The importance of images in web design

Most of us are aware that the use of images in social media communications increases engagement, but does this visual approach also translate through to your web site?

Web users are bored easily. Why wouldn’t they be when they know that another quick click and they can get something better? It’s no longer enough to just put the information on the page – you have to engage your readers with some visual attraction too. The number one way to do this? Using effectively chosen images to increase the clarity of your message, look more attractive, and convey your personality.

Engaging images – making your point in a millisecond

The cliché is true; a picture says a thousand words. They capture moments and feelings which evoke and draw the reader in, providing clarity on your message and your values. The perfect image will engage and entertain the user – which is exactly what you want your website to do. You want it to be a place where your user wants to come back.

Images of credibility

Real pictures increase your credibility. It is an assertion to the world that you are willing to represent your brand authentically, that you are proud of who you are and that you are transparent about it. People love to see who they will be dealing with, and being able to put faces to names makes you far more approachable too. Did you know that users spend, on average, three times as long looking at a person’s picture than their biography even though the biography takes up more room on the page?

It is especially important to think about using real images on your About Us page

Creating a professional image

Professional imagery and professional design creates an image of a professional company. Custom design and imagery will always be the best way of supporting and broadcasting your brand image and clarifying your message in a memorable and engaging way.

Balancing your design – contrast and whitespace

Let’s face it – a web page with no images on it looks pretty boring. On a very basic level, images bring contrast to a design which actually helps to emphasise your content by giving it the space to breathe. I’ve written before about how vital effective use of whitespace is in web design, and one of the main ways that the right balance is reached is by effectively changing the sizes and placement of images to complement and contrast the text.

The flip side – bad stock imagery and bland graphics

While great images make a great impression and clarify your message you do have to be aware that bad images can actually make things worse by sending conflicting messages. It’s all too easy to make mistakes with cheesy stock images. Stock imagery makes money because their messages are broad and ultimately generic, which means they aren’t in the best position to emphasise your point. Sometimes you can stumble on something perfect, but don’t run the risk of confusing your reader
with a poor choice!

We’re visual creatures

At the end of the day, we do judge books by their cover and make snap decisions based on what something looks like. When it only takes one click for your user to leave your website you have to do everything in your power to make them stay – and your website images are paramount to achieving that goal.

With thanks to guest blogger, Simon Bonello of British Design Experts.

Simon Bonello is the Director of British Design Experts, a design agency which specialises in creating professional and affordable logo design and digital work for start-ups and small businesses in the UK. He has helped thousands of start-ups to get a professional identity online and is an expert on developing a company logo and brand, creating an optimised online presence with SEO and social media, and is always happy to share his knowledge and give advice to start-ups.

Free social media icon image

Here is a free social media icon image that you are welcome to use! As with all of my icons and graphics, if you use it, all I ask is that you post a comment on my blog with a link through to where you’ve used it!

Free social media icons image by Ubersocialmedia.co.uk – click here to download

If you are looking for a social media image or logo set then you are welcome to download and use this free image i’ve designed.

Go ahead, download, use, share, enjoy!  If you are looking for social media icon sets, then take a look at this great selection 50 Killer Free Social Media Icon Sets from Hubspots blog.

Shell Robshaw-Bryan is a marketing consultant at Surefire Media, the Cheshire based web design, eCommerce and marketing company. Shell specialises in organic search, content strategy and social media engagement for both B2C and B2B companies.

If you’d like to find out how Surefire Media can help your business, get in touch!

Who should handle your social media?

Social media is important, through it you present an image of your company or brand, with the goal of positively influencing brand perception in order to attract and convert. The image you present in social media should therefore be just as well thought out as the image you present in any of your other marketing activities.

Would you invest resources into a major trade show and turn up with a trestle table and some flyers? Would you place a press advert without including a call to action, your web address or your company logo?

It might  sound crazy, but an awful lot of businesses get on the social bandwagon simply because their competitors are doing it or because they think they should, with little or no regard at all to what they want to achieve from it, let alone anything resembling a clear strategy.

When it comes to social media you can’t afford to get it wrong and increasingly, you can’t afford to simply choose not do it at all. As with any job, if you plan to appoint someone internally, you need to find the person or people with the relevant skills and experience.  Don’t trust your social media activities to a junior member of staff simply because they have time on their hands and don’t choose the employee who declares an interest because they use Facebook a lot.

An employee using social media for personal purposes is entirely different to that same employee speaking for your brand and using  social for business purposes.  Having more than a passing familiarity with social doesn’t mean they are the right person for the job.

