuation in the two weeks following the incident.
Let’s cut Ticketmaster a little slack and have a look at the heavy site traffic driven by the “astronomical” demand of legions of Taylor Swift fans desperate to snag tickets. Ticketmaster reported 3.5 million users registering for the pre-sale programme, a large number. Compare this with Semrush’s list of most trafficked pages on the web and the number pales in comparison with Google’s 18.11 billion visitors in December 2022. A little calculation shows that the infrastructure in place at Google would likely have dealt with this demand … and probably does daily.
(18,011,000,000 /31) / 24) = 24,208,333
Google approx hits per hour: 24.2 million
Whilst high website traffic and the strain on Ticketmaster’s infrastructure are clearly what kicked off this series of events, it was avoidable. I don’t work for Ticketmaster so I have no insight into where the failing was, but I’d be very surprised if the team responsible for setting up the autoscaling rules had a full understanding of the scale of potential impact of this type of incident, as the cost to add the extra resources to cope with load will have been pence on the pound to the cost of the damage.
Brand is inescapably dependent on technology in our modern world, it requires it, to live, breathe and survive. If a brand falls in the woods, does it make a sound?
If you’re responsible for your brand, you need to understand the myriad ways that technology can help it grow and develop, but just as importantly you need to understand the various technologies at play in your world and what unique risk management considerations they might represent.
I’ll finish on another pithy analogy: technology is fire, it can light your way, bring you and your brand out of the stone age and provide warmth and safety. But, don’t drop the match or it’ll
Burn. Your. House. To. The. Ground!
Whether you need advice or support with positioning, visual identity, a digital refresh, or all of the above, we’re here to help. Get in touch and book a free consultation today.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +44 (0)117 923 2282
Greetings from the mysterious world of search engine optimisation (SEO), where achieving online presence might resemble trying to find a needle in a digital haystack. But do not worry! With the help of my beginner-friendly SEO copywriting ideas, your website will rise in the search results faster than you can say “Google it.”
If you believe that SEO is merely a fancy Silicon Valley acronym, let’s take a closer look. Search engine optimisation, or SEO, is the process of making your website as appealing to search engines (such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo) as well as to actual customers who are actually looking for your services. In this sense, copywriting refers to crafting content for your website that not only educates visitors but also persuades them and helps it rank well. Putting the two together? You’ve just turned into a copywriting pro at SEO.
You must first familiarise yourself with keywords. Your potential clients are typing these little jewels into search engines. Keywords are the road map to your wealth of material, regardless of whether your audience is searching for SEO experts or the greatest vegan restaurant in Bristol (hint, hint). However, it goes beyond simply packing them across your website like candy. The secret to drawing both humans and Google bots to your writing is to skillfully include them into your text.
Do some study on keywords before you go out. Determine the terms and expressions that best describe your company’s offerings and the queries of your target market. To choose your perfect keywords, use resources such as Google Keyword Planner or ask yours truly on a discovery call.
Your writing should sound human (which it should), but it should also have the technical polish that attracts the attention of search engines. This entails producing interesting, pertinent, and educational content that seamlessly integrates your keywords. Don’t fill your text with keywords; this isn’t 2005.
Consider the structure of your website as the backbone that holds everything together. Not only do headings and subheadings (H1s, H2s, H3s, oh my!) help readers easily scan your content, but they also serve as indicators to search engines regarding the order in which your information is presented. Your headline gig is your main heading; it should be attention-grabbing and contain your core keyword.
Make thoughtful use of headers to help readers and search engines navigate your material. Every heading ought to be pertinent and contain keywords without being repetitive. The secret is to get search bots and readers both to stay on your page for the duration of the presentation.
Let’s use some linking strategies to take your company to new heights next. Similar to your website’s hidden passageways and trapdoors, internal and external links direct users to helpful material and demonstrate to search engines that you are a well-respected authority in your industry.
Maintaining visitor engagement and building authority are two benefits of a strong linking strategy. In order to maintain readers’ interest for longer, provide internal links throughout your text and link to reliable websites (hey, credibility!).
Stale bread? No thanks. The content of your website is no different. Maintain it current, unique, and new. Both search engines and people enjoy fresh content. Thus, you can maintain a healthy and strong rating by periodically updating your blog or sprinkling case studies across it.
Similar to your favourite soap opera, regular publishing will keep viewers interested. To make sure you’re always offering up the tastiest, most delicious digital material, create a content schedule.
Nobody wants to converse into a void on a digital device. You’re having a conversation rather than just crawling into the void when you use SEO copywriting. Thus, become an expert in SEO-friendly copywriting by making sure your material is readable, valuable to your audience, and scannable. Bold writing, bullet points, and brief paragraphs can draw attention to your pearls of wisdom.
