Blog Archives

Picture the scene: you’re browsing the web for a new pair of running shoes, and you click on two different sites. One of them immediately draws you in. It’s simple, the search facilities are easy to use, and the checkout button is where you want it to be. The second website you look at it is a disorientating nightmare. The colour scheme clashes, there’s music playing that you can’t turn off, and you can’t filter through shoe sizes.

Which website do you buy your new shoes from?

Web design can make or break a business. As consumers, we’re impatient. Research suggests that bad websites are often abandoned in the first ten seconds, and even a slow page can put users off. One study suggested that 32% of users would give up on a slow loading page within one to five seconds. It’s simple; we don’t want to work too hard when we visit a website. To help you avoid these pitfalls, we’ve pulled together the top three mistakes made in web design. These mistakes are made far more regularly than you might imagine!

1. Too busy!
This can mean a lot of things. It can mean there’s too much text on the page, too many pictures, or too many colours. When someone visits your website, they should be drawn to one spot, and one spot only. Having too much of anything can leave them confused and frustrated. It should be immediately obvious what it is your business does, simply by looking at the front page.

2. No clear path
Your home page should be the hub of your website, and navigating to a specific section from the home page should be simple. The ‘Contact Us’ page is a good example of this. Too often, contact details are too difficult to find. By over complicating your navigation system, you’re making it more difficult than it should be for a potential customer to get in touch with you.

3. Know your audience
Target your website towards your audience. If you have a younger demographic, then some graphics and more laidback language might be appropriate. However, if your clientele is more professional then you’ll need a more serious approach. Too often designers try to create websites that appeal to everybody, ending up with a confused mess.

If you recognise any of these flaws in your website, or you need help creating the best possible user experience, then we would be happy to help. Our team will use expert knowledge and skills to create a website that will attract all the right users. So, if you want to chat it through, just get in touch.

It seems like every time we switch on the news nowadays there’s yet another story about a group of hackers gaining access to our details through big websites, or of a website losing data without having had a backup disk. Worries about online security are evidently at the forefront of many people’s minds. Losing your website data can easily happen and hacking threatens confidential data. This is why Point and Stare offer a comprehensive package that backs up all of your website data, as well as monitoring for any suspicious activity.

Our WordPress maintenance packages are both optional and flexible, and won’t have any effect on the services that we’re already providing to you. There’s no fixed contract; you can simply pay monthly, and choose to stop whenever you wish to. We also offer a variety of different cover levels, meaning you won’t be paying over the odds for services that you don’t feel your particular website needs.

Your Options
So just what are your options, and how will they benefit you? Our most basic package includes monthly backing up of all your WordPress files, including your website theme, images and database as well as updating the WordPress core files, your plugins and scripts. Even our most inexpensive package will ensure a decent level of safety and security is maintained on your site, as well as giving you peace of mind that there are backup copies of your data available.

If you’re looking for something a little more comprehensive, then we can also offer our time to provide updates to your current site, including text corrections, file uploads, and social feed checking. If you want, your package can also include time spent on the phone or in a Hangout with us, going through any site problems that you might be having or offering advice and suggestions.

When you choose which package to use, it’s important to consider how much cover you think your website realistically needs. If your site is constantly being updated and you need daily backups created, then this is something we can offer. Your website is more likely than not a vital marketing component of your business, so think carefully about the protection that it needs.

The Solution
If you’re interested in securing your site, then take a look at our WordPress Maintenance Packages to discuss which package will suit your needs best. Our prices start from £80 per month, so whatever you need there’s guaranteed to be a price bracket that will be suitable for you.

We all know that Instagram is only good for two things: snaps of your snacks and selfies, right? Well, not necessarily. As fun as sharing that stuff is, Instagram can actually be harnessed to help your business grow. If you’re confused by filters, or simply don’t think that a mobile phone picture could help boost your business, then read on. These are our top tips for creating an Instagram account that will increase your online following.

Introduce yourselves
There’s nothing nicer than seeing that the business you’re following is made up of actual people. When it comes to social media, personality sells. Snap little videos introducing members of the staff to your followers, or show off what fun stuff is happening in the office.

Go behind the scenes
Seeing the process of how something is created is always interesting. If you’re doing a photo shoot or filming an advert, then take a picture to let your followers get closer to your brand.

It’s an event they’re unlikely to ever get to experience, and it helps people realise you’re more than just a corporation.

Hashtags
Hashtags can be used on Instagram for a number of great reasons. Ask your followers to hashtag them using your product, or even better how about setting up a competition that involves your product? If the entrants use a particular hashtag, all of the images will be there for you to view in the same place. A competition is a great way to make your customers feel involved as well as to raise brand awareness.

Integrate
It’s all well and good having an Instagram account, but your next step is to link it up with your other online outlets. If you’ve got a website then consider adding an Instagram widget, or if you’ve got a Facebook page then be sure to post your pictures there as well.

Utilising Instagram is just one of the numerous ways that you can build an online presence that will benefit your business in the long term. If you’re interested in how displaying your social media feeds can help your brand during an upcoming event or function, then contact us to find out more.

When Pinterest was launched back in 2010, there were undoubtedly lots of eyes rolling in the world of corporate advertising – here was yet another social network to cover; and what good could it possibly be for businesses? However, Pinterest may just be the best thing yet for online marketing.

By creating personalised pin boards, users of this “virtual discovery tool” can collect and share images (pins) by ‘pinning’ them to their boards. A pin may be just an image, but more often than not, pins are linked to landing pages like blogs and business websites. If a user clicks on a pin, he will be taken directly to the relevant landing page; for example, an image of a delicious-looking cake may be linked to a page with the cake recipe on a baking blog.

