The other day I decided to count how many emails I received in one day. I had over 100 emails in my inbox, which to me, is too many. But what startled me more is that about 35% of those emails were non-essential emails. They were updates from Twitter, Facebook, Newsletters, Google Alerts, etc. They were emails that I didn’t need now–and maybe never. I shuddered at the thought of the loss productivity to “processing” these non-essentials throughout the day, and I decided to do something about it.

The answer:

OtherInBox allows you to create alternate email addresses for non-essential emails that then get delivered to your OtherInBox instead of your real inbox. OtherInBox.com will send you a daily summary of these emails so you can quickly scan the non-essential emails and act accordingly (ignoring them, logging into otherinbox.com and viewing them, etc.).

Bottom line: Proactively manage your inbox by getting rid of your non-essential emails for greater productiveness. Isn’t the web great?

What role will the web play in 2009? Here are some thoughts:

1. Web investments up, print advertising down. Companies, as they become more and more comfortable with the web, will begin moving their print advertising dollars to the web. We’re seeing (and have been seeing) the decline of the newspaper and Yellow Page ad spend decreases.

2. More strategic, dynamic web sites. Brochure or static web sites will become passe. Companies will better leverage the web by integrating their web objectives with their functional business objectives. In other words, companies will integrate their web site more into their operations in 2009.

3. Mobile. Companies will begin to embrace mobile applications throughout 2009 as they realize their customers are there, and they want content delivered where ever or whatever device they are on. Blackberry applications will catch on as the iPhone’s App Store Applications begin to mature.

4. The Leaders Embrace Analytics. It gets a lot of lip service, but companies truly don’t look at their statistics. Leading companies will get a competitive edge by reviewing their statistics, understanding them and making adjustments.

5. Full-Time Web Marketer. From search engines to branded web sites to social media, companies will realize they will need a full time, in house “web master” (as they called it in the olden days) to help manage their company’s web assets as well as work with interactive firms to leverage the web.

Bottom Line: The economy is changing and companies will be looking to do business smarter and more efficiently. The web will be pushed in 2009 as a business platform.

Image Credit: http://flickr.com/photos/spursfan_ace/1162117754/

The holiday season inevitably involves lists of many kinds. Lists of gifts, guests, grocery items, resolutions, and the list goes on and on. This year, we have created a new list: “Top Ten Things Merge is Thankful for in 2008″. Because there are so many things to be thankful, it was tough, but we narrowed it down to the top ten. Some of them are personal, some of them are edible, but they all attribute to the success of Merge in one way or another. We’ve made our list, and checked it twice, and here’s our top ten:

10. Wii
We are thankful for our Wii partly because it’s just good clean fun. However, it is also a useful tool for encouraging camaraderie between employees, team building and always help jumpstart creative juices for brainstorm sessions

9. Networking Events
Networking events are an integral part of Merge’s business development philosophy. Not only has Merge met clients through these events, we have also found vendors and built valued relationships with members of the community.

8. Office in Downtown Greenville
Merge is fortunate enough to be located on W. North Street in Downtown Greenville. Aside from our actual location, Merge is thankful for our office. Our new office has allowed us the much needed room to hire more team members and meet with prospects and clients.

7. Free Social Media Outlets
Merge is extremely thankful for the growing popularity of social media outlets such as FaceBook and Twitter. Using these two web sites, Merge has been able to become extremely accessible to clients, prospects, and business people in Greenville, as well as all over the country.

6. Peanut Brittle and Cinnamon Disks
Merge is thankful this holiday for these two food items because they help keep employees happy and they just taste better during this time of year.

5. Downtown Greenville
The scenery and “vibe” are among the many reasons we delighted to call Downtown Greenville our home. As for business, it is a great central location to meet both prospects and clients. We also love the coffee shops and restaurants in the downtown area.

4. Business and Personal Development Events
Being a member of the Chamber of Commerce allows us to take advantage of many events throughout the year that facilitate both business and personal development. These events allow Merge to learn from the best of the best, who also happen to be our peers.

[Here’s the part where we start to get sentimental on you.]

3. Merge Employees
Our employees are the core of Merge and are responsible for sustaining our coveted Merge culture. Each of our employees are talented in their own right and amazing team players that work together to produce the web sites that Merge is known for.

