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DaBrian Marketing Blog: News, Insights, and Digital Marketing

Best Practices for Creating Testimonials

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When creating a testimonial video there are some best practices that you should know and follow. These practices will help in structuring your videos correctly, gaining your target audience’s undivided attention, and providing a level of consistency throughout your projects. The ultimate goal of these best practices is to keep your testimonial videos simple, yet effective.

Knowing Your Audience

Having a target audience in mind before creating a testimonial video is very important.  Is the video trying to sell a product or service, a testimonial for a company, or is the video just for entertainment?  Knowing what audience that is being targeted will help the video stay focused. If the video loses focus of the target audience it will be off point.

Know the Right Length?

The appropriate length of the video will depend on the type of project. There are many different lengths that are suggested, but most lengths are a generalization(see allpromedia.com).  If the video is an advertisement, 15 to 30 seconds is the most effective length. If the video is a testimonial, 5 to 7 minutes is ideal. Most videos that are for any other project should be 2 to 4 minutes. Achieving the correct length of time will help the video be the most effective it can be to the audience.

Use Transitions in Moderation

Transitions are a great way to make hard cuts softer in the video.  When using a transition, make sure to use one that is appropriate for the video that is being worked on.  It is recommended that using the same transition will keep the video flowing steadily and will not be distracting.  Do not use too many transitions, as too many will be distracting and ruin the flow of the video.

Transitions from WeVideo.com
Transitions from WeVideo.com

Separate Video and Audio for the Best Quality

When recording a video be sure that there is a separate audio recording device. If you do not have a proper recording device the quality of the audio that comes from the video recorder will not be the best quality.  Having a microphone that is closer to the speaker will produce clear and audible sounds for the listener.

Eliminating Background Noise

Recording audio separately from the video will help cut down on background noises and other ambient sounds.  Background noises that should be removed are other voices, sounds from outside sources, and the buzz from the microphone.  All of these sounds will be distracting and could be overpowering to the listener.

Conclusion

So with the rapidly dwindling attention of viewers, following these best practices will help keep those viewers engaged and help your videos achieve your goals.
These best practices tips will help keep videos focused and viewer interested.

Mark your Calendars: Google’s New Algorithm is Coming

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Google’s “Mobilegeddon” will begin on April 21st. This means that Google is no longer just recommending mobile friendly sites, they are requiring it. A study from Adobe found that 45% of businesses don’t have a mobile-optimized site or a mobile app. This means nearly half the businesses with an online presence will be penalized and see a significant drop in traffic. If your site is not mobile friendly, what are you waiting for?

Listed below are 5 mistakes to avoid while creating your mobile site in order for it to excel.

Not Considering Mobile First Design

According to Seoclarity, mobile search currently makes up about 30% of total traffic, regardless of the industry, and will only continue to grow. When designing your website, consider making your mobile site first. Create a simple, yet effective page with the user’s experience in mind. A study by MediaPost shows that 48% of mobile shoppers said that “ease of use” is their most important quality they look for in a mobile site. So just remember the old acronym K.I.S.S (Keep, it, simple, stupid).

After that, use your mobile site as a core basis of developing your desktop view. There is nothing you can put on a mobile site that can’t be loaded on a desktop. Progressively enhance your page with extra information and a more extensive navigation (as long as it’s relevant).

Not a Responsive Site

So you’re interested in mobile, but the thought of having two separate sites sounds difficult and time consuming. Well the good news is you don’t have to, nor should you. A responsive design, using the same site for both mobile and desktop, is the best option. In fact, Google actually recommends this approach. A responsive site is more efficient for Google to scan and review, making it more likely that your content will show in the search results. It also eliminates the possibility of being penalized for duplicate content as you most likely would for having two separate sites.

Consistent web design is also important because multiple device screening is becoming extremely prevalent. In fact, Google reports that 67% of online shoppers use multiple devices during their process. Users will look at products on mobile and revisit later on a desktop (or vice versa) hoping their history, preferences, and shopping cart is synced. The longer the conversion (sale or lead generation) process takes, the more likely the user will not complete it.

