Website messaging: Why websites spark healthy business discussions

A corporate website is everybody's baby, or at least, it can feel that way. Everyone in the company and their mother-in-law has an opinion -- about everything. But the good news is, in the end, creating a new site is a healthy process for the company to go through.This article talks about how to keep it positive.

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3 reasons your business should have a blog

You're reluctant to open up the floodgates for two-way dialog with a business blog because you're afraid of letting the negative views in with the positive,and I understand your point of view. But you might just be overreacting -- Read on to find out why.

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How to use Twitter to keep your site fresh and snappy

An easy way to keep your website fresh is to embed your tweets into it.

You can pick up the code on the Twitter site, here.

If you want to see what it looks like, check out the Website Doctors' Home page.

The one minus of Google+

I finally got invited to Google+, Herman. That's great, Harry. What's it like?

Kinda like Facebook. Only with no signs of human life.

5 ways to make your Home page clean and powerful

Although a good business website home page looks quite simple, it’s tricky to get it just right. Why? Not only does it have to contain your most important business messages, It also has to give visitors the info they're looking for at a single glance. Here are 5 tips for getting your Home page right.

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Number 1 sign your Home page is too busy

I think the Home page is too busy, Herman. What makes you say that, Harry?

There have been reports of it causing epileptic fits.

5 ways to make your Home page clean and powerful

Although a good business website home page looks quite simple, it’s tricky to get it just right. Why? Not only does it have to contain your most important business messages, It also has to give visitors the info they're looking for at a single glance. Here are 5 tips for getting your Home page right.

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It's not enough to shorten web text

Short text is not, by definition, inviting

Some people will tell you print text should be edited down to a third of its length for the web. Maybe so, but that's not enough.

Short text is a good start
The point is, it should be easy for the reader to grasp at a glance. Shortening it, won't guarantee that.Support the text with images and other graphics. Keep the paragraphs really short: no more than three sentences. And use lots of subheadings, bullets and links. where appropriate, to break up the text.

Preview the web page
Most importantly, see what the text looks like on the web. If you use a CMS system, be sure to see a preview before going live. Of if you're working in Word, don't just hand over the text file fro to your web-responsible person. Ask to see what it will look like on the web.

When you preview the page, try to think from the web visitor's point of view and ask yourself these questions:

Test it yourself:

Can you get an idea of what the whole text is about at a glance?
Does it look like an easy read?
Do the headings and subheadings make you want to read it?

Read 5 ways to make your Home page clean and powerful

April 1st News: Gaddafi gets a new Home page

It’s been a rough couple of months for Muammar Gaddafi. His people have turned against him. The UN has passed resolutions condemning him. And a coalition forces even dropped bombs on his headquarters.  So who has he turned to for a PR boost?  You guessed it, Website Doctors. 

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Harry's campaign page: a little too entertaining?

The brief said that the landing page should be fun and entertaining, but the client rejected it. I just don't get it, do you?

Well, I don't know, Harry, but it might have had something to do with the live stream from the pole-dancing club.

The funny thing about campaign landing pages

A campaign landing page gives you a chance to break free from your normal business tone of voice and get a bit playful. At the same time though, you have to keep focused. You have one audience, one story, one desired action.  

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3 free social sharing tools

There are a lot of free widgets out there that you can add to your web pages to allow visitors to share your pages by email and via popular social media sites like Facebook. Here are a few you might want to check out...
 

• Addthis, which claims to have the largest collection of bookmarks around
• ShareThis, which allows the sharing of content through SMS messages 
• Addtoany, which automatically personalizes each menu by placing the services each user uses and/or visits at the top of the menu.

How to be the alpha dog on Twitter

My cousin has 3000 Twitter followers. Wow, he must be a real man-about-town, eh?

Actually, he never leaves his house.

See also How Twitter and Facebook are different, 10 great Twitter tools

Why Twitter and Facebook are two totally different animals

If you think Twitter is like Facebook without the photo albums, games, quizzes and videos, think again. It's true that like Facebook, Twitter revolves around status updates.And let's face it, the main functionality on Twitter is updates. There are, however a few major differences between Twitter and Facebook updates that make all the difference.