2. Merge Clients
We like happy clients, enough said (see our client list in on our Portfolio page). We are thankful that our clients have chosen us to grow their company online and entrusted us to guide them to achieve their business goals.

1. Merge Families
We are sincerely thankful for our families who are both supportive and understanding of the demands of providing excellent web services. When we have to stay at work until 10pm to ensure we meet a deadline for a client, our families welcome us home with open arms. Many of them are also involved in Merge and even attend some of those networking events that we are so thankful for.

So how does Social Media (and the web) affect business on a typical day? Find out below as I document a relatively normal Saturday.

1:00 pm. I drop my daughter off at a birthday party somewhere in Simpsonville, SC. I have two hours to kill and I don’t know where I am, so I pull up Google Maps Mobile on my cell phone to find a Starbucks.

1:10 pm. I’m heading in the direction of the Starbucks and I’m thinking about what I’ll work on while I’m there. I have my laptop with me and will need Wi-fi. I then realize that I don’t think Starbucks has free Wi-Fi. Sitting at a stop light, I pull up the browser on my phone and search for “Wi-fi free Starbucks.” I find out it’s free for AT&T DSL customers. That’s not me. I look up from my phone and see a Panera Bread across the intersection. Bingo, they have free Wi-fi.

1:17pm. Coffee in hand, I fire off a tweet to Twitter: “[adamlandrum] is at Panera Bread because I don’t know if Starbuck’s wi-fi is free or not. Not offering free wi-fi these days is a bad business move.” (Social Media score: Panera +1, Starbucks -1).

1:19pm. I get these responses from Twitter almost immediately:

“sellphone @adamLandrum Starbucks is NOT free wi-fi, but Liquid Highway certainly is!”
(Social Media Score: Liquid Highway +1, Starbucks -2).

“prattlingon @adamlandrum Why should anyone pay for wifi when free wifi is so readily available. Read @ their wacky pricing plan here: http://bit.ly/v2XC”
(Social Media Score: Starbucks -5).

“squeaky starbucks is free for iPhone users, just on the iPhone though”
(Social Media Score: iPhone +1, Starbucks still -5).

5:30pm. My wife and I prepare to head downtown for the Sypmphony with PULSE in the Arts. We haven’t decided where to eat, and on the way downtown I pull up Google Maps Mobile again and simply search for “Restaurants.” American Grocery pulls up with 5 reviews and an average of a 4.9 stars. I click the phone number on my Blackberry and call to make sure we can get in.

(Social Media Score: Google’s Review + Google Maps + Integrated Phone Number = +5 for American Grocery)

6:37pm. I take a picture of my wife at American Grocery and send it as a tweet using TwitPic. 50 people view the photo from American Grocery within the hour.

7:30pm. We’re off to the symphony. I tweet about it, and get funny responses like “be sure to duck when you hear the gong” from Facebook.

9:15 pm. Intermission at the symphony. We slip out and head to Restaurant O. My tweet letting folks know our intentions, gets broadcasted to Twitter and Facebook using TwitterMail.

9:38pm. The wife of the manager of Restaurant O see’s my status on Facebook and know that we’re at his restaurant.

Claudia via Facebook: “You could send me a twit pic of hubby at O”

Never meeting Bruce, I locate the manager and show him the email from his wife on my phone via Facebook. It’s a little awkward, but I ask if I can take his picture. 51 views later…

(Social Media Score: Restaurant O +7)

10:14pm. My brother from Evergreen, CO comments on my status in Facebook:
“Facebook updates while on a date? Lame.” Todd Landrum at 10:14pm November 15

I respond: “Todd, welcome to social media. Business or Personal? This happened to be a business event turned into a date…so fb updates permissible :).”

Recap: Is Social Media personal or business? For the most part, I was simply chronicling a “personal” day/evening (we were going to a networking event PULSE in the Arts, so it was part business). However, these companies were affected, good or bad, by me simply recording my experiences: Panera, Starbucks, Liquid Highway, Apple, The Greenville Symphony, American Grocery and Restaurant O.

Bottom line:Through the convergence of mobile technology and social media, your company is going to be discussed, promoted, slammed, etc. (in real time). Are you ready for the groundswell?

