The Law on Cookies

As of May 26th this year, changes made to EU Law will effect how websites use cookies. This date is now looming and everyone is obliged to make the necessary changes. In a nutshell, the changes relate to the storage of cookies on your computer, and as of May 26th cookies cannot be stored without a user’s consent. As your web design agency we are here to help all our clients with these changes.

Why have these changes happened?

Mainly because of the small number of data companies who use cookie data inappropriately for intrusive marketing activity. So these few have spoilt it for the rest of us, frankly.

What is a cookie? (Not the double chocolate variety)

Cookies are basically snippets of information relating to any web user, but in most cases this is just the IP address of the device you are using to view the internet and not personal details. This is sent by web servers (the IP address of the website you are viewing) to web browsers (such as Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox) where the information is stored. It is then sent back to the web server each time you click to view another page on the website you are visiting. This enables the web server to identify and track the web browser you are using.

There are three main types of cookie:

1. Session Cookie – This just stores your information whilst you are viewing the website, and once you leave the site the cookie is deleted. An example of this is websites which feature shopping carts, so your chosen items remain in the cart until you finish browsing and leave the website, or when you pay for your items.
2. Persistent or Tracking Cookie – These cookies continue to store your information even after you have left the website, as seen on your most visited website list on your computer, or online banking websites.
3. Third Party Cookie – You’ll be familiar with these from sites such as Amazon which will not only remember you after storing your information, but can also suggest ‘items you might like’ based on the products you recently viewed or purchased.

How does this work with Google Analytics?

You may have already identified that this is going to cause a problem for those of you who are currently using Google Analytics to assess your website traffic. It has been suggested that we can expect only 10% of site visitors to accept the use of cookies, which will have a dramatic effect on the results tracked by Google Analytics. This is going to change the way we view this data and effect how valuable it is to companies.

So, what are your options?

A. You could choose to do nothing and see what happens. You would be breaking the law and you may run the risk of being caught out and heavily fined.

B. Or the best thing to do would be to have your website audited to find out how you’re currently using cookies and therefore identify what you need to do to your website in order to comply with the new regulations.

C. You will need to review your existing Privacy Policy to include a Cookie Policy which will detail where and why cookies are used on your site. The link to this policy should be clearly displayed on your website. If you don’t currently have one, you will need one writing and adding to your website.

Ultimately, to fully conform to the regulations you should consider implementing a ‘Cookie Acceptor’ device on your website. The user must click to confirm that they are happy with this, before continuing to view your website.

All websites are different, so please contact us today to see how we can make your website compliant. Drop us an email and we’ll call you right back, or if you’d prefer to call us, the number is 01733 807216.

Check these pages to see how Shortstacklab, Mari Smith and My Social Identity have changed their app tabs.

And here are some of our designs:

• WPDesignGenies
• TJConsulting VA
• Mums The Business
• Julia Burman VA
• Alison Bradford Coaching

The new Timeline for Pages allows you to change an image on your tab to one which measures 111×74 pixel. It’s an opportunity to brand and create tabs that represent you and your business.

• Click on your Facebook Page’s Admin Panel in the upper-right to expand panel.
• Click on Manage and select Edit Page from the drop-down menu
• Click on Apps in the left hand column.
• Find the application you want to change the large icon for, click Edit Settings, and a small pop-up window will appear.
• Click the “Change” link next to “Custom Tab Image” text. This will take you to a new page.
• Click Change to the right side of the default image. This will open another pop-up window.
• Click Choose File to choose the 111px x 74px image you want to upload. If the image doesn’t appear instantly you may have to check the size.When the image is uploaded, the image will change instantly and your new 111px x 74px image will be visible on your Page.

All the changes can also be made from clicking on the app tab at the bottom right of your cover image and highlighting the edit icon which appears top right and following the instructions as above.

Need help with creating your own timeline cover, profile or apps images? Give us a call – it doesn’t cost the earth but makes your Facebook business page look polished and professional!

Do you want a blog to:

• share family pictures and events,
• supply information that helps others in your industry,
• share an interest with others, books, recipes or model aircraft,
• direct people to your website, or
• share thoughts in your head with the world?

Whatever the reason, when you have made this decision, your content will be easier to find.

