What I’ve Learned About How To Build a Website

I don’t claim to be an expert in building websites.  I actually think that this makes my thoughts and opinions pretty valid.

I have built a handful of websites over the last year or so and have learned quite a bit about the process.  In a world where websites are becoming more and more important, technology has made it easier and easier to build them.  With advents in website management software and technology, the ability to build a website has become more accessible to the average person.  With the right planning even someone who isn’t an expert, someone like me, can build a website.  Here are three things that I’ve learned about how to build a website:

1. Know what the purpose of your website is – If you don’t know what you want your website to do, you won’t know what to plan for.  One way to accomplish this is by asking, “What do I want my website visitors to do?”  Do you want them to call you?  Do you want them to read something you wrote?  Do you want them to comment?  Do you want them to buy something on your site?

Identifying the purpose of your site will help you know what features you need and what to give prominence to.

2. Spend time on your content – After you know what you want your site to do, be sure to spend time writing meaningful content.  What makes you unique?  Why should someone come to you and not a competitor or other site?  Your content should help people know what you have to offer.

Don’t only spend time writing content.  Also figure out how you want to structure your content.  What types of pages do you want to have and what would you write on each page?  Keep similar content together and remember that sometimes less is more.

3. Put on a new set of eyes – One of the things that I find important is looking at the site through the eyes of someone you want using it.  When creating a site, it’s easy to get too close.  Stop and take a minute to run through your site like a user would.  Get some friends to look at and evaluate it.  You’ll be surprised what fresh eyes (or new eyes) can do for your site.

With the technology available today, you can build a great website.  I hope these tips help and that you enjoy building your site.

Disclaimer – I am participating in a blog campaign by Bucks2Blog for a website building company and was compensated.  However, the views and opinions are my own.

Change in Real Estate

To anyone who has been crazy enough to follow this blog.  I’ve launched a new website for my brand, the Kevin Wunder brand that is, and will be posting more frequently on there.

I so appreciate any comments you have made on this blog.  I may post here from time to time, but majority of what I’ll be doing will be on my new site.

Please continue to stop by at KevinWunder.com

“Light up the Darkness” | The Power of Messaging

No one can argue that Bob Marley has motivated millions.  Whether you agree with the lifestyle he lived or not, his message, and the way he delivered it was embraced by millions and continues to be so.  In 2003, Rolling Stone Magazine‘s The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Bob Marley and the Whalers got four of their 15 studio albums and one of their compilation albums on honored among many other musical legends.

Their message was successful because it rang true to many, it was delivered in a powerful way, and it created cult followings.

Isn’t that what advertising messaging and marketing results want to see?  Are there lessons that advertisers and marketers can learn from Bob Marley?

I think that there are.  Here are five messages that I think can be learned from Bob Marley.

1. Be genuine and live your message.  We all remember when “greenwashing” was a hot topic, and how many consumers punished brands that they felt weren’t being sincere.  In John Zogby’s book The Way We’ll Be, he speaks about how consumers are looking more and more for authenticity in the brands that they purchase from.  Be genuine, live your message, and people will follow.

2. Love your followers.  If there is anything that Bob Marley preached, it was love.  He loved people, people felt that, and they reciprocated that love.

3. Work harder than your competitors.  I love the line from the video above, “The people who are trying to make this world worst are not taking a day off.  How can I?”  Some people will disagree with me on this, but I honestly feel that the harder you work, the better off you’ll be (as long as you aren’t working stupidly).  Advertisers and marketers should be working hard to understand their customers.

4. Find the best way for you to deliver your message.  You’ll note that Bob Marley wasn’t a politician, he probably never held an office or carried a title, but he found a medium where he would be heard: music.  Can you imagine Bob Marley in a suit vying for political office?  Not all mediums work for all companies and messages.  Find the correct and appropriate ones for you and maximize them.

5. Leave a Legacy.  Bob Marley’s message wasn’t one that was self serving.  He left a legacy for others to follow.  That’s why almost 30 years after his death, his message is still being shared.  It’s even being shared on multi-million dollar movie pictures like I am Legend.

For more insight into this topic, check this out.

Tags: advertising messaging, Bob Marley

AT&T “Hands” Campaign | Beautiful Art.

It’s been a while since I’ve been blown away by an advertising print campaign.  Print campaigns are tough.  How do you make an ad visually appealing and strategically sound while still communicating a sound and strong message?  We’ve all looked at magazines, newspapers, posters, in-store ads, etc… we’re bombarded with print campaigns.

Major props goes out to BBDO for putting the AT&T “Hands” campaign together.  I’ve actually got a really good friend who is an account assistant there.

Here are some of the ads from the campaign.

http://www.bbdoatl.com

Tags: art, AT&T, print advertising

BP Oil Spill Information | A PPC Case Study

I’m sure that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is not new to anyone.  It has had hundreds of hours of news coverage on radio and TV, hundreds of inches of copy in newspapers and has majorly affected the areas around the gulf, devastating the local environment and an economy that relies heavily on the health of the gulf.

These types of incidents are PR nightmares for companies like British Petroleum (BP).  Situations like this are where PR professionals make or break their careers.  Messaging and communication becomes so important at times like this.  However, messaging and communication are obsolete if you can’t reach those who are listening.

Obviously, there have been press releases, press conferences and the like where BP has communicated its efforts to mass numbers of listeners.  One thing that I find interesting however is what they’ve done online, particularly in the search engines.

Open a new window, go to Google, and search for anything dealing with the oil spill.  I’m going to venture to say that 9 out of 10 searches will have a sponsored link by BP up on the top of the search engine results page (SERP).  For nearly any keyword that I could think of relating to the spill, BP was on the top of the page with a sponsored link.  I wonder how much they are putting into that PPC campaign.

When you click on the sponsored link, you’ll be taken to BP’s website, where you’ll learn more about BP’s response to the spill.

I give props to BP.  Putting themselves in the sponsored links does two things.  First, it allows them to proactively put their best face forward.  Second, it shows that they aren’t running away from the issue.

Now I’m not trying to say whether or not I am for or against BP, but I do give them credit for what they’re doing in the SERPs to boost good PR, particularly in a time of crisis.  BP has obviously taken a huge hit and will continue to do so.  I feel that what they are doing in the SERPs however will allow them to limit some of the damage that would have been done otherwise.

Thoughts?

Tags: bp, ppc

Social Media Revolution

I love this video.

Enough said.

Tags: social media, videos

I Love Google.

Have I mentioned before that I love Google?

I think that Google is brilliant, witty and lets be honest, they know how to move culture.  A company who can make me cry with an ad that has no voice over and probably cost less than $5 to actually shoot, wins my heart.

I also love how they “dress up” their homepage in honor of holidays and anniversaries.  My favorite costume has to be what they did last week.  For the 30th anniversary of Pacman, Google had a live/active Pacman game on their homepage.  I’m sure that every office made its jokes about losing productivity, and had one individual who brought reality to that joke, but who would’ve thought that it would sum up to this? If you’d like to play, just insert your coin here.

I love Google’s sense of humor and wit.

Tags: google, humor, pacman