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10 Twitter tools that rock

There's a zillion Twitter tools out there. Here's a list of 10 that we think are cool.

1. Twellow
A Twitter phonebook you can use to find interesting accounts
2. Replyz
A place to find questions tweeted and offer your expertise
3.Whostalkin
Monitor conversations about a particular brand or topic on Twitter
4. Trendsmap
See what subjects are trending in real time by location
5. Twitpic
Post photos and videos to Twitter
6. Twubs
Twitter groups built around content aggregated from #hashtags. (Keywords can be identified in Tweets with a hashtag symbol to make them easier to be found later).
7. Tweetmeme
Find the most popular links on Twitter organized by category.
8. Twitterkeys
Add this tool to your browser and use it to add special symbols to your tweets.
9. Official Twitter widgets
Display your recent tweets on your website or on a social network.
10. Listorious
Lists of Twitter experts in different categories, whom you can interact with -- and archives of the interactions carried out on the site


See also: Why Twitter and Facebook are two totally different animals

Join one of the hot new sites of the year

Why is this site getting rave reviews from the likes of ZDNet, Fast Company and Mashable? Here are a few of the reasons...

• Influential users like AOL founder, Steve Cox and Facebook co-founder, Dustin Moskovitz, answering questions
• Answers that get voted up are likely to get to the top of Google searches (For example: See my answer to why every business should have a blog at the top of a Google search)
• It's really easy to use once  you realize that you can pretty much do everything from the Search bar

Registration is by invitation only. Email me if you want to an invite.

Marketing your way through the social media maze

It seems like every day, you hear about new features on sites Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin. And every other day, there's another Web 2.0 platform, like Diaspora or Quora, that's supposed to be the next new thing.

But where do you find the resources to update your status, answer questions, write articles, tweet, connect, blog, email and otherwise engage on all these different platforms in a meaningful way?

Taming the social media beast

Well, it’s not easy -- you need to be structured, balanced and efficient. But I don't recommend automating content distribution with tools like Hootsuite that send to multiple social media platforms.  I don't believe it's a good idea to send out the exact same content with the same intro text through all media simultaneously.I think you need to control and vary your content.

Still that doesn't mean you need to create totally unique content for every web page, blog entry, newsletter edition and all your other social media outlets. You do, however, want to find a way whereby your content flows from one platform to another. 

The flow of content
The graphic below illustrates how you can engage on social media with a mixture of new and reused content that flows from one platform to another.

On each media platform, it's important to consider:

• How often you communicate. It’s important to find the right balance .. to send enough content to keep your audience engaged without becoming a nuisance.
• What type of content you send. Every bit of content you spend time on should contribute to a business goal, whether it’s generating interest, establishing or maintaining thought leadership or generating leads.
• Where you send it. For example, let’s say you’ve just produced a How-to guide. You’re more likely to find a good outlet for it on a relevant community forum than on Facebook.

Let your content flow
Taming the social media beast is no simple proposition. Yet it is possible to make it work in your favor by having a structured plan for the flow of your content, balancing between new and reused content, and by looking at and using each social media platform on its own terms.

Why blogging is like a box of chocolates

Herman, my resolutions are to blog more frequently and stop eating chocolate.

And how's that going so far, harry?

It's a little too early to say.

Marketing your way through the social media maze

It seems like every day, you hear about new features on sites Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin. And every other day, there's another Web 2.0 platform, like Diaspora or Quora, that's supposed to be the next new thing.

But where do you find the resources to update your status, answer questions, write articles, tweet, connect, blog, email and otherwise engage on all these different platforms in a meaningful way?

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Why no one is reading your blog, website and emails

You have something you really want to communicate. You nailed the right tone of voice so it’s not patronizing or insincere, and you have a message that should be compelling to your target audience. But they’re still not reading your content. What have you done wrong? I’ll tell you. You’ve forgotten where you live...

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