Web design is an ever-evolving industry and it’s comprised of much more than simply setting up a website. If you want your website to stand a chance against the intense competition that’s out there, it’s necessary to stay up to date with the latest in website trends and with what consumers want from websites. Think about your website as your most valuable piece of online real estate – you want to keep it up to code, updated and ensure that it’s always in the best possible condition.

Responsive web design is the term used to describe an approach that reacts to the devices used to access it in order to provide an optimal viewing experience. We don’t just use computers to access websites anymore; increasingly, people are using mobile phones and tablets, all of which display websites differently than on a traditional desktop computer. When a website is designed responsively, it eliminates the need to create separate mobile and tablet websites, and it provides the user with a consistent, seamless user experience.

We’ve all tried to access a website using a mobile device and were frustrated with the poor mobile web design. Perhaps the text was too small, you couldn’t navigate it easily, or perhaps it wasn’t mobile-friendly and took a long time to load (or even failed completely). If companies don’t invest in responsive web design, this will continue to happen and they will run the risk of losing customers who access their site from mobile devices or tablets. With the intense online competition that exists, every method possible should be used to retain and attract web users.

Ultimately, the design of your website should be aimed at the needs and wants of the consumer. As more and more people use mobile devices and tablets to access the Internet, it’s necessary that websites invest in responsive web design in order to provide a seamless user experience.

To learn more about WSI’s web design services, please contact us today!

This post was written by Marelise da Silva

Marelise has been with WSI since 2004 when Francois first opened his franchise. She fills a dynamic role in Francois team including Project Management, Web Administration and Client Services. Marelise is well versed in HTML, PHP and ASPX and she enjoys applying her skills to an ever changing industry.

Dove’s new video made waves in social media recently when it became one of the top viral videos on Youtube – not an easy feat for an ad, competing with the likes of Korean pop star Psy. But Dove managed to pull it off with a video that is emotionally moving and did what we all want our content to do – spark conversation.

The background

Dove’s video features a former forensic artist from California doing something he had never quite done before. The scene featured a selection of women who were brought in to describe their physical features to the artist in order for him to sketch a portrait of each of their faces. These women each sat behind screens where the artist could not see them, and one by one they described their faces to him while he drew. When he was done, they left. And he never looked at their faces. These women had previously been paired off and tasked with getting to know each other. They were then asked to describe the woman they had spent some time with.

The results were astounding. The forensic artist drew second portraits of the same women as described by outsiders and not by themselves. These women were then brought in to observe their two portraits side-by-side, and, in an emotional scene, admitted the negative way they had described their own features. The video sought to bring to light just how hard women are on themselves and how negatively they view their own physical features.

The reaction

Besides the video going viral, it sparked reactions everywhere, from the emotional, with viewers deeply touched, to debate where viewers pointed out how hypocritical Dove’s parent company, Unilever, was in their marketing campaigns. Whatever it was, it got the conversation going, and for a brief time, Dove was what people across the world were talking about online.

To find out more about social media, get in touch today and see just how powerful it can be.

This post was written by Francois Muscat

Hello there, I started our business in 2004 and am enjoying every minute of it. I have been fortunate enough to speak frequently at Digital Marketing conferences all over the world. Over the past 4 years I have trained over 850 WSI Internet Marketing consultants world wide in digital marketing and social media.

Francois is the WSI Master Franchisor for South Africa and is a member of the WSI President’s Circle and operates a International Solutions Centre. Francois has won nine WSI awards including – Best Product Showcase, Excellence in Search Engine Optimization, Excellence in PPC, and two mentorship awards.

If you would like Francois Muscat to speak at your conference, seminar, workshop or provide in-house training to your team, contact him via the site or by phone at +27 11 468 3138.

Whether you have an existing internet marketing strategy or you’re only moving online now, a competitor analysis can change the entire direction you want to take. While this may seem like a huge upheaval, it’s vital that you know exactly what your competitors are doing before you make decisions regarding how you’re going to spend your money online.

The important thing about any digital marketing strategy – whether it’s creating a paid search advertising campaign or choosing the social media platforms that you’re going to use – is that you need to have a clear plan. You can’t decide to start blogging, Tweeting, pinning or creating Pay-Per-Click ads if you don’t have a clear map (along with measurable goals) that you’re setting out to reach.

