What are the Most Important Elements of a Mobile Site?

Make your online personal brand mobile-friendly with these tips

As the online world expands, more sites are working towards developing mobile-friendly access. Currently, one in seven searches are done by mobile access points, meaning there is a large population out there who are searching for your site, but if they can’t find it, you’re losing business.

A mobile site is going to be very different from your regular website because it will target the specifics of mobile access. To accomplish this, you need to address some very important elements needed to not only generate a usable site, but make it easily accessible by those searching with their mobile devices.

The primary principle is not to complicate things. When it comes to mobile, simplicity says it best. Currently, mobile software isn’t able to load an extravagant page with an array of different components. 

Quick load times

You’ll want to make your site load as quickly as possible, at least from the delivery portion of the site (service can affect a user’s access speeds). Images and photos should be calculated to accommodate the smaller screen along with text format and background imaging. Remember that black backgrounds take longer to load and text should contradict the setting so that it’s easy to read, since text will be smaller on a mobile screen.

While loading is essential to the delivery and accessibility, you’ll also need to be accessible yourself. This means you need to readily make available all the info that someone searching you would desire. This includes: location, hours of operation, and contact details (phone number, email, etc.). Don’t make these difficult to find on your page because they are essentially the top three things that a mobile user is going to be looking for. They’re looking for speedy access to you, so give it to them.

As for usability, you’ll also want to make your mobile site as touch-friendly as possible. Touch screen access is currently the most prominent, which can make it hard to be accurate when “clicking” on a link or button. Make sure your links and buttons are large enough with adequate spacing to make your site as “clickable” as possible. Additionally, make sure you integrate your familiar sites with your mobile site, since a large number of mobile users access their social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin).

Personal Word of Mouth Marketing

As for the application of your mobile site, it should be pictured more as a direct access point to you. The majority of mobile searches are performed because the user has the immediate desire to get in touch with you. This could be due to a conversation they’ve just had with an associate or even an immediate need, but it is up to you to make your site a window to you. Buttons that give your location or can quick-call you are often the most desired by mobile users. This gives you the opportunity of personal Word of Mouth Marketing, which is essential in the mobile world.

With the internet now easily accessible on the go, it is crucial that brands and businesses make their sites easily accessible and are able to present their audience with all the information they need as quickly as possible. After all, time is money.

Your Brand Escalation Plan: Essential Tips for Every Company

Your brand escalation as a word of mouth marketing tool

The initial step to securing your company's reputation is by providing high quality products and services to your customers. By doing so, you can ensure their satisfaction and avoid negative aspects associated with your brand. Moreover, you can attract more customers when other people rave about the quality of services you provide. That is how word of mouth marketing works, so you should do your best to maintain a positive image to others.

However, it is inevitable that some people may not be satisfied with your brand. They may present their complaints directly to you, or they can use social media to voice out their feelings and opinions. Because of this, you cannot simply ignore these customers. One short video or negative comment posted in a social network can spread nationwide in a matter of days. When this happens, you are likely to struggle in rebuilding the reputation that you have established for years.

Creating Your Brand Escalation Plan

A brand escalation plan is all you need to solve and fix any problem that your customers may have about your product or service. This serves as a clear response strategy that will help the whole team provide an effective damage control and prevent negative publicity to your brands. Inform your company's representatives and employees about the importance of customer service to your business. Make sure that they commit to an excellent level of quality when they deal with customers' comments and feedback. The following tips can help you execute your brand escalation plan.

1. Make sure that all your team members understand to whom they can escalate customer issues. Most problems are blown out of proportion when a customer service representative is unable to resolve an issue. It is important that you assign someone in the team who can handle special concerns and meet any customer's satisfaction.

2. Avoid hiding from bad news. Remember that negative feedback will only keep on circulating on the internet, and issues get worse when you choose to ignore them. You should try to get to the root of the complaint, and work on damage control immediately to put an end to the problem. In addition, you should resolve issues with the offended party privately. Talk to the customer over the phone, as this maintains the civility of the conversation.

