Integrating Flash into an HTML Site in an SEO Friendly Way
Jul 31, 2009 by Victor Murygin | Design, SEO, Web Development
Flash websites have been the fear of SEOs since the inception. Many of us have to constantly battle clients who want a pretty flash website and don’t want to understand the technical jibber jabber about why it’s not good for search engines. We try to explain as best as we can why “Flash sucks,” and why you should stick to HTML sites. But ultimately you can expect them to win with a simple argument: “But it looks so pretty.”
The truth is, there are some businesses that can benefit from a great visual presentation that a simple HTML site cannot give. If your niche is a high valued clientele, or you have a website that sells art or some other product that needs a great visual presentation, then getting a visually stunning site may be the priority. In the real world people do like pretty things that move.
There is a compromise that can be reached between Flash and SEO. The myth that anything flash is bad has to be broken. What is truly bad for SEO is a website that consists entirely of one Flash file. But if you’re a skillful developer who has SEO on his mind AND must meet the client’s demands for a visually stunning animated site, you can solve this by creating an HTML site and strategically integrating Flash files as well as aesthetic imagery into the site.
And if you already have an all Flash site, in most cases you can recreate the exact same thing with an HTML/Flash combination, and in others it would just take some design changes to achieve the goal.
Here are a few website examples that combine Flash and HTML into visually appealing sites that are also SEO-friendly.
Northside Piers
Visual Adventures
Le Camp
The above are just a few examples of the techniques. They may not be appealing to all, but with a skillful designer/developer, the possibilities can be endless.
Here is a list of things to keep in mind for the developer, whether you’re creating a new HTML/Flash site or trying to fix the mistakes of the past by redoing an all-Flash website:
- Create the navigation in HTML/CSS with real HTML URLs for each page (unlike in Flash where the whole website is on one page). There are plenty of free HTML/CSS navigational menus available on the web.
- Have all the text in HTML/CSS on all pages (not within Flash files).
- Place all the cool looking animations in Flash strategically throughout the HTML website so that it is seamlessly integrated with the rest of the site. Thus, instead of the whole website in one Flash file, you will have several Flash animations placed inside the HTML pages.
- Use images and backgrounds creatively to visually fill in any disconnect between Flash and HTML. If you do this right, most of the casual users won’t be able to tell a difference nor will they care.
- Javascript can also be used to move, hide or show navigation or sections of text, and many Flash sites use this technique. However, an important note here is that Javascript should ONLY be used to move the existing HTML sections. The text itself, as well as navigation and other links, should be in HTML so that they are visible in the source code (and thus read by search engines). If you hide the text and navigation within the Javascript, the search engines will not be able to read them and we are back at the same problem as we had with Flash.
Now, it may take a bit more time, and thus more budget to create separate Flash files, HTML and Javascript tricks. But if you’re a business that caters to high-end clientele and can afford it, the benefits should be greater than just an all-in-one Flash site.
After all, what’s the point of having the best looking site if nobody can find it?
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The Most Overhyped Things About Social Media Marketing
Jul 30, 2009 by Rebecca Kelley | Social Media MarketingEarlier today I tweeted the following question from our 10e20 Twitter account:
I received some interesting responses that I thought I’d share on the blog:
Via googleandblog: “Social Media ROI projections are the most overhyped, as well as outside companies saying they will do the tweets and posts for them.”
I agree that ROI projections can get pretty ridiculous — it can be hard to tell a client what they’ll get out of a social media marketing campaign vs. what they expect to get (like “No, I can’t guarantee you’ll get 10,458 links from this or that you’ll sell 15,000 more products”). However, I don’t see anything wrong with taking over your client’s Twitter account, at least at the beginning of a campaign or when introducing them to Twitter and teaching them how it works/how to use it. Sometimes clients need a good demonstration before they can take the reins and manage the account diligently. That’s not to say you should permanently manage your client’s account — I think that would be too time consuming and could be a missed opportunity since they know their brand and products better than you do — but some initial guidance can be a good thing.
