The Big Picture: Data Visualization Trend and Web Design

Wikipedia defines Data Visualization as "the study of the visual representation of data, meaning 'information that has been abstracted in some schematic form, including attributes or variables for the units of information'.”  Basically saying that data visualization (or information graphics) make it easier for us to understand complex information. One of the earliest and most famous information graphics ever created is Charles Joseph Minard’s depiction of the collapse of Napoleon's Army in Russia, created in 1869, and shown here:

Minard came from a background in mathematics and eventually moved into civil engineering, all the while collecting statistical information and displaying it graphically. Minard's information graphic of Napoleons' Army later became the inspiration for Google's Flow Visualization, which enables users to visualize and quickly find insights about how visitors flow through their site.

Modern Infographics 
Early forms of information design were adapted into the "information age" and used in modern digital applications. Web site analytics, stock charts and public opinions all use various forms of graphics to organize and display complex information in a way that has never been communicated before. Visual.ly, an online community where people contribute and share their own data visualizations (ranging from The Evolution of the Geek as pictured right, to Communication Through The Ages), elevates data visualization to a truly artistic level.

As you can see, people are finding all different types of ways to display information and make sense of an incomprehensible amount of data.

Here are a few more examples of data visualization to explore:

Balloons Of Bhutan (http://balloonsofbhutan.org)

Jonathan Harris traveled to Bhutan in 2007 to collect data about happiness, of all things.  Harris mapped people’s happiness using surveys and used balloons to paint a picture of the happiness level of that country.  The result is absolutely stunning.    



Feltron (http://feltron.com) Nicholas Feltron, a one-man census of sorts, creates ‘tapestries’ of annual activity, represented in a series of graphs, maps, statistics, and more. Feltron is also a part of the design team at Facebook.

VistorVille (http://www.visitorville.com)
VisitorVille, a web traffic monitoring program for Windows, lets page owners view their traffic in a real-time, virtual street grid. Owners not only visualize traffic, but are able to glean detailed information about each unique visitor.

by Matthew Ell
Liqui-Site Designs 
Experience our commitment to you, from our very first conversation.™

Facebook Plots A Comeback

Feedback Friday: Weekly Social Media Round-Up.  Three developments Facebook has in the works.

Timeline Redesign

After seeing its stocks plummet on its IPO launch, Facebook is considering a re-design of Timeline.  Now in beta testing, the new look will showcase basic user info like age, city, and occupation in the cover photo, and in large, white text.  The redesign will also change ‘Likes’ into ‘Favorites’; add a summary tab of the major events in a user’s life; and condense the Friends, Photos, Map and other apps into a smaller space below the cover photo.  Facebook issued a mild response to the news, saying “We can confirm this is a small test, but don’t have anything further to share at this time.”  PC World has a first look at how the new Timeline might appear, and I personally have to say it hasn't changed enough.  It looks dated and sort of reminds me of a bad PowerPoint presentation. What do you think?

Pictures and Mobile

AdAge reports today that at the same time Facebook shelled out $1 billion dollars to acquire Instagram, it was working on its own photo app, Facebook Camera.  And days prior to its IPO, the site also acquired LightBox, a mobile photo-sharing app for Android.  Looking to photo and mobile technologies is solid thinking.  Facebook became notable in part for its photo uploading and tagging capabilities, and with the IPO failure, experts speculated investors should move their money to mobile.  Facebook’s major struggle is profit, as a majority of users have switched to the largely ad-free Facebook mobile app in place of web browsing. One idea for growth is that Facebook team up with certain photo-centric tech startups to make photo sharing more interactive, functional, and applicable to both consumers and businesses.  Facebook will need extreme crowdsourcing in order to roll out a deeper photo-sharing program, meaning it will need its users to actively tag products, outfits,  other people, literally anything, in order to achieve functionality at the Facebook-level.   AdAge foresees this being a problem, but  I agree with Luminate CEO, Chas Edwards, that people feel rewarded for tagging because it offers a sort of “social currency”. (If you need evidence, look at the Library industry, which has successfully used crowd sourcing to share entire digital collections).  The big question is will people want to tag products? If Pinterest is any indication, I think, yes. 