No Mobile Search Strategy

Since you’re using a responsive site, you can use the same search strategy, right? Not necessarily. Typically mobile users have different interest and intent than those on desktops. To develop theses strategies, use Google Webmaster’s tools and apply a mobile filter to your search query information. Compare the similarities and differences among mobile and desktop and begin to develop a list of keywords from that. Then do mobile competitive analysis using tools such as SEMrush, SearchMetrics, Sistrix or SimilarWeb, to develop a masters list. If your competitors do not have mobile sites, this is the perfect opportunity to get a leg up.

Not Assessing Mobile

Just because you have a mobile site does not mean it is mobile friendly. It is in an owners best interest to test the functionality of their site, among different devices and operating systems. Also they should check for any crawling issues or error reports (especially 404’s). Besides the technical aspect, ask yourself, “are SEO best practices still being followed?” Relevant and unique content, tags, titles, meta descriptions, site speed, etc should all be accounted for.

Evaluate the performance of your mobile page. This will show you the intent of these users. Which pages are receiving the most visits, have the longest view duration, and have the highest conversions? Make sure these pages are easy to get to by placing them in the navigation bar. Also asses which pages have a higher bounce rate on mobile. This could be an indicator of an error, or that the page is just not relevant to mobile users.

Still not sure where your stand? Google offers a free tool to test your sites mobile friendliness.

Not considering the impact on local search

According to Think With Google,  94% of Americans with smartphones search for local information on mobile. If that’s not enough to grab your attention, Google also polled mobile users searching for local businesses and discovered that half of them visited the business that day. This means your mobile strategy should be geared locally. To guarantee you are maximizing your reach and visibility, make sure your address, phone number, email, and any other business information is accurate and consistent. This information should not only be a resource, but provide as a simple and efficient channel for the consumer to further connect with your business as well. Consider adding a click-to-call button, syncing your location to Google maps, and making sure all email addresses are linked. This not only generates more traffic, but also will lead to more leads and sales.

Google’s “Mobilegeddon” on April 21st is the biggest update concerning mobile thus far,but it most likely is only the first of many more to come. If you are not mobile friendly by the time it is released, your visibility will certainly decrease and expect a substantial drop in traffic.

Do not wait for your site to be penalized, call DaBrian Marketing (610.743.5602) and create a mobile site now!

By: David McDowell

Internal Office Communication Impacts Business Success

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Introduction to Internal Communication

Whether you’re chatting by the office cooler, or discussing the newest client contracts; communication is key to keeping your business afloat. Balancing office antics and effective management can seem unrealistic, but minor changes could lead to immeasurable benefits.

By building a healthy relationship with your superiors and subordinates it will encourage and enhance communication. Working as a team and ensuring no work slips through the cracks will work in everyone’s favor. An effective manager understands the benefits of connecting with your coworkers to grow their business. We should leave our doors and our minds open to stay informed.

Promote an Open Door Policy

Speaking freely while in the office doesn’t always call for a big meeting with Human Resources. Communicating with our coworkers can play a crucial role in keeping work flowing smoothly. Creating a rapport is the easiest way to stir up serious conversations. A simple “How was your weekend?” on a dreaded Monday, could usher in a series of rewarding changes. When your coworker’s weekend didn’t go as planned, playing the role of confidant can boost esteem that generates productivity. Using a Project Management Platform to communicate with your team allows employees holding different roles to participate in all projects. Beginning conversations with light banter can ease the stress when troubleshooting and problem solving. Lending your time can create efficiency in the inner workings of your company.

Collaborate Effectively

While gaining the trust of your coworkers, you can become an essential part of your company. Holding brainstorming discussions to prepare for the next big meeting, can become a necessary step. Speaking up or chiming in can leave you at the top of the minds of your coworkers and bosses! One small idea can snowball into the launch of the next big thing. Collaborating with open communication can be a common practice that keeps your company one step ahead. Google Docs is one of the most user friendly collaboration tools in the market allowing numerous people to view,edit, or comment on any document. The environment in which your company grows is correlated to its success. But what happens after the planning and brainstorming? You’ve got an objective, the next step is to act upon it efficiently.