Perhaps the best part about Pinterest is the scope for creativity afforded to corporate advertisers.
It’s an excellent platform for creating or strengthening your brand identity using visually appealing, innovative concepts. For architects, artists, and graphic designers, Pinterest boards can be used to showcase their work; while any corporate brand can easily promote their products through customised boards.

As ‘pinners’ (Pinterest users) are actively looking for ideas, inspiration and tips, corporate content is well received, particularly when presented creatively through artistic and innovative visuals; this is also what sets Pinterest apart from networks like Facebook, where corporate content must be of the highest quality or else risk being considered spam or a nuisance. Consequently, this means the rate of sale conversions may be much higher on Pinterest than on other social networks.

At Point and Stare, we take the brilliant marketing power of Pinterest one step further, allowing businesses to encourage user interaction with their Pinterest profile (via shares, likes and re-pinning) through customised hashtags and live interactive screen displays throughout any corporate event or venue. These live Pinterest streams are both eye-catching and engaging, extending the reach of your event’s marketing far beyond the event itself.

To learn more on how Pinterest could enhance your social media marketing strategy, contact us at Point and Stare today.

An article in 2014 from Business Insider revealed that digital design and advertising firm Huge actually spent 45 days planning a single tweet. While some may consider this more than a bit excessive, it does highlight the importance of savvy social media marketing, as well as the distinct shift towards content marketing within the social media framework.

It’s no secret that social networks are now the hub of corporate advertising; as a result, the major social networks Facebook and Twitter have had to impose more discerning filters to stop its feeds being completely glutted with corporate spam. In order to help improve the user experience and stop advertisers inundating their networks with low-quality adverts, social media powerhouses are now demanding higher standards in terms of the content that can now be shared by corporate users.

Not only does this mean online marketers must now spend more time coming up with creative, entertaining or informative content to share on social media profiles, but they must also think of more inventive ways of actually using social media to promote their brand.

This is where Point and Stare’s expertise in utilising social media to increase the reach and awareness of your brand proves invaluable. Instead of encouraging our clients to pump their online followers’ feeds full of undesirable content, we offer a unique platform that stimulates user-generated content to effectively market your business or event, while spurring increased interaction and engagement with your target audience.

Using Point and Stare’s moderated, interactive live displays throughout your shop or event, your online followers can post live tweets or share Instagram photos directly to your company’s fully branded, customised Twitter Wall or Instagram feed, in real time. This way, you’re moving from the one-way advertising monologue to an engaging dialogue with your audience.

So does it take 45 days of tweet-planning to have a successful social media strategy? Not at all—all it takes is ingenuity, quality content, and a creative use of this modern advertising medium so that your online audience feels like a part of your corporate family.

To learn more on how Point and Stare can help you maximise your marketing potential with live branded Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest streams, contact us today.

I remember the first time I saw a URL listed in the end credits of a tv programme. Even though it was nothing to do with me it was a good day as it meant my X years in web development hadn’t been wasted and finally websites had hit mainstream.

Fast forward and it’s now accepted that TV shows, generally, would have some kind of online presence. That not only includes a website, and advertised URL, but also a Twitter ID, with substantial Twitter campaign, Facebook presence.

One thing that ties all these portals together is something that has pushed itself to the front of every campaign, be it for political, marketing or educational purposes, the hashtag has become synonymous with ‘getting the message across in a social world’.

A Hashwhat?
A hashtag is a word or an unspaced phrase prefixed with the number sign – # . It is a form of metadata tag. Words in messages on microblogging and social networking services such as Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Instagram may be tagged by putting # before them, either as they appear in a sentence, (e.g., “New artists announced for #SXSW2014MusicFestival”) or appended to it.
Hashtags make it possible to group such messages, since one can search for the hashtag and get the set of messages that contain it. A hashtag is only connected to a specific medium and can therefore not be linked and connected to pictures or messages from different platforms.
(source Wikipedia)

Hashtag the (wrong) crap out of it!
Got a new product or service coming out? Hashtag it! Looking to viralise your political speeches? Hashtag it! Organising the local school fete? Hashtag it!

The problem with just hashtagging the crap out if everything means it’s very quickly overused and over abused and with any form of abuse it comes with misunderstanding and misinterpretations.

Seeing ‘The First Lady’ recently holding up a sign with #BringBackOurGirls screams cringe and opens up the opportunity to go #MemeCrazy.

A perfect example of jumping on the bandwagon and inadvertently killing off a very serious subject.

Similarly when used in real life as part of your general conversations, talking on the phone for example, really does nothing but annoy and confuse the hell out of everyone.

Hashtag the (right) crap out of it!
Used correctly hashtags can make an effective marketing/ tracking tool and can be beneficial towards the product or service that you’re aiming to convey.

Using the same hashtag across many mediums ties your campaign together nicely:
– Google for the hashtag post event to see the impact
– Use the hashtag as part of your competition – “Tweet including #OurHashtag for a chance to win …”
– Use popular keywords (try Google Keyword Planner) but keep it relevant
– Never simply use a previously popular hashtag
– Use sites like Hashtags.org to check if your chosen hashtag has already been used
– Keep them to a minimum #don’t #use #them #on #every #damn #word

#Hashtag it up
And of course, if you’re looking to use hashtags in your upcoming marketing activities, be it an exhibition, festival or product launch (for example) consider running one of our bespoke Twitter walls as part of your project strategy – get in touch with us today.