Insights

differentiate (/ˌdifəˈren(t)SHēˌāt/): to make or become different in the process of growth or development

Over the years I have worked with companies all over the spectrum of digital competency, and through that experience have identified four Tiers of Disruption that serve as a roadmap, or as a framework for setting goals and for providing context around discussions wh

You don’t need Millennials to tell you that mobile sites matter. Mobile usage is slowly taking over desktop, and there are no signs of slowing down. Just this year, we saw the scales significantly tip towards mobile, taking 51% of the digital media time pie, compared to a 42% share for desktop. Some best practices from desktop web design carry over to mobile principles, but it would be a mistake to treat them as the same animal. As Will Critchlow, founder and CEO of Distilled, said, “Don’t build things differently; build different things.”

In the late 90s and early 2000s, web design was cluttered and suffocated by too many blaring banner ads and loud pop-ups. There was so much white backgrounds and black text, it could make your head spin. And don’t even consider embedding video or large images. We’ve come a long way, writing the rules for an age of simplicity, of saying what you mean straight away (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch the latest Apple press conference).

Compelling, fullscreen images currently dominate the web design world. It’s about filling the page with stunning photography, digital art, animated gifs, or cinematic video. Top that off with a single word or line of text that conveys a brand’s message. It’s an epic, cinematic look that’s all about aesthetic. Even the page navigation is often hidden or reduced to a small sidebar or icon. Essentially, this is your elevator pitch simplified into one punch. 

We’ve all been there. Your team creates an amazing marketing piece or package, and users aren’t biting. They’re not opening it, posting, retweeting, or contacting you. The content is great, but the time investment just isn’t paying off.

How did this happen? Even the most expert marketers can be subject to customers tuning out their messages. At a certain point, your content can filter out of their minds and become background noise. Let’s locate that point and how to avoid it. It’s easy to fall into the trap of sending too many marketing messages, especially emails. How many times have you signed up for a new email subscription, only to check your inbox hours later to find it flooded with a mountain of emails (read: brain work)? Unsubscribe.