Here at WSI OMS, we provide clients with an extensive competitor analysis (whether they’re partnering with us for internet marketing solutions or not) so that they have a clear idea of what their competitors are doing. If you want to identify threats and opportunities in the marketplace, then you need a competitor analysis from us. Here is what this will give you:

• Know what keyword phrases your competitors are targeting
• Gain insight into the gaps in the industry. What are your competitors’ weaknesses, what are they being criticized for and how can you use this information to your advantage?
• Learn about the social platforms they are using and how they have built their online communities
• Find out how your competitors are driving traffic to their websites
• Find out how your competitors are acquiring new customers online
• Learn from the mistakes that your competitors have made in the past

If this sounds like the type of information your company needs, it’s time to contact WSI OMS for a competitor analysis today.

This post was written by Francois Muscat

Hello there, I started our business in 2004 and am enjoying every minute of it. I have been fortunate enough to speak frequently at Digital Marketing conferences all over the world. Over the past 4 years I have trained over 850 WSI Internet Marketing consultants world wide in digital marketing and social media.

Francois is the WSI Master Franchisor for South Africa and is a member of the WSI President’s Circle and operates a International Solutions Centre. Francois has won nine WSI awards including – Best Product Showcase, Excellence in Search Engine Optimization, Excellence in PPC, and two mentorship awards.

If you would like Francois Muscat to speak at your conference, seminar, workshop or provide in-house training to your team, contact him via the site or by phone at +27 11 468 3138.

A well thought out professional video can go a long way in establishing your online reputation. In under 3 minutes you can give a potential customer a snapshot of what your value proposition is. However a poor quality, or poorly edited video can do more harm than damage. It is estimated that 20% of online viewers will click away within the first 10 seconds. That means that you need to ensure that your video is attention grabbing and interesting.

YouTube is one of the best social media platforms to market yourself and your business. It also allows individuals to easily share and embed your video on their blogs. If you plan to create a corporate video, take a look at this infographic.

Need advice on your online reputation management? Contact WSI OMS today

Presented By KZO Innovations, online video platform

This post was written by Louisa Korkie

Louisa Korkie is a social media marketer and internet marketing consultant at WSI OMS. Keeping up with digital trends and mobile technology helps her to effectively manage the online presence and social media strategy for our clients. Louisa is skilled in all popular social network and blogging platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Twitter and WordPress.

You might think that copywriting is just about writing, but while the ability to create meaningful content is a key component of being a copywriter, there are a few other necessary components that all need to come together in order to create a successful copywriting strategy. There are many elements to take into account as a copywriter, such as which platforms you’ll be using, the audience you’ll be speaking to, what the competition is doing and more.

Creating a successful copywriting strategy includes:

• Listening to what your audience is saying and monitoring feedback. Whether it is comments on your blog posts, Facebook comments, tweets, or some other form of communication, it’s absolutely necessary to take feedback into account. If you’re posting content that isn’t resonating with your audience or creating content that isn’t relevant to their likes, interests and needs, you run the risk of them losing interest in what you have to say.

• Have a plan in case of crisis. Don’t wait for disaster to strike in order to write a statement that can be issued to the public. If you wait until the heat of the moment, you may be unable to coherently explain what it is you want to say and you run the risk of coming across as uncaring. It’s better to be fully prepared – compose statements ahead of time that are available to be released during a company crisis.

• Understanding which types of messages work best on each social media platform. What works best on Twitter doesn’t necessarily work best on Facebook, and so your copywriting strategy needs to be tailored to each platform you use. For this reason, you wouldn’t post an entire press release as a Facebook post or as a tweet. This means that you need to make use of different copywriting techniques for each platform you choose to use in order to get your message across successfully.

At WSI we have a team of professional copywriters who can create meaningful, targeted content for your website, social media sites, or for a variety of other business purposes. To learn more about our copywriting services, contact us today!

This post was written by Marianna Muscat

Marianna Muscat is talented in many different Internet Marketing Solutions. Not only is she able to sort most technical problems you put in front of her, she also has the rare ability to manage technical people and has won numerous ‘Man Manager” awards in her Corporate career. She is highly skilled in Google paid search, Search Engine Optimisation and project management. She has held Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer positions in a large South African bank for many years. She brings the skills on-board to take our WSI Franchise business to the next level.

