Have you ever seen one of those property shows on TV where the amateur developers decide to forgo the services of an architect and go directly to the builders? At worst, the build ends in disaster. At best, they experience unnecessary and expensive delays, backtracks and panic-stricken compromises…

The analogy of the architect, builder and amateur developer is apt for the relationship between an internet strategist, web designer and business client. The role of internet strategist is a relatively recent one, brought about by the rapidly changing and complex development of the internet. Many businesses are unaware of the myriad choices they face and the pitfalls which await them in setting out to go online.

In this age of Web 2.0, a basic transmission style website that simply sits on the internet as a sort of brochure is no longer enough — especially when your competition is embracing this new world of interaction and dynamism. Aside from branding and visual design, there are blogs, shopping carts, hosting options, image galleries, social media, online communities and many other internet tools for communicating, marketing and selling to contend with. How do you know what is right for your business?

Your needs

Do you trust your own knowledge enough to plan your business’s internet presence on your own? Even if you spend a lot of time surfing the web and keeping an eye on what your rivals are doing, your expertise lies elsewhere in what your own company does or sells. It just makes sense to consult an internet strategist, whose business is keeping up on internet trends from the inside and the outside, and who knows the full range of options available to you whatever your budget.

Independence and impartiality

Do you trust a web design and development firm to help you find all the options available to you? Even the best firms that employ their own internet strategists are in the business of building you a website and will naturally steer you to their own services. This means that some options have already been closed off the moment you walk through their door.

The benefit of an independent internet strategist is that you get impartial advice and support not limited by self-interest. If the best solution for your small start-up with a tiny budget is to go for a free DIY site, an independent strategist will be able to tell you this and guide you to quality providers.

A little first saves a lot later

You may be surprised how inexpensively you can get a good professional result, but it all depends on know-how. We’re all aware that spending a little on planning can save a bundle on mistakes, but sometimes it takes some convincing that there really are dangers down the road if you skimp on the crucial early stages of a project. The looming trainwreck may be obvious to us watching the hapless and stubborn couple chopping and changing about where to put the bathroom when the plumber is already on site, but this is exactly what happens time and time again on web projects. Shouldn’t you get that architect in first thing?

Architela offers an independent internet strategy service to help you along at any stage of a web project – but calling us at the beginning can save you the most. Consider a Quick Consultation today.

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Nancy Weitz

Nancy is Director at Architela and specialises in internet strategy, collaborative learning and user-centred design

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Imagine it: the toga-clad philosopher sitting in front of his laptop, sipping a foaming latte and dreaming up theories about the best way to reach out to site visitors and potential customers.

Farfetched? Not in the least…

Rhetoric

“Rhetoric” has become a dirty word in modern usage, usually applied to the use of language to deceive or confuse.  However, the term originally meant neither more nor less than “the art of discourse”, which included both speaking and writing. So a student of Rhetoric as a discipline learned the most effective ways to communicate with words to an audience of readers or listeners in a given situation. In its original (proper) meaning, Rhetoric is as alive and relevant today as it ever was.

Persuasion

In its most typical form, persuasion, we experience and use Rhetoric every day of our lives through advertising, discussions, news, literature, the web — everywhere. In fact, I am here trying to persuade you that all writing is persuasion, as its intention is invariably to get the reader to accept what the writer is saying as plausible, useful, worthwhile.

Why Aristotle?

Aristotle was one of the fathers of Rhetoric, and he systematised it into a discipline to make it possible to study and apply it deliberately, in his day for use in law and government.  Among other things, Aristotle paid close attention to persuasion and came up with three “offices” or steps in creating a speech (or piece of writing) and three “proofs” or appeals for reaching an audience. These are still very useful today for covering the bases and making sure your written content is effective.

3 Steps

Invention: coming up with something to say is the first step to creating a piece of writing. The term “invention” is apt, as it applies to the imaginative processes involved in conjuring up something new from thin air. Aristotle offers many different methods and strategies for getting the creative juices flowing, such as using common topics and finding ideas to define, compare or analyse.