Via brianchappell: “Viral videos: manufacturing viral is much more difficult than it can seem let alone tying it back into the product or any ROI. I feel like many times there are better places to start with most SMM campaigns.“
Absolutely. All it took was one Lazy Sunday for everyone to go “OMG, we need to do a viral video! It’ll bring us so much traffic!” without really understanding what it takes to actually create and market one. You need an idea, a script, people who are decent in front of a camera, equipment, editors…and that’s before you can even launch and market the damn thing! Sure, some basic videos of people falling off tables spread like wildfire, but for lots of brands they need an actual strategy behind a viral video, and it’s a lot harder than they think.
Via steph_woods: “Using Twitter to market your product e.g., real estate. It only works for certain user groups.”
Via melaniemitchell: “Facebook fan pages. Not every company/product/person needs one. Need to find your peeps & go where they are.”
Both Melanie and Steph bring up a fundamental problem with social media marketing. It’s not necessarily about creating 100 profiles at all the major social news, networking and media sites and then just letting them all gather Internet dust (which I’m pretty sure is just Cheetoh dust). As Melanie said, you need to find your audience and engage with them wherever they are. Don’t be the sad mom who tries to get away with shopping at Forever 21 — that’s not where you need to be.
Via TheOceanAgency: “That social networks are something new. The technology might be new but concept is ancient.”
Lots of people are like “ZOMG, networking socially?! What a concept! I must try this out, dagnabbit!” Social networking ain’t new, folks. The medium may be different, but the fundamental principles are the same. Don’t forget the kindergarten lessons of networking: be engaging, reach out to your audience, make them feel appreciated and important, all that good stuff. Whether you’re trying to make a lasting impression and build contacts in person, at a mixer, or online, many of the core tactics are identical.
Via oatmeal: “Lots of Twitter followers and tweeting all day = business success.”
Via Matt_Siltala: “People talking about all this traffic but never taking it further than ‘it brought me 100k visitors!’ What about the links?”
Ah, the ol’ Underpants Gnome logic of business. You have to have some sort of game plan. What’s your objective here? If it’s to increase sales, then how are you going to do it using social media marketing tactics? If it’s to build links, what are you going to do? Figure out what you want to accomplish and THEN use social media marketing to help attain those goals, not the other way around.
Via jasonarango: “Saying you’re an expert on something that’s changing all the time.”
Via ItsDUHnise: “People who claim to be in social media for a living. Never seen so many self-proclaimed experts w/ so little cred!”
Everyone with a Facebook profile is an expert nowadays, right? There’s a lot more to social media marketing than you think. New sites pop up all the time, old sites change how they operate, and different clients have unique needs. A true social media expert is able to keep up with trends, know how to accommodate a campaign to their clients’ specific needs, and is able to use all facets of social media marketing in order to garner success.
What have we missed here? What other things about social media marketing do you find to be way overhyped? Drop your comments below, and don’t forget to subscribe to our RSS feed for more awesome blog posts and marketing tips. 
I remember the first Flash intro that I made back in 1999 for a mom and pop shoe store. I was young and wanted to flex my pixel-pushing design muscles, so I tried to put every design trend, style and tactic, including the “how can I work in this metallic sphere with wrap around text on it?” kitchen sink. Needless to say, it blew. And I didn’t even put a Skip Intro button on it!
Flash splash pages and intros have been known to cut traffic by 50%. Auto-on sound which often accompanies these Flash animations makes them even more dangerous. Below are some intros that are questionable. Do they work for or against the site? I’m not 100% sure. Some of these examples are great-bad and others are bad-bad…you decide, and let me know if you find any other awesomely bad Flash intros lurking around the Internet. Click on the images to go to the site.
Stretch those letter forms:
Use way, way too much lightning. For an added bonus, let the intro play through and hear the rock guitar wail!:
This next one has been on Digg with the headline The Most Intense Web Site Intro Ever.It is intense — some would call it Flashturbation. It seems like lots of churches have heavy flash intro budgets. Is this Religion 3.0? If so, it seems to consist of lightning, woosh sounds and seizure-inducing effects:
God’s flash designer has some other gems in his portfolio. Try this church site, Mime Ministries or check out more laser etching text. One of the intros actually has a “replay†button instead of the “skip introâ€.
We get it, the Alps, your name is Alps… but lose the dance music and pixelated spinning earth already:
This is a sweet couple I’m sure, but they need to see the problems with this one:
“What the flash intro did to our site…”
If an intro is short, sweet and subtle, it can be effective in setting a mood. But in case you’re still wondering: “Do I need a flash intro?”
