Web Design and Digital Marketing Information

Is your company on Facebook, Twitter and Google+? If so, you know that you have the ability to customize your cover,  background, or banner images to show off your company’s personality. You also know that the current LinkedIn Company Pages do not allow for you to include this type of customization. Now, with LinkedIn’s new updates, you have the ability to add a cover-style image that represents your company/brand at the top of your Overview page. Take a look at HubSpot as an example:

 
When you post a company update on the new page, you will notice that it has a much different feel. LinkedIn advises you to, “Share an article, ask a question, or post a special offer to interested LinkedIn members.” Previously, this space was occupied by a blank box with no guidance.

With the new page layout, the content targeting feature will be much more highlighted. You will the have the ability to share with a “targeted audience” or “all followers,” depending on what type of post it is and whom you are targeting.  When you click  the “targeted audience” option, a box will pop up and go into detail based on company size, industry, function,  seniority, or geography. These options will be available for employees or non-employees, depending on who you’re trying to reach. When you begin clicking on options, you will see exactly how many people you are choosing to target with your post. While this is not a new feature, it was somewhat hidden before and not many users knew about it (or how to use it).


Check back next week for more exciting LinkedIn Company Page changes.

This month, LinkedIn announced a new look for its Company Pages. From a usability perspective, this release is an effort to bring a better experience to LinkedIn members. But what does the rollout mean for marketers?  Mike Grishaver, Product Management & Monetization at LinkedIn, said, “this change means a more powerful way to build relationships with your target audience on LinkedIn.” With an emphasis on visual and relevant content, LinkedIn’s new Company Pages will now give businesses a more complete set of tools to do effective marketing.
 
Why should you care about marketing on LinkedIn? We will let the facts speak for themselves. LinkedIn has over 161 million registered users in over 200 countries and territories.  There are more than two million companies with LinkedIn Company Pages.  Professionals are signing up at a rate of approximately two new members per second, which makes  LinkedIn the world’s largest professional social network.

LinkedIn Company Pages will get a refreshing design makeover. Keep in mind that the changes we will show you will affect only the design of your Company Page.  No new features have been added; just the look, feel, and the way you navigate is a little different. You still have complete access to your Overview, Careers, Products, and Insights pages, so make sure you’re taking advantage of them!



Check back to see more exciting updates to your LinkedIn Company Pages.

Pinterest had more than 16 million unique visitors in March, making it one of the most popular social media sites on the Web.  Due to their popularity, there have been some copycat sites that have popped up that you might be interested in:

1. Image Spark - The site lest users collect, discover, tag, share and converge images that inspire creative designs.  Users can create boards that set a visual tone for their images and users can also keep their images private.  It is free to use and gives the user 1GB of storage and two boards.
2. SparkRebel - This site is a fashion-inspired, social shopping platform that is currently in Beta.  The site contains 19 categories for users to browse and features brand pages that allow vendors to share products and content with members.  It includes prices and a "buy it" icon on content pages that redirect a user to a separate site to finish the purchase.
3. Stylepin - This site allows you to collect and organize fashion and style images for inspiration.  It is only for fashion and style.  Users must request an invite.
4. Manteresting - A totally "man" focused site, users nail their content onto workbenches.  You can sign up through your social platforms.
5. Gentlemint - Another male-focused site that is very similar to Pinterest.  It is currently open by invitation only.  
6. Fancy - Users of this site "fancy" the content instead of pin it.  Users can search for product deals and make purchases directly on the site.  This site is a really good alternative to Pinterest for retailers.
7. Juxtapost - This site allows users to keep their boards private and also share them privately.  You can also export content to Excel, index photos by colors and find similar content through a "more like this" button.  The site has 18 different categories and is one of the best Pinterest alternatives we've seen.

If you used an email marketing tool/service in 2011, make sure to review the data from those emails to see who opened what, what links were clicked on, etc. so you know what to and not to do for your email marketing for 2012.  It is also a good idea to separate customers into lists, so you can end them targeted emails on topics or services they are interested in. 

You don't have to re-invent the wheel when it comes to content.  Look at what was successful last year and repurpose it.  Also look at the content you have used on social media platforms and utilize some of the for the email.  While your email list might overlap your social contacts, very few people read everything, especially on social platforms as you have to be logged in at the time the content is posted or your customer may never see it.....

Did you know that you can have a storefront on Facebook?  Well, you can and it is a lucrative place for lots of online retailers.  While your Facebooks fans are talking about you, if you have a Facebook store, they can also share products directly from your store.  They can "like" a product which would then be publicized on their wall for all their friends to see. 

There are multiple Facebook store formats to use, and we have highlighted a few of the better ones here:

1. Payvment allows all transactions to take place entirely on Facebook.  The platform also includes features like social sharing options, analytics tracking, product management solutions, orders and payment support and store setup.  It also has 3 services levels - free, premium and platinum. 
2. Ecwid offers a widget that builds seamlessly integrated online stores in minutes. It works with any existing website as well as major content management systems such as WordPress and Joomla. The widget can also be used to build a Web store on Facebook and accepts payments from all major payment systems. The service is free for smaller stores and pricing begins at $17 for stores with over 100 products.
3. ShopVisible is a fully immersive e-commerce experience for Facebook users. The suite of e-commerce, analytics and social marketing tools was designed specifically for selling on the world’s most popular social network. It can be used as a stand-alone platform for Facebook or integrated to an existing e-commerce store, duplicating the experience customers would find on your primary retail website without requiring users to leave the Facebook site.
4. ShopIgniter offers a suite of products for f-commerce that allow fans to make purchases directly within Facebook.  It features real-time inventory checks, social rewards, exclusive-offer technology and a social product launch feature.
5. BigCommerce gives users the ability to browse products and share them with their Facebook friends before making any purchases, but unlike the previous solution the transaction itself takes place on the merchant’s BigCommerce-powered website. BigCommerce offers a free 15-day demo of the app, and pricing starts at $24.95 per month.
6. VendorShop currently powers thousands of Facebook shops and has over 170,000 active Facebook users, which makes it one of the top three providers of integrated Facebook stores worldwide. The software is free to install and all stores carry the McAfee Secure and VeriSign Trust marks of security and have powerful promotion tools to maximize social selling opportunities.

It is important to remember when creating an f-commerce store to remember that Facebook is a social media site first and foremost, so make sure to keep providing valuable content on your page for fans and not just product promos.