Arrangement: once the topic and ideas are forming, they need to be organised in a way that both makes sense and produces the right effect.

Style: last but not least, the ideas need to be clothed in the most appropriate words and images to help the reader understand and visualise the meanings they produce.

3 Appeals

Logos: this refers to the logic or reasoning contained within an argument or appeal. It’s the intellectual nuts and bolts of writing that appeals to a reader’s sense of rationality. A statistic or claim that is patently wrong or doesn’t make sense can be fatal, whereas well-made arguments and solid facts will win people over.

Pathos: this is an appeal to the emotions of the audience, and is often triggered by images, stories, metaphors. Advertising and web design are prime media for this type of appeal. If you can touch your audience’s emotions and get them sympathising with the topic, you’re in good shape.

Ethos: this refers to the character of the writer that comes through, which has a strong affect on the impression the audience gets and colours their judgement about the writing or the website.  This is easy to overlook, but it’s absolutely crucial for building a reputation. The audience needs to feel that the writer (or the business behind the website) is trustworthy and knowledgeable — and this includes using good grammar!

The Web

I’ve talked primarily about writing here, but you’re astute to think that Rhetoric applies much more widely, especially in today’s world. Every website is a persuasive act through its use of text and visuals– and through the interactivity that’s built within it (e.g., if a user clicks a button, it’s because something about the site has persuaded him or her to do it).  Invention, arrangement and style all apply completely to the design and layout of a site; and every designer and content creator uses the various tools and techniques at their disposal to make appeals to the site visitor.

The next time you go browsing on the web and stop to look more closely at a site and read its content, ask yourself what made you stop. See if you can recognise the types of appeals that are working on you.  And see if you can use these successes to improve your own site.

I would love to hear about sites you’ve found that make effective appeals. Please include a link and describe why they’re effective. (But no spam — I moderate all comments)

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Nancy Weitz

Nancy is Director at Architela and specialises in internet strategy, collaborative learning and user-centred design

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8 Social Media Strategy Mistakes for Businesses

This is a summary post that highlights a useful and interesting article from another blog — in this case: Eight Ways to Ruin Your Social-Media Strategy on the BNET management website.

Although not all commenters agree on the details of this post, the general advice is sound: social media is not easy to use well. If you want to get it right, you need to put lots of time into using it and significant thought into your strategy of how to use it. The following are eight things to avoid:

Mistake 1: Pretend you can do without it.

Social media is here to stay, and the rocketing growth of some outlets makes it foolish to ignore them. Don’t get left behind.

Mistake 2: Play down the costs.

Although the individual accounts may be free and advertising within them inexpensive, social media is costly in time and effort. Eventually, however these costs pay off.

Mistake 3: Act like you own the conversation

Don’t treat social media like your own pulpit and blast away with heavy-handed sales tactics. It’s a conversation, and you’ll use it to best advantage to listen to what your customers are saying. This kind of market research is worth it’s weight in gold for an organisation that really want to meet its potential.

Mistake 4: Fear empowering your employees.

If you trust your employees with telephones, trust them with social media.  Let them help you create a reputation for responsive customer service.

Mistake 5: Assume you have little to learn.

Hubris is fatal — businesses that take to heart what they read about themselves in social media can use the experience to make great improvements.

Mistake 6: Take negative feedback personally.

There will always be gripes and complaints, but a company that makes an effort to address individual customer problems will see their reputation for service rise.

Mistake 7: Fret about return on investment.

It’s very hard to measure ROI in social media, but that shouldn’t stop you from keeping an eye on brand engagement in the various sites.

Mistake 8: Underestimate the power of seemingly small efforts.

You may sometimes thinking you’re shouting into the wilderness, but even small things can be picked up by masses of people.

For more information and specific examples, please visit the original post: Eight Ways to Ruin Your Social-Media Strategy.

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Nancy Weitz

Nancy is Director at Architela and specialises in internet strategy, collaborative learning and user-centred design

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