Take a look at the before and after and then read my notes on what changed, what didn’t, and why.

Previous GAPA Site, 2007

The New GAPA Site

1. Consistency
When doing a major website update, it can be tempting to scrap everything you’ve done before and start from scratch. However, unless the branding, messaging or identity for the company has changed dramatically, this is usually not a good idea. Remember that many users come to your website and have become accustomed to where certain buttons are and how the site is organized. They usually know, or have a rough idea, where the information that they want is located and you don’t want to needlessly confuse them or make things difficult.  To keep consistency, we kept the same basic structure of the organization of the site and kept the menu system exactly the same and close to the same placement. We made the buttons larger and easier to see, but people who are looking for them in a certain location will easily find them.

2. Update Colors & Graphics
Updating a website is the perfect time for new colors and graphics for the site. If you have a budget for new photography or stock photos – terrific! If not, maybe figure out new ways of using the photos you’ve used before. One of the main focuses of this redesign was the color scheme. We wanted a much lighter, warmer feeling on the site so we revamped nearly all the colors. The logo stayed the same, and we used the red from the logo to indicate links.  We kept the cream color very close to the same and replaced the olive green with a nice soft blue.  It still looks brand consistent though as we made sure that the new blue “matched” or fit in the same color family as the original green. It makes it look less like a dramatic change and instead like a natural progression.

3. Make What’s Popular Convenient
I can’t overstate the importance of website analytics and if you have them running on your site, a website redesign is a great time to really get the most out of them. We found that some very popular content was buried a few levels deep within the site causing people to have to click multiple times from the homepage to get to what they wanted.  Since we didn’t want to restructure the organization of the entire site, we decided to design four large blue buttons on the homepage as quick jumps to those sections of the website.

4. Promote
While assessing the redesign we also realized the importance of promoting some of the events for the client so we built a section into the sidebar that will always showcase the upcoming events with links to register for the events and sign up for more information.

5. Update Framework
Since we were going in for a major redesign anyway, we decided to update the framework on the back end as well. The site had relied heavily on HTML and that was about it. During the redesign we updated all the HTML to be W3C compliant as well as utilized PHP and CSS to their fullest so that future updates and changes will be very efficient and ensure that the site appears properly on all modern browsers.

6. Clean Up
After years of having the same design, it’s easy to just keep adding things to the homepage or elsewhere until things begin to look a little cluttered and disorganized. We found that in the redesign, we were able to create a “News” section where we could post lots of updates and promote new items.  We also took the intro copy that had grown quite lengthy and edited that down quite a bit.

7. New Features
It’s always great to add some bells and whistles during a major redesign as well to really make people excited about it. These can be small things, like adding a “Back to Top” button to the bottom of long pages. Or something more noticeable like our big rotating promotional graphic that we added to the homepage. This adds some movement and interest for the visitor as well as a promotional venue for our client to promote their agendas.

8. Integrate Social Media
Since the previous website was created before the Social Media craze, it was time to get it integrated into the new site.  To keep people connected to the client we added links to their Facebook, Twitter and Email Newsletter to the sidebar of every page.  Also, to encourage social sharing of the website’s content, we also added an “Add This” widget to every page so that visitors could easily share what they find.

9. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
While upgrading the rest of the site, we had to take a look at the SEO work that had been done up to that point. Of course, SEO should be an ongoing commitment, but a big redesign is the prefect time to make some big changes.

10. Revive Forgotten Features
A redesign also is a perfect opportunity to turn your focus on some forgotten or hidden features of your site. Maybe you have an events calendar that no one visits or a forum that no one uses.  During the redesign, be sure to identify those items and promote them strongly to create interest and activity. Maybe people weren’t going to some pages because they couldn’t find them!

These are just some of the many benefits you can receive from performing timely and thoughtful website redesigns. Take a look at our final project and let us know what you think in the comments!

Visit www.gapa.net now!

1. Mashable “The Social Media Guide”

Mashable’s website is a great source to keep up with the latest news and developments in social media: http://mashable.com/ However, I very seldom visit it, I prefer several of their other ways of communicating which are through their RSS feed (http://feeds.mashable.com/Mashable), Twitter (http://twitter.com/mashable), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/mashable), Buzz (http://google.com/profiles/mashable), or the good ‘ole email updates (http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=Mashable&loc=en_US).

