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Twitter.  Know what it is?  Do you really care?  If you are a business owner, you should.  There are several ways Twitter could help your business right now, TODAY.  How?  Read on…

Earlier this morning I read a nice post predicting the 10 ways Twitter will change American business.  It’s a lengthy post but draws some logical conclusions and, if they prove to be true, certainly would change the way business (not to mention government) operates.  Only time will tell, but that is the future and I want to tell you about NOW.

First of all, if you don’t know what Twitter is a quick primer:  Twitter is an online service that allows people to connect with others online and exchange small messages, including links.  If you’re thinking texting, you’re on the right track…except you can “text” (or Tweet) to hundreds or even thousands of people at once.  And they in turn (if they like your tweet) can send your message (called re-tweeting) to all of their contacts.  Oh, and it’s free.

So, how can Twitter help your business?  Especially if your customers are local?  Here are some ideas:

- Hyper-Local Marketing:   With Twitter it’s possible to develop a highly focused following based on interest, or geography, or both.  Let’s say you own a pizza shop.  You want a way to reward (and retain) your customers so they don’t start ordering from the Papa Hut chain place.  You could setup a Twitter account (free), invite customers to “follow” you by adding your Twitter username to inserts, signs, etc. (no more than what you’re paying now), then Tweet exclusive offers, discounts, events, etc.  Let the word-of-mouth advertising begin!

- Measure Your Existing Advertising:  A slight twist on the above, add a Twitter username to your existing ads in phonebooks, newspapers, billboards, etc and measure the response you get.  Heck, set up different accounts for each (it’s free, remember?).

- Get Real-Time Feedback:  Tweets are sent and received in real-time, so you can ask a question and get direct feedback instantaneously.  Ever wondered what your customers really think, or what they really want?  Ask them!

Interested in learning more?  You can follow me on Twitter, or contact me directly – I’d love your feedback.

I’m going to try a blog post series on design issues I (and others) find in business websites.  The purpose is two-fold; the main purpose will be to highlight and educate specifically why some design issues are harmful to the business in hopes they may be avoided….the other purpose is to hopefully prod me into posting on a more regular basis

So let’s begin with what probably is the worst web design mistake that can be made:  Poor Content.  There’s an old online saying that “content is king” – meaning that the Web is all about information, and sites that have and share lots of interesting, timely information (or help others find the information they’re seeking) are the “kings”. 

Unfortunately there are a lot of “pauper” sites out there – few things sadden me online more than a nice-looking blog or online store that is completely devoid of information.  I came across one earlier this week in the form of a potential client who requested a free website analysis (if you’d like a free analysis simply request one here – and I promise not to reveal your identity if I blog about your site later…).

This client had a great look to the site, and a nice store with several items focused around a fairly particular niche.  The problem was that clicking on an individual item produced almost no information about it – if I selected a shirt, all I basically got was the cost and the available sizes.

An example I included in their analysis was that they carried a variety of sarongs, which happens to be a pretty strong niche in terms of search volume.  However, people are not searching for simply “sarongs” but “how to tie a sarong”, “how to wear a sarong”, “styles of sarongs”, and so forth.  The website I was reviewing had about one sentence describing their entire sarong collection.

The bottom line is they didn’t have nearly enough content to rank for any related search terms, so the chance of sarong-seeking customer finding this site is practically nil.  However, with just a little creativity to describe (in words) and illustrate (with pictures and/or video) specifically demonstrating the many versatile uses of a sarong, this site would certainly gain search rankings and customers as a result.

The takeaway:  Fully develop the content on your site.  While it’s very important to stay on-topic and avoid rambling, don’t be afraid to thoroughly explain your business, your products, your services, and go into detail with relevant examples.  On product-oriented pages especially, lots of web user testing shows that people are much more likely to buy when a webpage answers their questions instead of leaving them guessing.  With little to no information about a product, it’s almost a guarantee the visitor will the leave the site without purchasing. 

Provide more content, not less, and you’ll stand a much better chance of gaining new customers from your website.

Noted web usability expert Jakob Nielsen recently described results from a recent user skill study on his website.  This study examines business-to-business (B2B) websites for their presence or lack of usability principles.  The study also monitors the habits of influential web users, such as business professionals and doctors, to determine how user actions have changed over time.

Here are seven observations from Nielsen’s research that business website owners should consider when examining their own websites: Continue reading “7 Current Web User Trends And How to Profit From Them” »