The most capable candidate to handle your social media will often come from within the marketing department.  If you have an existing community manager then they are also a good bet.  My advice is to steer away from allocating social to members of the sales team and whoever you do choose, make sure they understand your goals, have good people skills (being friendly and approachable is a must in social media as is having a passion for customer service) and make sure that they have creativity with regards to coming up with ideas on how to engage followers.

Effective social media takes creativity, great interpersonal skills plus a strong grasp of business objectives.

It’s common, especially in SMEs, for social media to be handled by a number of different employees.  Whilst this can help spread the load and can help to keep content fresh, it can also mean that your communications suffer from a lack of coherence. My personal preference is to give responsibility to no more than a couple of individuals, though it will depend on the number of social media platforms you are active on and the scope of activities you plan to carry out.

For many SMEs, handling social media activity internally isn’t an option as they don’t have either the time or expertise to do it themselves, in which case calling in the services of an experienced agency or freelancer is the way to go.  The following list details all of the main considerations you will need to make before deciding on who to appoint to look after your social media activities.

Who should handle your social media? key insights to take away…

1. Handling social media in-house is still an investment

If you appoint someone internally, ensure that you are realistic in both what you expect them to achieve and in how long it will take; monitoring social daily takes time and even more time to do it effectively.  If you are only investing an hour or two a week into social, then the results you get will reflect that.

2. Don’t be afraid to outsource social

Good digital agencies will have extensive experience of working with clients across multiple sectors and will be able to use tried and tested techniques that will work for you.  Arm them with additional insight into who your target audience is and what it is you want to achieve and outsourcing social to the experts will pay off.

3. Limit potential social fallout

Limit access to the corporate social media accounts and ensure that login information is centrally held by a senior manager, as in the case of the recent HMV rogue Tweeter, you need a fail safe.

4. It’s social media, not a sales channel

Don’t make your activities all about selling, of course people love a great sales promotion or competition and will equally be keen to hear news from you, but don’t bombard them.  Do not use social like a sales channel because if you do you’ll turn people off and lose them.

5. Be flexible to aid creativity

Maintain flexibility, don’t be too regimented in tone and frequency; this stifles creativity and will do exactly the opposite of what you want it to achieve.

6. Set social guidelines

Consider implementing a social policy or provide guidelines for employees to follow so they understand all communications need to fit your brand and work to achieve business objectives.

7. Keep it consistent

If you use Bitly to shorten your URLs then use it all the time, using different tools and styles of communication leads to your activities appearing haphazard and should be avoided.

8. Be realistic

Carrying out even small-scale social marketing activities takes a considerable time investment; don’t leap into it until you understand the extent of the investment you’ll need to make.

Shell Robshaw-Bryan is a marketing consultant at Surefire Media, the Cheshire based web design, eCommerce and marketing company. Shell specialises in organic search, content strategy and social media engagement for both B2C and B2B companies.

If you’d like to find out how Surefire Media can help your business, get in touch!

 

Free desktop PC computer illustration icon

I’ve done a super simple, totally free desktop PC illustration – the screen is really easy to overlay with your choice of graphic or website over the top to give it a bit of personalisation.  Ideal for anyone wanting a free PC Icon, or a free illustrated PC to use in an infographic, report, on a website or in a presentation document.

Free Desktop PC computer illustration icon from ubersocialmedia.co.uk

As mentioned previously, this is completely free, but if you do download and use it, please write a comment with a link, as It’s always nice to see my design work being used!

Shell Robshaw-Bryan is a marketing consultant at Surefire Media, the Cheshire based web design, eCommerce and marketing company. Shell specialises in organic search, content strategy and social media engagement for both B2C and B2B companies.

If you’d like to find out how Surefire Media can help your business, get in touch!

The freelance and home workers guide to productivity

When you talk to friends or acquaintances about working freelance or being home based, you invariably get the same responses.  Envy, shortly followed by incredulity that you don’t simply stay in bed and sleep all day/watch TV/play golf.

“I find the ability to work from home whilst wearing my ridiculous giraffe onesie, a particularly liberating experience.”

After working from home for more than 8 year, I rarely get the chance to work from home these days so when I do, I know exactly how to make the most of my time to ensure I am super-productive.  My alarm still goes off at roughly the same time, I get up and get dressed and am ready for a full working day well before i’d normally arrive at the office, so straight away i’m off to a head start.

To be honest, it’s now such a rarity that the novelty of working from home these days means I want to make the most of it, and it’s not uncommon for me to be dealing with clients in a highly professional manner (of course) whilst wearing my ridiculous giraffe onesie. By doing this, I have proven my working hypothesis; that liberating your clothing choices helps to spark creativity; I’m not advocating spending all day in your pajamas or fancy dress, but the relaxed dress code afforded by working at home, does in my experience have a very positive effect on my creativity.

