ISITE Insight

The Web Marketer's Dilemma

ISITE Design — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:12:53 +0000

With better tools and more ways to connect with customers, why is running a web marketing program still so hard?

Shouldn’t running a web marketing program be a piece of cake by now? After all, the profession has matured over the past 10 years and marketing technology is abundant and cheap.

Yet by in large the marketers we talk to are overwhelmed by both the technology itself and the countless options for connecting with customers online. The barriers to entry for successful marketing have never been lower, yet the path to a successful web marketing program feels more daunting than ever.

Getting Scrappy

Jeff Cram — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:31:19 +0000

Web Marketing on a Shoestring - Being Scrappy with Free Tools and Techniques

I had the pleasure of moderating a MITX panel in Boston last week titled Web Marketing on a Shoestring. Essentially, we got four wicked smart marketing experts together, packed the room with even more marketers and spent 90 minutes running through low cost marketing technology.

It was fast paced, fun and full of great questions. The panel included Cappy Popp (Thought Labs), Greg Slama (One to One Interactive), Mike Volpe (Hubspot) and Dean Whitney (Garfield Group Interactive).

Hello (Accessible) World

Matthew Clarke — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:51:09 +0000

Matthew Clarke explores how a rich media portal developed for MIT can be more accessible for visually imparied users.

The web world we live and work in as web developers is predominantly a visual medium, yet what happens if you don’t have the benefit of sight? It’s a completely different experience, and often not a very good one given the lack of accessibility support from most web sites.

Through the process of building a rich media portal for MIT, I had the honor of getting to know a visually impaired user and gained a better understanding of how to build more accessible online experiences everyone can enjoy.

Does your CMS fit?

Jeff Cram — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:22:10 +0000

Go beyond the feature list and vendor hype. Find the right CMS for you.

Searching for the perfect web content management system can be a long and bewildering journey. One littered with hundreds of vendors, aggressive sales tactics, confusing terminology and a smorgasbord of features you may never use.

Traditional thinking in the CMS selection process includes jotting down a list of desired features, watching a generic demo and evaluating vendors based on who ‘checks the most boxes’ and gives the best end-of-quarter pricing. This process is fundamentally flawed and all too often results in poor technology selections and dismal implementations.

Who Rocks the Party?

Margot Bloomstein — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:59:08 +0000

ISITE Design User Experience Strategist Margot Bloomstein participated in the inaugural Content Strategy Consortium at the IA Summit 2009 in Memphis.

The group discussed the emerging discipline and how it fits into an overall web strategy, while attempting to collectively define necessary steps, key deliverables, and core competencies. Margot's presentation "Who Rocks the Party" explored how a good content strategy can support a website's approach to user-generated content.

Social Media Smackdown

Jeff Cram — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:18:29 +0000

How a luchador and his panther took on Twitter and the Boston interactive community.

How it all started

ISITE Design was invited to submit a video short for the popular MITX Awards in fall 2008. An enthusiastic brainstorm resulted in a fictional luchador character, El Consultador. The video would highlight his efforts to toughen up our staff and improve results through violent and unorthodox tactics.

What unfolded over the next month was an experiment in leveraging multiple digital and social media channels to create interest, intrigue, and suspense culminating in his debut by video and in person to 1,100 influential New England marketers.

What We Love

Jeff Cram — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 18:00:00 +0000

With V-day fast approaching, ISITE'ers penned some valentines to the world wide web itself.

I like the way you work it. No Diggity. Remember last week when I was looking into all that antiquated, out-dated camera equipment that I knew nothing about and you held my hand the entire way? You were all like “watch this” and showed me forums in which I could glean knowledge, hobby sites extensively listing equipment and supplies, video sites giving step-by-step walk-throughs of how to use the equipment and finally classified advertisements and online auctions to help me obtain the materials.

You had me at Wahoo!

Jeff Cram — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 18:53:22 +0000

Create online experiences that excite and delight.

We’ve kind of got this Internet thing figured out, right? Almost every organization has a website and most have a a respectable looking design and expected set of functionality and content.

Yet what used to be novel differentiators online have become expected commodities. Organizations need to reach beyond the bland and create experiences so memorable they literally put a smile on a visitor’s face.

From Projectiles to Parades

Melissa Wolf — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 17:30:26 +0000

Reflecting on the top ISITE Design memes of 2008.

While 2008 was chock-full of meaningful work at ISITE Design, it was fascinating to look back at the memes that captured the hearts and minds of our eclectic web team. Between desk sabotage, flying Rice Krispy Treats and festive parades, we truly had it all last year. In a season rife with ‘best of’ lists, we took a swipe at our own Best ISITE Design Memes for 2008.

2009 Web Strategy Report

ISITE Design — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:40:33 +0000

How organizations are approaching web strategy in an uncertain marketing environment.

About the Survey

More than 130 internet stakeholders were surveyed in December of 2008 on how they are approaching their web strategy in the upcoming year. Survey respondents represented internet professionals at corporations of all sizes, non-profit organizations and agencies.