Now that you have the map, it’s time to set off on your journey to reach Search Mountain’s summit. When creating a blog article highlighting the best Bristolian jewels or a ‘About’ page that extols your virtues, keep in mind to carefully consider the keywords you use and the structure you develop. If you are in need of a specialist to guide the way and unlock the infinite possibilities of your website, a discovery call is just a click away. Forward and upward to the highest point in sight!
We initially developed our own Abandoned Cart module back in 2019 after researching and testing various that were available. From our tests the modules lacked certain features or didn’t work how our clients would want the module to, and also how we expect the module to work.
The first version of the website was developed and installed on a number of our clients websites, generating them additional revenue that would have been lost without the module.
As the OpenCart platform has progressed and new versions launched we finally switched to using the latest most stable version of 3.0 in 2022 for our ecommerce web design projects, with the new version also included a new code structure which meant our bespoke abandoned cart module would no longer work with any new website that we built.
So, as we continue to upgrade existing ecommerce web design clients and provide ecommerce websites to new web design clients we set about upgrading our abandoned cart module to work with the newer version of OpenCart. The upgraded version was a good opportunity to simplify, streamline and improve the module to benefit our own clients and a wider audience.
Continue reading this article at https://www.eckhomedia.co.uk/our-abandoned-cart-module-upgraded-for-opencart-version-3/
Businesses that successfully work with freelancers are reaping the benefits of having expertise in one or more areas on tap, without committing to a full time or even part time salary. But for every success story you hear, you’ll hear how another company has been let down by a freelancer who didn’t deliver. So how do you make sure you build a relationship that works?
Top tip no 1: Find the right fit
The first step to building a long-lasting relationship with a freelance copywriter is finding one that fits with your business. What to look for depends on what is important to you. For example, is it more important that you find the right personality type to work with you, or do you want more experience in the field.
A good copywriter should be able to work with all sorts of teams and personality types and be able to learn new industries or products, but if these things are important to you, it’s worth taking the time up front to find what works for you. It’s not fair on you or the freelancer if you have decided the relationship isn’t going to work before it has even begun.
Top tip no. 2: Bring them into your team
I can’t really stress how important this point is without using lots of capital letters, and I don’t want to start shouting at you, so please hear me when I say, this is one of the most important ways to make a relationship with a freelancer work!
A freelance copywriter can’t do their job without any input from the company they work for. If you want their expertise on tap for the long term, you need to treat them like part of your team. Give them access to the information they need, respond to their queries to help them stay on track, and employ a consultative approach to the work you have hired them to do so that you get the most from their expertise and they get the most from your insider knowledge.
Top tip no.3: Communication
This is a follow-on point from top tip no.2 because a freelance copywriter isn’t going to feel like part of your team if there is no communication between you. This doesn’t have to be time intensive, in fact after a detailed initial briefing, a good copywriter should be able to drive their project through independently. But there will always be questions that pop up, or feedback needed and so it’s important to keep the lines of communication open.
Some things to consider to ensure you achieve good communication are agreeing up front the best way for you to contact each other and clarifying who the main contact within the company will be. It’s bad enough when you work as an employee and internal business politics come into play but working as a freelancer with no day-to-day context, it becomes very difficult when different people are telling you to do different things and you’re not sure who to listen to.
Top tip no.4: Build a long-term relationship
Of course, not all copywriting projects require a freelance copywriter to be on your books for the long term. However, it might be worth making a list of all your copywriting needs to see how much you could delegate on a regular basis to free up more of your time to run the business or manage your busy marketing department, while at the same time building a worthwhile relationship with a copywriter.
If you have a business blog for example, that often gets forgotten when other deadlines hit, this could be handed over to a copywriter to manage, research and write. This would be a great way for an external copywriter to learn your business too.
Or, perhaps you would love to have more feature length articles in relevant trade magazines but you’re never quite sure how to get what you want to say onto the page, or you simply can’t dedicate the time to writing it yourself. If you are looking for a high impact campaign you could pay a copywriter to produce one article a month for you, or if that sounds like too much for you up front, you could commission 6 pieces a year and either pay on a bi-monthly basis or spread the cost in monthly installments. There are lots of options available if you open a dialogue with the right copywriter.
Working with a freelance copywriter
For some businesses working with freelancers is a no-brainer and something they have always done for maximum flexibility and to benefit from a broad range of expertise. For others it’s daunting because it’s the unknown, or they have suffered a bad experience. Hopefully this article will reassure businesses looking to invest in a vast freelance community, whether for copywriting, design, accountancy, or anything else, that there are steps you can take to make sure you get the most out of your freelance support.
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