Web design will always be important. Who wants their website looking like it was made in 2005? With the Social Media platforms proliferating every facet of our lives, companies are learning where to invest their digital marketing budget.

In this blog post, we’re going to learn two things:

  1. What websites should look like
  2. What your social media presence should look like
NeONBRAND Social Series - Web Design vs Social Media

Each Platform Has a Purpose

Websites normally display a plethora of information about you, your company, and your service or product. Social Media on the other hand is a place of conversation and relationship building.

How Your Web Design Stands Out

Your website is your unique place on the web that speaks in the tone that you choose. The way your website is designed helps your customer easily navigate through all of that information.

Web Design is still very relevant in a Social Media driven world. The true question this post wants to answer is, how are we taking advantage of each platform? Are we sure that we are doing it correctly?

To make sure, here’s a few tips:

  • Position Your Audience
    • Insert a Sentence explaining what you do, above the fold. This practice diminishes people from leaving your site too quickly.
  • Add a Video
    • Does your design have video? Awesome, visitors will press play and watch what you have to offer. Consequently, they’ll spend more time on your site.
  • Add Images
    • Preferably of you and your team, smiling and presenting themselves as friendly and helpful as possible.
  • Humanize The Experience
    • Adding a phone number in a visible location shows that I can reach you anytime.

How Your Social Media Account Stands Out

I see companies opening social media accounts and never touching them. Oftentimes they tell me “I don’t know what post or say.” Social Media is a point of contact with your audience/fans. It’s a place where we get to share ideas and conversations.

The good things is that we do not have to worry about re-designing the platform, all we need to focus on is how to better engage with our audience.

But as a rule of thumb:

  • Make sure you have a nice Profile and Cover Photo.
    • Canva can be of help to you.
  • Tell your best customers to join you on Social Media.
    • This is a unique opportunity for you to add value to them through your offering.
    • Gary Vaynerchuck is a great example to learn from.
  • Consistently post content.
    • Set dates to release fresh ideas to the public. That way people know when to expect something from you.

A Quick Reflection on Web Design vs Social Media

Now we know that people who go to websites want to find information. People who go to your Social Media accounts want to engage with you and possibly seek out information.

The advantage you have on Social Media is that you simply have to focus on engaging your audience.

The advantage of Web Design is that you get to customize your website to make it as easy as possible for your visitor to swift through information.

Now, how do these two come together?

NowThis Home Page

Now This Homepage - How Social Media and Web Design come together

They do an amazing job on positioning their audience through their web design. They let me know at the very beginning where the main content is.

For those of you who haven’t seen those cool videos on Facebook, their main purpose is to fill you in on a trending topic on Facebook. Here’s an example below…

NowThis News is a Lerer Hippeau Ventures startup and portfolio company. It was founded by Huffington Post co-founder and former chairman Kenneth Lerer and former Huffington Post CEO Eric Hippeau.

I know, these guys are bigger than the average small business. But yet, they are a great example of what is to come.

The Rising Trend of New Media Companies

You see, there is a trend I see happening and very little adaptation from businesses nationwide. Every major company is becoming a media company. And for a very good reason, let me elaborate.

What does it take to distinguish yourself from your competitors? Everyone company wants to offer the best service, best price, best anything. Customers know this already. Companies that standout from that crowd are connecting directly with their customer via social media.

Community management companies are using the 1 on 1 conversation routes to impact their future clients. They use digital media that is highly valuable and entertaining to their target audience, and uses that to build community around the content created.

Smart companies are using content to convert clients that are tired of being treated like another number. Content is grabbing customers attention and social media managers are harnessing that attention to provide quality care and attention to each individual.

Marriott Hotels and a Love Story Movie in Paris

I know I’m pushing it with the big brands but I need to illustrate my point of  why “companies are becoming media companies.”

In a recent visit to Marriot HQ, Contently wanted to learn a little more about how Marriott could capitalize the growing landscape of Digital Media.

According to the Contently Article on Marriott, “We are a media company now,” said David Beebe, Marriott’s Emmy-winning vice president of global creative.

It’s now been two years since Marriott hired Karin Timpone from the Walt Disney Company, where she had led the launch of successful digital products like WATCH ABC, so she could connect Marriott to the “next generation of travelers.” In June 2014, Beebe, also working for Disney, followed Timpone. By September 2014, Marriott had announced the launch of a global content studio.

Marriott Content Studio

Not to long ago, the media team at Marriott was tasked to create content to drive more interest to their website to increase conversion on hotel bookings.

The three Cs—with an emphasis on commerce

This is the major take away that really makes Contently’s post impressive. This is a golden nugget for every company in the world.

“Beebe likes to explain Marriott’s approach with three Cs: “Scaling content, then building a community around that content, and driving commerce.”

The hotel giant believes that combination is the key to reaching millennials who are increasingly seeking more intimate connections and experiences when they travel.

“We’ve said it before—we have a very intimate relationship with our customers,” Beebe said. “They sleep with us, after all. It’s sort of a joke, but it’s true.”

That philosophy prompted Marriott to launch Marriott Traveler this past spring, which provides travel tips for exploring New Orleans, Chicago, and Orlando, with more cities to come. The company saw a huge opportunity to use content to build a stronger relationship with the built-in audience of 40 million people who visit Marriott.com each month.” – an excerpt from Contently’s article.

And through this effort, Marriott made the video below to boost bookings in their Paris locations.

What was the result?

“Marriott’s films are driving commerce as well. The company filmed its second short, French Kiss, in Paris. The film was shot at a Marriott hotel, but there were no strong sell. Since it was released in May, French Kiss has been viewed over 6 million times on YouTube. Perhaps more impressively, a bookings promotion related to the film also drove $500,000 in revenue for the hotel.”

I think I’ve illustrated how vital is for a company to leverage content on social media. But how about Web Design? Where does it fit in.

Where it All Comes Together

If you are doing social media correctly, you will be able to drive high-quality traffic to your website. Your web design has to be optimized for your product or service.

NeONBRAND helps you understand what your website needs to look like for niche you are in. It’s quite simple, but it takes years of experience to understand how to do these things.

Don’t let Web Design and Social Media get in the way of you running your business. Good job for reading this article and learning a little bit more about how to co-exist between both platforms.