Hi Everyone,
I've been making some updates to my blog and removing a few post that I wasn't quite happy with. I've been busy learning about social media and have implemented a lot of what I've learned to @LabWrench, www.Facebook.com/LabWrench.com and even LabWrench itself.
I hope to have a new post up after the July 4th weekend and will keep them coming more often with information I think you will find valuable.
Have a great Canada Day / Independence Day or whatever you may be celebrating this weekend!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Are Your Social Media Efforts Impacting Website Traffic?
Image by vrypan via FlickrGoogle Analytics is showing that traffic is up site wide, which your boss could be raving about but only a few of those referring sites come from your time and effort put into social media, so what's the deal?
A recent study by ForeSee, a market research firm that conducts consulting and surveys for measuring website satisfaction states that “Less than 1% of website visits, on average, come directly from a social media URL. This finding suggests that the direct impact of social media is minimal, but also that the true value of social media cannot be quantified only by examining the traffic coming directly from a social media URL.” So the deal is, just because your referring traffic may not be in your favor 18% of website visitors will admit to being influenced by social media, so much like myself maybe I don't need to visit a site at the moment they make a post on Twitter but when I do need them I'll likely use Google or my Google toolbar to get to the company website and I know they exist because of social media, this also helps to explain the increase in traffic to the site I manage, LabWrench.
I've had an opportunity to analyze traffic to LabWrench and where it gets very interesting is the way visitors from social media sites interact on LabWrench, although I value all visitors, those coming from a social media influence spend more time on the site, post or respond to a question, register as a member and/or return to the site, so have my social media efforts impacted organic and direct traffic? I'd say so.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Social Networking Site for Lab Equipment Helps Researchers Around the World!
Image via WikipediaTake for example a question that was asked on LabWrench by a scientist conducting their research in Antarctica, they hadn't planned to work with chlorophyll initially, but thought it may be an interesting addition to the project, because of the location they were in they were unable to source a different piece of equipment, so they found LabWrench and posted their question. Luckily members of the site were able to respond to this person and I'm confident a solution was found.
Today questions continue to pour in from around the world, visitors are asking everything from decoding error messages, seeking manuals, service or repair and many other interesting topics are being discussed.
I've always been a fan of social media I use it both personally and professionally, but I think when it comes to sharing information, connecting with one another and passing along knowledge through a social platform lab professionals have it spot on!
In addition to the visitors of LabWrench who are asking questions, service companies, manufacturers and individuals are all stepping up to the plate to provide answers. This is giving them an opportunity to promote their company as a leader in the industry by being available not only through their own websites but connecting with customers and prospects in a new and exciting format.
I've seen questions asked and answered within minutes, questions that in same cases take hours or days to get when sent through a comment box on a manufacturers website, or when using a techsupport@ type of email, sometimes you may even wait longer on hold when you call the manufacturer directly trying to get a solution to your problem when a quick post to LabWrench could get you an answer in minutes. I'm not saying this is the case every time, this community like every social network has to grow in order to achieve that sort of response but I am confident with the way things are going and the way researchers and industry professionals are assisting each other it won't be long before we get there.
If you work in the Lab industry I encourage you to check out LabWrench at www.LabWrench.com and 'like' us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LabWrench - LabWrench is free to join, and super easy to use!
Monday, March 21, 2011
"and in this corner...." Battle of the URL Shorteners bit.ly vs. goo.gl
Image by bpedro via FlickrI researched tinyurl.com and it came in handy when I wanted to send a client an email with long links to product pages within the company website, it even gave me the ability to customize the end so it was easier to determine what link was for what. Eventually I found a better process, probably snagit or something and stopped using the tinyurl service.
Once I became the product manager for LabWrench (www.LabWrench.com) I started using bit.ly frequently as I had now also become an avid Tweeter, things were going well with the service I would login, create my links, post to twitter, get real time results and away I would go.....but then came GOOGLE!
Google got on board the url shortener train by releasing goo.gl and to be honest I haven't looked back. According to Google it has many advantages over other services, here is a quote from a Google announcement post:
"There are many shorteners out there with great features, so some people may wonder whether the world really needs yet another. As we said late last year, we built goo.gl with a focus on quality. With goo.gl, every time you shorten a URL, you know it will work, it will work fast, and it will keep working. You also know that when you click a goo.gl shortened URL, you’re protected against malware, phishing and spam using the same industry-leading technology we use in search and other products. "
I love it because I can use the same goo.gl tracker across multiple platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and even the LabWrench newsletter. I then have real-time access to analytics from time of day they clicked, country, browser, and referring site.