No naughty sofa man! Stop smiling and go and get dressed!

Get up and get dressed

Discipline is critical when you are working from home, as is the ability to manage your own time.  A lie in is tempting, and of course, one of the benefits of freelance work is that you can do things at a time that works for you, but don’t forget your clients will be up and working, largely between the hours of 9am and 6pm and will expect you to be around then too.

If you work collaboratively, your co-workers who are perhaps office based, will expect you to be accessible during normal working hours too. It might feel like you are on holiday, but you are not.  Set the alarm at a decent time, get up, get dressed, grab a coffee and make sure you are ready to go by 9am.

Stay on task and stay focused

Unlike being at the office, when you nip into the kitchen for a coffee, you’ll also notice the washing machine light blinking at you to say its cycle is complete.  You’ll notice the crumbs on the work counter, the bin that needs emptying, the rug that need vacuuming.  Strike them from your mind (unless you are having a lunch break) and try to ignore them.  They are not a priority right now.  In general, I will happily do any minor chores in the time it takes for the kettle to boil – anything house related that would take longer simply waits until after 5.30pm.

Minimise distractions

I read an article recently that suggested having the TV on as company/background noise was a good idea.  Not so!  TV is designed to grab your attention – don’t do it!  If you don’t end up slumped and slack-jawed in front of it, you’ll end up getting drawn in to what is going on, meaning your attention won’t be on your work.  The last thing you want is for the quality of work you produce at home to differ from the usual quality of your work.

Build a strong work ethic

Let’s face it, we all have days when we aren’t as productive as we could be.  Perhaps we are distracted, creativity is not flowing or we have a problem we need to find a solution to.  Don’t beat yourself up over down time.  I find I get more done when I work from home and that’s because I do what I want to do, when I want to do it.  I don’t have colleagues distracting me and I don’t have (as many) clients on the phone demanding my attention and taking my mind off whatever I was in the middle of doing. That said, having worked freelance for so long, I knew that if I wasn’t working, I wasn’t earning – simple as that, and knowing that was always more than sufficient motivation for me to maintain a strong work ethic.

Enjoy the freedom

I’ll often find I’ve done everything I wanted to do well before of 5.30pm or sometimes i’ll take a long lunch and use the time to recharge my brain and get a bit of creative fizz back. If my mind is continually wandering, it generally means I need to take a break and whilst at work you can feel guilty and it is frowned upon to simply take a break when you feel like it, working from home gives you that freedom and is probably what I love most about it.

Oh hai little guy. Mr squashy face needs a cuddle, yes he does!

Even when you do finish at 5.30pm, you get the added benefit of no ghastly commute.  There’s an extra hour (or however long your usual commute is) right there that is all yours!  It’s amazing what a difference the extra time can have and really helps to influence your work/life balance in a positive way.

Working from home?  Watch out for these sneaky productivity zappers!

• Loveable pets are dastardly at thwarting attempts to work and will do all manner of cute and endearing things to drag your attention away from work.  A quick few minutes of fussing is fine and a great way to give your brain a quick rest or relieve stress; just don’t let that few minutes of petting turn into playing in the garden or going for a walk – wait until lunch time or after work for that.

• Friends and family are often just the worst at demanding time and attention when you’re working from home.  Be strict, don’t let chatty phone-calls distract you and when there is a knock at the door and a friend turns up for coffee make sure you are very clear in letting them know you work from home.  Just because you are at home it doesn’t mean you don’t still have to be working.

• TV.  Do not turn the tv on, for anything, ever, during work hours.

• Wearing your PJs might be tempting, but isn’t conducive to a professional mindset.  Get up, take a shower as usual and get dressed and your head with be in the right place for work.  Stay in your PJs and you’ll feel like you have the day off.

• Don’t sign in to any instant chat services.  If you use them for work, that’s fine, but make your status ‘busy’ or similar to stop friends popping up wanting to chat.

• Stay away from social media.  Again, if you use this for work fine, but don’t even look at your Facebook wall or Twitter stream because you WILL see several things you just have to read and comment on.

• The cup of tea or mid morning 5 minute break can be a real killer of productivity – if you must venture into the kitchen, either ignore the carnage from last nights dinner or set aside time during your usual lunch break to deal with it.  Don’t let it draw you in and break your work flow.

Do you work from home regularly?  Do you have any tips to share?

Shell Robshaw-Bryan is a marketing consultant at Surefire Media, the Cheshire based web design, eCommerce and marketing company. Shell specialises in organic search, content strategy and social media engagement for both B2C and B2B companies.

If you’d like to find out how Surefire Media can help your business, get in touch!