Privacy

On Tuesday, Facebook agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by angry users who claim their privacy was violated when they were featured in Facebook’s ‘Sponsored Stories’ without their permission.  The users allege that checking in to a location on Facebook, or using the sites “Like” button could force users to take part in Sponsored Stories advertising.  Facebook says the intent of Sponsored Stories is to “broaden your reach by allowing your fans to help their friends discover your brand.”  But earlier this month, Facebook's head of privacy policy, Erin Egan, hinted in a Web chat that Facebook would begin serving targeted ads to users on third-party websites- meaning the “Your Friend Sam likes Liqui-Site Designs” could be seen not just on Facebook, but across the web. Facebook is clearly mining and analyzing data beyond what users typically believe they’ve consented to in its Privacy Terms. Why is Facebook not addressing changes to its Policy alongside other announcements of redesign, mobile, and photo plans? Privacy was one of the biggest concerns to Facebook’s investors pre-IPO and they are likely to be more critical of possible Facebook lawsuits during the next phase of Facebook. 

Lastly, Mark Zuckerberg got married this week! So maybe some of that newlywed bliss will lead to creativity and innovation (and user privacy) at Facebook.   Here’s a picture of his wife, Priscilla Chan, and their dog Beast—who has his own Facebook page!

by Karelisa Falkner
Liqui-Site Designs 
Experience our commitment to you, from our very first conversation.™

User Experience, From Search to Shoes

I talk to clients every day about the importance of user experience (UX). Because, after all, the experience that their customers have online directly correlates to conversion rate and sales revenue.

Recently, I had two VERY different experiences when buying from two similar online stores. One experience solidified my loyalty to an online brand, and the other experience left me frustrated, annoyed and vocal about it. And it all came down to user experience, from the website interface itself, shipping cost and checkout, to email notifications and delivery of my purchase.

Experience A (www.Zappos.com): The very best interface when wanting to sort by size, color, style, you name it! Free shipping both ways, so there's no risk on my part if something doesn't fit or if I just don't like it. I phoned with a question about returning a winter jacket for a larger size, and the customer service rep could not have been more helpful. I actually told three people what a pleasure the experience was! I'll definitely continue to be a customer for life.

Experience B (www.AldoShoes.com): A limited sorting ability forced me to spend more time navigating the site than looking at shoes and adding them to my cart. When I found what I thought was the perfect pair (okay, it was actually 3 pair!), I went to check out -- only to find that I had to pay for shipping. Very few sites make you pay for shipping anymore, so that nearly made me abandon my cart. But, the rate was only around $5 so I proceeded, but would not have if it was any higher. I paid and hoped the shoes would arrive quickly. I received a confirmation email immediately, as expected. Then, another email came through a few hours later... to let me know that the company cancelled one pair of shoes that I ordered because they had since sold out. Wait, what? I spent valuable time shopping for shoes for an upcoming business event, I ordered, I paid, and now they've cancelled part of my order? Why wasn't there a low stock notice on the site? Why wasn't I compensated for their error or the inconvenience? When the shoes arrived, I kept one pair and sent the other pair back. Even that was a pain, and I had to pay for that as well. My user experience from search to shoes was so frustrating that I've let others know that Zappos.com should be their first destination.

So, not only will I never revisit or order from Aldo Shoes again, but when the exact same experience was had by my wife, she said in response, "Where is Zappos when you need them?!" I laughed and said, "One click away".

by Kelly Campbell
Liqui-Site Designs 
Experience our commitment to you, from our very first conversation.™

Social Media Plagiarism

Why it is  so important to be original in social media 

The other week I was reading an article on Social ROI case studies to give me some ideas for a blog post.  I jotted down the major points and the best examples, and moved on to the comments section to see what other people were saying.

A number of commenters took issue with the fact that the writer had “borrowed” a phrase without crediting the original author.  The phrase was “media agnostic” and it belongs to Oliver Blanchard- a pioneer and sort of social media scholar (and publisher of “Social ROI: Managing and Measuring Social Media Efforts in Your Organization”).  The term refers to putting social media metrics in context.