Research In Motion (RIM) will be launching BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) on Android and iPhone. The announcement was made yesterday during the BlackBerry Live 2013 conference in Orlando, Florida. iPhone and Android users are going to be able to download this service for free and hop on the crazed BBM bandwagon. Twitter and Facebook are abuzz with the news and excitement over the long-awaited (maybe dreaded by some) integration.

There are debates on whether the whole thing is genius or just desperation, but it is beyond any doubt that users will find it convenient and easy to keep in touch with friends. The app will be free on all platforms, but users may not like the idea of in-app advertising. BlackBerry is huge in South Africa and other developing countries where functionality and affordability are key, so this might be seen as a good move by local smartphone users.

The Business Insider reports Blackberry CEO, Thorsten Heins saying, “It’s time to bring BBM to a greater audience. I cannot wait for the day when all our BlackBerry fans can send BBM invites to all their friends on other platforms. They have asked us for this for years.”
The expansion of BBM to non-BlackBerry devices might just be the push BlackBerry needs and it will definitely make a difference in the world of instant messaging.

We’re still not sure how BBM going across platforms will be received by BlackBerry’s rivals, as iPhone and Android are considered the major smartphone brands along with Blackberry, but consumers will definitely be happy to be able to engage with all their friends on the famed instant messaging service, regardless of what smartphone they have. BlackBerry also plans on adding BBM Channels, allowing the user to connect with brands, to the BBM package. This is a big step in social media considering the number of people the service will be available to, and BlackBerry is confident that this bold step will push them in the right direction in terms of social networking innovation.

What do you think about RIM’s plan to introduce in-app advertising? BBM might have interesting possibilities for mobile marketing in the near future.

Need more information about mobile marketing solutions? Contact WSI today.

This post was written by Zoe Ngombane

The latest trends in web design have emerged out of the need to create websites that are user-friendly, mobile-friendly and have a strong focus on branding. Business owners and organisations should always stay abreast of the latest web design trends because a website is one’s most valuable piece of online real estate. With millions of people surfing the Internet on a daily basis and the competition being fiercer now than ever before, it’s necessary to constantly update your website design in order to reflect the latest needs and wants of the consumers.

Some of the latest web design trends include:

• A more exciting, bolder use of typography. It used to be the case that web designers were limited to a selection of fonts, but now with programmes like Google Fonts and other free typography software, you can choose from a massive selection of beautiful typefaces to find the one that perfectly compliments your content. 

• Big buttons instead of text links. This is especially important for mobile users, as multiple text links make it difficult to tap the correct link and can lead to a frustrating user experience. Websites are now incorporating larger, easy-to-press buttons that will take users exactly where they want to go.

• A strong emphasis on branding. Branding has always been a core component of company identity, but now more than ever it’s important to make sure that every single element of your website reflects and supports your goals and message. This is also relevant to your company’s other online platforms, from blogs to social media pages.

Web design isn’t just about creating a website that’s nice to look at anymore. Many more features must be taken into account, including accessibility, user-friendliness, branding and the creation of a trustworthy site. At WSI, our web design professionals will work with you in order to create an optimized website that not only accurately reflects your company, but one that incorporates the latest trends and contains the elements that attract users.

To learn more about WSI’s web design services and how they can create instant trust, please contact us today!

This post was written by Marelise da Silva

Marelise has been with WSI since 2004 when Francois first opened his franchise. She fills a dynamic role in Francois team including Project Management, Web Administration and Client Services. Marelise is well versed in HTML, PHP and ASPX and she enjoys applying her skills to an ever changing industry.

Ready to get your company started on social media? It’s important to establish a social media presence as a way to promote your company, connect with your audiences and advertise yourself, but jumping in head first without a clear idea of what you want to accomplish can result in social media pages that aren’t effective. Many companies create social media pages that quickly lose steam; you may find that the content isn’t as interesting as it could be, the pages aren’t updated often enough and the pages don’t contain any interactive features. Here’s some advice from social media professionals.

