mobile / Uncategorized — Comments Off
29
Jul 10

Seven deadly sins of mobile-optimized sites

Now that more people are accessing the Internet via iPhones, iPads, Android smartphones and other mobile devices, a mobile-optimized version of your regular site is becoming an essential complement to your regular website. While smartphones do a pretty good job of rendering regular webpages, smart mobile optimization can make the experience faster and simpler so you can keep mobile readers coming back. Unfortunately, too many sites get it wrong.

These days, my primary way of consuming long-form content on the Internet is my iPhone. I use my computer to create content, but my iPhone to read it. Here’s my personal pet-peeve list of what not to do.

1. Redirect users to mobile-optimized homepage
Few sites have enough pull to bring me to the homepage just to see what’s new. In the age of the splinternet, it’s Google, Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader, email or one of a dozen other sites that brings mobile traffic your way. We’re not there to bask in your brand. We are in search of a specific piece of content. If I don’t get what I’m looking for when I click, I click away and don’t come back.

2. Strip out all sidebar content
While mobile optimization necessarily involves simplifying the page, it’s smart to judiciously choose a few extras to pull me deeper into your site. By all means, lose the sidebar, but keep a search bar, links to automatically generated related content and a way to contact you.

3. Strip out sharing options
While I’m primarily a consumer of content on the iPhone, I am also a collector. When I read something interesting, I often want to file it for later or share it with friends. If I have to copy & paste a link and open another program to email or share, I’m a lot pickier about what I’ll choose to share. Make it one click to email content or share on Facebook or Twitter. Bonus points if you use Facebook’s share buttons or remember my email address so I have less to type.

4. Fail to include the option to switch to regular view
Sometimes I want to find something on your sidebar. Sometimes mobile view is wonky. Sometimes I just like seeing your whole site. Give me a link to switch over to the full view in case your mobile site isn’t giving me all I want to see.

5. Build your whole site in Flash (restaurants, I’m talking to you)
Flash sites are invisible on iPhone, iPad and many other mobile devices. Unfortunately, restaurants are one of the worst culprits for this. The site looks pretty if you visit it once at a computer, but when you’re on the go and trying to show a friend the menu to help make a decision about where to go eat, your site gets a big fat fail – right when you should be converting looky-loos into customers. If you want to have a Flash site as your main web presence, that’s your call (though I am not a fan … and that’s a whole other post), but if you do, a text-based mobile version is a must.

6. Forget that mobile users <3 texting
Consider including the option for users to text a link (or directions, or an address, or a phone number) to a friend. Bricks-and-mortar businesses could also set up a simple form to get people to sign up to receive special offers by text, or offer a discount or special deal for visitors who text an offer to a friend.

7. Ignore Facebook
Facebook, one of the world’s most-visited websites, is also a juggernaut of the mobile web. Invite visitors to become a fan on Facebook, by link or text message. Provide like or share buttons, or hire a developer to integrate Facebook using their mobile APIs.

Bonus: Assume that you don’t need a mobile site
Your site may not be in the top 100 or even top 1000 most-visited mobile sites, but that doesn’t let you off the hook. If you don’t think you have many customers or readers now, launch an inexpensive low-fi version that answers the most pressing needs for readers. WordPress users can install a free plugin that optimizes for iPhone. Restaurants and small businesses can create an alternative text version that at least displays their address and contact information, and perhaps includes a link to the mobile Google Maps website for directions. Or, look up one of the many free, easy mobile website builders to try out having a mobile site before you commit to a custom build. For example, Widgetbox offers a free dead-simple walkthrough to create a smartphone-optimized website, and provides the javascript code to embed on your site to automatically redirect mobile visitors.

Parenthood — 1 comment
28
Jul 10

There’s more to parenting ‘success’ than baby sleeping through the night

I’ve got sleep on the brain. I’m participating in UBC’s Rocky Sleep Study, which is testing the effectiveness of public health nurse interventions on babies’ sleep (and lack thereof).  Unfortunately, we’re in the control group, so instead of getting help for sleep issues, we had to sit through a 40-minute powerpoint on basic infant safety. As second-time parents who read every child development book available in a futile quest for “the manual,” it was a waste of time.

Ah, the things we do for science.

After the presentation, a new father confided that he and his wife have also been having a rough time getting their now 8-month-old baby to sleep.