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Is There a Disconnect Between Your Business and Its Website?
Jul 28, 2009 by Rebecca Kelley | Design
The other day I stopped by a burger place called the Lunchbox Laboratory for some serious burger action. I had heard good things about it and read mostly positive reviews but had never been there before, so I did what most people nowadays do when gathering information: I checked out their website.
The Lunchbox Laboratory website is a mess of Flash, audio, and poor SEO and usability. It doesn’t rank for “lunchbox laboratory” because of its lack of spiderable content, its title tag is “your site title here” and its phone number is listed on the home page as “206-706-”, seemingly forgetting the last 4 digits. I could go on about the multiple site issues, but it’s not really the point of this post (besides, Patrick is going to cover some heinous Flash sites in tomorrow’s post and Victor will address SEO and Flash on Friday). For all intents and purposes, let’s say that, despite the site’s flaws, to the average “I don’t do Internet marketing for a living” web user, it’s a pretty hip and sleek looking site. Speaking on a strictly visual sense, it’s flashy and kind of hipster-chic, so, naturally, I assumed that when I went to the actual restaurant I’d find an establishment that somewhat mirrors the site in aesthetic (not the loud Flash crap; more the color scheme and modern sleek atmosphere).
Here’s what the restaurant looks like:
Front of restaurant
Inside of the Lunchbox Laboratory
Menu board
I was pretty surprised to find that the actual restaurant has more of a hole in the wall vibe. The atmosphere is kind of roadside BBQ kitsch. It’s a clean restaurant and the food was absolutely awesome, but after looking at the website and visiting the actual location, there’s a huge disconnect between the two. Looking at the website, one thinks, “This place seems pretty hip and neat. $20 is a lot to pay for a burger, but the restaurant seems cool and the menu looks good so I’ll give it a try.” Upon visiting the restaurant, the perception can quickly deteriorate to “Why would I pay $20 to eat here? This place is way too overpriced.”
Last week Lisa Barone blogged about her favorite cupcake place and its new, ugly website. While my example is a case of a casual place with a too-fancy website, hers is a business with an inferior website. In both instances the point remains the same: there is too big a disconnect between what the website conveys and what the business delivers. As a business, you can’t just say “I want a website” and put together the most artsy fartsy thing you can conjure up. There needs to be some sort of harmony between your company and its online persona. Do you fancy yourself a professional? Then your website needs to be professional. Is your business kooky and laid-back? Reflect that in your site’s aesthetic. Are you a mom-and-pop shop with a small business? Have a simple, clean and straightforward site that focuses on your products and service.
Your website should be a reflection of your business — there should be no contradiction or disconnect. If you have a brick and mortar business or a physical location, lots of people will likely check out your site before visiting you in person. If your website conveys a certain vibe or seems to deliver one expectation and your location and building contradict that, you may disappoint a lot of your customers who are unable to shake that first impression. Likewise, if someone visits your site and finds it to be extremely professional and then meets you in person and finds that you’re wearing cut off shorts and a “You smell like updog” t-shirt, there’s going to be a strong contrast between his expectations and the reality you deliver.
Try to take a look at your website from an objective perspective. Think about what it currently says about you vs. what you want it to say, and see if it matches up with your company’s vibe and with your actual location. You might be surprised to find that you’re giving mixed messages to your potential customers, and this disconnect can end up costing you business.
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5 Tips To Help Active Sites On Digg Become More Successful
Jul 27, 2009 by Greg Finn | Social Media Marketing
Not every site will have this problem, and actually there are very few that do. They are submitted to Digg TOO much. “How could that be a problem?” you may ask… let me explain. Once a site has proved its content is suitable for Digg and does very well, many Diggers get that ‘first’ mentality, much like those trolls that are the first to comment on every blog post. Not only do they try to get to it first, but they also are generally sloppy and not the ideal Digg user. You may see broken titles, incorrect categories, no thumbnails and/or inaccurate descriptions. This can really put a damper on your content’s success because you can only make a first impression once. Here are a few tips to set your site up for success – no matter who submits it to Digg:
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Write a Good Title Tag
Digg has recently changed the duplicate story checker (functionality that checks to make sure the same story wasn’t submitted before) and now pulls story information from the page to help the user fill in the title and description easier. It uses the title tag of the document to auto fill this attribute, so crafting a compelling page title can really help your odds. However, Digg allows for 60 characters for the title, so keep it short and sweet!
