The F7 Blog
Figureseven, Inc. has been helping businesses maximize their offline and online marketing efforts for over a decade. This blog provides insight, tips and advice from our experts to help you achieve your marketing goals.
Archives by Date
February 2010 (2)January 2010 (6)
December 2009 (5)
November 2009 (5)
October 2009 (7)
September 2009 (10)
August 2009 (1)
July 2009 (1)
June 2009 (5)
May 2009 (5)
April 2009 (3)
Archives by Category
Branding (19)Email Marketing (3)
Information Architecture (7)
Marketing (22)
Search Engine Optimization (9)
Social Media (15)
Technical Information (6)
Usability (9)
Web Hosting (3)
Web Marketing (22)
Web Site Design (12)
Web Site Management (7)
Figureseven, Inc.
615 South Street
Fitchburg, MA 01420
877-626-2771
Create Once, Share Many
By Jim DeLorenzo, Guest Contributor
February 22, 2010 in Web Marketing, Social Media
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
LinkedIn
Del.icio.usYou may be familiar with the acronym, WORM, which stands for Write Once, Read Many. It refers to resilient data storage media that can be written to once but read from an unlimited number of times.
In social media we have the concept of COSM, or Create Once, Share Many – admittedly, quite different than WORM, but I like the similarity in terminology. I use Create instead of Write because we’re talking about the Web, so content could be in written, video or audio format – or a combination thereof. Regardless of the format, the idea is simple: use as many applicable outlets as appropriate to spread your content. So the S could also stand for Spread…or Simulcast…or Socialize.
Oops, Facebook did it again!
By Jeremy Daly, President, Figureseven, Inc.
February 16, 2010 in Web Site Design, Information Architecture, Social Media, Usability
It’s been a few weeks since Facebook launched another major change to their home page, and once again, it wasn’t without some public outcry. Almost a year ago when Facebook changed their site a self-sponsored poll found that over 94% of users disliked it. They eventually caved to user pressure and rolled back some of the changes. I guess people didn’t like the 1997-esque rounded corners on the profile pictures. Similarly, last October, Facebook released another set of design changes that altered the news feed! This even spurred a group called “PLEASE GIVE US OUR OLD NEWS FEED BACK!” that attracted well over half a million supporters.
I’ll admit that I too was frustrated by Facebook’s apparent disconnect with their users, but these previous modifications seemed to simply modify layouts and re-brand some of their features. It was easy for us to dislike those changes because it forced us to relearn something we were already very familiar with. This last update, however, went beyond mere visual and wording changes and actually appears to completely breakdown the site’s usability. Here are a few things that you may not have noticed, but from a usability standpoint, they are key factors in determining successful user experience.
Blog Guidelines III
By Greg Czarnowski, Principal, Figureseven, Inc.
January 29, 2010 in Web Marketing, Social Media
I conclude my 3-part treatise on blog content with a few other thoughts to keep in mind:
- Make sure that the topic is clear to someone who only reads the headline.
- Make sure that the lead paragraph tells who and what the story is about and why the reader should care about it.
- Make sure that it is free of jargon .
- Ask your readers a question at the end or include something to stimulate readers to comment and provide feedback.
Engaging your site visitors might not be as challenging as you think. Then again, if you are overwhelmed by this prospect, consider using an outside source (hint, hint) that could provide you with the content you need to create a blog that makes your site a must-read visit.
Blog Guidelines II
By Greg Czarnowski, Principal, Figureseven, Inc.
January 27, 2010 in Web Marketing, Social Media
Here are some additional thoughts on what goes into a good blog, one that will keep site visitors returning to read more:
- Keep it lively, make it snappy and snazzy. Even if you aren't a natural born writer, you can write for your blog. Just write like you're speaking to your friend or to yourself! Remember though, get to the point quickly. Keep in mind the journalist's rule of 5 W's in the first paragraph: who, what, why, when and where.
- Write clearly (short sentences, only one concept per sentence).
- Use a clear headline, and don't be afraid to make bold statements (but don't mislead people either).
- Write like you talk. It's okay to use common expressions from speech. Examples: Go figure. Don't even go there. Now, I ask you. Gotta love it. (And, remember the age group of your readers – try to avoid using jargon that they might be unfamiliar with.)
Blog Guidelines I
By Greg Czarnowski, Principal, Figureseven, Inc.
January 25, 2010 in Web Marketing, Social Media
After writing my last blog about the importance of blogs, I realized that some people might be a bit in awe of the prospect of writing a blog. To help assuage those fears, here are some guidelines that I believe will help you to craft your message more effectively.
- Write with the reader in mind - your reader will read your post looking for what's in it for them.
- Make it valuable and worthwhile. Don't waste people's time. If you don't have anything to say, no problem, plenty other people do.
- Proof-read for typos and glaring grammatical errors (this is also something that I will do before we post anything). Respect your readers by polishing up your stuff.
- Keep it short and simple. Most people are scanners. You may have a lot to say and think it interesting, and it may be. But people are reading online and out of time. Get to the point quickly. Publishing short posts more frequently is a better format than publishing lengthy articles every few weeks.
Now, to avoid breaking one of my own rules, I will leave the rest of my guidelines until my next blog.