Social Media is allowing us to tell the world who we really are. It’s been fun to watch people I know from high school post pictures of their kids, to see business colleagues [personal] status updates and see another side of an employee I wouldn’t have gotten to know.

Social Media is for the passionate. What I see is those who using social media are passionate about their careers. Social medialites are accused of being selfish little people who just want to talk about themselves. Instead, I say they’re passionate about what they do and therefore are almost always engaged in the conversation.

Social Media perhaps has caused personal and business lines to blur, or rather, perhaps Social Media has enabled the passionate to be, well, passionate. People say, “How’s your work life, your personal life or your spiritual life?” They’re all one life, you can’t separate them. Have a bad day at work, try not bringing it home. Have a bad day at home, good luck not bringing it to work. The truth is these major buckets of life create one life. The web and social media are letting us see a whole person instead of just the business person.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could just shout to the world and tell everyone who you really are and what you really love, regardless if it’s a business associate, your dad or a fellow church member? Be passionate. Use Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter to tell the world who you really are and join the passion converstation.

Picture Credit: http://directmarketingobservations.com/2008/08/15/10-wordles-of-your-peers-do-they-fit/

There are generally two ways to approach a web development process:

(1) Informal, or
(2) Formal

An informal style wants little if any planning. At the end of the project, the informal style wants a web site. They say, “I don’t know what I like, but I know what I don’t like.” The informal wants a pretty web site, but they don’t expect it to do much. “We just need an online presence, you know, a brochure,” is commonly heard. The informal doesn’t want to pay much for a web site. And why should they? “It’s not that hard. I mean, my nephew could do it.”

I will be the first to say, the informal web site process has its place. Pretty, brochure web sites that create an online awareness are valid. These sites should be done quickly and inexpensively for web firms who want to serve that market.

Merge, on the other hand, focuses on the formal process. The formal process strategically plans a web site before designing anything. The formal wants to know what we’re trying to accomplish, why we’re trying to accomplish that and how. A formally planned web site could and usually will incur more hours in planning then it takes the informal to complete the entire project. The formal focuses on ROI. A development process is key to the formal in order to make sure all stake holders are on the same page throughout the project. The formal knows that the web site is a means to an end, and not the end objective of the project itself.

Are you an informal or formal? Again, either is fine, but it does define what type of firm you should work with.

Bottom line: If you seek results and want a strategic approach to the web, look for a firm that specializes in the formal process. If you “just” want a web site, an informal process will better suit you.

Can you name the 3.5 thinks your web customers want? Have you strategically designed your web site to give it to them? Here are the three things your customers want:

1. Trust. If your user doesn’t know you from Adam, then they’re looking for something to establish some level of trust. Whether it’s a client list, your 50 years of experience or a highly professional design, they want to know that they can trust you. Hint: Trust can and should be built from many facets. Of the examples above, communicating all three would be helpful in this regard.

2. Value. It’s called the law of reciprocity. Your web prospect is looking for some value before they contact you. Give them some important content (in the form of a blog, newsletter, webinar, white paper, power point presentation, etc.) that is, well, valuable. Don’t just ask them to “contact us.” Give them something first, so they’re compelled to contact you.

3. Solutions. Your prospect is visiting your web site because they either have a problem or a perceived problem. They want you to solve that problem! But unfortunately, they couldn’t find any hint to a solution on your web site. Identify what problems your company can solve, and then build your web site and content around those solutions. You’ll find a higher response rate if you do so.

And the last 1/2 your customers want:

3.5 Personality. They want to do business with a company they like. Not some sterile, clean, professional no-name, stand-for-nothing, boring company. They want a company with a personality. Panache. Attitude. Something other than corporate. Think Starbucks, Nike, Apple. Inject your personality into your web site and you’ll start doing business with people who like you!

Bottomline: Customers want 3.5 things: They’ve gotta trust you. They want some sort of value upfront. They need to know you can provide the solution and lastly…they’ve gotta like you. How’s your web site doing?

Image Credit: http://flickr.com/photos/webchicken/1352009526/

The user of your web site is not regulated to that of a hot prospect. You may have “strangers,” window shoppers, vendors, customers, the media, etc. as a potential user.

The question is, how do you speak to such a diverse user group that has different wants and needs?

