Last night at dinner I was asked what I think the next big thing is in social media. While I don't know what the next big tool will necessarily be, I do know, both from my observations and from those of others in the social media industry, that there will continue to be a major increase in the use of mobile phones for research.
As far as blog design goes, this will be a huge factor, especially in the wedding industry. The most popular wedding blog templates and designs currently have flash-based headers. Most companies put the majority of their branding emphasis in those headers. Guess what doesn't get seen on an iphone and some of the other mobile phones?
The plain and simple fact of the matter is that most brides plan their weddings at work. More and more workplaces are blocking access to the Internet and brides and grooms are opting to browse on their phones as a workaround. If your site doesn't capture them on their phone, chances are very slim that they will look up your site again when they get home.
Your blog may be stunning on a large, oversized Mac computer, but if the information and story you are telling can't be viewed in the way your target market needs to see it, then you are losing sales.
Good design doesn't just look pretty; good design functions properly. I will also add that in this case, good design helps drive revenue for your business. Is your blog designed well or is it costing you sales?
Welcome to Think Splendid, the blog of Splendid Communications! We are an online media consultancy serving the wedding and hospitality industries. We help companies discover and maximize their online voice in order to effectively increase their brand presence and add to their bottom line.
We believe that social media is a return to old-fashioned roots of real conversations rather than a high-tech race to keep up with the next big thing. While the tools will always evolve, the need for businesses to communicate effectively and deepen relationships with their customers will remain.
Splendid Communications subscribes to the view that the world is a bakery that produces fresh opportunities each day and not a fixed pie where each person has to fight for the last crumb. The purpose of our blog is to encourage you to Think Splendid; both in business and in life.
We believe that social media is a return to old-fashioned roots of real conversations rather than a high-tech race to keep up with the next big thing. While the tools will always evolve, the need for businesses to communicate effectively and deepen relationships with their customers will remain.
Splendid Communications subscribes to the view that the world is a bakery that produces fresh opportunities each day and not a fixed pie where each person has to fight for the last crumb. The purpose of our blog is to encourage you to Think Splendid; both in business and in life.
photo by Melissa Jill
16 comments:
I'm not savvy in the blog / phone area at all, so this is WONDERFUL information! Thank you!
Such a pertinent post. So many sites incorporate flash and music, and for brides planning at work or via their mobile, both can be quite off putting, or in many cases deal breakers.
I'd love to recommend http://www.mofuse.com/a -- it creates a free mobile-ready version of your blog. I've found it super useful for Offbeat Bride!
Very good points! Your articles are always very helpful. Thanks!
Ours is Java which rocks because it looks like a flash banner but shows up on iphones. Our designer rocked that out for us.
Really interesting stuff!
Its good to know :)
Do you see this issue becoming a huge problem for Flash websites as well, or do so many companies currently utilize flash that the consumer will be forced to view the websites on a computer? I know SO MANY websites that currently use Flash, therefore they don't show up on many mobile devices, particularly the iphone. And, unfortunately, Apple is intentionally restricting the use of Flash on iphones and appears to not have any intention to change this anytime soon. Thoughts?
Heidi, yes it will be a problem for websites that are only in flash. If a bride can't pull it up on her phone, she will skip on ahead to the next site (most likely a competitor's) that does pull up. It's also part of an instant gratification generation - ideally they will look up the flash site once they get home, but realistically they will not. Companies should market for the reality of a consumer's actions, not the ideal situations.
Great post Liene. Your headlines always grab me! I have a question. What's the value in having your blog posts start below the fold? I noticed that some blogs, like yours, have an XL header and the revolving content starts below the fold. I always scroll down to read your posts, so I see the value there. Is there something else behind this particular layout? Thanks always!
Liene, I could not agree with you more on this. I've been doing some research on this as well and I'm definitely going to be scaling back some of the sizing of my images and redesigning the header of my blog, which by the way has been the most powerful tool in my arsenal. Thanks for the wisdom and I always appreciate your insight! Keep up the awesome!
I couldn't have said it better Liene! Mobile phone marketing is the next big thing. I can't tell you how many brides have told me that they use our app at work to research wedding vendors because they are blocked off from the internet. Apple has hinted that they may support flash, but it still hasn't happened yet.
Thank you for such a wonderful post!
"Good design doesn't just look pretty; good design functions properly." Yes, yes, yes! If you want to irritate your designer, ask him/her to make something 'pretty'. Good design is about the interaction and experience with a product or service. Leave that element out, and it's not design.
Great point - I think mobile adaptability is going to be on the forefront of many companies' minds in 2010. It'll be fascinating to see the changes sites start to make in terms of their designs.
Very timely as I've been working on a mobile-friendly version of DIYBride. I've found two good solutions available for self-hosted WP users: WPTouch and MobilePress. Thanks to Ariel for mentioning mofuse.
What a great post - I have just started my blog and still in the beginning phases, but as I branch out into hosting my own site, etc. this is definitely something to think about. Thanks!
Nice insight. Hadn't thought of the @work aspect of web browsing.
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