3. Consider making amends when necessary. In most cases, it is more cost-effective and emotionally efficient to return an unsatisfied customer's money or provide future discounts to settle any dispute rather than ignoring hostile comments published online.

4. Keep in mind that unpleasant news does not have to end badly for your brand's reputation. You can prove to the world that your company provides the appropriate and proactive response to resolve any concerns. When you handle your customers' concerns accordingly, they will associate your company with corporate responsibility and commitment.

Brand Escalation Plan: Additional Points to Remember

The following are some important questions that will guide you on how you can go about your company's escalation plan.

1. Which team member should handle a particular task?
2. Which communication process is the ideal one to use?
3. Is there a necessity to hire social media consultants that can help the team?

After you have contemplated on these questions when creating your escalation plan, review and consider doing the following:

1. Organize your team.

You may want to leverage front-line workers who have experienced dealing with customers' issues personally or via live chat and phone. Utilize your customer service and support teams that understand your brand and have obtained professional training in customer relations or practical experience.  Unleash your employees' potentials by providing them with the freedom to engage with customers online. (Think of how Nordstrom’s does this so well.)

2. Create a quick and effective plan.

Choose a communication process that will not end up complicating the problem. For instance, you may consider using social media because of the ease in communicating efficiently. Business experts believe that companies face a "now marketing", where they cannot afford to waste time when making important decisions. They should act nimbly before they lose the opportunity.

3. Decide whether you should spend money on social media consultants or not.

Do you have the ability to monitor your brand 24/7?  Does everyone on the team have the skill set to move emotional conversations “off the page” tactfully and with great care? Do your team members have the ability to get your clients or connections talk and provide the time for them to air out (electronically or verbally) all of their emotion so they can get “through it” to resolution?  You may need to hire a social media manager who has long years of experience in the field who can assist you with this.

With a brand escalation plan, your team will have an effective structure that fosters excellent service, confidence in their response and the quality of their response, positive impression, and quality improvement to your customers.

Stop Emotions from Eroding Your Professionalism

At work, we encounter many instances where our professionalism gets challenged. There is always that person whom we are not enthused to work with for reasons such as mutual dislike, jealousy, or simply getting on each other’s nerves for reasons we can’t explain. Putting all these emotions behind you is not easy, but it’s necessary that we always display professionalism.

There will be times when work gets too stressful. With deadlines that we have to meet and meetings that we have to attend to, we can just feel our patience slowly thinning out. When this happens, we are prone to become more emotional towards dealing with those we work with. As a personal brand or business, we can never let emotions that will rouse trouble to get in our way. Everything that we do and say reflects on our brand and business. If we maintain a professional attitude when necessary, we avoid bad brand reputation.

Letting our emotions loose at work can also decrease productivity and create an unpleasant work environment. It’s not just the two of you who gets affected, but even those who are working around you. Others might get involved even when they don’t want to.

How then do we prevent our emotions from getting in the way of work and maintaining professionalism?

Here are some things that you can do:

Get the right mindset – when you know that you are going to talk or need something from that person you don’t get along with, prepare your mind for it. Imagine the worst scenarios over and over, and that whatever happens, you will not let your emotions get in the way. Instead, focus on the things that will be best for the job. If the other person lets an unprofessional comment slip, be the bigger man and disregard it. Expecting the worst thing that the other person can do to you at work will make it easier for you to handle your emotions.

Instead of thinking - the customer is always right; ask yourself – am I attracting and selecting the right customers– you can choose who your customers are. Here’s where planning is key.  Is your messaging and marketing speaking to that ideal target customer?  If you’re getting many customers who are driving you crazy, then look at your messaging and marketing. What are you doing or saying that’s attracting them?