Social media questions you need to ask yourself before you start:

• How much time can I dedicate to my social media pages? Social media marketing and management can easily become a full-time job, so if you foresee time management problems then it’s wise to consult with professional social media marketers who can optimise and manage your online presence on your behalf.
• What’s my competition doing? There’s nothing wrong with checking out your competitors. You can see what is and isn’t working for them, and you’ll be able to see where your efforts stand and be able to clarify your strategy.
• Who is my audience? Social media has a tendency to generate quantity over quality, which isn’t always good. Many companies would prefer to have a smaller, loyal following rather than a large following of fair-weather fans. By developing content that is specifically targeted to your core, loyal followers, you’re more likely to acquire loyal customers.

At WSI we have a team of professional social media marketers who can assist you in managing your social media presence at all levels of involvement. Whether you want us to take over all of your social media pages or just advise you on how to build online communities, create a buzz or conduct research, we are standing by and ready to help you.

To learn more about social media services from WSI, please contact us today!

This post was written by Francois Muscat

Hello there, I started our business in 2004 and am enjoying every minute of it. I have been fortunate enough to speak frequently at Digital Marketing conferences all over the world. Over the past 4 years I have trained over 850 WSI Internet Marketing consultants world wide in digital marketing and social media.

Francois is the WSI Master Franchisor for South Africa and is a member of the WSI President’s Circle and operates a International Solutions Centre. Francois has won nine WSI awards including – Best Product Showcase, Excellence in Search Engine Optimization, Excellence in PPC, and two mentorship awards.

If you would like Francois Muscat to speak at your conference, seminar, workshop or provide in-house training to your team, contact him via the site or by phone at +27 11 468 3138.

Marketing managers usually have to get approval for the PPC (Pay-Per-Click) campaigns they want to run – which means giving the cold, hard figures to their boss. Even if you’re the business owner (and the decision maker), deciding how much you’re prepared to spend on a monthly basis is a huge part of kick-starting your paid search advertising campaign.

There is, however, one thing that’s even more important than your bidding budget – and that’s choosing your keywords. It happens far too often that people choose keyword phrases that are way too broad and not specific to their niche target market. The problem with choosing broad keyword phrases is that you will be competing with too many other bidders in order to reach a too broad audience. A better strategy is to go as niche as possible and find specific, long-tail keywords that speak directly to a potential customer.

An example of a broad keyword phrase would be “learn to cook”. If you’re looking to target a specific group of customers online, you should rather focus on exactly what you’re offering clients and rather choose keywords such as “evening cooking courses for couples” or “gourmet cooking classes for professional chefs”.

One of the reasons why this can be so confusing is that PPC and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) keywords are often very different. While they do overlap in some cases, you will get the most out of our bidding budget if you spend a bit more time finding niche keyword phrases.

If you need help determining keyword profitability, maximum cost per click or keyword research it’s time to talk to the internet marketing pros at WSI OMS. Give us a call to find out how we can help you with your next PPC campaign.

This post was written by Francois Muscat

Hello there, I started our business in 2004 and am enjoying every minute of it. I have been fortunate enough to speak frequently at Digital Marketing conferences all over the world. Over the past 4 years I have trained over 850 WSI Internet Marketing consultants world wide in digital marketing and social media.

Francois is the WSI Master Franchisor for South Africa and is a member of the WSI President’s Circle and operates a International Solutions Centre. Francois has won nine WSI awards including – Best Product Showcase, Excellence in Search Engine Optimization, Excellence in PPC, and two mentorship awards.

If you would like Francois Muscat to speak at your conference, seminar, workshop or provide in-house training to your team, contact him via the site or by phone at +27 11 468 3138.

A blogger examined over 1.3 million Facebook updates to determine what characteristics encourage the highest level of interaction through likes, comments and shares.

It comes as no surprise that posts with images enjoy the most shares, comments. In general posts that were longer in length enjoyed more shares, and posts that showed a distinct positive or negative sentiment received more interaction than neutral ones.

These days more businesses want to be involved in social media, making Facebook the perfect platform for social engagement. If your business is thinking of launching a Facebook Page, this infographic is a handy guide to posting effective content. If you would like to launch a social media campaign, contact WSI OMS today!

How to get more Facebook shares [Infographic]

Infographic via sociallystacked.com

This post was written by Louisa Korkie

Louisa Korkie is a social media marketer and internet marketing consultant at WSI OMS. Keeping up with digital trends and mobile technology helps her to effectively manage the online presence and social media strategy for our clients. Louisa is skilled in all popular social network and blogging platforms, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Twitter and WordPress.