“I think we’re going to try to let him cry it out,” he said. “I mean, a bit of crying isn’t going to make him grow up to be an axe murderer or anything.”

I follow another mum on Twitter who has a son born the same day as my daughter. It is her first, my second. Both babies have had difficulty sleeping. She has decided to sleep train using a ‘controlled crying’ method. While she has noticed some brief periods of improvement, so have I. Both of us have seen sleep regressions too. I have the impression that she has spent as much time and angst on sleep as I have.

I have struggled with sleep for both my my kids too. I get it. But I am convinced that letting them cry for long periods is not the solution.

I don’t believe that kids who are left to cry will be ruined in some way, but I think the time spent rocking, nursing, shushing and stroking little ones who are struggling with sleep is good for them. A parent’s job is to help their children feel connected and safe in the big world beyond mom. When new parents fixate on getting babies to sleep now, I think it can affect long-term feelings of security if the tactics they use are too harsh.

It’s true that most babies will stop crying eventually and will fall asleep on their own. But childrearing “success” is about more than sleeping through this night or the next.

CNN had an article on a recent study that found, “babies who receive above-average levels of affection and attention from their mothers are less likely than other babies to grow up to be emotionally distressed, anxious, or hostile adults.”

Note that the study says “above-average.” The actions of mothers in the study were rated on a five-point scale from “negative” to “extravagant.” Most of the mothers’ interactions with their babies (85%) were rated “warm.”

“Roughly 30 years later, the babies-turned-adults were interviewed about their levels of emotional distress. The adults whose mothers had displayed “extravagant” or “caressing” affection (the two top ratings) were much less likely than their less-doted-on peers to be anxious. They were also less likely to report hostility, distressing social interactions, and psychosomatic symptoms.”

Parents who let their babies cry can be very warm and affectionate in the day. They are careful to check that diapers are clean, bellies are full and other basic needs are attended to. But notice that the study showed that it was the “extravagant” and “caressing” interactions that were correlated with emotional security in adulthood.

Our babies need us not only to care for them, but to delight in them. It’s hard to do when you’re being woken up every hour or two all night long or when it can take an hour to put a baby to sleep for a 40-minute nap. But the time is not wasted. It isn’t just about getting them to sleep this night, but about providing an emotionally secure foundation in adulthood.

Uncategorized — Comments Off
25
Mar 10

Nine ways to debate contentious issues with integrity

Cross-posting from my hyperlocal New Westminster blog, Tenth to the Fraser. The ideas in this piece apply as much to dialogue within brand communities as real-world communities. For “The City” and “The Government,” read “The Company.”

Even people in the best relationships have times when they disagree. The key to maintaining the relationship isn’t so much preventing fights, but learning how to fight well. In a “good” fight, the tension experienced is a catalyst for growth and positive change by both parties. The same is true for political disagreement. Unfortunately, in both political and personal fights, it’s all too easy to let your anger get the better of you, jeopardizing your cause.

A particular pitfall of those who are passionate advocates for change in their community is to forget that “the city” or “the government” is first made up of people. The same guidelines that can help partners and colleagues fight “well” also apply.

Psychology Today recently published a list called Nine Ways to Lose An Argument (Even If You’re Right), and it’s a great summary of what not to do if you want to rally people to your cause:

  1. Hit “below the belt.” Make sure you attack areas of personal sensitivity, like the person’s physical appearance, personality, character, or trustworthiness.
  2. Generalize. Use words like “never” or “always.” Not only will it guarantee that your partner-in-argument will become defensive, it will give him or her loophole. After all, it’s rare that a person never or always does something.
  3. Stockpile. Why settle for a battle when you can start a war? The next time you’re in an argument, bring up every grievance and hurt feeling in the history of your relationship.
  4. Clam up. Who doesn’t love the silent treatment? Start it when the other person is most vulnerable, so wait until the other person is genuinely expressing his or her distress.
  5. Yell. You know if you say it loud enough, you’re guaranteed to get the other person to see the light. Plus, it gets him or her to shut up.
  6. Assume the worst. Yeah, your manager said she gave you a “3” out of 5 on your performance evaluation because you’ve been slacking off lately, but you know it’s because she’s jealous of your superior intelligence and wants to knock you down a peg or two. Always assume the other person has an ulterior motive, especially when s/he tells you something you don’t like.
  7. Insist that “most people” would also see things your way. In one-on-one disagreement, it’s always useful to find ways to gang up on the other person. One way is to insist that any reasonable/sane/smart (you fill in the blank) person would agree with you.
  8. Find common ground and use it to show how superior you are. “I’m stressed too, but I still make sure I exercise.” “I also have a nanny and understand she can get sick. That’s why I made sure I have a backup daycare.” Yes, these may be good solutions for this person going forward, but they’re not going to be helpful in the heat of an argument.
  9. Go the distance. Remember; there’s no such thing as “pick your battles.” Be prepared to argue every point in every disagreement until you’ve beaten the other person down. And never compromise.