This begs my question: should we be concerned about social media plagiarism?

There are some major challenges to being original when writing about social media.  One is that many readers are looking for guidance- or best practice- to elevate their own social media, or their company’s.  Social media “experts” should be working to craft social media advice that is based on direct experience, studies, or analysis.  But as you may have noticed, a lot of so-called social media guidelines are vague, offering tips like “listen” or “engage”, without showing how to actually do so (or not do so). 

Then there is the fact that people reading about social media are probably the same people who share social media.  The New Yorker did a parody of this phenomenon this month:

“Hmm . . . What kind of ominous, doctored statistic can I make up? Did you know that twenty-four per cent of Facebook users have unwittingly divulged their credit-card information to third-party venders? Or that iPhone owners are more likely to suffer from thumb-stress-induced depression? Or that having an Android means you possess the gene for racism?”

The American Library Association- ever the sticklers for proper citation-even tried to curb uncited tweeting. This year they established a formal citation for referencing tweets.  Meaning that in the off chance this blog post was ever used in some college student's paper somewhere, it should technically be cited as:

Falkner, Karelisa (@liqui_site).

“Social Media Plagiarism”. May 18, 2:00 P.M. EST. Tweet.

But not citing the source in a Tweet or Facebook share is more forgivable than in an online essay (even if it is just published on a blog).

The biggest challenge to being original in social media writing, as I see it, is vocabulary.  There simply are not enough words in the social media lexicon.  And unfortunately there is no social media thesaurus (that I know of!). Writers who make up their own terms come across as out of touch and not credible.

I think these few terms have stuck simply because so much of the social media language is buzzwords, trends, and catchphrases- they all have a short life.   And information is not distributed like it used to be a decade ago.  Content farming means that a handful of big media companies are generating the bulk of web articles.  That content circulates through search engines and the source gets lost with each new "reporting". You can’t expect language to evolve in this scenario. 

Every industry has its own “speak” and social media is no different.   But in other fields, like medicine, when the research changes, so too does the terminology.  Will we still be stuck with same social media lingo 5 years from now because we were too busy to share the message without the messenger?

I think social media would benefit greatly from being more transparent about where ideas come from, what they’re grounded in, and who the true influencers are.  

by Karelisa Falkner
Liqui-Site Designs 
Experience our commitment to you, from our very first conversation.™

“That’s OUR Policy!”

How to Engage and Retain Clients or Customers Online 

So many companies spend so much time crafting their brand message, developing new ways to drive revenue, stretching every advertising dollar to receive “the most bang for the buck”, striving to close more business – but fall short when it comes to customer service.   

Once you get the customer, how do you treat them when an issue arises? In other words, how do you retain customers and clients? 

When a question or challenge arises, a customer never wants to hear “well, that’s our policy” which invokes a complete disregard for your business. Clearly not the best approach, considering that a client may already be dissatisfied.   

Most companies do not have a “customer retention policy” in place when dealing with a dissatisfied customer, but use phrases and terminology to simply get the customer off the phone. 

In a world where social media is part of our daily communications landscape, you may not lose one customer but countless numbers. This concept leads to Social Media PR / Brand Management ­– finding out what previous and existing customers, prospects and affiliates are saying about your brand.

Creating a strategy as to how to handle those comments, positive or negative, is an essential component of social media marketing strategy.

In order to service clients effectively first you must be a good listener and address the issue, challenge or need of the consumer.

Engagement in valuable discussion also prevents negative situations from reoccurring, if handled correctly.  If a particular issue is not something that can be corrected, then you may want to consider offering discounts on products or services to show appreciation, for example.  With this backup policy in place, even if the customer writes about his or her experience on any social media or opinion site, they would be more inclined to also explain what the company offered in terms of correction or compensation.

This turns a negative experience into a positive one.

It is important to learn how to solve issues as they arise rather than to wait for a “PR nightmare” to occur. Unfortunately, many brands fail in the face of the digital landscape (which is clearly here to stay), but it doesn’t have to be that way!  Be proactive, do the right thing, and your client/customer retention rate will be impacted positively and significantly.

