Social media networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter have become marketing must haves. In addition to getting the word out on events, sales and other incentives in real time format- social media networking offers businesses a chance to something like never before. Connectivity with your market. Through social networking platforms, you can not only draw in more people who would be interested in what you have to offer- but speak to them in a more direct, intimate way.

Real News in Real Time

Online readers love to get to know the real scoop and the behind the scenes of the companies that they support. Many companies use their social media platforms to discuss the events that they engage in for the greater community and charity, others still yet use it to introduce key members of their staff.

Deals and Exclusives

More still yet will use their social media platforms to offer special incentives and deals that are exclusive to users on those lists. All of these things are great benefits to utilizing an effective social media networking campaign. In this way, your customers and clients really feel that they are a part of the process, be that in giving their opinion on a poll, or just getting the great deal first.

Connecting To Your Clients

Getting to know your prospective clients and customers is an invaluable tool, one that allows you to connect and conduct market research in a way that makes them feel heard. This, above all is the important cornerstone of social media networking. Users of social media networks love to know that they are getting the information, deals and news on the companies they enjoy, as well as sharing that information with others.

There have been quite a few companies that have played this card and played it to the best of their advantage- shouldn’t you?

This is a guest post by Dario Ruff, CEO and Founder of Avenue180 LLC., a search marketing agency based in Atlanta, GA. Dario has helped clients like NBC Universal, Office Depot, MTV, Trane Residential & Commercial and H&R Block navigate and engage their target audiences across the ever-changing digital landscape. Website design Naples also a contributor to this article.

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The law of attraction is a potent tool when marketing anything. Experienced marketers will tell you that to sell something, especially from a distance you have to create an emotional reaction between the product and its audience.

Look at most of the television shows and advertisements on any network. The majority of the cast are slim and good looking. Chosen to illicit a certain reaction within the audience, namely attraction. Business schools teach that attractive people sell more products, and I’m afraid it’s true. Beauty is prized in our society and marketers exploit this as much as they can.

Times, and trends are slowly changing though. With the changing size of the population, “real” people are being featured more in advertising to connect with people. If they react emotionally to someone who looks like them, an emotional bond however weak is created. This bond can be strengthened by clever scripting or using realistic situations. Not all casting decisions are made on looks alone. The “girl next door” or “Mr and Mrs Average” are also useful characters who can create emotional links to the audience. The casting choice depends a lot on the product being promoted and the tone of the production.

Sound is also a large part of attraction. Think of some of the most popular advertisements of the past ten years, and I’ll guarantee there will be a memorable soundtrack to them. Music can influence the mood, and the tone of the piece. For example an active, dynamic soundtrack will convey profit, efficiency, modern and go-getting products or companies. A slower beat, calmer music will convey the opposite, luxury, classy and comfort.

The right soundtrack is essential to match the tone and goal of the video production. Choosing the right score or track is the mark of a good production team. Choose original scores if the budget is limited and popular music if you have a bit more to spend.

So you have the cast and you have the soundtrack. All you need now is the right script and the right situation. Words have power, and carefully chosen words will influence those who read or hear them. Emotion and humor translate well on video, and are useful in video marketing so use them if you can.

Creating a novel, imaginative video is the first step in making it go “viral.” This is what we’re aiming for, and even if it falls short of that status, it should still net a decent enough audience. Using the information in this post will serve you well if you’re planning to make your own video. It will also serve you well if you decide to get the professionals in, as you’ll have some idea of what they’re talking about.

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You will never completely eliminate the time consuming aspect of testing.  A tester has to assume the mantle of a user at varying skill levels, performing different activities within the site.  Allowing them time to do this, then provide feedback and results, then analyzing those results does take time, but it should be viewed as an investment, not just a cost.

There is nothing more important that having a new design tested purely from the users perspective.  The site has been designed for them after all.  We have been staring at the site and working our way round it for days, if not weeks so we can’t test it ourselves.

Three useful ways of getting inexpensive, reliable user testing is by using the online tools Userfly, UserTesting.com and ClickTale.  All three use real users to test your site and provide feedback on the experience.

Userfly is only suitable for smaller, simpler sites as it has problems with playing back the review in an iFrame which doesn’t match the element of the site they are using.  If the design is simple and it’s pretty obvious what action was taken and when, this isn’t a problem.

UserTesting.com is a much more thorough and reliable testing system, albeit more expensive.  The site allows you to specify the demographic of the testers, how many you need and what you want them to do on your site.  They arrange for the testing and provide a video so you can see exactly what the users did, and listen to an audio commentary the user made while doing it.  They then provide a written summary of the testing including what elements the testers did or didn’t like.

ClickTale is similar to UserTesting.com but slightly cheaper for some of the options.  It also records user behavior and provides a video and written summary of feedback for you to use as you see fit.  The testing also includes a heat map generated during testing for you to analyze hot spots on each page.  This is great for refining navigation or page content.

These aren’t the only three user testing tools out there.  We have found them to be the most reliable and who provide the best kind of data and feedback.  Detailed information on how end users utilize the new site is essential in making the most of the design and ensuring its success.  Using impartial, user oriented testers is by far the best way of achieving this, which is why we suggest using this method of user testing.

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Being a web developer is a great career if you don’t mind long hours and cold coffee.  It lets us use our imaginations and creativity as much as we like and get paid for it.  It’s important to try new methods and ideas, as well as embrace new technologies as they mature.  It’s way too easy to build the same old sites with the same navigation or functionality day after day, but that’s not what we’re about.

The RT Design Group is successful because we don’t follow the crowd.  We don’t design cookie cutter sites, or use templates to create.  We use what we have and let our imaginations get the better of us.  We way “why not?” instead of “why?”  and that pays dividends.
Major Naples Web Design Companies

• Naples Web Design
• RT Design
• Fort Myers Web Design
• Isoosi
• Naples WebDesign

There is a definite balance that needs to be struck between a design idea and practicality though.  It’s all very well having a killer design, but if it’s difficult to navigate or find anything it’s a failure.  Whatever the concept, the function has to win over form and the main job of a web developer is to balance the two.

It sometimes hurts when the design you are so enthusiastic about won’t work because it breaks usability rules.  You have to put yourself in the shoes of the end user and consider how they would use the site and navigate their way round it.  Ask any developer or artist who has had to compromise on a concept or abandon it because it doesn’t work.  They will tell you it isn’t easy, but it is necessary in order for the client and the end user to get what they need.

It sounds pretty straightforward when you think about it.  After all we aren’t designing something for ourselves, or even our client.  We are designing for the end user who will actually be using the site in the real world.  It’s hard sometimes, because when you put a lot of time, sweat and tears into something you become fond of it and think of it as yours.

Being a Naples web developer, and working a lot with local people and businesses allows us to build relationships with them.  It also makes it more personal, and drives us to do a good job for them.

This makes the whole process that little bit harder.  Especially when it comes to form over function.  In the end, however good the artwork or design might be, it has to fit the brief.  It also has to fit the brand of the client and the needs of the users.  The user must be able to navigate everything easily and the client must be able to update it just as simply.

So while the design is important, and something we at The RT Design Group are very good at.  It is second to function.  The whole point of a website is to provide the visitor with exactly what they need, exactly when they need it.  All other considerations come second.

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