You’ve probably encountered a 404 or “Page Not Found” error in your web browsing experience. It is an HTTP standard response code indicating that “the client was able to communicate with the server, but the server could not find what was requested. 404 errors should not be confused with “server not found” or similar errors, in which a connection to the destination server could not be made at all. A 404 error indicates that the requested resource may be available again in the future.” This kind of error is commonly displayed after you click a broken link or follow a link to a page that has moved or no longer exists on a website. (If you want more technical details, check out Wikipedia.)

Of course no one wants their website to have errors, but sometimes they occur. There is definitely value in taking a little time to dress up your “Error” or “404″ page to decrease the frustration when a user encounters it. So what can you do to make the navigation process on your website less of a headache to users?

1. Brand your error page.

I am always amazed that companies don’t brand their error pages. Technically that page is still a part of your site and therefore a part of your interaction with a potential client. Don’t launch an interested user off into the interwebs – use your logo, colors, brand language, visual elements, even the whole design theme. Show them they are still connected to you.

The image below is a 404 Error Page from Wufoo, an online form builder site. You can see it is well branded, keeping with their site design. It even has the main navigation links to their site at the bottom to encourage users to keep looking through the site.

2. Give Users a Place to Go

At the minimum, provide a link back to your homepage. Include contact information or links to similar material or popular articles. Have a search box for them to manually locate the desired material. Don’t force users to click the “Back” button which may take them back offsite – you have them on your site so keep them there by offering them another entrance to your environment.

Below, internet radio site last.fm has an error page with their sites navigation on top and potential content links below.

3. Be informative

Tell users what the problem is (or might be). Chances are, your visitors are not as well-versed in programming languages as your developers are so be clear and keep it simple. Share ideas on what could have cause the problem, and what they can do to fix it – and provide a way for them to let you know its broken!

The image below is an error page from web design community CSS Tricks, and while I love the idea, its not very useful nor informative.

4. Be funny – or at least entertaining!

Have a sense of humor with your error page.  Write a haiku, include clever commentary, post a funny picture or cartoon! You can be informative and witty at the same time. I would caution against making a user feel stupid however. It may be funny, but if a site tells me “Way to go, moron”, I’m more likely to click away then try again. Check out these entertaining 404 Pages.

The image below is an error page from Econsultancy a Digital Community of Marketers. You can see they have their logo, contact information, suggestions to fix the issue, and a funny video of their CEO wiping out in the snow.

Do you have any advice for better 404 pages? Any tales from your web surfing adventures? We’d love to hear it! Leave a comment!

The study revealed that “60% of Facebook fans and 79% of Twitter followers are more likely to recommend those brands since becoming a fan or follower. And an impressive 51% of Facebook fans and 67% of Twitter followers are more likely to buy the brands they follow or are a fan of“.

While these numbers may not shock most of us involved heavily in social media, it should serve as a heavy handed reminder that consumers are beginning to EXPECT that companies have a presence. They want to be able to reference your product in a recommendation and link right to it. Take this example, from Twitter:

Burts Bees is a popular lip balm brand who until recently did not have official social media presences. They actually just launched their Twitter page on March 23rd 2010 (and seven days later have 235 fans). Check out these two tweets (below).

Both of these girls are spreading brand awareness for Burts Bees and recommending them for the use of chapped lips. Countless studies have shown that people trust peer reviews more than advertising, but there is no link to Burts Bees website or a store to buy or anything. Now that they are on Twitter, fans and followers can reference the lip balm maker easily and enable other users to easily access the official site – which leads to all of the goodies that come with an official page – advertising, info, and connecting directly with your consumer. They can also monitor whats being said about them. Check out this tweet:

This fan not only has provided a link to the official Burts Bees twitter, but even posted a picture of himself holding up the product! Talk about an endorsement! But along with the brand ambassador creating power Twitter gives you, it also requires work on your part. You must respond to and engage your fans. Thank them, give them public acknowledgement, show them you care. Burts Bees may have just joined Twitter but they are already elbow deep in the community that they want to create around their products. Check out some of THEIR tweets:

In the three Burts Bees tweets above you see that first they acknowledge the user with thanks and then they credit them with a RT (retweet) – which is usually a glowing testimonial to their products! These “followers” not only love the products and recommend them to others, but they are PROUD to do so! These are the kind of marketing opportunities that your ad department DREAMS of.

A similar story plays out on Facebook where I (a big Burt’s Bees fan myself) found their official Facebook Fan Page when I saw an ad for Chapstick’s Fan Page and thought if THEY were online then Burt’s Bees must be too, so I searched for them and found them! And I’m not the only who did that! Just check out this comment (right) I left on their Facebook Fan Page on February 15, 2010 – 10 people did the same thing I did! People WANT to connect with brands they feel strongly about and WANT to share this with their friends.