Here are three suggestions:

-Offer Different Content. A “stranger” probably wants different information than a hot prospect. A stranger wants to know: Who are you? A hot prospect may be more interested in your process. As such, offer a fact sheet (PDF download) about your company for the stranger, and offer a “Our Process” download for the hot prospect.

-Blog. A blog is simply a conversation between you and your web site’s users. Strategically write posts that speak to each of the different users, and start the conversation.

-FAQ Section. An oldy but goody. Have an FAQ (”frequently asked questions) section on your site that addresses the questions of each user group.

Remember, the user is coming to your web site with a problem. Help them solve that problem, and a stranger or hot prospect will become a customer. But you’ll need to speak to each of their specific needs in order to give them the answers they’re looking for.

Bottomline: Web sites shouldn’t be one-dimensional. Make your web site multi-dimensional to effectively meet the different needs of different users.

My last three business correspondences / communication tools went like this:

Facebook -> Twitter -> Facebook.

-The first Facebook correspondence was used to setup a meeting.

-The Twitter communication was used to get introduced to a potential employee, and

-The last Facebook message I RSVP’d for a networking event.

Could each of these three correspondences happen outside of social media? Sure. But the real question is would they have happened outside of a social media network?

Knowing where to begin in the social media game can be a daunting task for your business. How do I take my business there? Where do I start? Which sites do I use?

Before you answer any of those questions, start participating. Get a Facebook account and load up Twitter. Do it for a month or so and get acquainted. You might not have to do anything for your business but simply participate.

Business is happening in these online networks. By simply being there will be benefit enough for you company.

Bottomline: You don’t have to be overwhelmed by what, where and how to join the Social Media fray. Simply start participating by getting a Facebook and Twitter account.

Image credit: http://flickr.com/photos/fredcavazza/

Because technology moves so fast, sometimes we have to rely on known conventions and best-practices to make decisions. For instance, you may have heard of these three conventional measures:

-Home Pages Shouldn’t Scroll.

-Pay-per-click ads are fraught with click-fraud.

-Search Engine Optimization requires continual ongoing maintenance because algorithms change.

The danger with conventions or “best-practices” is that we follow them blindly, but never challenge the underlying assumptions. You’ll hear web design firms, employees and maybe even yourself espousing such truths. But if you stop and challenge them, you might find that, although there is wisdom behind these conventions, they should be treated as guidelines and not hard-fast rules. You may also find that they just aren’t true.

So let’s take a look at the three examples above:

No scrolling. Whether it’s home pages or even internal pages, it’s been a theory that 50% of users don’t scroll. That may have been true in 1997, but I think we’re all use to scrolling now. At Merge, we have technology that allows us to record and watch live users using your web site. We noted one site that had scrolling and noted almost 100% of users scrolled. Here’s a great article that both challenges and disproves this convention.

Click Fraud. This causes many business not to use Pay-per-click advertising as a viable mean for driving traffic to their web site. Although I’m sure click fraud occurs and I don’t trust that “Google has click fraud measures in place” (or if they do, I’ve never seen them do anything about it), the fact is, fraud is a risk of every other business, so why does it stop people cold in their tracks when it comes to Pay-per-click?

Would you not open a clothing store because there’s a chance somebody might steal a pair of pants? I’ve got news for you: Over the course of your business, 100’s of pairs of pants will be stolen. It’s called shrinkage (not the Seinfeld kind) and it’s a cost of doing business.

Sure, there may be click fraud. But it’s a cost of doing business. At the end of the day you can still see the results of a Pay-per-click campaign and decide if the ROI is there–whether click fraud is happening or not.

Changing Algorithms. Doesn’t this sound both sexy and scary at the same time? I admit, I’ve heard this stupid saying come out of my mouth before. And again, this may be true for super-highly competitive search terms, changing algorithms may alter the position of your ranking. But Merge’s experience is that once we get a web site to a ranking that is sufficient, we typically don’t have to do much more to keep it. What’s been done is done. We recently had a client move from #1 to #2 in Google, and we spent about an hour and got them back to #1 in a week or two. They’ve held the #1 spot for over 5 years. If you’re paying a lot of money for SEO maintenance, I challenge you to stop paying that money and watch what happens. I bet you’ll see you’ll probably stay just where you are.

Bottomline: Challenge conventions and treat them more as guidelines versus hard-fast rules.