2. The Next Web “Best of the Web’s News, Views, Startups and Culture”

The Next Web is another great source for updates on social media and the internet in general. The community around it doesn’t seem to be as robust, but they usually have an interesting take on what’s going on. You can follow them at their website (http://www.thenextweb.com/) or through their RSS Feed (http://feeds2.feedburner.com/TheNextWeb), FriendFeed (http://www.friendfeed.com/the-next-web), Twitter (http://twitter.com/TheNextWeb), Facebook(http://www.facebook.com/thenextweb), or email (http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=295309&loc=en_US) as well.

3. Read, Write, Web

This one’s a distance third on the list, but they still occasionally have some unique content or insightful commentary. Visit their website (http://www.readwriteweb.com/) for the latest, or follow them through their RSS Feed (http://www.readwriteweb.com/rss.xml), Twitter (http://twitter.com/rww), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ReadWriteWeb), or email(http://www.readwriteweb.com/newsletters/index.php).

Those are definitely the top three that I would suggest but I would also like to mention two more:

Gizmodo (http://gizmodo.com/) While Gizmodo is mainly a blog about technology on the hardware side of things, there’s a lot of content about social media and online culture. Also a lot of hardware now is driving social media, especially if you look at how GPS systems in smartphones enable the onslaught of location based services.

Your Friends: Once you make the plunge and get social media working for yourself and/or your brand, you’ll find that many contacts in your new digital social circle will be more than willing to share the latest news and give their opinions on the direction the technology is headed. And if you’ve got questions, they’re the people you want to ask. It’s a great reason to get a conversation started.

By simply staying up to date with these resources you’ll be doing a lot for your social media know-how. You’ll probably even to start feel like an early adopter! And for those of you who are already in the early adopter category, how do stay on top of it? What resources am I forgetting?

It starts with strategy and message.

At the risk of sounding “old school” (I was raised on the basic principles of David Ogilvy), there is no substitute for a cohesive and compelling marketing strategy and brand message. It’s all about finding the real attributes that make your brand unique, and then creatively leveraging those differences in your positioning and message. It’s also about connecting your brand with prospects, and that’s only achieved with the right message that should be baked into every touchpoint with your prospect whether it’s sales, customer service, product development, and yes, even social media.

Integrate social media with total marketing.

In the last few months we’ve seen global brand leaders such as Pepsi and Coca-Cola shift more monies from traditional media to social media, with Pepsi recently declaring that funds typically devoted to Super Bowl television advertising would be redirected to social media programs. More and more advertisers are doing the same as they see the value in how social media can make their brands more accessible to consumers on a 24/7 basis. But what these brands also understand is that their social media efforts must be integrated into the bigger marketing picture.

Keep expectations in check.

It’s human nature to desire quick and tangible results to any marketing program. But those that expect immediate results from social media marketing are setting themselves up for heartbreak and frustration. Social media vehicles such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, are effective tools but typically slower in building customer response and loyalty. It’s all about creating a long-term conversation with prospects and leading them – not commanding them – to action. It should never be confused with the direct hard-sell persona of traditional media efforts.

Keep this in mind when building your marketing program.

Ignore the “cheap” pitch.

Another concern I caution clients about is the argument that social media, along with Internet marketing, can be an inexpensive replacement for traditional media. My answer: it all depends. While there are definite cost efficiencies associated with social media and Internet marketing, the exclusive use of new media really depends on your target audience and your overall marketing objectives. Internet marketing lends itself perfectly for impacting narrow target niches. But if your target represents a broader audience, then marketing efforts warrant traditional media when a wider net is needed. Again, it depends on your strategy and the bigger marketing picture, and of course, the realities of a budget.

So, whether you’re an association looking to build its membership, or a packaged good trying to attract new users, social media is an effective weapon in the marketing arsenal.  Just make sure it supports – rather than replaces – your marketing communications strategy.