I prefer not to frame things in the negative, so here’s the flip side of that list: nine ways to debate with integrity:

  1. Criticize actions, not people.
  2. Be specific.
  3. Stay on-topic.
  4. Keep communicating respectfully (don’t lose your cool).
  5. Listen as well as talk.
  6. Assume good intentions, even when you disagree with certain actions.
  7. Agree to disagree on some things.
  8. Empathize.
  9. Compromise.

Those who fight for change have a rough path. It’s frustrating, time-consuming and often thankless work – even more so when the solutions you’re looking for involve more than one decision-maker. Amplify that frustration if it also involves decision-makers who are elected and have a number of interest groups and other constituents competing for attention.

Even so, it’s a mistake to frame these disagreements as “battles.” It paints all those who disagrees as enemies and too easily escalates mild criticism into “attacks.” In reality, most people are doing the best they know how. Constructive criticism supported by proactively suggesting solutions is more likely to realize change. If what you really want is resolution, begin with an attitude of collaboration.

I’m not so naive as to think that this list will defuse all conflicts, but I thought it worth sharing. I’m taking it to heart as a good reminder of some of the key “Dos” and “Don’ts” of respectful debate on this blog and in the world beyond.

Uncategorized — Comments Off
23
Sep 09

Change on the horizon

Today is a day of transition for me. The last two years I have been a marketing strategist by day, mom by night. I am looking forward to a year of playing with my ever-more grown up toddler and getting to know the new little daughter coming into our lives next month.

While I will no longer be trekking into the office every day, I doubt I’d be capable of leaving the world of social media marketing behind me for this year. It’s just too interesting, and too deeply embedded in my daily life. I’ll continue my trend-watching and experimentation using my New Westminster community blog Tenth to the Fraser as the testing ground.

I think there are some really interesting things on the horizon for marketing, social media and community-building online. Here’s some of what I’ll be watching for:

Social networks become part of the infrastructure of the Web

As Facebook continues to mature, I think it will become part of the infrastructure of the web. Like Google, Facebook has the potential to become so ubiquitous it’s almost invisible online. Unless, of course, they screw things up. I don’t see any social network – Twitter included – that is a serious threat to Facebook, but given the speed of change online, it’s possible one could emerge.

I look forward to seeing how Twitter matures as well. Due to the nature of the service, I don’t think it will be a Facebook-slayer. I think Twitter would do well to keep focusing on what it does differently (immediacy, location-awareness, discovery & word-of-mouth). Facebook is private and owns our social graph. Twitter is public, and owns breaking news and gossip.

A broader definition of ‘brand’

Many people still seem to think of ‘their’ brand as something they can control through repetition of a fixed set of images, key words and slogans. I think we’ll see more proof over the coming year that ‘brand’ is not a fixed thing, and it’s only partly influenced by how the company positions itself. As peer-to-peer consumer influence increases, the impact of popular perception on brands will also increase. I would like to see the definition of brand evolve to encompass not only the face you show to the world, but also the answer to the question, “What kind of company are you?” as expressed through your relationship with your customers.

Accelerating mobile innovation

People have been predicting for years that mobile technology is just about to come into its own. With the launch of the iPhone, I think we’re finally there. Over the next year, I think we’ll see continued innovation related to iPhone and smartphone technology, but also I think a greater awareness and usage of advanced features in ‘ordinary’ phones. I think we’ll see some experimentation with using mobile devices as payment gateways (Starbucks is already testing a feature in its new iPhone app that will allow customers to use their iPhone like a Starbucks Card in certain regions).