If you're looking for a url shortner that provides security, quality analytics and built by the cream of the crop I suggest you start using goo.gl
Monday, February 28, 2011
I'm in "Like" with You? - Facebook Enhances the 'Like' Button
After reviewing various comments from different articles on this it seems that many users have the same feeling towards the change as I do, they don't like it and use the two functions differently. I will share articles, videos and other sort of content through the share function when I want my friends to see it, enjoy it, laugh or cry at something I've shared. The Like button however I use more as a support tool, I'll use it to show I "like" a brand, band or other type of link without my friends having to be notified of all my personal pleasures. I don't mind showing some love by "liking" something but I feel I will use like less and less if it means filling up my wall with post my friends don't care about.
Of course Facebook has to continue developing and testing new platforms, Lucich noted, it just seems to me that this change is geared towards the marketers being that "The idea is that improvements to the Like button will increase traffic to company websites, which could be used to drive marketing campaigns."
With creativedepartment.com explaining that 2.5 million sites integrated the Like button upon its initial launch last spring and an additional 350,000 by August it's no wonder there is a push to enhance and build a tool that will drive users to an advertisers website, but at the end of the day I use Facebook for me not for marketers and hope Facebook doesn't turn into a site that forgets about it's users. I already lost the awesome collection of links I had shared prior to the new profile release, but funny thing I didn't lose one link to a company I "liked", and they sure didn't lose me as a supporter....strange...
Information Sourced from:
Mashable
The Creative Department
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Trust, It's A Powerful Thing!
Being a website manager I've discovered the challenge of getting users to register to the site, which led me to discovering some useful information about using trust to gain users and repeat visitors.
With 1/20th of a second to make a first impression on the web trust needs to be gained instantly. First I'll state what should be the obvious, your site needs to have a professional design, the clip art graphics and cheesy backgrounds that were okay 5 or 10 years ago are no longer acceptable. Organization, neatness, clarity and sparseness are all very important.
If your site is e-commerce your customers want assurance that they are dealing with a TRUSTWORTHY site, when it comes down to giving personal information over the web trust is key. Take a look at The Humanitarian Coalition site, directly beside the donate form is the 'secure transaction' notification. Prominently display the logos of the service providers you use such as PayPal, eTrust, Visa/Master Card and protect your site with SSL
If your site is in good company and has support from respective brands give it authority by displaying and linking to them. Alternatively if you've done work for recognizable businesses or people promote it to let others know "if they trusted me, so should you". Use testimonials, have a page about your company and the team behind it, or link to a Twitter/Facebook page. Using logos that visitors know will give them a better sense of trust in who you are and what your company is about.
If your site has forum threads or downloads indicate to visitors how many times a question was answered or document was downloaded, use 'like buttons' and sharing tools to let others know their colleagues, friends and other visitors are also using the site. Be available to answer questions, be dependable and consistent but most of all be professional and personal.
Trust, important in life and important for your website.
Cheers,
Monday, August 16, 2010
A social media approach I'm happy with, clearly.
I will admit it, the first time I heard about www.clearlycontacts.ca was through word-of-mouth, my sister had just ordered a paid of prescription glasses from the company and had saved over 60%. I had to check these guys out. After reviewing their site I placed an order. Are you kidding, huge savings, pay after you receive them, 30-day returns with no questions, quick turnaround - who wouldn't place an order. Although everything I mentioned made for a great experience it's what happened afterward that really got my attention. I started following clearly contacts on twitter and facebook, I noticed they took a very interactive approach with their customers, responding to comments and questions, asking what frames users had purchased, and even thanking their customers for helping answer questions from other facebook users. I had my own twitter experience, after receiving a pair of glasses I wasn't happy with I had emailed the company and got no response, sure I could have called but it wasn't a big deal they were $50 but I wanted to test something so I did a twitter reply to @clearlycontacts mentioning no one got back to me, within hours I had a response apologizing and giving me a contact number to get the issue solved. For me clearly contacts is using social networking to its advantage and I suggest more companies take a similar approach.
In addition to a great social media presence, clearly contacts uses Microsoft adCenter to reach deep into it's core demographics, targeting young, tech-savvy women - an audience that accounts for nearly 60 percent of its online sales. I will go into the use of adCenters at another time.
One last thing, I just got my fifth or sixth order from this company, the products sold me but the customer service won me over. Clearly, they're doing something right.
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