1. It’s free
   This is mostly for the people who haven’t even started yet, and if that’s you… what are you waiting for? You can sign up today, for free and the whole process takes less than 15 minutes.
2. People prefer it
   In recent polls, people have indicated that they prefer to be contacted by the brands they love via social media more than any other form of communication such as direct mail, email or advertising.
3. Be aware of the conversation
   There’s already a conversation happening online about your company and/or your industry. It’s best to be aware of that conversation and even better to be a part of it. (It’s of course the best to be leading that conversation – but not controlling it)
4. Get feedback from your clients/customers
   Facebook offers a great way for customers to leave feedback and give you their thoughts. Many people worry about negative comments left on their pages, and that’s a valid concern. However, it’s also an opportunity to receive some constructive criticism by finding out the true concerns of your clients. It’s also a great opportunity to offer your point of view as well as illustrate how you quickly and thoughtfully react to customer complaints.
5. Broadcast your message to people who are interested
   A strong fan base automatically creates an interested audience for any information you need to broadcast. Got a one-day only special – let everyone of your fans know about it in 30 seconds or less.
6. Targeted, cost-effective advertising
   With a small amount of money you can get a lot of exposure and grow awareness with highly targeted, cost-effective ads. Since Facebook “knows” a lot about its members, it can pretty easily find the ones that are going to be interested in your message.
7. Makes you easily sharable
   Just by the nature of social media and Facebook, all of your actions and the interactions between you and your fans can easily be shared with all of their fans, and their fans, and so on. This make it very easy for your voice to be multiplied.
8. Enforce brand awareness
   To create top-of-mind, brand awareness, advertisers would have to spend extremely large budgets and advertise to huge audiences over a long period of time to see any results. However, with Facebook, a commitment to Frequent interactions with your fan base can create the same affect.
9. Simple Loyalty program
   Offering specials to Facebook fans or announcing secret deals through Facebook messages can create an easy to set up, no hassle and FREE loyalty program to keep your customers coming back!
10. Easy to create and promote events
    Facebook can help you easily create events for your business that you can then invite your fans to as well as advertise to the Facebook population in general.

These ten items are by no means a complete list. There are many, many, many more benefits from getting your company on Facebook. Hopefully, though, this will give you another nudge in the right direction if you’ve been thinking about or tried it once but forgot about it. If you’ve already got your company on Facebook, what do you think are the best benefits?

BLOGS
Blogging before the event can be a great way to get attendees excited and also spread information important to the event. If you already have a blog, add a new category committed specifically to the upcoming event so your users can easily follow. If you don’t have a blog, or the event is of a substantial size, build a stand-alone blog strictly dedicated to the event. We recently did this for FENCETECH (one of the fastest growing tradeshows in America; you can view the blog at fencetechblog.com) We used it to promote the event and its sponsors, as well as keep attendees informed of things to do around the destination city, information about seminars and exhibits, and a whole lot more. We also did some live blogging from the show floor and some of the major events occurring during the show.

EMAILS
Email is another great way to keep in contact with your attendees. We usually keep the emails to a minimum farther out from the show and increase them as the big day gets closer. Of course, the main purpose of the emails is to increase attendance, so that is a focus of each email. However, we’ve found great responses and more interest in the emails we send when they include more information that is useful or interesting to the recipients, such as information on key networking events or fun things to do around the city the event is taking place. It should all be focused around the event, of course. Emails are also a great way to promote all of your other social media.

FACEBOOK
Creating an event on Facebook is relatively easy and it’s a great start! Promoting that event through Facebook ads and interactions can help grow a lot of interest. Facebook allows you to get extremely precise when narrowing in on your target market which can limit wasted advertising dollars and make paid advertisements extremely cost effective. Leading up to the event, it’s good to remind your fans and keep promoting the event in some of your interactions with them.  During and after the event, Facebook is a great way to keep your fans abreast of what’s going on as well as allowing them to have a forum where they can share pictures and thoughts or questions about what they’re experiencing.

TWITTER
There is no better way for massive, instant communication than Twitter. Before the show, grow your Twitter audience (followers) with informative, relevant tweets or promotional tweets to get them excited for the event. Once the event starts you can also use it to communicate last minute changes in schedules, special events or offers, or keep the people who couldn’t attend in the loop about what’s going on. Since Twitter is such a great tool for back-and-forth communication as well, you can really get a pulse of what everyone at the event is thinking and feeling and respond to any questions or concerns as well as engage everyone in attendance in a new way.

YOUTUBE
Not every event is appropriate to be broadcast on YouTube as many in the business world contain sensitive information, but if the content being discussed can be shared publicly, YouTube is perfect! Since videos usually only go up during the event or after, it is mostly a value added service to attendees but can also be a great way to generate interest in your next event from other YouTube users. A great way to do this is through attendee testimonials.