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Use the META Description
Just like the title tag information above, Digg uses the META description to fill in the story description. Writing a compelling and interesting blurb for your META description can then help you really round out your article for proper Digg submission. The description of an article can be just as important as the title in some cases, so don’t skimp on this step.
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Include an Image for a Thumbnail
Having a thumbnail image for your Digg article can really help you stand out from the pack. Thumbnails catch the attention of users and also can help to describe what that story is about. Digg now uses Facebook’s “share” standard to find the proper image for the shared link. In order to signal which image you would prefer to use in the story, simply use the following tag:
<link rel=”image_src” href=”http://www.onjd.com/design05/images/PH2/WableAFC205.jpg” />
Also, if you want to have a suitable image for Digg to find on your site automatically, make sure that it resembles a thumbnail size-wise. Long and skinny images or massively large photographs aren’t ideal for turning into thumbnails, and in most cases Digg won’t even give you the chance to. Smaller, more square-ish images can make the perfect thumbnails for a story, so try to stick with those. I wouldn’t recommend having your ideal thumbnail go more than 450 px wide or 350 px high.
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Include an Upcoming Digg Widget
This feature can help to notify your audience which stories are currently on Digg. It can help you boost the votes on a story if you have a loyal and passionate audience. The widget can be customized by color, source and a variety of other options. In order to harness the most value from this widget (if your site is very active on Digg), I would recommend using the following setting:
Here is an example of a customized widget on College Humor:
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Add a Customized Digg Button
This is the granddaddy of all tweaks to set your site up for the most ideal Digg submission. A customized Digg Button will allow you to populate all of your ideal information into a simple Digg button that will be auto-pulled for the user. Basically, a specific Digg button will need to be written for each article. The code included in the button will do all the work for you – with no additional tweaks needed in your code. Here is the following code for your customized Digg button:
<script type=”text/javascript”>
digg_url = ‘WEBSITE_URL’;
digg_title = ‘TITLE’;
digg_bodytext = ‘BODY’;
digg_media = ‘MEDIA’;
digg_topic = ‘TOPIC’;
</script>
<script src=”http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js” type=”text/javascript”></script>Simply fill in your ideal attributes (full list of topic & media syntax) and whenever a user clicks on the “submit to Digg” button on your site, everything will be fully populated to your liking!
One important note: This only works if the submitter uses the Digg button to submit an article. If the URL is simply submitted via digg.com/submit or via the DiggBar, this will not work.
Overall, these methods will really help sites maximize their Digg visibility and help to give their content the best chance at becoming popular. While it sure is a little bit of work, the results will be worth the work.
Recently it has been revealed that Facebook is using its members’ profile pictures in their 3rd party advertisements. One member discovered this after recognizing his wife’s profile picture in a dating ad that was being displayed to him, and other folks have noticed their profile pics popping up in ads as well. After hearing about this shocking revelation, I logged into my Facebook account and was appalled to see that my 10e20 coworkers’ pictures were indeed being used in various advertisements. I’ve taken screenshots of these ads and displayed them below:
Thankfully, you can opt to disallow Facebook from using your profile pics:
Click through to -> Settings -> Privacy -> News Feed and Wall -> Facebook Ads -> Appearance in Facebook Ads – > click “no one.”
Hopefully my coworkers will take the necessary precaution so that their pics won’t end up in any more unflattering Facebook ads. 
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The Hardest Things to Teach Your Clients About Social Media Marketing
Jul 23, 2009 by Rebecca Kelley | Social Media Marketing
This morning I polled people on Twitter using my account and our 10e20 account and asked them all a simple question:
I wanted to get some insight from other Internet/social media marketers about what they find to be the hardest concept/lesson to teach their clients. Responses poured in, and I used them to craft a list of the hardest things about social media marketing to teach to your clients.
- You can’t always control the message (via @bighandsome). Clients want people to discuss their brand and spread awareness, but these mentions won’t always be good. You have to be prepared to handle both the positive and the negative discussions. Besides, some bad press and negative mentions are actually good for a business — it makes a company seem more legit and less like they’re trying to artificially inflate their reputation.
