Testing Website Usability

A good website design is not only visually stimulating, but it must also have functionality. Potential customers can be intimidated by overly complicated sites, and become frustrated when they are unable to find what they want, whether it be information or a product.

Testing usability is a vital part of all of Meta Media, Inc.'s website design or redesign projects. We test and retest every aspect of a site to ensure a great overall user experience for all of our client's websites.

Mashable.com recently posted an interesting read providing an in-depth exploration of this topic. The article emphasizes the importance of assessing a website from the user's perspective, not just a marketing/business angle. Check out their article: "22 Essential Tools for Testing Your Website’s Usability."

Cupcakes on a Casual Friday!

At the end of the day, we all manage to get through the conference calls, email updates and deadlines, but what's more important is we still like working with each other!

Meta Media, Inc. truly is a special place to work. Finding a reason to celebrate isn't that hard around here; birthdays, new accounts and Fridays are always great reasons.

Friday is usually everyone's favorite day because we can dress casually, but last week we had an additional surprise. Michele, our VP of Marketing & E-Commerce treated everyone to delicious cupcakes from Piece of Cake!

Cupcake break! Here's a picture of Michele and our Creative Web Designer extraordinaire, Doug.

Here we have our enthusiastic Content Writer and budding starlet, Amy.

Key members of our sales staff Dallas and Ronell take some time to discuss their favorite cupcake flavors.

Lastly, we have our Content Writer/Administrative Assistant, Cindi. She didn't want to miss out on the fun!

Keep checking for more updates. Next on the agenda is the Meta Media, Inc. Halloween Party!

Upcoming Facebook Changes

As some facebook users are still reluctantly adjusting to the recent changes made affecting their news feed, even more changes are on the way. Facebook has plans to expand the popular “Like” feature by adding additional “Read,” “Listened” and “Watched” buttons.

From a marketing and advertising perspective, these new features will allow facebook to provide more detailed data to companies.

Will these upcoming changes encourage society’s current facebook addiction by increasing activity and involvement, or will these changes create a massive negative backlash? With every change comes a risk of alienation, but the new information could help a lot of companies with more detailed targeted ads.

http://www.newser.com/story/129003/new-facebook-buttons-coming-watched-read-listened.html

Daily Deal Site Craze is Winding Down

Groupon, Living Social and other daily deal site competitors have been experiencing significant drops in popularity and revenue recently. Facebook decided to end its version of daily deals, just after four months of testing.

Daily deal sites managed to overcome the stigma of coupons, but it seems their novelty is wearing off. From a marketing perspective, which deal sites are still worth recommending to clients, and for how long?

Groupon is hoping to move in a new direction with Groupon Now, a real-time mobile application that allows users to search for deals near them. Real-time deal apps might be enough to captivate consumers, but based on recent data customers are definitely looking for the next stage.

http://mashable.com/2011/08/30/one-too-many-daily-deals/?WT.mc_id=obinsite

MySpace Takes a New Marketing Direction

Remember MySpace? The MySpace brand conjures images of sparkly graphics, goofy page designs and top ten friend lists. For years, people have been switching over to use facebook and Twitter for social media, and Google+ has recently gained popularity as well.

The old MySpace is outdated, but their new marketing executives are attempting to revive the site with a new music marketing strategy. Entertainer Justin Timberlake is serving as a creative director, and partnerships have been formed with iTunes, Spotify and Vevo.

Re-branding a well known name like MySpace can be difficult because not only does a company have to compete with its competitors, but it has to compete with its former archaic self.

Do you think music-focused marketing is enough to save MySpace?

Revamped MySpace Will Have iTunes, Spotify and Vevo in Its Crosshairs

Online Social Shopping Trends

Recent data found while studying the behavior and habits of online shoppers revealed three important trends, according to ecommerce-guide.com

Trend #1: Online Shoppers Research Products before Purchasing

Most online shoppers begin their shopping experience by conducting research through a search engine, like Google. This is why search engine optimization (SEO) is so important for ecommerce sites and online retailers

Trend #2: Other Customer Reviews and Social Media Comments Matter

A good or bad review can influence whether an online shopper makes a purchase. Shoppers also look into products and companies that have a lot of facebook “likes.”

Trend #3: Consumers Are Using Mobile Phones In-Stores

The recent study revealed that more customers are scanning barcodes and comparing in-store prices to those found on Amazon.com. Customers are also taking advantage of coupons found on their phones.

Overall, the latest data reveals how crucial it is for businesses to stay connected with consumers and have a strong online presence.

3 Consumer Shopping Trends Online Retailers Need to Know

Meta Media, Inc. Welcomes Cars.IAAI.com as a New Client

ATLANTA, GA (August 10, 2011) – Meta Media, Inc., a full-service firm specializing in marketing, website design and development, e-commerce and usability techniques, welcomes Cars.IAAI.com as its latest client. Cars.IAAI, the vehicle purchasing and auctioning division of Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc., has hired Meta Media, Inc. to design and implement a natural search engine optimization strategy.

“We are very excited to work with Cars.IAAI.com,” said Michele Fontanelli Arnett, VP of Marketing and E-Commerce at Meta Media, Inc. “The strategic leaders of this website are seeking to increase business and build brand awareness on a national level, and we plan to execute our proven marketing strategies to help them achieve their goals.”

Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. is a large national company, with over 150 locations throughout the United States focused on purchasing and auctioning vehicles. Cars.IAAI.com pays cash for all vehicle makes and annually models and auctions more than one million vehicles.

Meta Media, Inc. plans to utilize a variety of search engine optimization techniques designed to provide additional exposure for Cars.IAAI.com, with the ultimate goals of increasing both brand awareness and sales. The main strategy will focus on content, tags, linking and other targeted SEO tactics, which will be implemented and maintained by the Meta Media, Inc. account team.

About Meta Media, Inc.

Meta Media, Inc. is a full-service firm, with expertise in traditional and non-traditional, ROI-based marketing strategies, including website design, usability, front and back-end development, marketing, analytics and tracking, reporting, testing and optimization. In addition to Cars.IAAI.com, the company’s clients include Dr. Comfort, Aaron’s, The ENT Institute, Pope & Howard, P.C. Law Firm and many others. You can read more about the company online at http://www.metamediainc.com.