Settle misunderstandings amongst yourselves – when you feel that things are about to get out of hand, try to calm down and find a way to settle your misunderstanding. This is going to be for the good of your work environment. Talk in private. If there’s no chance for the two of you to become friends, at least maintain a good working relationship. If the two of you want to keep working together, you both have to be professional about it. It’s not easy, but someone has to show that they are willing to maintain a professional working relationship with the other.

Find ways to release some of that bottled up emotion – if you want to maintain calmness and professionalism, you have to find a way to let your emotions out the right way. We are only human and the emotions that we keep to ourselves always find a way out. We don’t want it to come out when we are stressed or tired, because this may cause a situation that can quickly spiral out of our control.

Right now – stop and think of five things that you enjoy doing and know will help you “blow off steam” so that you are in the right frame of mind to get centered again.

It’s always important to maintain professionalism although it can be tough.  There are emotions and then emotionally charged words that can fuel the fire.  Words like “manipulate” or phrases like “insult to my intelligence” are like pouring pure gasoline onto any situation.  Unless you’re ready to just “burn that bridge” with someone – then carefully consider and refrain using emotionally charged words and phrases.

Latest Updates on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a great place to meet professionals in any industry. It allows us to connect and interact with people who share our interests. We can also connect with people who can be potential business partners. Like any other website or business, there is that constant need to add features and make changes to ensure that we always give what our customers want and need.

Last February, LinkedIn announced a new feature that will help any business or professional gain a wider network. They added the “Follow Company” button. All you have to do is embed the button on your website, blog, or social media site. People who choose to follow your brand will receive your updates in their LinkedIn feeds. With this feature, you can also follow companies or personal brands whom you are interested in. You’ll be able to read the latest updates from them and get insightful ideas that can help your brand or small business.

This latest feature is somewhat similar to what other social media sites have come up with. How then can you use this to promote your brand and small business when you are already doing the same with your other social media sites?

Here are some advantages of using the “Follow Company” button on your personal brand or small business site:

Connect with more experts – LinkedIn reports they have 135 million registered users from different parts of the world. With this number, you can connect and gain insights from experts on your industry or even other industries. Reach out to those who inspire your brand and connect with them. Reach out to those who your brand inspires and take inspiration from them as well.  This will help your business grow and spread the word about your personal brand.

Reach out to more customers – When you embed the “Follow Company” button on your social media sites and blogs, it will help you widen your audience reach. It’s a way of connecting with customers who are more comfortable using LinkedIn compared to any other social media platform. You can then ensure that all your followers from your different social networking sites are given the same updates about your personal brand or business. It also guarantees that no one gets left out.

This new LinkedIn feature can really work to your advantage in terms of promoting your brand. However, before you add it to your other sites, you should make sure that your LinkedIn profile is good to go. You have to make sure that you are ready to gain more followers and be prepared to connect with them once your list starts to grow. Here are some preparation tips:

1. Update your profile

If you haven’t done this in a long time, do it. Make your profile look presentable and professional. Write the things that best describe your personal brand or your small business. Talk about your brand culture and tell your story. A good place to focus is your brand values and goals. This will give your audience an idea of who you are and how you can help them.

2. Don’t rush

Sure, this is a new feature and you can benefit from it, but take your time in preparing your profile. Just like your other sites, you have to have a strategy in order to gain the benefits of increasing your audience and connecting with people. Once you have it down, you can add the button to your site. Sooner or later people will start connecting with you on LinkedIn.

3. LinkedIn app on your Smartphone

If you are using an iPhone or Android, you can download the app on your phone. This way you can connect with your audience even when you are on the move. It’s handy because when you’re stuck somewhere, instead of playing games on your phone, you can update your status or answer to followers who are connecting with you. It’s a great way to make your online presence felt.

LinkedIn is one of the most underutilized platforms of the social networks.  Yet, it’s strength and viability are not to be underestimated.  Share your linked In link or company page on our Facebook page – http://facebook.com/mariaelenaduron We would really like to see how you are using the oldest social network!