Top 3 Reasons to Fire Your Web Designer

1). They’re holding your site hostage.

We are now in the CMS (content management system) era of web platforms where just about anyone can create new pages, update content or make rudimentary changes to websites. If your site was not setup on a CMS and your web designer takes weeks to implement changes, drop the hammer down and liberate yourself from their tyrannical reign.

2). You’re paying SEO Retainers Fees. SEO has changed a lot in recent years with Google, Bing and Yahoo! implementing social search to their algorithms drastically changing how results are delivered. Social search incorporates your activities on social networks and your relationships with others in those networks, their likes, recommendation, so on and so forth personalizing search results and ending the era of static rankings.

A number of web designers incorporate monthly SEO fees into their proposals that are a kin to highway robbery. Often times thousands of dollars per month to ‘maintain top page rankings on Google.’ Well riddle me this, if search results are now personalized how do you plan on accomplishing this? If you’re paying these types of fees to your current web master, cease immediately and commence with a strong social media program for your business.

3). They’re not mobile. The web is fully mobile and in order to service your consumers and be competitive in the market you must have a mobile version of your site. If this is beyond your current designer’s skill set then find one who is ready, willing and able. Oh, and Flash is out of date and an SEO killer.

Weapon of Influence, Why Reciprocity Rules

As a species, we possess triggers that we are almost powerless to resist and we respond to these triggers in specific and predictable ways. Knowing first, that these triggers exist and second how we are likely to respond is of immense value to salesmen and marketers alike.

One of the most powerful triggers is the reciprocity rule which says, “…we should repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.” - Robert B. Cialdini

When someone does you a favor, you feel an obligation to respond with a favor of equal or greater value. Interestingly, this is not a cultural phenomenon limited to any one society but rather a commonality to every one of us with the exception of the odd sociopath, but that’s another conversation altogether.

A University Professor conducted an experiment whereby he sent Christmas cards to a sample of complete strangers. Of course, he expected a response but was stunned to find that almost 100% of the unknowing guinea pigs reciprocated.

The reciprocity rule can be overpowering and is not subject to the initial receiver’s personal feeling towards the provider. The sense of obligation to reciprocate overrides personal distaste or preconceived notions and is a powerful tool to getting to ‘yes’.

The Krishnas employed the reciprocity rule by giving flowers to unsuspecting patrons in airports as gifts and then soliciting a donation. Their strategy was to state that the flower was a gift and under no circumstances were they permitted to take it back, thus triggering an overpowering desire for the recipient to reciprocate in the form of spare change despite their personal feeling toward the solicitor. As a result the Krishna’s donations soared.

“Although the obligation to repay constitutes the essence of the reciprocity rule, it is the obligation to receive that makes the rule so easy to exploit.” – Robert B. Cialdini

Don’t Be A Weiner

After ten days of denial Anthony Weiner, the U.S. Representative for New York’s 9th congressional district admitted to lewd and inappropriate behavior via one of the world’s most prominent social media platforms. I love Twitter!

It never fails to amuse us here at Gruv Media when people who ought to know better stumble head first into the guillotine by committing nonsensical actions that can only result in irreparable harm to their careers and loved ones.

We all have a digital image to protect and the fact that a married Congressman has been sending lewd pics to various strangers he’s met online for the past three years via email and social networks is rather hilarious.

Yet, people commit social media sins all the time and whether you’re representing your personal brand as a politician or a corporate brand like Coca-Cola you need to be aware that the front lines of engagement are for communications specialists not interns or pseudo social media experts.

All to often we encounter so called, “community managers” who reveal themselves as “ghost twitterers” through our clients’ accounts expecting a nod, nod, wink, wink in return and then attempt to pitch their services to our clients via their clients’ profiles. This is a strict violation of best current practices not to mention extremely damaging to the brands they’re paid to represent. If a company trusts you to manage their communities online then you must do so with respect and a firm understanding of the values, legacy and mission of their brand.

Another subject I’d like to broach, while I’m ranting away here is the ways in which pseudo social media experts put their clients in actionable positions by violating copyright laws through derivative content creation and charging them for the privilege.

True social media agencies have an in-depth understanding of the social web, social networks and platforms, intellectual property law, social media optimization, community management and best current practices. If you do not possess these skills, you have no business in social media.