Deeper research into online ‘influence’

There’s sometimes an assumption that influence is equivalent to traffic or followers, but there has been some fascinating research starting to emerge that challenges this. There is certainly a level of influence achieved in controlling a media platform that reaches millions of followers (whether a blog, Twitter, or another channel), but attention is not necessarily the same as influence. On Facebook, researchers uncovered a competing model that demonstrates the power of many smaller ‘nodes’ of influence, rather than a few key mega-stars driving page and application growth. I’m hoping further research will explore whether this is the case throughout the Web, or if it’s something unique to the Facebook platform.

The term ‘social media’ becomes passe

Just as the prefix ‘e’ was added to everything during the first dot-com boom, ‘social’ and ‘social media’ are too widely used (and abused). I hope and expect that at some point we get over the novelty that people like to talk to each other online as well as in person, and start taking ‘social’ features for granted as simply good practice on the Web.

Environment / marketing / research — 3 comments
22
Jun 09

Reusable packaging as product differentiator: A lesson from Kuhne mustard

It’s chic right now to talk about ‘green’ marketing. Some companies do it by creating alternative versions of their products that are less harmful to the environment, and some by ‘greenwashing‘ (i.e. trumpeting small environmental wins in the hopes that larger sins will go unnoticed). Others may be tapping into this trend unintentionally.

Take our favourite brand of mustard. Known in our family only as “Dangerous Mustard” (so dubbed by my then-seven-year-old stepson for its strong taste), Kuhne mustard won a recurring spot in our grocery list not only for its distinctive taste, but also for its unique packaging: glass jars with no threaded tops – perfect for reuse as tumblers.

Kuhne’s jars are an elegant shape and the perfect size to fit the hand. They are sturdy and simple. We have accumulated quite a collection, used daily as no-stem wine glasses and water glasses in our home. It’s not something Kuhne talks about in its marketing or trumpets on the label. I don’t even know if they’re thinking about the reusability as a selling point. Yet while we do love the taste of their mustard, what has kept us buying Kuhne (and thus not taste-testing other gourmet mustard brands) is this collectable packaging. As another Vancouver blogger, Technoracle, points out, Kuhne is one of only a few brands (Catelli being another) who uses fully reusable packaging for their products.

Alas, Kuhne appears to have been led astray. We were shocked to discover recently that Kuhne’s bell-shaped jars now have a screw top. The threaded mouth means it’s no longer suitable as a drinking glass, and this seemingly small change has had a big impact on our loyalty to the brand. Buying non-Kuhne mustard was once unthinkable, both because we liked the taste and because we knew we’d get some good mileage for our purchase through reuse of the glass jar. Now that the jar will be going in the recycling like any other mustard jar, Kuhne in my mind is now just one of many kinds of mustard.

So here’s where I bring it back to green marketing. I’d like to see more long-term thinking from companies in terms of product packaging. It’s nice that a ‘green’ version of your product isn’t quite as toxic as the regular version that gets the bulk of your TV ad dollars, but it would really be something for companies to make it easier for people to reduce and reuse, as well as recycle. By planning product design so that it can effortlessly have a second life as something else once your product is used up, companies make it vastly easier for consumers to reduce the amount of trash in the landfill.

Manufacturers can take their cues from existing behaviours and consumer hacks: whether you intended your mustard jars to be reused as glasses or not, it becomes a product differentiator if they are. Another example would be things like yogurt containers, which many people reuse as lunch & leftover containers even though the plastic isn’t rated for reuse. If that’s how people use your product, why not deliberately package for reuse?

Ipsos Reid recently asked people what actions they would be likely to take in the next six months to protect the environment. The most popular answer (depressingly, only selected by 51% of people ) was to reuse jars or containers. But another 50% said they would seek out products with recyclable packaging, and many of the other popular responses also indicated a desire to reduce extra packaging or choose reusable items over disposables.

It’s time companies took responsibility for what happens to their product and packaging once its original purpose is done. Thinking creatively about packaging items in the most efficient way possible should mean both reducing excess waste and planning for packaging that can easily be repurposed for new use.

marketing / research — Comments Off
15
Jun 09

You can lead a customer to the soapbox, but you can’t make him Tweet

This post began its life as a comment on Jonathan Salem Baskin’s blog Dimbulb, where he staked a challenge to those who would have us believe that social media represents the death of advertising.

