In the 1920’s the designer Jan Tschichold, recognized his century’s needs and established standards for typography and paper sizes. Today, instead of designing for different paper sizes there are different screen sizes, which also means designing for different experiences. Consuming digital content with a smart phone is a different experience with a tablet or a desktop. The primary differences being the time spent and purpose for each, ie; searching for something quickly on a smart phone vs leisurely navigating the web on a couch at home. Each experience requires a different visual design in order to communicate quickly and effectively.

Presenting information in an organized and well-designed format helps, but to guarantee a wider audience, the content should be accessible and available using more than one device. Bigger type sizes and leading for body copy make reading quicker and easier on screen; try using 16px instead of the more common 12px. A good ratio of images to copy is always more compelling to an audience. Plan for different screen sizes by creating a flexible layout that will cater the user’s device.

One thing is clear after all of this; new technology will continue to change the way information is designed and how it is consumed. Keeping this at the forefront when designing a digital experience will make for a much more satisfied consumer and maybe even a frequent one.

- Jaret Stezelberger, Designer

In the past, to enable jewelry images to shimmer, move and convey an immersive experience would have called for the use of Adobe’s Flash Suite. But the future is here and the reasons to move away from Flash are significant:

•  In the not-so-distant digital future more and more users will be viewing content on iPhones, iPads and other devices. Flash doesn’t work on these devices.

• Search is still king when it comes to driving traffic to your site so search-engine friendliness is crucial; While inroads have been made some search engines still struggle to crawl and index Flash movies.

With these issues in mind, we set out to craft a luxurious online experience for Mikimoto. The site was built using AJAX and DHTML, and has succeeded in achieving a rich and engaging view of the most precious cultured pearls in the world, all without an ounce of Flash. We invite you to experience this next-generation brand site for yourself at www.mikimotoamerica.com and call us to help move your brand away from Flash.

It’s clear that the web site could be improved but how do I know whether now’s the time to invest in a new site? Here are 10 surefire ways to tell that it’s time for a redesign.

1. Your site is more than 3 years old
Technology has changed so much in the last couple of years, you are probably not taking advantage of the latest frontend and backend technologies. Adding fresh and relevant content keeps your site constantly in front of the search engines and inspires return traffic.

2. Your traffic numbers have gone down.
If Google Analytics or another traffic measurement tool is showing a decline in viewer engagement, you may need a site fix. Site metrics are an easy way to gauge the effectiveness of your website and can point out the areas of your site that need the most attention.

3. Navigating your site is difficult, un-intuitive
Good site navigation relies on multiple elements to point the way to your users: menus, sidebar links, mini-navs, footers, and nested hyperlinks, among others. Or if your site navigation frustrates your site visitors for other reasons, it’s time to create a new website for the organization.

4. If only customers could find a way to place their order!
It’s amazing how many websites have done a splendid job of presentation, gotten consumers to visit the site but really stink at closing the deal. No call to action = no customers! No easy and secure transaction method = no customers. No way to contact customer service = no customers. No clear privacy and return policies = no customers. Great pictures, content and navigation are part of the story, but you have to follow through all the way.

5. You’re not getting found
If your website is not optimized for the search engines, you’re losing a lot of traffic and potential business. To optimize your web pages your main keywords should be included in the title, description and keyword meta tags as well as headings, subheadings, main content, links, file names and image descriptions. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a science as well as an art, and it’s critical to being ‘found’ on the Internet.

6. You’re Spending a Small Fortune to Maintain Your Site
The advent of robust content management systems (CMS) makes it easy, quick and intuitive for non-technical staff to update and make changes to the site. By using open source CMS tools you keep your costs down and keep up with technological changes.

7. Your Business Has Changed but Your Site Hasn’t
Rebranding, a different business direction, new products or services, or significant company growth … these are important changes that should be reflected in your online presence. An integrated, consistent brand (offline and online) builds customer trust and keeps consumers coming back.

8. Your Site Displays Differently on Different Web Browsers
Differences in browser display can lead to unpredictable results – a page that looks good in one browser may be unreadable in another. A professionally executed redesign will ensure that your website performs well on all major browsers across all platforms

9. You’ve ignored smartphones … so far
With 500 million users and growing, and predictions that smartphones will overtake the PC as the most popular way to get on the Internet by 2015, the mobile web is no longer a communications portal you can afford to ignore. Developing a site for smartphone access requires a new way of looking at information. At the very least, you must design for a small screen and streamline your content.

10. Your site looks just like everyone else’s
Your customers are increasingly doing more online research and, these days, focusing more on price. So it’s critical that your website stands out from the crowd. It’s got to be up-to-date, relevant and convincing. The site has to show prospects why they should do business with you and not the other guys.

Facebook is a people engine.

If a user wants to know something, they’ll use google, yahoo or bing. If they want to find someone, they’ll use Facebook. This fundamental understanding of why people search should effect the copy and approach to your ads. If not you’ll end up wondering why Facebook is underperforming.

Go broad before rushing to target.

It’s easy to think you know who you’re going after and using Facebook tools to target that group but you may be surprised by who responds to Facebook ads. We suggest casting a wider net thought the “broad match” and optimize from there.

Keep it fresh. Avoid creepy.