Another great element to social media is being able to address issues and concerns immediately as they occur. In this post by a Facebook user we see that they are disappointed in the parent company of Burt’s Bees. A Burt’s Bees representative can quickly move in and correct or add information to educate consumers. Notice they did not just delete the negative comment. This adds transparency and builds trust among consumers. They have nothing to hide and are willing to address any concerns users might have.

Feedback can also result in new product ideas or spreading news about your other products. Until I visited their Facebook Fan Page I didn’t know that Burt’s Bees made makeup. One user requested pet shampoo. The user to the right expressed a product design improvement – which Brand reps jumped all over. Customer Service is huge and builds loyalty.

If you as a consumer know that your voice is heard, that your business matters to a company, you tend to go back there – and tell your friends to do the same. Take advantage of the ready built social media worlds in Twitter and Facebook and engage in the discussion with your consumers. It’ll pay off!

To learn more about getting started in Twitter, check out our other blogs:

How to Sign Up for a Twitter Account

How to Customize and Set Up Your Twitter Page

Anatomy of a Tweet – Definitions of Common Terms and Symbols

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Facebook: Like

Facebook Ditches Fans in Favor of Likes

Short answer? YES.

The internet and consumers don’t care if you have an official representative or not – they are still going to talk about you. They will review your goods and services on 3rd party sites like epinions.com, ConsumerReports.org, Yelp, TripAdvisor, TestFreaks, and the myriad of other sites that have cropped up to do one thing – become the go-to place for consumer research and reviews. A recent study by BIA/Kelsey Group revealed that 97% of consumers now use online media when researching products or services in their local area.

Victoria’s Secret, the infamous underwear maker, has two “Fan Pages” on Facebook. One for the regular store which boasts over 3 million fans and one for their Pink line with over 2 million fans (a year ago it was at 900,000). Fans can watch videos, browse merchandise, enter contests, talk about products, and upload their own photos. Victoria’s Secret is even celebrating their 3 million fan status on Facebook with a limited edition panty that the FANS got to help design and vote on. By actively participating in what their demographic is doing, Victoria’s Secret remains relevant and accessible while keeping a hand in how their brand is represented. In addition to the official and authorized Fan Pages, there are also over 800 other Victoria’s Secret themed Fan Pages and over 11,000 Groups on Facebook alone! Corporate Victoria’s Secret knew they needed an “official” presence to combat and/or complement all of the dialogs going on about them.

Its hard to put a price on brand exposure, but by participating in popular social networks or hosting a targeted community for customers, companies are bringing their messages to waves of fresh consumers while building brand recognition and increasing brand awareness. Consumers are already actively rating and reviewing products, services, companies, people and even each other. Companies know that they need to have a hand in the way their brand and products are portrayed, and so are joining networks and creating their own. Grocery store chain Whole Foods has over 1.7 million followers on their main Twitter feed, but many stores have their own accounts as well creating and controlling a giant network around the hip trend in natural and organic foods.

So, yes, social media CAN hurt you- if you put out a terrible product, people will rant about it. If your technician falls asleep at the customer’s house – chances are that video will go viral (like the Comcast technician). But if you respond to your customer’s complaints, approach social media with an air of transparency, and engage in an open dialog with consumers, you can create a rabid fan base who will talk about you, promote you, and defend you.

Below are some statistics on consumer reviews as they affect sales:

• The Shop.org State of Retailing Online study, conducted by Forrester Research, found only 26% of the 137 top retailers surveyed offered customer ratings and reviews, but 96% of them ranked customer ratings and reviews as an effective or very effective tactic at driving conversion. (Forrester)

• Consumers say that word of mouth is still the number one influencer in their apparel (34.3%) and electronics (44.4%) purchases (Retail Advertising and Marketing Association/BIGresearch Study, November 2008)

• Online social network users were three times more likely to trust their peers’ opinions over advertising when making purchase decisions. (“Social Networking Sites: Defining Advertising Opportunities in a Competitive Landscape,” JupiterResearch, March 2007)

• According to a global Nielsen survey of 26,486 Internet users in 47 markets, consumer recommendations are the most credible form of advertising among 78% of the study’s respondents. (Nielsen, “Word-of-Mouth the Most Powerful Selling Tool”)

• 70% of online consumers said they use the Internet to research everyday grocery products. (Prospectiv, 2008)

• The majority of electronic consumers researched online for an average of 12 hours before making a purchase, according to a Consumer Electronics Association and Yahoo! Study released in 2006, even though the majority bought their purchases offline through retail stores. Seventy-three percent searched the net because it was easier to compare prices. Sixty-four percent simply found more variety online.