Use Technology as a Tool and Not a Crutch

Technology has become a cog in the machine of businesses around the globe. Taking notes during meetings can be done digitally to reduce waste and streamline next steps. Note taking on a tablet or even with the latest Smart Pen can become your next favorite habit. Recapping, or sharing notes, makes it easier for everyone to assure they’re on the same page. Using apps such as Google Keep Notes can provide a handy reminder that can also allow your team to communicate with notes. Scheduling meetings digitally with the use of the Checker Plus for Google Calendar Chrome extension provides an easy forward thinking method of making sure you’re on track.

Triumph Together!

Now is this time to guarantee your company isn’t tearing down its own walls. Use your relationships with your coworkers to stimulate connections, join hands for your business, and assure a blossoming environment. So, the next time you’re leaning by the cooler, remember your words translate to effective management communication.
We’d love to hear your success story below!

Five New Web Design Trends for 2015

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Introduction

It seems that with every new year that comes around, old trends are phased out while new and improved ones emerge. Whether it is the color or style of clothing we wear, the type of car we drive, or even the everyday technology we use, trends tend to come and go at a rapid pace.

This holds true in the field of web design. Although some trends from 2014 may roll over to 2015, many of them will be phased out while new and improved trends will take over where they left off.

Here are some trends that will make a mark in 2015:

Responsive Design

There are several ways to implement a mobile web design solution as explained in my January blog Design Solutions for the Mobile Web. Also, in that blog it was stated that responsive design was the best solution to present day web design and development. Building secondary mobile sites (i.e. m.yourwebsitename.com) and depending on device detection is becoming a thing of the past. In 2015, mobile, tablet, and desktop layouts are being integrated seamlessly with the use of responsive design; resulting in a better user experience. This method also helps with optimizing your website by reducing subdomains and duplicate content.

Mobile Desktop Navigation

To navigate web pages on mobile devices, web designers and developers often implement mobile menu structures which function in several different ways. Mobile menus can collapse, expand, pop up or even flyout from the sides of the device’s screen. In 2015, these menu structures will be utilized in desktop layouts as well. Some websites like Adobe, MyEmma, and YouTube have already implemented this type of navigation. It’s only a matter of time before this become common practice.

Image and Video Backgrounds (Hero Images)

Most companies are content with letting words do the talking on their web pages. If this is your train of thought you are missing a big opportunity to grab your visitor’s attention. In 2015, designers and developers are now using hero images and video backgrounds instead of image sliders to accomplish this goal. These have been proven to be more effective than text heavy websites. Usually, accompanying Hero Images and video backgrounds are a couple lines of text and a call-to-action (CTA) button. Two very good examples of this would be the Tatamagouche Brewing Co. and Hammerhead websites.

Flat Design / Material Design

If you have been browsing the web lately (about for the past 2-3 years to be exact), you would have noticed a common trend in how websites are being designed. Everything appears to be flat, simple shapes with colors that pop. Presently, flat design, (as it is called), seems to be the technique of choice when creating websites (ex. https://www.getdonedone.com/). Google has even expanded on this concept by adding subtle gradients and slight movement or animation to create a new direction known as material design. A great example of material design would be Playground, Inc.’s website.  Flat design in general offers a clean, fast, and clutter-free layout that allows visitors to interact with content focused on gaining their attention without being distracted.

Micro Interactions (Forms, Popups)

Another web design trend that seems to be taking off as of late is the implementation of micro interactions. In web design micro interactions are modules – usually in the form of popups, that revolve around a single process. The process can be anything from subscribing to a blog or an email distribution, downloading content, watching a video clip, and so on. There are numerous ways to trigger mico interactions on a website; however, from personally viewing multiple websites over the past year or so, the most common way to trigger these interactions is by viewing a page for a certain amount of time; when that time elapses a micro interaction would usually appear.  This practice is very popular with blog posts. Ultimately, micro interactions should improve user engagement and increase customer loyalty if implemented correctly.