Unlike traditional search engines you can target audiences by age, location, gender and interests which helps when initial ads start to fatigue. But be careful not to get too personal with your ad or you run the risk of coming off creepy. You’ll not only lose the click but it could have a negative impact on your brand image.

“…nearly all physicians are online for professional purposes weekly or more”

“…the average physician now spends a full work day (eight hours) per week using the Internet for professional reasons”

The report goes on to talk further about mobile…

“Mobile technology has played a significant role in increasing physicians’ dependency on online resources – 64% of doctors own smartphones and are using them to supplement their desk or laptop computer usage to be “always on.” Also, mobile devices help physicians to access clinical resources at multiple points throughout their day, even to at the point of care.”

How physicians use multimedia and social media we also covered…

“…physicians have acclimated themselves to advanced online activities, such as watching streaming video and listening to podcasts, at a much faster rate than consumers. Doctors are also catching the social media fever. Many are collaborating in online communities designed specifically for healthcare professionals; participation in these networks doubled between 2008 and 2009.”

Understanding behavior online is critical for any marketing team when looking to develop forward-looking digital strategies that elevate the relationship with your target audience. If physicians are key for your 2011 digital plan, now may be time to reassess how you reach and build relationships with them.

Read the full research article at:
How Digital is Shaping the Future of Pharmaceutical Marketing

Excerpt from Article:

“While social media marketing continues to get a lot of media attention and companies are investing more ($1.2 billion 2011, Forrester), search marketing (PPC and SEO) gets the lion’s share of digital marketing budgets ($20.7 billion 2011, Forrester).”

Read More at: SEO Tops Digital Marketing Tactics for 2011

At Digital Pulp, we recommend monitoring organic search and reporting the findings at least quarterly. For paid search we like to see a sustained effort, so optimization is possible and learnings can be built upon. If search is on your mind and you have questions let us know.

Have Vision
For some it’s projecting thought leadership. For others it’s creating a deeper emotional connection to readers. Clarity about your vision will make it easier to stay on course.

Be Valuable
Value can be felt in a number of ways. Are you comprehensive or a much needed filter? Do you offer perspective or unwavering objectivity? Define your value and readers will feel it throughout their experience.

Get Personal
Despite the ability to reach mass audiences, write for a single person. Writing for your ideal reader prevents filler content from watering down your blog and obscuring the highest quality posts.

Create Impact
Do you remember the last time you read something significant? It wasn’t necessarily what was said but HOW they said it. That’s your voice and critical to leaving a deep impression on new readers.

Make Connections
No blog is an island. You need readers and a way to generate activity. Comment on and post links to related blogs. When you demonstrate the caliber of your associations, bloggers of influence will share the love (and links) with you.

We hope these tidbits help. To get your blogging questions answered or for a more comprehensive blog strategy, we’re always here.

Know Your Audience
You want Facebook fans, sure but quality always wins over quantity. Be specific about who is reading, and tailor your writing to their needs.

Think Entertainment, Not Speech
Think of Facebook as your moment at the mic. Envision your audience in the room with you. How would keep their attention?

Relax and Roll Up Your Sleeves
While your team always conveys a sense of professionalism, the Facebook platform is very informal. So leave the suit in the closet, and think business-casual.

May Seem Obvious but… Be Social
Too often, we see posts that mimic a press release and end there. That’s like sitting in a bar with a friend who does all the talking. At the end of each announcement, ask a question.

Start Learning
Every organization is different, and how you should approach social spaces will reflect your needs and aspirations. There are no cookie-cutter solutions, so start the learning process and see what works for you.

We hope these tidbits help. To get your social questions answered, or for a more comprehensive social media campaign, we’re always here.

1. Traffic
2. Inbound Links
3. Page Content and Coding

The reality is that if you don’t have decent traffic, it’s unlikely that google will see your site as relevant. If no one (of quality) is linking to you then you’re potential to satisfy the needs of google users is even lower. And finally if the content on your pages is not identical to what searchers are looking for there will be other sites that will appear first.

While this seems like bad news, it’s the situation every website owner is in so you’re not alone!

So what to do? With 65% market share google should be your main target. We recommend taking the long view and starting from the bottom up. Decide the 10 key phrases where you’d like to appear. Check out who appears in natural search results for these terms and how you measure up. Craft your page content to suit the phrases and code your pages with standards in mind. Find sites that should be linking to your content (like bloggers) and pitch them a story chock full of your key phrases.

Over time your page rank will improve. If it’s not improving fast enough, you’ll need to consider purchasing google adwords. As a side note, google says having an adwords campaign doesn’t improve your rank but having a google webmaster account and submitting an XML sitemap to google will help.

“The site’s pages are also home to countless ads from smaller companies that can be funny, weird or just plain creepy — those suggesting you are, say, eligible to get a free iPad because you are exactly 26 years old, or entreaties to see what your offspring would look like if you had a child with a celebrity.”

As in the real world, it seems there are limits as to how familiar you can get with someone you’ve never met. Read the full article at: Ads Posted on Facebook Strike Some as Off-Key or check out the related multimedia piece that shows actual Facebook ads as seen by four demographically diverse users: Facebook’s Targeted Ads