There are many conventions and trade shows that are going the “social media” route – along with FENCETECH/DECKTECH’10, we’ve also noticed conferences such as the Big (D)esign Conference, the HOW Design Conference, and Food Fete using sites such as Facebook and Twitter as alternative ways to connect with attendees. Building a solid foundation with high expectations for the usage of social media now will ensure that your next big event will be the talk of the town.

Almost half (46%) of the 308 million people (62 million are under 16 years old – so 57% of those over 16) in the US access the Internet 9.6 hrs/wk.  – about 52% of the time is for email and 48% for other Web usage. Men report 28% heavier Web (non-email) usage than women for sports and other male interests.

Age Matters: Over half the people aged 45 – 54 have access and use the Internet 9.4 hours per week.  One-third of those 55 – 64 have access and use the Internet 8.9 hrs/wk.  Look at the second chart below, 79% of the people between 45-54 use the Internet and 70% of those between 55-63 do as well.

Combine statistics with the two charts below, and you can conclude that these age groups use the Internet but, at age 55, hours of usage begins to decline.

What Do People Do On the Internet?

Email is the most popular Internet activity – across the board. The older you are, the more likely you rely on email to communicate – younger people use texting, instant messaging, and social media as alternative communications channels.

Research shows high usage of the Internet to research products, buy products, and use search engines – all ranking high among the various age groups – in the chart above. This evidence suggests consumers and very probably businesses rely heavily on the Internet to make buying decisions.

Men, women, and minorities use the Internet in different ways, for different functions. Again, email use ranks #1 across the board, but different market segments Internet activities are different:

Young vs. Older Users

Today, younger Internet users, under 30, tend to use the internet more for entertainment purposes such as music, on-line videos and playing games. Older groups look for information, news, and handle finances.

Education and Income

Internet usage and hours per week rise steadily with both education and income.  Today, 75% of college graduates use the Internet an average of 9.8 hrs/wk. while 78% with Masters Degrees use it 11.5 hrs/wk.  Usage drops off to 53%, 32%, and 12% for those with some college, high school diploma, or some high school.  Income has somewhat the same correlation on number of users and usage.

Suburban/Urban/Rural Access

The Internet is most widely used in the suburbs of big cities – representing 81% of the population – where 50% have access and enjoy 10.7 hrs/wk of Internet usage. Large and mid-sized cities have 45 and 40% access respectively while non-urban areas have just 37% access. Regional Usage – the western US leads the country with 53% access, the south lags behind reporting 41% access. The northeast and mid-west parts of the country rank somewhere in the middle.

CEO’Briefing Conclusions

• 57% the people over 16 years old access the Internet 9.6 hours per week – 52% of the time for email and 48% for other Web usage.
• Internet access/usage rise steadily with education and income levels.
• Seventy percent or more of those in their 50’s and 60’s use the Internet but do not spend as much time online as younger groups.
• Email is the #1 use of the Internet across the board but different people use it for different things – men report 28% heavier Web usage than women.

Next CEO’Briefing: Internet usage and functionality in B2B environments.

Bibliography

Estimated Internet Usage Differences by Basic General Social Survey Demographics
Seismic Shift in Internet Age Mass, Jack Loechner, Feb. 11, 2009, Research Brief From the Center for Media Research.
From business to fun: What different generations do online, Sharon Jayson, USA TODAY, 1/28/2009

To be fair, the senior class did persistently bombard the first lady’s office with letters and e-mails. Mrs. Obama was reportedly “touched” by the gestures and persistence. However, this story does ask the question: would the small group of students that had decided to attempt this campaign be able to muster up the support and camaraderie that they did without the touchstone group on Facebook?

Social media is here to stay. A recent story on CNN.com shows that the 55+ age group is the fastest growing segment on Facebook. More and more people are jumping on the bandwagon.

The moral of this story? Don’t get left behind. Your brand may not be suited for Facebook … how about Twitter? Could your Web site use an overhaul? Should you start a blog? These are all questions to think about. While social media shouldn’t be a central part of your marketing plan, it probably should play a role. The important thing is to think of how to integrate it in to the rest of your marketing plan and have set goals and targets, instead of setting up a Facebook page because “everyone else is doing it!”

Read more here, here, and here.

(Please note that O’Neill Communications is not responsible for the content of any links posted here.)