- Social media marketing doesn’t translate to sales overnight (via @epltalk). While social media marketing is on everyone’s radar nowadays, it doesn’t mean that all you have to do to succeed is register some Twitter and Facebook accounts and watch the money pour in. Accounts take a while to set up, build and maintain, and you have to figure out an appropriate strategy that can tie into your bottom line/ROI. Simply tweeting about yourself isn’t necessarily going to make you money. Really think about how social media marketing will help your business: will it boost your brand? Get more pages indexed? Improve rankings? Directly impact sales?
- You need a little patience — it’s a long-term strategy (via @ruthburr, @carondelet, @cyberpunkdreams, @joannalord, @mosquitohawk, and @dr_pete). Having a social networking account is just the beginning. You can’t just set up various accounts and then expect them to instantly be successful. Like many marketing strategies, social media marketing takes persistence, patience and tenacity.You’ve gotta keep working at it, building up your accounts and keeping them active in order to stay relevant and on top of trends. It’s not a quick fix by any means.
- Not every tactic works for every client (via @pratt). You need to do some research to determine where your time is best spent. Maybe your business is better suited for video marketing than Twitter, or perhaps your site is bad for Digg but does well with Facebook. Just because it works for someone else doesn’t mean it’ll work for you — it’s up to you to figure out what’s appropriate and what’s not.
- “Social media” is an umbrella term (via the Vice President of 10e20, @jakePM). There are different forms of social media — it’s not just about tweeting or hitting the Digg home page. There’s social news, social bookmarking, social networking, blogging, video, etc. It’s important to acknowledge different facets and strategies so that your business can branch out in as many directions as appropriately possible for optimum success.
- It helps even when you don’t think it does (via @chrisbennett and @erinjones). Even if you’re not shilling a product or directly promoting your company, marketing socially is still very helpful and beneficial. You don’t need to have a direct call to action or shopping cart link attached to everything you put out. It’s often important to take off the marketing gloves and simply engage with your customers and build an audience by participating in a dialogue, which strengthens bonds to your brand and leads to whatever your end goal may be.
- It’s a full-time job that requires continuous maintenance (via @topheratl and @JeanieDinerware). You can’t just tell one of your account managers to log onto Twitter once a day and post an update. Social media marketing requires constant monitoring and attention. If you don’t have someone available to take care of it on a full-time basis, you won’t be successful with your campaigns.
- Building a relevant audience is just the beginning (via @beebow, @timstaines and @transparenceweb). It’s not just about building a huge following and having little chitchats with them — you need to maintain that many-to-many relationship and keep delivering consistent messages that align with your audience’s expectations. You can’t just start things off a certain way and then veer into douchebag territory once you have an audience big enough to inflate your ego — you’ll end up alienating and turning off a lot of the folks who supported you in the beginning, which can damage your brand and bring you back to square one.
- You need to be involved (via @richiekelly). Even if you’re hiring a social media marketing company (like us!) to handle your marketing campaigns and set up accounts for you, you still need to understand what’s going on and be as involved as you can. If you have a good understanding of how social media marketing works and do what you can to help out with various promotions and strategies, you’ll have better organization, communication and success than if you were to just sit back and blindly let the experts work their magic.
I conclude with my favorite response, courtesy of Aaron Chronister (aka @TheMadHat): “Shut the hell up and just do what I tell [you].” Trust is a big part of successful social media marketing — if you can’t trust your employee or whoever you’ve hired that they know what they’re doing and are making the best recommendations and decisions for optimum success, you’re not going to succeed. Maybe you hired a bad company or individual, but if you’ve got someone aboard who really knows what they’re doing and can demonstrate their expertise, you have to give them a little breathing room and let them do what they do best.
What are some other difficult things to teach your clients about social media marketing? Drop your responses in the comments!
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Infographics are everywhere online and off: signs, subway maps, charts and even up there in space. From the cloud tags in the right hand column of Web sites to the sleek graphics showing the spread of swine flu virus across the country, infographics have become a pretty standard visual aid.
These are all examples of information visualization. Simply put, displaying complex data in a clear way.
I looked into the dirt on Digg and wanted to see what percentage of infographics were going popular in a 30 day period versus non-infographics. The amount of ‘dirt’ is focused on the total content in each category. The smaller ‘blue color‘ is the amount of infographics in that category. Click the thumbnail below to view full size.
