Happy Ending

As we wrap up the digital marketing course we discuss here what topics we have enjoyed. I must say discovering the "why's" behind the "what's". I bet you're wondering "What does that mean?" Well it means we learned about different searches like organic searches where companies don't pay to appear at the top of a Google search. I learned about wireframes which is the skeleton outline of websites. I even created one of my own. Of course it was centered around shoes, purses, and clothes, a girls favorite!
We talked about privacy, and what information is shared with other companies when you visit their sites or make online purchases. We even discussed how does that impact different age groups. My age group as a whole has grown up with this type of technology and tracking and for better or worse has made some things more simplistic becasue of it. Take Amazon's one touch ordering for example or their ability to predict ans suggest different purchases. How awesome is that? We also explored some of the down sides of too many ads and to much capturing of our data. Downfalls like pop up ads and data overload can be quite frustrating. Companies have to find a nice balance to not annoy their customers while subtly introducing new products so they create a lifelong customer.
Exploring fortune 500 companies and evaluating if we thought they had good practices of advertising and layout of their mobile and desktop was also a fun topic for me. Brand loyalty was another fun topic for me. I wouldn't say I'm all about brands but, I do have some brand loyalty to certain purchases and will only support those brands. However, some brands I don't see the value in support regardless of affordability. I can see how a company can gain and keep a loyal customer base, based on this ideal alone. i.e. Apple.
Overall this class was enjoyable and I was able to learn a lot during the duration.

Analyzing AT&T

Today I get to talk about one of my favorite companies, AT&T. AT&T I feel is the premier provider in not only entertainment but provides an all immersive experience when you visit their website. With so many options of websites to visit, what grabs your attention, and keeps it is a forever changing challenge. Companies have to continue to tailor their websites to fit the customer unlike past times when companies would put out what they thought you should want. On your mobile device att.com has a display that automatically scrolls to their 6 top offers. The layout is consistent in each screen as well, big picture of a darker tone with a few bright pop out colors, bold lettering to quickly grab your attention, and then a orange bar with a call to action. "Learn more", which is obviously a link to get signed up for the offer.
When going to the full website the first the first thing that appears is the Mark Wahlberg commercial (haven't seen it? No worries! you have the ability to click the link and watch) that has been shown during prime viewing hours. Instead of a quick 3 screen scroll, when you page down on the full site you see the offers that come across the screen in the mobile view. It's hard to think of what I would change about the layout. If I had to say something I would say allow individual stores to tailor the website within a certain geographical location. That way people can get follow ups from their local AT&T store rather than customer care.

Come and talk to me

IAB Guidelines

I looked at several websites that I typically frequent, including Akira, Windsor, Macy's and Amazon. I did this to look for IAB guidelines and compliance. I explored these websites on my laptop and on a mobile device to test for continuity. What I found was astonishing. IAB looks for a seamless transitions across all mediums. So if you're using a mobile device of laptop your experience and operation of the website should closely resemble one another. I have found that companies these days make their websites very mobile friendly. I think this is a common theme among companies now. Even service providers such as AT&T speaks to the ability to be able to watch entertainment wherever you are. Companies that I frequent I feel have internalized this fact becasue I can easily shop on my mobile device as I can my laptop. What I have found in the past was the mobile sites were so slow and didn't offer much to do and you were almost forced to go to the full site. Fast forward to current day and Amazon for example, makes it extremely easy to order from your phone. One touch pay (paying with your fingerprint) is a lot easier than typing in a credit card number on a desktop.
I haven't found anyone using mobile rising stars however. AT&T is one of the companies I am following and they have an ad out that actually helps other business advertise more effectively and specifically to DTV customers. This is an amazing concept. WHy not take a robust company like AT&T and have them filter your advertising to their subscribers only. That gives DTV customers exclusive content, and who doesn't like being apart of an exclusive group?

Who's Watching Me?

This week we are learning more about organic searches. How do we increase viability to our log and get people to actually click on my blog for review. Keywords typically help blogs get more visibility. However, my blog isn't being reviewed by anyone at the moment. When I check my analytics I don't show any new views. Are my topics of discussion not interesting to people? I wanted my blog to be view by stay at home moms looking for additional activities while the kids are at their summer camps. However, these days most people are interested in what's going on on Love and Hip Hop and that Lebron didn't win the championship even though he's "King James".  People tend to look for drama over substance these days. I think other metrics that would we great to consider are income, and even maybe younger age groups. I think if I send a twitter tweet at 5pm on a week day I would find people who would be interested in possibly exploring my blog. Also, if I send a tweet first thing in the morning when my target after kids have been dropped of at school my target audience would have had a moment to themselves. After trying these methods I should receive more viewers.