Tips for Content Ideas

• Begin by jotting down short phrases that express something about you or what you have done. I would write Silent Witness, social media, sign up for WordPress, marketing, Google+ and work-life balance. Choose some that you are comfortable with and will find it easy to converse with a friend about the subject.
• Questions placed on Twitter, Facebook, Quora and Google+ can lead to more ideas for blog content. Asking what your followers thought of a book you’ve read can lead to other authors which you can in turn research and write about. Or see what users ask about a field you know a lot about and write your answers not just on that social network but on your blog too.
• A to Z of your business can be used in a variety of ways: A to Z of your services or products, of special terminology, of software tools you recommend, of authors or expert you recommend to follow, of business tips or advice etc. Can you come up with a list for your business?
• Check what’s trending on various channels. Are there experts in your industry talking and writing about new research and products? Can you comment on it, or collate comments from others as a review? Or maybe you can promote your own product?
• When readers comment on your blog it can lead to more ideas for content: they may introduce other aspects that you hadn’t covered in your post. You can write a follow-up post answering their questions or points raised.
• Guest blogs are always a good source of content, it means you don’t have to write everything yourself and you gain links to other bloggers and visibility to their followers.
• Have you attended a conference or a workshop? Have you presented at a business meeting? Has your business been nominated or won an award? Have you hired a new member of staff or secured an important contract? All these business news can be discussed and shared on your blog: at the end of the day it’s a virtual log (“blog”) and it’s up to you what you choose to log in it!
• Google Alerts – set up alerts so you are informed when items are in the news and on the internet. You can limit your alerts by country or have Google tell you the whole world news. I have mine set up to alert me when there are articles published about various people, social media, and key phrases related to our business. Alerts can be delivered in digest form or as the articles become live.

Have you found these useful? Have you got any more ideas for blog content? Please do share below!

“Do clients know that I exist, what I offer and how my business is different from all the competitors?”

“How do I get more business?”

Here are the questions that are on the mind of most business owners. And here is a solution to these questions: social media. No, not the “sell it today, gone tomorrow” social media, but tools and sites you can use on a regular basis to build relationships with your prospects and eventually get more business.

From all social media tools Twitter is probably the easiest to get your head round and start using today!

Obviously first you need to set up an account, connect with people you already know and generally get to grips with the basics: posting tweets, replying to messages, RT-ing, using hashtags and search. But we’ll assume today that you are fine with this step (if not – pop over to Motivating Mum Mentoring page and book yourself a session with Tamara)

Next we can move on to advanced ninja strategies where the actual social media magic does happen!

Your first ninja tool – Keywords and phrases search

Begin by researching words and phrases people may use to find your product or service and write them down. How can you find this out? Ask them of course. Ask your clients, friends, colleagues, past clients, business contacts, post a question on LinkedIn, run a free survey with SurveyMonkey. But get some meaningful data based on what THEY say, not what YOU think. In many cases you’ll find the results are quite different!

Then note down the phrases and words that people might use when talking about a competitors service when they are dissatisfied. Maybe they will even mention them. Again, compile a list.

Log on to Twitter and use each of these phrases in the search box. Remember that to search for an exact match – use quotes (“need a website designed” – only returns results where someone actually said this, word for word), for a general match use the phrase without quotes (need a website designed: can return anything like ‘need a ecommerce website designed’, ‘need a charity website urgently designed’). if your search returns any suitable results – save it for use later.

Use the results to connect with people looking for your product or service. But don’t just jump on them screaming YES PICK ME! You will agree it’s quite scary and will turn them away. Instead, try to be helpful. Find out what they are looking for. What problems they faced with their old supplier. Maybe you can’t even help, but you can direct them to someone who can. Or you can give them some quick advice, for free, on Twitter. And this conversation (e.g. tweeting each other back and forth) will attract attention of others, who may also be your potential clients.

As you can see, it’s not an immediate Get Clients Now strategy. But if you use this regularly in a targeted way – you would soon find that measurable ROI.

Your second ninja tool – What are people saying?

Are they asking for a recommendation? Are they complaining? Are they researching?

Use this information to engage with people, show that you are listening and care about the outcome. You do not need to sell hard on the spot. But as I said above, be helpful, be interested, be interesting and be genuine.

When people are asking for recommendations, supply links to testimonials, independent reviews or a blog you have written, to help them with their decision. Link them up with other business professionals you know – provide social media referrals.

Pretty soon you will establish yourself as a go-to person, authority in your field who is listening and able to help.

Why does this work?

Using this approach to marketing works better than traditional advertising because people are ready to buy, it’s no longer a cold call. You are not interrupting what they are doing on the web and trying to make them decide on the spot if they need what you offer and if they are happy to buy straight away (most likely that are not!). You can see information about them on their Twitter profile along with their tweets and those of their friends, which reveals much about their business, their purchasing habits, their budget. Once they start this conversation with you they will be more likely to buy from you, when they actually need what you offer, rather than from your competitor who just tries to jump at them shouting YES PICK ME!