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Since creating and launching our 10e20 account on Twitter, I’ve noticed that a lot of businesses and marketers we follow kick back an automated direct message thanking us for following them. I have mixed feelings about auto DMs — on the one hand, it’s nice to receive some appreciation/acknowledgment from someone you’re following. On the other hand, the direct message can be so impersonal and self-serving that it ends up rubbing you the wrong way.
I thought I’d share what I feel are good and bad examples of auto direct messages so that maybe you can glean some insight as to what constitutes a legit-looking DM and what is going to be regarded as obvious spam or crap. (Note that I’m operating under the assumption that all of the following examples were sent automatically based on the lack of personalization and my mystical half Asian gut instinct.)
The Good
Bryan Eisenberg’s DM is an example of a pleasant, straightforward DM. He thanks us for following him and encourages us to ping him on Twitter if we need anything. It’s short, simple and sweet.
LA Timestot thanked us for following them and concluded with a personal signature. It’s friendly, humanistic and not egregiously self-promotional.
RoboSteel does some self-promotion, but I think they do it in a very appropriate manner. First they thank us for following them, then they provide a very to-the-point bio and a link for more information. It’s honest without being hokey or feeling like a mall kiosk rep badgering you to check out their products.
Ploked does some self-promoting and drops a link for you to click on, but they provide a compelling call to action that urges you to click. “Why would someone eat a frog for breakfast? What does that mean? I must find out…” Their DM is a good example of being clever with the message to generate interest and drive traffic to one’s site.
In KISS Metrics’ DM, they make it obvious what they specialize in (metrics and analytics) without being too pushy or spammy.
This is a good idea — both of the above DMs cross promote other social networking accounts (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc). It’s a smart way to grow your network and bring visibility to your other profiles.
The Bad
This DM rubs me the wrong way. I’m welcome to make tons of money through affiliates? It’s like this person is giving me a personal invitation to do affiliate marketing and that without it I wouldn’t be able to do it. I understand the intent but I think the messaging was poorly worded.
Spam. ‘Nuff said.
Well, this is awfully vague. I’m not sure what they’re looking for here–are they a self-help site or do they center on something more specific, like Internet marketing? If they’re looking to build Internet marketing followers and I respond that my biggest problem is that I wish I were two inches taller, that’s not really helping anyone.
Where can you find out more about me? Hmm, I dunno, why don’t you try this:
I know this is an automated direct message, but you at least need to fake it and pretend like you’ve looked at my profile. Don’t include anything in your messaging to indicate otherwise.
This one is just confusing. First he offers to help me reach my goals, and then he asks me to help him. Which is it, buddy?
I’m pretty SURE that he didn’t really MAKE the video just for ME, but it could JUST be me being PARANOID.
It’s Twitter, people. Remember to keep it to 140 characters.
The Ugly
I feel like I just received a direct message from the love child of MySpace and YouTube. My inner grammar Nazi is twitching with anger.
Takeaways
Now that I’ve shared some examples, both good and bad, I thought I’d share some do’s and don’ts when constructing your auto direct messages on Twitter.
Do:
- Be gracious. A simple “Thanks for following!” goes a long way.
- Seem human. There are so many B.S. spammers out there that just making your DM seem like it’s coming from an actual person will give you some clout.
- Keep your message within 140 characters. Make a good impression with the space that you have–nobody wants to read a rambly message with no clear intent.
- Be clever. Think of a way to make your message stand out among the other ones your follower is likely getting. Pique their interest, offer something that’s really unique, share a joke — just think about how you can present yourself as being different from the millions of other Twitter accounts clogging up the web.
- Proofread your message. Nothing screams “unprofessional” like typos, improper capitalization and grammar errors.
Don’t:
- Be afraid to drop a link or two…just make sure that you’re promoting your site/services/products/etc. in a sensible and reasonable manner. Which brings me to the next don’t…
- Spam. Unless you’re a spammer by trade, stuffing your direct message with tons of deals and offers makes you seem like a dishonest huckster.
- Forget about your other social networking profiles. Consider doing some cross-promotion (if it makes sense to) in order to expand your network. You might not want to do this if you’re looking to sell products or promote a business, but if you’re building up a personal profile then why not?
