Person Profile: Tim Young – Purestone Web Developer
Filed under: Agency, Customer Engagement, Customer Relationship Management, Design/Creative, Uncategorized
Tim Young recently joined Purestone as a web developer within the design and development team. Here are his thoughts on what it takes to be a developer and what he has been working on so far at Purestone….
What did you study, and why?
My education was more in the art and design side of things. I did an illustration degree but ended up doing more graphic design. After a couple of early IT related jobs I learnt to code websites. One of the interesting things about the web is just how much is out there that you can teach yourself.
Did you always have a career in digital in mind?
I think I was lead down this path by my geeky love of design and technology. I believe a mix of technical and design sensibilities gives you a great position from which to solve digital problems. I remember as a kid having a go on a friend’s computer with a photo program and being hooked.
What is your current role at Purestone?
At Purestone I am part of the web development team consisting of designers and web developers. I am what is known as a front end developer – the person who builds websites using code.
What is a front end developer and what does it involve?
The role of a web developer can be separated into the ‘front end’ and the ‘back end.’ The front end is the design, images, colours, buttons, forms, animations and content. Everything that a user of a website can see. The back end is the bit that you can’t see, the code that makes websites work. Once the web designers have created the flat visual images of how the website will look they hand this to the web developer who then works out how it is going to be built. Developers break the designs up into components and start to build them into a website using code. The website then needs to be tested in all different web browsers and mobile browsers to make sure that the site is accessible to everyone.
What skills does a web developer need?
A web developer needs to understand the best way to break a design into sections and code in HTML and CSS. They also need to be able to edit images and graphics in Photoshop. There are often design considerations that need to be added to during the build process. Its very important to think about the user when you approach a new project. Understanding the systems you are building within and optimising for the platform you are building for is another important skill.
What sort of projects do you work on at Purestone?
At Purestone my work can vary a lot. The majority of my work comprises of building websites but can also involve microsites, mobile sites, apps, games or anything online really. I can be working in a long project with a team doing a variety of tasks, or just working on my own on smaller projects. Most recently I have been building a new promotional website for a leading workwear and corporate clothing brand.
Blurred Vision – The Changing Landscape of Digital
Filed under: Agency, Customer Engagement, Marketing Strategy, Social Media
2 months ago ‘Customer A’ says to me with a beaming smile across his face.
“I’ve set up a Twitter account for the company. Good hey?”
“Urrmm, no.”
“What do you mean, no?”
“Well why have you done it? And what are you going to Tweet about?”
“Well firstly, everyone’s going on about it. Secondly, dunno yet, just bits and pieces I suppose, about what’s going on, news, products updates, stuff like that.”
“OK. We need to talk about this.”
I’ll come back to this…
The lines are blurring. Landscapes are changing. Evolving. The tectonic plates of the digital world are shifting. What will be left with? A brave new world or a state of anarchy and disorder?
Overly dramatic, GCSE geography based, blog openings aside, this isn’t news, not by any stretch of the imagination. The industry has been in a continual state of flux since inception and those within it have excitedly bobbed and weaved their merry little ways through it. Me included. However, recent murmurings, trends and movements would indicate something larger is afoot. Something more significant.
Speed of change and innovation have always been the main driving forces behind evolution in the digital space. As one channel of communication is born, another dies (or more likely evolves into something different). More established areas, for example, email, haven’t been afforded the luxury of laurel sitting but have had to diversify and innovate in order to stay current. All of this has shaped a wonderful, ever changing, high speed world full of colour, chaos and above all opportunity.
Agencies have adapted – we’ve had no choice. The big ‘oil tanker’ traditional ad agencies, amidst stifled screams of panic, have had to either acquire or restructure (slowly) in an attempt to keep up. At the other end of the scale the boutique, specialist agencies have ground out successful niches in areas such as SEO, email and more recently social. This has all made for a very interesting playing field (one that’s unfortunately often left brands and businesses a little unsure as to which way to go and what to do). All of this is going through a shake up. A shake up driven by the customer.
OK, exposition done, context given. Now to the point…
Whilst brands, businesses, agencies, technology providers, etc have been charging around seeking holy grails and the like, the customer (consumer/target audience member) has been quietly and assuredly maturing. In fact, they’re now the catalysts for change. They dictate the rules of engagement. For the second time in this posting I’m stating the obvious. There’s been a great deal written about the changing customer/brand dynamic, consumer power, etc but that doesn’t necessarily mean businesses and the marketers within them are taking note. In fact I’m regularly left dumbstruck when a shiny, new piece of digital is unveiled and it whole heartedly neglects the most important thing… the customer, the prospect, the target audience, the very essence of marketing!
Anyway, getting back to the fact of the matter, customers have matured both in terms of expectations and needs. Fact. But how is this changing digital? Well, to start with it’s forcing integration, the hard lines that have formed around the main pillars of the digital mix are starting to blur, crack and crumble. Social media, mobile, viral, search, email, eCRM, web, apps, etc are being mashed up by a gigantic consumer driven pestle and mortar. The new breed of customers do not consciously differentiate between a social media interaction and a website, between an email and a text message. To them it’s all part of the same conversation. A conversation that they want to be relevant, consistent and engaging. Research recently published in NMA stated a 30%+ drop in the last 6 months in the usage of terms like ‘mobile’ and ‘social media’ across industry blogs, forums, Twitter, etc – clearly pointing towards an end to ‘siloed’ thinking.