Conclusion

It is important to note that some of these new trends may not increase visits to your website; however, they may keep visitors engaged enough to positively impact conversion rates.

What other web design trends from 2014 will rollover or have an impact in 2015?

What other new trends do you expect to see in 2015 that are not listed above? You may add or list any other trends you foresee in the comments below!

Technical Considerations for Going Mobile Design

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What method should you use when starting your mobile design?

There are a lot of variables you need to consider when making your site mobile friendly. To start, there are three different ways you can do it. Only 1 of the 3 ways is considered best practice, and the other 2 are being phased out. Ideally you want to shoot for responsive design which with media queries work. Then no matter the size of your screen, your website’s look and feel will always be as at the width you want it.

Before we get into the 3 most common ways to design for mobile, I should mention the absolute most ideal way to do it. If you are doing a complete re-design then you should design for mobile first. I know it’s a bit different from how we developers have been doing it for decades, But going from the simplicity of mobile to complex is much easier. If you are not doing a re-design and already have a website you want to go to mobile, then you are going to choose between one of the 3 methods below. Keep in mind that there are other ways to go about it, I only mention the most common.

The 3 most common ways are as follows: media queries (referred to as responsive), mobile version of site (you would have 2 sites basically – one for desktop, and one for mobile), and making it fit exact sizes (making it fit 320, 450, 700, 900, 1024. If someone has a screen size of 400, they would see the 450 size. Basically, the design jumps as if you moved the browser).

Helpful Tools For Mobile Design

There are dozens of software packages and sites you can use to help. I am going to keep it simple and only mention 2 specific ones. The first is to help with Internet Explorer since you’ll usually encounter the most issues,  as with previous versions of the browser. The next one can help with every browser, but it only gives you a screenshot of what you select. Still very helpful for checking multiple versions of chrome in one go.

The last one allows you to view websites in different sizes without having to resize your browser. You can also browse the site using this, which is helpful for usability. If you use Google Chrome then you can use this next bit. If not then I highly recommend downloading Chrome. It is actually a built in feature that I use all the time.

Chrome phone icon.
Shows the chrome inspect element, and where the phone icon is located.

All you need to do is right click on a site, and select “inspect”. Then another bar will pop out showing you the code of where you right clicked, and below that will be the CSS properties associated with it. It is handy for anyone programming. I have used Chrome for years and never noticed this until recently.

At the top of the inspect window there are buttons to change what you are seeing. Those are cool to use also. You can change the position of the inspect window from there. It can either be bottom, right side or a completely different window. On that top bar between the magnifying glass and the “Elements” tab, there is a phone icon. Click on it. Instantly you can browse in any size and go to specific device sizes. You can also see the recommended screen sizes to hit when going for mobile design.

Mobile Design Cross Browser Issues

Here is where all of the trouble is. You need to pick which devices you want to design for, and for which browser versions. The more versions and devices you support the better. Choose wisely – supporting every browser version under the sun for all devices simply isn’t possible.  A good standard would be the webs top 5 browsers that cover 95% of the user market: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. You can download them and use them for testing, or use the tool above to see screenshots in those browsers. I recommend both so that if you want, you can use the site on that browser instead of only seeing a screenshot.

Browser version wise, it is recommended that you go back at least as far as 3 versions. For Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera those typically can go even farther back, maybe as far as 10 versions or more because they usually show roughly the same. For Internet Explorer, you will need to pick what specific version you want to design for.For each version you go back, it will become harder and harder to design for. So your mileage my vary with Internet Explorer versions.

Programing wise, inside your CSS you can use 3 properties to target those browsers. First is “ -webkit- “ – this targets Chrome and Safari. The next is “ -moz- “ – which targets Firefox. Lastly, there is “ -o- ” – and that targets Opera. To target Internet Explorer, you need to do some research depending on the version you’re designing for –  that pre-fix might be different.