That’s OUR Policy!

by Melissa Finnegan 
Liqui-Site Designs 
Experience our commitment to you, from our very first conversation.™

Feedback Friday: Social ROI In Dollars, Social-Search & More

In this week's edition of Feedback Friday - your weekly social media roundup - best and worst times to tweet; Bing pairs with Facebook; and software that measures Social ROI with actual dollars.

The best of times, the worst of times – to Tweet

Is there an optimal time to tweet or update Facebook? Link shortening service bit.ly released new data on the best and worst times to share data on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. According to the study, the prime time to post on Twitter is between 1 and 3 p.m., with the most potential between those hours on a Monday. For Facebook, shoot for 1-4 p.m., ideally on a Wednesday. Tumblr differs though, showing peak engagement between the hours of 4-7 p.m. And Tumblr is the only site that sees engagement carried over into the weekend. Although this is a nice nugget of information, it’s important not to apply it across the board. Knowing your brand audience and where, and when, they spend time online is much more worthwhile. Mashable has a great list of 5 tools to better time your tweets. Here’s a look at Liqui-Site’s Twitter engagement for example from a free service called WhenToTweet—and notice, it doesn’t match the bit.ly data.

Bing to launch social-search engine

Bing and Facebook are teaming up to boot search engine giant, Google, according to a release on the Microsoft News Center. Google is facing criticism over their foray into the social media world with Google +, as well as their new "Search Plus Your World" initiative—both of which muddy the waters of Google’s promise to deliver unbiased search results. Microsoft unveiled yesterday that Bing will be rolling out a new version of their search engine (available to US users  as early as June).  The new Bing will include a “social sidebar” that pulls in related information via Facebook (pictured right), and a “snapshot feature” that makes listings appear more vibrant. Microsoft believes the new features and layout will help users “leap from finding information to making quick, informed decision.” Accompanying the release are some key findings from Microsoft's “Internal Survey Research, Fall 2011” which attempt to support the new Bing design. One of the findings claims, “57 percent (of 1,400 customers surveyed) say their search sessions last longer than a day.” That’s a bit of a generalization! Obviously search time varies considerably depending on the task at hand. What Microsoft is trying to do is repackage search as the means to “get things done” vs. the means of quality information retrieval. Bing has a prime opportunity to differentiate itself from Google right now, but the social-search combination is more following in its footsteps. Social-search may be more than a trend, but I think people will tire of having their social network hanging around when they are trying to get things done, so to speak.

AgoraPulse

A new CRM platform called AgoraPulse now analyses Facebook brand page ROI in terms of actual dollars. This is big news, considering the latest social media surveys and reports indicate the number one question marketers have regarding social media is Social ROI, or how to measure the results of their social media efforts. I previously talked about  different ways to measure social media efforts (including that vague term “engagement”) and some of the Social ROI software available to marketers (ranging from the most basic conversation monitoring tools to the truly algorithmic discovery programs). But none delivered Social ROI currency. AgoraPulse is the best Facebook-specific Social ROI software I have tested to date, mainly because it segments Facebook brand-page data into key areas and offers pointed suggestions that enable brands to revise their social media strategy. AgoraPulse measures Social ROI in terms of qualification, interaction, reach, sentiment (that’s a new one), and yes, dollar return (in a one month period). The app has full social media marketing management capabilities including automated posting and analysis of business competitors. I highly recommend exploring this app. You can scan your company brand page for free by visiting their webpage and logging in with your Facebook user info.

Finally, some breaking barking local news on Facebook. 

by Karelisa Falkner
Liqui-Site Designs 
Experience our commitment to you, from our very first conversation.™

Feedback Friday: Social Advertising Gets Aggressive

Feedback Friday: Weekly Social Media Roundup: when search and social don't mix; social TV; Facebook conversion; and tablet magazines.   

