Let me tell you about my wedding; well, the activities prior to my wedding. I had just launched a new business, my content development agency - Words on Us, and I was very very busy. The only friend I had in the region I was living in then, which was also the location for the wedding, was also very very busy with work. I didn’t know a lot about wedding planning because I'd never really been interested. My mom was also very busy with work and my sister was living far away. Considering all these things, my husband and I agreed to hire an event management agency. Now, this agency was great; they had these lovely videos of their work all over social media and they did have a lot of good ideas. However, they made a huge mistake that so many service providers make without even knowing. The event management agency forgot about the client and focused on all the wrong things e.g. what is cool, what is trending, what others are doing, what most people like, what they’d been doing, etc. Thes...
What to Post When you Create your Business Social media Account I learned recently that a lot of business owners want to put their new businesses on social media, but just don’t know how to start, what their first post should be, what to put on their bio, and other “tiny” questions that can be overwhelming and paralyzing. I manage social media pages for businesses with my team on Words on Us, and I’ve written this article to break down my simple and straightforward pattern to set up your business on social media and start showing off. I’ll be focusing on instagram but the tips here will apply to other social media platforms, so be sure to use it everywhere. Before I even get started on the steps, I always advise business owners to create a brand style guide first before they start posting on social media. A brand style guide contains details about how you want your brand to appear on media; digital and physical. It includes details like why you’re on social media, your target audience,...
Error codes are frustrating. Good microcopy means you can smile when you see them. Error codes: everyone hates them. they keep you away from the information you’re looking for, and they make you want to fold your fingers into a firm fist, and put a hole in your laptop, but you can’t, because it cost a lot of money, and you’re really not that emotional. Do you know what makes most error codes so frustrating? The fact that half of them just say you can’t get in, and they don’t tell you what you need to do to get in. Like bouncers at a night club or the security guy at the supermarket entrance that doesn’t tell you to go get a facemask, but instead picks you up and throws you in a dumpster. I’m sure that happens. Error codes have been the blight of the internet for many, many years, and the problem is not with their existence, because errors happen. The problem is with their format. However, thanks to the evolution of man and the creativity of a few, UX teams have begun to cons...
Everyone likes ease. Everyone. UX Design and Your Business What do you call a beautiful neighborhood with no signs or directions? A maze. This may not be a very funny joke seeing as I made it up myself and I’m not known to be very funny, however, the point remains that no matter how great your building looks, if people can’t figure out how to find what they’re looking for in it, you may as well have built a statue. A lot of people have that one café or restaurant they go to just because it looks great and the service is great; even though the cookies taste like wood. This is the same for most people; whether the place is virtual or physical. Looks influence choice. That’s why inner beauty doesn’t get a lot of suitors unless it is accompanied by outer beauty. You may be offering amazing services and your target audience will never know, because your website gives them stress aches. Every website, app, landing page or blog is created for a purpose. Every one of these...
Why do you visit websites? Whatever your answer is to this question, it should reflect in the content of your website. You see, everyone who clicks on a website has a mission. No one clicks on random websites, just because. If there is anyone who does that, the person is weird and probably not in your target market. When people go through your website, they’re looking for something and you need to take them from the first line of content on your website to the information they need without frustrating them. Why do you own a website? Because everyone else does? Because an article says it’s important? If your website is not built for the right reasons, then you may as well not have one. Your website represents your business, and it is important that people can easily find what they need, and take the action you need them to take. Is your website making it easy for visitors to access you? Read to the end and find out. Here are a few reasons why your website may not be...