Browser support pre-fix.
Browser support pre-fix.
Thinking about going mobile and have questions? Ask away in the comments below!

5 Step Google Analytics Audit

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Okay, so you’ve had Google Analytics for years and you’re collecting data – but when was the last time that you performed a Google Analytics Audit for your website? Actually updated your Google Analytics account to streamline data collection, align to your current (and possibly future) goals/objectives, and verified that  only approve employees have access to your data.  If you haven’t updated anything within the last 6 months, then chances are that you’re missing out on opportunities to evaluate your marketing performance, improve data collection, obtain insights, or allocate your marketing budget towards the meaningful drivers of success for your website.

Have no fear – I’ve got you covered: here’s a 5 step Google Analytics Audit to get you started…

1. Prioritize Your Google Analytics Audit

So the first question you should be asking yourself is: “what are you examining your Google Analytics account against?”  Any actionable audit starts with a measurement plan, and your Google Analytics Audit is no exception.  The goal of the measurement plan is to provide a framework to track online performance, and define your goals, objectives, targets, and segments.  Without the measurement plan, it will be a challenge to put your audit into perspective or to prioritize your next steps.

2. Get Your Google Analytics Code on All Pages

If you have a Content Management System (CMS), tagging all of your pages with Google Analytics code shouldn’t be too time consuming.  Most CMS platforms have an area specifically for the Google Analytics or Google Tag Manager tracking code – but you can validate the implementation with Tag Assistant, ScreamingFrog, or WASP. If you’re not using a CMS, I would recommend using ScreamingFrog.  Make sure that the code is only listed 1 time on each page, and don’t forget your ecommerce platforms or application process!

WASP.inspector

3. Protect Your Google Analytics Data and Ensure Accurate Data Collection

You may have granted Google Analytics access to your advertising agency, employees, partners, or vendors – but when was the last time that you updated your User Management settings?  Are you collecting data based on the updated tracking code and information within the Google Analytics administration?  I would recommend that you review both your Property and View settings to ensure that your data collection aligns with your measurement plan.  This should include:

  • Goals
  • Content Groupings
  • Filters
  • Channel Settings
  • Ecommerce Settings

4. Link Your Google Analytics with other Products & Social Media

You can streamline the data collection across Google products, social media accounts, remarketing and data imports from third parties such as Bing Ads.  By doing this, you will gain an idea of the ROI your marketing tactics are providing, and guide you to making adjustments to your approach.

Social settings

5. Create Efficiencies with Segments, Modeling, and Alerts

Take the time to revisit your segments, alerts, and attribution modeling to ensure that they align with your measurement plan.  You might find that these items could be updated based on your previous online performance, new insights or more enhancements that could have been available because of Google Analytics upgrades.  An example was the 2014 update to segmentation.

Why audit Your Google Analytics Account?

Google Analytics will continue to roll-out enhancements.  In general, the goal is usually to save practitioners time and to improve analysis efficiencies.  This should have an effect on your ability to better assess your online performance and obtain insights.  For example, Google Analytics has roll-out Cohort Analysis (beta) to better measure performance over time and simplify their data sharing settings.

Recommendations for a Google Analytics Audit

  1. Perform your Google Analytics Audit quarterly to align with your measurement plan
  2. After the audit, prioritize your tasks based on your ability to obtain insights or provide recommendations to achieve your goals and objectives
  3. Automate or standardize segments, modeling, and alerts to simplify the audit and to implement future product enhancement quickly.
  4. Subscribe to the Analytics Newsletters or Google Analytics RSS to stay up-to-date on product changes
  5. Leverage auditing tools (ie: WASP, Tag Assistant, etc.), applications, and Google Analytics Solutions galleries to streamline segmentations and customizations.

Thinking of giving your own Google Analytics audit a try? Let us know in the comments below.