Google+
 

Questions over whether or not Google should be experimenting in the social media world arose this week when Wil Wheaton (admission: I assumed they were referring to the character on The Big Bang Theory and not a little show called Start Trek) ranted on his Tumblr about Google+’s sneaky moves. The company replaced the YouTube “like” button with an icon for Google+, requiring users to join the network first. Google claims it was trying out different interfaces, but the move means that Google+ users will homogenize the popularity of YouTube videos. The misstep is one of many in Google’s social media strategy—the company already implemented Google+ pages into its search results as part of its “Search Plus Your World” plan, which author Steven Levy acutely points out “comes dangerously close to reneging on its original promise to provide unbiased links to those searching for information.” Some commenters are already vowing to switch to Bing.

Social TV

Have you seen the preview for the new Twilight movie- Breaking Dawn Part 2? Probably not, because you were too distracted by the giant #BreakingDawn scrawled across the screen to actually learn anything about the movie. But this integration of social media and television- Social TV- is a key component of the Fall TV programming schedule according to an article in USAToday. Networks are capitalizing on viewers real-time reactions to TV moments. According to Trenddr CEO Mark Ghuneim, posting comments about TV shows on Twitter, Facebook and other social platforms grew 194% from April 2011 to April 2012. While Fox leads the networks in terms of likes and followers on Facebook and Twitter, NBC, ABC, and the CW have their own apps that let views watch entire shows for free on smartphones and tablets. And interestingly the CW, which is targeted to a younger audience, is dead last in the Nielsen rankings but has a much bigger share of social media interaction. Taking advantage of social media savvy viewers is an obvious choice—it costs a mere percentage of typical TV show marketing, and generates viewership and word of mouth in a more organic way. And since Hulu does not yet offer shows for smart devices, networks are narrowing the divide to attract TV viewers and hype shows.

Converting Facebook Fans to Buyers
 

Forrester Research, Inc., one of the most respected sources when it comes to media analysis and reporting, released a new study called “The Facebook Factor: Quantifying the Impact of a Fan on Brand Interactions” which looks at 4 companies Facebook fan ROI—Best Buy, BlackBerry, Wal-Mart, and Coca-Cola. Forrester’s logistical model assesses how engaging with the brand on Facebook affects purchase, consideration, and recommendation of the brand. Results: a Facebook fan has a considerable higher probability of making all three of these brand interactions. Although Facebook fandom has the largest effect on purchase, marketers would be wise to focus on the “recommendation impact” of fans. For example BlackBerry Smartphone owners have an %87 probability of recommending the product to a friend, vs. %44 of non-fans. Of the four brands, Blackberry shows the most difference between Facebook fans and non-fans (based on 3,187 US online adults who own a smartphone). Forrester’s quantified report is welcome news to the social media ROI debate that is currently clouded with chatter. You can read the abridged blog version or download the full report.

Digital Magazines Demand Data 
 

Publishers of tablet-friendly magazine content are being pressured by print media buyers to produce more rigorous data about consumer engagement with tablet-friendly magazines. The 4A’s Print Media Committee (whose members include ad buyers) issued a letter to magazine publishers this week demanding accountability to questions like: how many tablet editions are purchased, how many are actually opened, how does the readership vary per issue, and how much time are people taking to read the issue? Ad buyers want to see data that separates readers who get tablet access as part of their print subscription package, and those who buy tablet-only subscriptions directly. For the record, the Association of Magazine Media (MPA) already developed a set of tablet metrics to drive advertising growth. It’s interesting to think about types of content that literally can’t translate to the tablet medium—like perfume scent seal advertisements. But if these ad concerns lead to quantified third-party data on tablet readership, I’d say it’s a double win.

by Karelisa Falkner
Liqui-Site Designs 
Experience our commitment to you, from our very first conversation.™

Debunking Social Media ROI Myths

Last week the Liqui-Site team traveled to Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York, to talk with administrators, faculty and students about social media.  We had a free-flowing, energetic Q & A style session with undergraduate and graduate students, who spanned such diverse majors as Communication Arts, Business, and Information Technology.

At the close of the evening, a professor approached us and commented to the effect of “Great presentation, but is there any way to actually measure the effect of social media?”

It was a perfectly timed question.  We had just finished an exhaustive search for a competitive Social ROI software system, and in the process came across a number of misleading statements about social media ROI.  Let’s debunk some social ROI myths.