This is good news. In fact, very good news. It means people’s hearts, minds and digital marketing plans are being led by the right reasons. Businesses should be looking at their customer, in finite detail, understanding what makes them tick and then talking to them based on this knowledge. Don’t charge off setting up a Twitter and Facebook account purely on the basis everyone else has – will it add anything to the conversation with your customers? Probably not. If you’re a plastics manufacturer please don’t look crestfallen when your polymer based tweets haven’t whipped your industry and client base into a frenzy of excitement and awe. The fact that your 7 followers (all of which are colleagues you’ve bullied into following you) have re-tweeted you (count them) 8 times doesn’t constitute success. What I’m saying is, businesses shouldn’t be ‘channel led’ but ‘customer led’ and within the digital space this message is starting to come through by virtue of the fact people aren’t talking about ‘Social Media’ incessantly, on loop, 24/7. It’s a conversational tool, one of many, to harness and use to engage with your customer in the best way possible. Integrated, consistent thinking and delivery that’s customer centric. Beautiful.
10 Measures By Which To Rate Your SEO Agency
Customer Satisfaction
Your SEO Agency should be able to provide testimonials from satisfied clients. Satisfied clients should be happy with the following points.
http://www.purestone.co.uk/…/many-satisfied-customers
Actual Results
The SEO Agency should be able to provide evidence of ranking improvement. Measures should also cover the volume of traffic and number of conversions.
http://www.purestone.co.uk/…/great-results
Regular Communication
Communication should be regular, frequent and be proactive. Monthly KPI reports will show how well your agency
measures against agreed targets.
http://www.purestone.co.uk/…/monthly-kpis
Understanding Your Business Model
There are 4 key online business models. Can your SEO agency name them and explain the differences between the measures?
http://www.purestone.co.uk/…/what-do-you-want-from-your-site
Understanding Your Customers
Your SEO agency should be able to provide evidence of creating visitor personas for your site. Who uses your site? What do they want? How do they get what they want and convert?
http://www.purestone.co.uk/…/who-are-your-customers
Structured Strategy
SEO is not rocket science, but your SEO agency should provide a structured approach to optimisation. How will they increase visitors? How will they improve targeting?
http://www.purestone.co.uk/…/use-tried-and-tested-methods
It is Impossible Guarantee Relevant Number 1 Rankings
Beware of any agency guaranteeing number 1 spot. Is this term useful to you? Will it drive targeted traffic to you? Why aren’t your competitors there?
http://www.purestone.co.uk/…/watch-out-for-cowboys
Provide Clear, Reasonable Pricing
SEO is very labour intensive for the agency. The cheapest option is not always the best investment. If you receive a very cheap quote ensure you understand a full breakdown of what you get.
http://www.purestone.co.uk/…/avoid-really-cheap-quotes
Have the Ability to Link into Current Trends
Social Media is a good way of driving targeted visitors through to your site. There are many simple ways of linking SEO with Social Media to improve visitor conversions.
http://www.purestone.co.uk/…/link-with-twitter-and-facebook
Offer a Range of Service Levels to Match Your Requirements
SEO should be tailored to your needs. Ensure that your agency understands how you work to get the most out of SEO.
http://www.purestone.co.uk/…/fully-managed-or-standard-service
Anyone for some doom & gloom? Not us.
Everyone else is talking about it, so in an effort to keep up with the Joneses, we’re jumping on our very own recession soap box and venting our economic spleen. However, contrary to the media and their continual doom and gloom mongering, we’re relatively upbeat about things and for good reason too. A small part of this is about being good old-fashioned Brits, stiffening the upper lip and staring downturn in the face but the larger part of it is the fact that the online marketing industry is in good shape.
All of the marketing industry rags and analysts are predicting that the axe will fall hardest on the traditional side of the marketing mix. PR, press advertising, exhibitions, direct mail are all cited as beginning to feel the pinch and this is predicted to continue. It’s quite clear why this is the case: it basically boils down to measurement and how much bang you can get for your marketing buck. PR and press advertising can be incredibly effective at building brand awareness and blanketing a market sector but they’re not cheap exercises. When purse strings have been tightened, marketers have to look at activities that they can genuinely quantify, measure and justify back to the business. Simple stuff really , such as if I spend £1 how much will I make in return?
The answer to this question is far more attainable with online marketing than traditional. The analytics coupled with much better economies of scale make activities such as e-mail marketing, website development and search engine optimisation/PPC far more attractive to businesses. That is why the online advertising and email marketing industry are still posting big growth figures and by all accounts, recession or not, this will continue throughout 2009.
It’s very hard not to get embroiled in conversations regarding the economy at the moment because the media make it unavoidable, it plays on a continual loop 24 x 7, newspapers, radio, television and online. However through talking with our clients we’ve found that, in the main, the mood is cautionary as opposed to panic stations. I think everyone understand that things may get worse before they get better, but as long as we’re all sensible then the cogs will keep turning and there is still good business to be made – in fact many would argue that a period of downturn is the best time to market your wares!
James Smee, Director of Optimism