Here is the outline of what this multi-post will entail:

1.  Domain Name / Hosting – registering domain, strategy behind the name and costs about putting your site somewhere

2.  Content Management System – You need one, why and what types there are out there

3.  Look and Feel – Yes the CMS comes first, design is crucial, how to get one good and reasonably priced

4.  Putting it All Together – tweaking, integrating it with social media/community-based marketing and features

5.  Promotion – techniques, tools and strategies

6.  SEO/PPC – This isn’t the last thing discussed – it’s so important it is mentioned in every part but this will be the wrap up and discussion of how and when Pay-Per-Click is a good idea.

Remember not all of this applies to every small business and it may be overkill for a one-person firm but it’s all good general knowledge about how and why and what to do.   As always, my e-mail  tina (at) thesatorigroup (dot) com  is open for questions or leave a comment and I’ll reply.

P.S. – I’ll go back and link these as I post them so there can be a starting point!

But I digress.  Look for that series in a few days.

This my friends is about Twitter and a mini-rant I’m having in three acts:

Twitter is key for small businesses.   There are many many articles about why.  I can sum them all up in a sentence.  There is no better tool for the money, for promoting and spreading information about your services, products and business. Sure there are tons of people on there talking about what book they read, what they had for lunch but that’s just part of conversation.  It can’t all be strategy and roses, in between there you have life and fluffle.  (I made that word up).    Here comes the rant part:

1.  Act One

• If someone friends you, read some of their tweets and if it’s not spam/porn/evil – friend them back.   Not everyone you talk to is going to be your best friend but you might just end up having an interesting conversation, learning something or even make an impression.   Nothing makes me crazier than going through my friends and pruning out people (which you have to do from time to time) – and finding a “social network EXPERT” (emphasis mine), small business, restaurant or digital consultant that hasn’t friended back.   What a waste of a connection.
• Take into account there are some Internet Superstars that just can’t follow the thousands and thousands of people back.  I tend to follow them even if they don’t follow me because I’m interested.  And that’s the only way I’ll do that.  I don’t care if you think you are an Internet Superstar and I’m not interested in what you are saying, I will unfollow.  To me – I take the saying of Mark Davidson to heart – Twitter is about a conversation.  If you won’t even allow the possibility, forget it!  UNFOLLOW, UNFOLLOW, UNFOLLOW.
• Also you do have to prune and check your ratios.  Because there people who will follow you wait X amount of time, whether that’s a minute or a week or a month, after you follow them back, and then unfollow you.  It’s a scam to get more followers.  What they want to do with these minions, I’m not sure, but I don’t want to be a part of the shuffling masses.

2.  Act Two

• Don’t have every tweet be a key message or even worse quote someone else. Talk about things.  I don’t want to get to know your key selling proposition, or what Einstein said.  I can read that or learn that myself.  I want to learn about you, your business, your thoughts – those are the things that provide value to me.   I think that personality is key.  Because I’m not doing business with a faceless droid, even at large corporations, I do business with people.  Case in point – I have been with Allstate Insurance forever.  And not because of Allstate or their commercials.  I do it because the Agent I’m with listened to me when I was a whippersnapper driver and he knows me and HE cares.  I can’t tell you have many entertaining conversations we have had which usually end with him saying – call me back if you want to file this claim otherwise BYE!   He is Allstate to me.

3.  Act Three

• Don’t jump on every bandwagon that blows through Twitter. This is the generating rant that brought this post to your eyeballs.  There has been Twitter Spam in the last week which is annoying.  But what is making me crazy right now is the direct message – “I just gave you “love bug hug”! Check it out:” and the “do you want 100000 followers, click here.”   I’m in the process right now of blocking and reporting a huge number of these.  ARGH!
• That being said, there was a recent bandwagon to help the Iranian people and their election.   Every now and then it isn’t all horrible.  I’m just saying, be careful out there kids – not every tool, not every trend, not every shortcut leads you to Oz.

And as always, I value your feedback.  What bugs you about Twitter?  What have you found useful?  Do tell.

The thought is that as web designers and developers and even SEO professionals we are judged by end product.   But the web being what it is and clients being the ones writing the check, we come across a quandary.   For companies who provide services in terms of the web how do you frame what challenges you had versus where you end up?  In honest terms I don’t think it’s every a good idea to trash a client’s budget and design being subjective in many ways, too much explaining can leave a sour taste in potential buyers mouths.  Along the lines of “the lady doth protest too much.”

I think at some point you have to be judged by what you produce.  You have to own up and say, I did this.  That being said, there are questions/concepts that potential clients need to take into account when looking at portfolios in this space.

• What was the budget?  And how far did that budget go?  You never get the exact amount you want and sometimes you even have to scale back services based on what the client has to spend.
• Who was the audience?  It should be obvious but sometimes the areas that are brought out and shown are aimed at specific audiences.  I know that sometimes when you are dealing with a primary educated audience in terms of a business niche it can to the untrained eye be confusing.
• How long has it been?  Even though we try to make designs timeless, trends gently and sometimes violently fade away.  Sometimes sites even get redesigned.  Every company wants to be with their clients time after time during redesigns but in real life that doesn’t always happen.
• Clients are paying the bill.  Which means we are actually consultants.  We can recommends, strongly disagree, advise against, work towards a compromise but they are paying and if ultimately what they want, they get.   You might not see it in a portfolio but it is what it is.
• Design is subjective.  While code can usually be judged based on quantifiable qualities, design, know matter how you slice it, is judged by each person differently.  You may hate that color, that font, that style but that was reviewed by client, company and designer and made the cut for some reason.
• What were the results?  Did all the elements come together to get what the client wanted.  It may not appear that way at first, but it ultimately is the only thing that matters.  But many times, it’s hard to get that answer.  However, it never hurts to ask.

So those are the ones that I think frame our work in the launched phase.  What do you think web design/development companies, SEO companies, interactive marketing firms need to be held to account on?  Or from the other angle, what do we want as an industry professionals to educate potential clients about when they look at your finished products?

Just thoughts to chew on.  Have a great weekend.