Take a Bottom-Up Approach

Considering that your social media strategy needs to translate across an array of devices, start with the device that presents the most limitations – mobile.  What sense is there in designing a web app with all the bells and whistles, only to realize down the road that your plan will not work on a 2×5 smartphone screen?  Keeping in mind that simplicity is key, aim to make a great experience on the mobile screen first and then translate it for the web and other devices.  Not only will this approach be much easier but it will save time and spare your team the headache of “scaling down”.

Include the Newcomers to the Scene

Thanks to standards for things such as images and video, even with the mobile device variety and various versions that exist today, it’s easy to keep things looking good across the majority of devices without eating up your technical resources. Be sure to optimize your images and videos for multiple mobile outputs instead of one universal output, so that newer devices with upgraded technology can be fully utilized. Also, make use of the latest tablet and smartphone touchscreens which support richly connected apps with direct links to other apps such as phone dialing and geo-tracking by pre-filling them with user data.

Give Users Control

Users want to know where they are, where they came from, and where they can go at all times. With all the content sharing between apps this needs to be given serious consideration.  You can easily ensure that users are taken to the right piece of content by giving each piece of content is own unique URL.  Once they have arrived, let them know they have landed in the right place by presenting a prominent title, an optimized image and an uninterrupted banner-free post.  Since users begin to think about the share-worthiness of your content after only reading a few sentences, keep your call-to-action (CTA) buttons bright, prominent and always above the fold.

Let Fishnet Media help you put these user experience best practices into practice to ensure the success of your social media strategy.  Contact us today!

Six Tips for Creating a Great Interactive Experience with Your Website:

Know your audience
Who you are speaking to will influence what type of website you create or better yet, allow you to target the vehicle that your audience is most likely to use:

Baby Boomers – Boomers are used to going to a physical site to find the information they are looking for and they don’t mind digging for it.  Whether it’s a landing page, a content site, or a Flash-driven experience, as long as it contains the information that they’re looking for they’ll dig it.

Young Professionals–Young professionals in their 20s and 30s want quick and easy access to information. Enhance your brand experience on social sites like Facebook to reach these people.

Generation Y – These coming of age consumers are on the go and their mobile device is where it’s at.  Be sure to have your WAP page or mobile applications ready for this audience.

Get social
Regardless of your target audience; chances are good they are involved in some type of online community.  Simply provide them with the necessary tools and let them go to work for you – sharing the information they like. Site add-ons like “Add This” give developers quick access to the tools that make it easy to share any content on your website. Social sites are also coming out with their own set of sharing tools that allow you to easily integrate your content so you can see what your friends have “liked” – providing a great new way to quickly see what products are popular within a particular demographic.

Get the most bang for your buck
Utilizing multiple touch points through an integrated network – rather than a website alone – enables you to engage a much wider group of consumers through a more interesting, integrated, interactive experience – and get more out of your marketing dollars. Consumers rely on many different digital devices to search for information, so once you figure out where they are you need to keep them engaged. You can do this by making sure the various ways you communicate with your customers (blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, mobile application) are connected and lead to each other.

Keep them coming back for more
Rewarding the users who are influencing your brand will keep them engaged and active, and most importantly – talking.  Be sure your fans and followers are the first to know about new offers or company information. Creating exclusive content, offers, and promotions will help develop a sense of community and ensure they keep coming back.

Let your users drive the content
Fan suggestions, surveys, images, and videos will be the natural result of a growing social network and won’t require too much work on your part.  It is important that your fans are just as involved in creating content as your internal team. Make sure you are providing the means of gathering this type of content and in some cases reward those who participate in content generation and brand discussions.

Participate
It’s no secret that people like to talk and your brand is the topic du jour. Most comments will be neutral or positive but at some time or other there will be a negative comment to deal with.  More than delivering good feedback to improve your brand, the careful monitoring of the social sites you are involved with gives you the opportunity to guide conversations and potentially turn a negative comment into something positive.

We can help you create more than just a “website”. Let us help you deliver a great interactive experience that will keep your customers coming back for more.  Contact us today!