Let’s face it. There was plenty of backlash when Facebook introduced the new Timeline for users. Now, brands are going to have to adopt the new format and once again rethink their marketing strategies.
Brands are constantly looking for ways to improve their sites based on user feedback and previous successes and failures. The overall brand logo as well as the look and feel of the site plays a big factor in driving consumers to your site. Below is a list of 3 sites whose redesign has big implications for marketers.
The new Twitter design launched December 2011 and has features brands will be excited to tweet about. Brands are able to now customize their page with creative banners below their profile information, and the overall centralized layout gives more creative space for the background and makes it easier for consumers to see branded backgrounds without any problems. Also, the new design allows brands to pin a specific tweet to the top of their feed. The pinned tweets can be extremely helpful if a brand has a new promotion or a video trailer they’d like to highlight in their feed.
StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon also launched a completely revamped site as well in December. They created a new sleek logo that goes well with their new design interface. Each category is now paired with a beautiful photo that makes people want to click through to see what they’ll find. They’ve emphasized profile features on a static black bar spanning across the top of the screen that allows users to easily share to social sites, comment, or manage their account. StumbleUpon also released a feature called Channels that lets users follow sites, people, or brands and read content they’ve shared. Brands can use this feature to drive consumers
Delicious
Just when we thought Delicious was gone forever, it came back with a new emphasis on visuals. Each link being saved has an image preview associated with it so users must now pay more attention to what visuals are attached to the content. Delicious Stacks is a feature that aggregates links on specific subjects and organizes it in a way that is visually appealing. The new Delicious encourages people to discover and share content in addition to using it as a resourcing tool.
What to Keep in Mind in 2012
Content discovery through photo sharing is currently the hot trend, especially with sites like Pinterest growing at an astounding rate. However, it is important to have the consumer’s interests in mind.
Brands can start by presenting the most important information in places within their site that users can see without feeling overwhelmed with information. The original Twitter, StumbleUpon, and Delicious sites were very text heavy making it difficult for users to navigate to the most important pieces of information.
It can also be beneficial to encourage users to fill out a profile of their interests so that your brand can push the most relevant information to them.
Find what resonates the best with your consumers and deliver the right content while allowing the consumer to still feel in control of their content.
Ivy Chang, 03.08.12
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