- Keep the same message indefinitely. Try testing out different DMs to see which seem to drive the most traffic or receive the most responses. Also consider tweaking your DM to pertain to different events (e.g., “Happy holidays and thanks for the follow!”).
Like I said, I’m not 100% sold on the auto direct message, but I do think that there is a right and wrong way to craft an auto DM. If you have lots of followers and you’re trying to make them feel that it’s worthwhile to follow you, setting up an auto message might be a good idea–just make sure you’ve crafted the right message for them. If you half-ass your messaging, you might as well not send one out in the first place.
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4 Surefire StumbleUpon Fails (and 3 tips for success)
Jul 20, 2009 by Jake Matthews | Social Networks
Webmasters, marketers and social media users submitting content to StumbleUpon have about 2-4 seconds to catch someone’s attention. Given that, it’s essential to have an attractive, fun and usable web page or you’ll fail to bring in thousands of potential visitors.
For those of you just coming up to speed with this 8 million member strong social bookmarking website, StumbleUpon is essentially “channel surfing” for the web. When someone’s channel surfing, your site should stand out with elegant simplicity or some sort of wow factor, or else it’ll get passed up in the blink of an eye.
Most Stumblers who influence the direction and popularity of content do so by using the “Stumble!” button on the browser toolbar, discovering a web page and voting thumbs-up, “I like it!” They also spread your content to other users by using the “Send to” button to broadcast this to their connections. So to be successful, it’s critical to catch a Stumbler’s eye during the surfing process.
Each press of the “Stumble!” button provides a very small window to make a positive impression,
and it’s not the Crazy Eddie impression we’re talking about here. If you don’t catch someone’s attention or if you piss them off with crappy web pages or sales pitches, your content will not meet much success in this important social network.
So, you ask, “What is failure — how do you define that?”
StumbleUpon Fail (n):Â low adoption, .2 seconds spent on page and very few people “liked this page.” In the “reviews” section of StumbleUpon, most users hate on your content. Other instances: NO TRAFFIC in your sweet little analytics panel and WTF happened?
Wanna fail? Try these strategies:
1. Make Your Page Too Complex
Ever hear hear the life tip “Keep it Simple Stupid” or (KISS)? Well, the same applies for StumbleUpon. If your page is cluttered, too complex to view or too complex to interact with (e.g., poor user experience or flash elements that take forever to load), your content will almost certainly fail. Here are a couple of examples:
Too Complex Exhibit A: I’m going to clutter my page with banners, images, mixed color palettes, no theme and flashing pop ups.
Too Complex Exhibit B: Too much competing for my attention; not enough above the fold. (What is this page about?!)
2. Turn Your Page into a Billboard
If most of what a user sees above the fold on the web page is advertising, it’s likely that you’ll get passed over.
Billboard Exhibit A:Â (Google AdSense out the wazoo!)
Billboard Exhibit B: (90% ads in view! – where’s the content?!)
3. Create a Poor Page Layout with Terrible Usability
If your page doesn’t really say anything either through words or imagery, or it’s cluttered with pop-up windows and animations, it’s likely that Stumblers will breeze on through without really considering the value of your page.
Poor Layout Exhibit A: (Ummm???? Hello, white space??)
Poor Usability Exhibit B: (Hey Broken Blog, No, I don’t want ‘The Inside Poop’)
4. Show a Directory, Site Map or a Link-Filled Page
If your page is just a map of navigational links, Stumblers will probably not thumb it up or pass it along to anyone.
Directory Filled Page Exhibit A: (BORING!)
The above sites are not necessarily bad websites all around, but the specific pages that were found in StumbleUpon were simply not optimized for total success.
So now that we’ve trashed some fellow Stumblers who didn’t do such a great job, we should find some examples of things that do well in StumbleUpon. What works well?
1. Simplicity of Message
(Ahh, I get it!)
2. Larger Fonts & Text at the Top
(THIS WORKS; I’m thumbing up and passing this along to my friends)
StumbleUpon is about sharing fun, interesting and attractive content and presenting it in a user-friendly manner. Success in this network is about simplicity of message and usability. If you cannot find ways to get your message across while keeping these elements in mind, then don’t bother; you’re apt to offend and piss more people off than you are to get any web mastering or even friendly social sharing benefits back. Happy Stumbling!
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