In the same way as you can see what others say on their Twitter profile, so is your timeline available to them. Remember this and mix things up: too many blatant pitches can be off-putting, so don’t be afraid to provide advice, links to other resources and blogs, ask questions, answer questions, share your experiences and funny moments that happen in your life.

Be interested, be interesting, be helpful and be genuine. And please do share your thoughts and experiences with us: via Twitter @WPDesignGenies or Facebook/WPDesignGenies.

Profiles vs Pages – which should you use?

Facebook’s intentions are that Profiles are meant for people and Pages are for businesses. They have built in significant functionality that is aimed specifically at businesses.

Facebook Pages allow for multiple administrator so that you can have more than one person managing your account. Multiple administrators mean that if you have someone leave your company your pages will still be editable, and you will always have access to them and keep the overall control.

Pages automatically default to a public setting and rank in Facebook and public search results. As Pages are split into different categories this helps you get listed in more relevant search results. Categories are, for example, local businesses, brands, musicians.

Where a personal profile has friends that require mutual acceptance, anyone can become a fan of your page. Within Facebook, what a fan can do on your page can be set as you require. You have the ability to decide whether fans are allowed to place video, photographs or comments on your page, whether they can message you directly (new feature since March 2012).

Pages can have apps – additional functionalities you can add to your page (YouTube link, Blog RSS, email newsletter subscription, special offer, extended contact details to name a few). Apps can be added to separate tabs – a little like pages on the your website have their own links. Profiles can’t have apps or tabs added since last year.

Worried about privacy on any of your Facebook pages? Don’t be! Facebook has recently introduced a number of privacy settings which are very flexible and can control your exposure on both types of pages. The numerous permutations available can easily be changed and refined to suit your needs.

So generally speaking, if you are a business – you need to have a Page. And your personal Profile can stay just that – personal and only available to your close friends and family.

Keep an eye out for our next instalment of Facebook marketing advice: creating a Cover Photo, using the new Timeline, Facebook Ads and more!

Our blog is posted to our Facebook page – have a look and click LIKE so that you don’t miss any new articles.

Now Facebook’s 800 million active users can share food, fashion, design and all things they like, create pinboards, pin and repin to other Pinterest users. If you think your newsfeed is a little busy already, it looks set to get even busier.

The apps FourSquare and Spotify will sync to Facebook, and whatever you do, whether it’s buying tickets to a James Taylor Concert, buying clothes or watching a great film, can now be shared. If you don’t want to share this with the world, then the privacy settings and opt out options allow you to set things up to suit you, and keep your likes to yourself.

It’s good news for developers of apps as they can now submit their apps to Facebook for approval. With Mashable’s live blog coverage of the event has brought approval from people who are thrilled with the Pinterest-Facebook collaboration. Many of the apps are already much used and well known (eBay, Pinterest, TripAdvisor) but the integration is a very smart business move, enabling the companies to tap into the power and fans of Facebook. There may be some little known apps on the long list but even these are well rated.

So far the list looks like this (source – Mashable with more to follow):

I’ve already had a look around Pinterest and I’ve fallen in love with the design and products at fab.com. How about you? Which ones do you think you will using in your profile?

To start with…

Start by creating an engaging Page by using tools within Facebook: there are 100s of free apps available (Discussion board, YouTube Videos, Blog, News, Links, Resources, Testimonials, Offers, Coupons, Ecommerce etc.). Provide a reason for a new visitor to become a fan of your Page and engage with you. If you are a more advanced Facebook user you can add custom Tabs to a Page using iframe/HTML coding.

Leverage with Facebook’s viral nature

By creating engaging content for your Page you benefit every time a fan engages with your page, either becoming a fan, attending an event or posting a comment. This activity is published in their ‘news feed/timeline’ and can then be seen by their Facebook friends. When a user first logs into Facebook they immediately see their friend’s activity, so any activity by your fans on your Page is shared to a much wider network providing your business with more visibility.

Sharing with your existing network

If you have an email list or blog readers let them know you have a Facebook business page. With an opt-in list consider emailing them and adding a link to your Page in your email signature.. Use your blog to tell your readers about your Facebook page. On your website or blog post add a link or badge to your Page.

Organic search results and traffic

Your Facebook Fan Page is public by default so it will be indexed by search engines. It will give you the opportunity to drive organic search traffic to your page. If your page doesn’t appear in searches check that you have set it to be publicly indexed and searchable.

Facebook ads – For added punch…

If you are familiar with building and running Google Adwords campaigns, Facebook ads are similar and allow you to advertise a website or other products on Facebook, including Pages, Groups and Events. Your Ads campaign can be targeted to land on a specific Tab designed for converting visitors into fans. Remember that from now on you can’t have a default landing tab for non-fans as they will be just sent to your page’s Timeline.