iMedia Connection - ad:tech blog

Life may offer few guarantees, but here's one I can offer: I guarantee there are company websites providing a better user experience to their customers than your current site is providing to yours. Don't be too disheartened, there are few perfect sites that do it all correctly. And even if there were, it's only momentary as sites are getting smarter every day.
So when is a website more than a website? When it transcends from being utilitarian to becoming the very best reflection of a company. In essence, it shows products and services in a better light and provides an experience in which people want to engage. This is online "nirvana," and it's something that's rarely achieved.

Some things to keep in mind:

When you don't evolve, you quickly get left behind
If your website isn't your No. 1 sales channel, it will be soon
Prioritize your marketing budget to optimize conversion rates

Sites that get it right
So ask yourself this, of all the sites you went to today, what percentage of them left you with the feeling of "wow!" this company really hit it out of the park? Take a look at my three picks for smart sites and see how the core features are... Read more

Facebook is launching Timeline for brands to establish a stronger relationship between brands and consumers.
Through real-time sharing and the Timeline, Facebook is continuing its path to a more integrated and personal Web. New features include everything from branding opportunities to customer service functionality. What does this mean for your business?
Below are five Facebook Timeline features that affect the way brands communicate and how marketers can use the new functionality.

Milestones
Customer Service Functionality with Messages
Facebook Apps & Tabs
Timeline Favors Visual Content
Pinned Posts

Marketers should leverage the new timeline for brands in order to better connect with consumers. Facebook is allowing brands to have a grace period to make updates to their Timeline before March 30, 2012. Before pushing Timeline live, review past posts, highlight the best photos and comments and hide anything that might seem out of place. In addition, make sure your page’s privacy and security preferences are up to date as new preferences have been added. Finally, have fun! Timeline is a great way to humanize your brand by sharing a part of your history.
To read more about Facebook’s new timeline for brands and how to leverage it for your business, click here.

It’s that time of the year again – Valentine’s Day. If you find yourself single on this holiday, chances are that you’ve considered online dating, the new-age way to meet your partner.
With the modern person’s hectic schedule, it’s no surprise that 5.5 million Americans currently use online dating sites. In 2011 alone, there were over 280,000 marriages between users who met online. However, although this can be a great way to meet a potential love interest, you must remember to protect yourself at all times.
Below are six precautions you can take when dating online:

Be smart with the sites you use
Be selective with your profile information
Be careful: users may misrepresent themselves online
Prepare a back-up plan for your first date
Don’t respond to everyone
Don’t give away too much information too early

Here’s a timely infographic from ADT Security Services with more detailed information on how to protect yourself online: Romance Reboot – Safe Online Dating Tips from ADT.

With the influence of Facebook displayed every day in the business world, it’s amazing to see some companies that are still either ignoring the medium, or not leveraging it as they should.
There's no denying the power Facebook has had on businesses. You've probably recognized the increased use of that unmistakable Facebook icon on company websites, print ads and commercials, as well as the rise in custom-designed Facebook pages. But with the push to gain fans, many businesses are finding themselves unprepared to handle the "engagement" that comes from asking people to '"like" a business page.
Facebook is becoming the Borg -- you had better embrace the collective and make the best of it, or it will find your brand and build its community. Companies need to apply the same business sense, crisis management, and strategic planning they would to any brand messaging, marketing campaign, or customer-service protocol. Perhaps even more forethought is needed when it comes to social media, as customers will "talk back" and companies need to be prepared.
This is especially true when it comes to customers posting their ideas, suggestions, concerns, or problems on your wall. If your business is primarily communicating with customers via wall posts and you... Read more

In addition to a whole new look and feel, Twitter also recently launched brand pages for marketers. By creating a more customizable landing page for brands, Twitter is building a case for users to stay on their platform longer, rather than having to leave the site to find more information on a brand. Below are four ways your business can leverage Twitter's new brand pages:

1. Enhanced Customization

Businesses can now place brand messaging front and center, turning Twitter into a more sustainable channel of its own. It's easier to promote hashtags, Twitter chats and special promotions specific to the brand.

2. From Push to Pull

Marketers will begin crafting tweets that encourage users to click through to the company's brand page for content or to participate in a contest/promotion. The new layout is more conducive to multimedia, and coupled with the creative customization, it creates a much more engaging user experience.

3. Richer Paid Apps

Paid tweets and on-site ads will become more prevalent as companies will be able to create richer destinations for users on the brand pages.

4. More Robust Content

With the release of "embeddable tweets," which allow brands to leverage source code in posts, Twitter now allows companies to share richer content on their... Read more