Tag Archives: scarletgeek

Apr 30 2012
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Client questions answered, Digital, General

The future’s cloudy

I’ve been asked a few times recently what this is, in simple terms, so here goes:

Cloud storage basically lets you create documents and save to a central location which, you can access from all of your devices; laptops, tablets, mobiles etc.

This means you can view or edit your files on the hop, wherever you want without having to sync or transfer explicitly from one device to the other. Your work is effectively floating, like a cloud, waiting to be rinsed for information.

So, if you’re running to a meeting and you’ve picked up your personal mobile, not your work mobile (not that I ever do that of course) it means you can save your graces and find the file regardless.

Phew!

Want to know more? I thought this post was insightful too.

 

 

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Mar 27 2012
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Content, Digital, strategy

Beware the fold

Belief: The page fold is an impenetrable force that blocks the user from moving down the page.

Truth: Less than 3% of users have been unable to reach the content they want easily because of the fold.*

 

The ‘fold’, for those of you wondering what on earth I’m mildly ranting about, is a term that we digital marketers refer to as the bit of the webpage that sits on your screen before you have to scroll.

I have spent years selling solutions to clients that emphasise how critical it is to make sure your key CTA is above the fold, don’t go below the fold NO! Danger zone, make sure you clearly explain to the user that they have to click if they want to move or scroll down… don’t leave it to them to work it out!

Well, you’ll be glad to hear, technology has moved on considerably in the last few years. Phew. Now though, it would seem that we aforementioned digital marketers have done such a good job of explaining the fold to our clients, that we now have the huge task to explain that the fold no longer really matters.

 

Why?

Because; we have stacks of user testing that tells us that they don’t mind scrolling. JGI, you’ll see.

Because; long pages often give us the info we want without clicking through to seven different areas of the site.

Because; eye tracking software tells us that the eye runs in an ‘F’ formation quickly first and then guess what? Yep, down the page.

Because; users are used to keeping a mouse over the scroll bar and, wait for it, they know the size of the scroll bar is indicative to how long the page will be.

Because; actually users want to be encouraged by the fact that content is clustered in ways relevant to them and, finally…

Because; we have so many beautiful and rich ways of displaying content now, that it’s less about getting them straight to the CTA that the business cares about, and more about giving them the information they want in an easily digestible way to enable them to make the right decision.

It’s not about the linear journey anymore; click homepage, see CTA for more info, click through to product overview page, click for more info, click through to product detail page… (you get the idea).

And if you still don’t believe me, look at these guys bold enough to laugh in the face of the fold:

VW: http://beetle.com/ (love this site)

Nike: http://www.nikebetterworld.com/

Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/

NY Times Magazine: http://www.nytimes.com

Now go and be scroll free and happy…

This image is from a book by Scott McCloud, I recommend his stuff, check it out here.

*Source: Independent eye tracker survey across a sample of 800 people of varied skill sets. 

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Mar 21 2012
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Analytics, social commerce, social media

Analyse this

I would imagine you’re all familiar with Google Analytics and Omniture, and seen reports for PPC, SEO and Display, no doubt clearly outlining the return for every penny spent including; entry sources, bounce rates, CTR, page views and so on.

I’ll also wager you’ve asked your planners and buyers what the return for Social Marketing is? Yes? You’ll have asked: What’s the value of a Facebook ‘like’ or a ‘retweet’? We’ve all stared at pretty diagrams that show us the reach and potential eyeballs hit but, so far, it’s been an algorithm we haven’t quite mastered with the confidence to go back to the board and solidly say that the money spent has returned an incremental profit of ‘X’ through social.

Well this level of measurement has just taken two more big steps forward.

Firstly, Google recently announced that they are adding social media reports to their analytics suite which will show the social value through measuring; visits and visits via social referral, the conversions this led to, plus assisted social conversions and last interaction social conversions.

Secondly, Adobe has just unveiled its social analytics tool: ‘Adobe Social’. Apparently a more comprehensive version of Adobe Social Analytics, according to their Product Director Matt Langie. The new software still provides the basic listening tools already familiar to users but in addition now allows management of creating and publishing content and ads. It also follows similar tracking to GA so you can report from seed to purchase or drop off.

I wonder what this means to the likes of Radian and Sysomos, will these two giants take over?

 

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