Based on recent research that shows that only a minority of people are actively creating content on Twitter and on blogs, Baskin writes:

“The perception that social media usage is today’s cultural and communications phenomena has led many companies to invest in experimental programs, then struggle to invent ways to measure them …. Now consider the possibility that the reason why the numbers don’t add up is because people aren’t using social media as much as we were led to believe?”

When you spend all your time living & breathing social media, and hanging out with friends & colleagues who do the same, you can lose your perspective.

Social media has been oversold as an immediate *replacement* for traditional modes of communication. In my opinion, it has emerged as a complimentary channel and a disruptive force, but it’s clear to me that advertising & more traditional marketing & communications will be around for a long time yet. Save for a few exceptions, mass numbers still require mass media.

Social media has enabled more people to share their thoughts online, but I think it’s a basic fact of human nature that not everyone wants to step up on the soapbox. More does not equal ‘all’.

This doesn’t mean social media is not important. Take the Twitter data on dropoff: it’s not who joins that matters, it’s who remains. I think too much focus has been put on the raw numbers (which naturally include people testing out the various tools) and not enough effort looking at behaviour in these spaces online. If the people who remain are the people you most want to reach, that’s where you need to be. Period.

This is where I start to agree with the ‘death of advertising people’: it sounds impressive that you’ve “reached” millions through your mass-media spend, but how many of them are tuned into your message? It takes more than a media buy to break through the clutter. Social media is one way to differentiate, but it doesn’t work like traditional advertising. Reach is not guaranteed, it rarely delivers immediate results and contrary to popular belief it is neither free nor ‘easy’ (defined as being achieved without effort).

As for the blogosphere, I think it’s natural that the numbers shrank. It doesn’t mean that those people aren’t still communicating online, just that they’re not using blogging platforms to do it. When blogging was booming, it was the best tool around for the purpose. Then social networking sites got better, and for many online diarists, Facebook or other socnets became a better venue for this kind of expression. Once Twitter came along, many one-time bloggers who used it primarily for link-sharing discovered that Twitter was a better medium for them, and a number of them either ceased updating their blogs or reduced post frequency.

At this stage, social media spectatorship is mainstream (i.e. awareness of it, reading blogs, etc.) but the act of creating content and other more active contribution (even commenting on blogs) is still a niche activity. If the strategy is built around content creation, it is zeroing in on a niche  audience. That’s not necessarily wrong, but it’s a mistake to assume that usage numbers are equivalent to the number of active creators on any platform. Forrester’s research also backs this up, and demonstrates an encouraging trend of an increasing number of content creators as more folks become comfortable with stepping up on the soapbox, and also as younger folks (who have fewer barriers to doing this) transition from communicating primarily to peers online to addressing a broader public.

The fundamentals of enabling self-expression, creating a sense of community and speeding up the transmission of ideas & information remain the same regardless of which platform is “hot.” Whether it’s blogging, Facebook, Twitter or another tool is a strategic decision based on personal preference, audience analysis and the technological environment of the time.

marketing / Social Networking / Speaking engagements — Comments Off
11
Jun 09

IIMA presentation on Facebook

I spoke last night at an International Internet Marketing Association panel on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter for business. My co-panelists were Ben Smith, VP of Marketing for Polygon Homes (speaking on Twitter), and Tatsuya Nakagawa, President of Atomica Creative. I was “Facebook Gal” for the night, and my job was to represent Facebook’s value for business.

Here’s my presentation … not quite the same without the “audio track” but I think there are a few nuggets to pull out anyway.

In essence, I believe Facebook is and will remain a major player in social networking and, with Facebook Connect, Open ID. It is market-dominant now, and its growth remains impressive. The biggest challenge for businesses on Facebook, in my opinion, is how to select the best tactics to fit within their broader marketing strategy.

Facebook offers so many options, from low-tech, low-cost Page setup to more creative and budget-intensive off-site efforts leveraging Facebook Connect. Even once the tactic is chosen (i.e. a Facebook Page), success depends on finding the unique customer insights that open the door to creating a healthy relationship between the brand and its customers.

I think many companies are misled by the ease of setup of a Page, and think that a junior staffer or even an intern can take care of it. It’s as though they hand the intern a hammer, a stack of plywood and a box of nails and say “go, build.” Without a blueprint to follow and a certain level of carpentry skill, the result is unlikely to satisfy.