Myth #1: Social ROI doesn’t exist.

In my opinion, there are two main reasons why some people still believe social ROI is not a real thing.  The first is that they expect the formula to be the same.  ROI is traditionally measured in terms of sales, minus the cost and time required in executing the campaign.  But social media is not just about sales it’s about engagement.  Sure-it’s an overused word, but it holds meaning.  Here are two measurements of social ROI that are often not factored into the equation: is your social media bringing in qualified leads, and is your social media staff productive? Engaged employees are more productive, creative, and less likely to leave their jobs. That means money saved on not training new people, and a level of engagement that consumers can tell is genuine. You can’t fake social engagement—your customers can tell if  you don’t care. The second reason people believe social ROI is fictitious is that they confuse page visits with true Social ROI. A single person who comments on a company blog and is greeted with an open ear by the company is likely to share the company across social networking sites and be a brand ambassador for life. That is social ROI, regardless of whether or not they bought anything. 

Myth #2: Social media and return on investment don’t mix.

Conversely, there are those who believe social media and ROI are at odds with each other.  These people believe that the value of social media rests primarily in its ability to facilitate conversation, while ROI is geared with the end result of sales.  Social media is not the means to an end.  Companies that use strategic social media marketing, integrated into the broader business plan, see results.  I would argue that social media is replacing word of mouth, and there is no doubt socialization of a brand leads to increased sales. People are inclined to share their brand preference on a blog or their Facebook and Twitter pages because it’s another opportunity to express their identity.  Yes, there will always be negative commenters, but it’s less difficult to extract the positive comments today. 

Myth #3: Companies that profit from social media got lucky.

The common thread among companies who saw social ROI is not luck, but customer service.  Companies that have used social media as their primary customer service platform are seeing measurable ROI.  Take BestBuy for example, where employees have the opportunity to help consumers via Twitter, responding to over 13,000 customer questions, concerns, and opinions. The Twitter feed (@twelpforce) now counts over 43,000 followers. The idea was a key value-add.  And it’s not just working for huge corporations.  Take a look at Seton Hall University, which relies on tuition for revenue. They took advantage of the fact that incoming freshmen jump to a school’s Facebook page to form impressions.  The University actively engaged in conversations to answer questions and guide incoming students.  They tagged the web traffic coming from Facebook to their website. Tuition coming from Facebook went up 18% and tuition deposits went up 25% - compared to schools not using Facebook. What about Kinaxis, a B2B supply chain management company that used 18 employee bloggers and focused on category thought-leadership to generate over 42,000,000 leads.  That’s 2,180,000 per blogger.  There are literally thousands of social media ROI case studies. If you don’t think that your business could be a case study, we’d love the chance to prove you wrong!

Myth #4: There are no tools that produce real metrics.

Acquiring a social ROI portal will not in itself deliver results.  A company must first and foremost value collaboration in its company culture.  That said there are several programs that gauge social ROI with deliverable metrics. 

As I mentioned earlier, Engage121 is capable of complex customer relationship measurements, cross-referencing, and intuitive data that leads to increased traffic and new influencers.  But it’s also expensive for a single business, and a big risk if you’re a social media beginner, or don’t have a fully conceptualized social media marketing strategy. 

There is also an emerging tier of mid-performing level social ROI systems, such as Sprout Social, Yap Social or Livefyre.  These are adequate for a self-employed or professional blogger types, but are really more conversation monitoring tools, rather than discovery tools. 

And then there are free services from HootSuite and others that organize your social media activity in one space, but have limited ability to manage a social media campaign.

Those who have dismissed social ROI have likely not had access to high-performance software or social media management services, for financial or other reasons.

Hopefully this clears up some of the confusion.  For more information on Liqui-Site’s Social ROI Program, visit http://www.liqui-site.com/Liqui-Site-Social-ROI or to familiarize yourself with social media ROI, I recommend downloading the white paper from SmartBrief at http://bit.ly/JLk4wW that can guide you through establishing Social ROI benchmarks. 

by Karelisa Falkner
Liqui-Site Designs 
Experience our commitment to you, from our very first conversation.™