• According to new research in December 2008, UK company 1&1 Internet found that two-thirds of online shoppers carry out internet-based research about retailers before making a purchase and nearly half of UK shoppers read online reviews or recommendations about specific products before buying them.

• The two leading reasons people contribute content to social shopping sites are the need to feel part of a community (31%) and recognition from peers (28%). (IBM Institute for Business Value, August 2007)

• When asked what sources of information they are “very likely” to consult before making a decision about their entertainment options, 62% named Web sites with user reviews as their top choice, even beating out a knowledgeable friend (59%). (Marketing Sherpa, July 2007)

• 81% of Online Holiday Shoppers Read Online Customer Reviews (Nielson Online, December 2008)

• 86% of consumers read online business reviews before making purchasing decisions; 90% of whom say they trust these reviews. (Kudzu.com survey of 600 users, December 2008)

• 91% of millionaires say they always or often look at reviews before buying luxury goods; 68% of ultra-affluent shoppers use consumer reviews. (Unity Marketing/Google study, reported in AdAge October 2008)

• Satisfaction for those who recalled customer reviews on the retailers’ site is 10% higher than those who said there were no reviews offered. Loyalty increases, too: 7% higher likelihood to purchase online, 8% greater likelihood to purchase from the retailer next time they’re buying similar merchandise and 11% greater likelihood to recommend the site to others. (30 UK Online Retail Satisfaction Index, January 2008, ForeSee Results)

• 83% of shoppers said online product evaluations and reviews influenced their purchasing decisions. (Opinion Research Corporation, an infoGROUP company, July 2008)

• 74% agree—including 14% who strongly agree—that they choose companies and brands based on what others say online about their customer service experiences, the survey shows. (Society for New Communications Research, May 2008)

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Facebook: Like

Facebook Ditches Fans in Favor of Likes

1. Protect Yourself

If you can, make another employee or family member an Admin. Facebook has automated internal systems that may shut down your account if it thinks you are engaging in sketchy behavior and having more than one admin makes you look more legit. Redundancy is always a good idea anyway. If your personal account were to go down for some reason, you can still access your fan page through your co-admin’s account. But make sure you give this access to someone you really trust because they WILL be able to post and publish and delete things from your page (they will NOT be able to remove you as admin however). To make another user an admin, first have them fan the page (they can unfan it later if they want to while still maintaining admin privileges). Then go to your left hand box where you see “Fans” with peoples pictures. Click “See All” in the upper right hand corner of the box and a new window pops up titled “View Fans”. You will see that next to all of their pictures is a “Make Admin” button and an “x”. (Clicking the “x” will give you the option of removing them from your fan page or permanently banning them.) Clicking “Make Admin” will grant administrative access to them. This process is the same if you ever want to take this access away. Simply click “Remove Admin”.

2. Naming Your Page URL

When you set up your page initially you had to choose a name – hopefully you chose well because you can’t change it! When you look at your URL you will see it is long and NOT the name of your page (like this: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Severna-Park-MD/Captico/287542615935). This is bulky to share and not intuitive for people looking for you (though you will still show up in searches). To change this to “http://www.facebook.com/companyname” you will need to establish your site and get a following before Facebook will allow you to claim your branded URL. Once you have over 25 followers, go to http://www.facebook.com/username/ where you can set a personalized URL for both your site and any pages you administrate. Click “Set a Username for Your Pages” and then choose the page you want to assign a name to. You will either be able to set your url (be careful, you CANNOT change it!) or you will receive a notice “________is not eligible for a username at this time. In the future, ________ will be able to set a username.” This just means try again later! You may not have enough traffic or fans yet- Facebook seems to be a bit fickle on the requirements here. Usernames can only contain alphanumeric characters (A-Z, 0-9) or a period (“.”) Be sure to claim yours as soon as possible so no one else gets it! Be specific though – generic words are not allowed as usernames.

3. Customizing Your Posts to a Country/Language

If you are a national brand and running a local promotion, you may not want to send your notification to all of your fans around the world. Facebook actually allows you to customize who sees each of your updates. In the “Share” box at the top of your page you will see a button called “Everyone” on the left of the main “Share” button. Clicking this will give you two options – 1) Standard share this post with “Everyone” option or 2) Customize – which will open up a new window allowing you to select what language and country you want your post to go to.

4. Create and Post Events

Do you have a big sale day or event coming up that you want people to attend? Creating an Event on Facebook gives you a great way to advertise it and let your fans rsvp, comment, and share it with their friends! If you don’t see an “Events” tab in your top page navigation, click the plus “+” sign in your top page tabs section and select “Events”. You will then be taken to the “Events” tab where you can “Create an Event“. Now you can always easily create or view your events in your top tab bar.

5. Spam and Haters

Facebook has controls in place to allow you complete control over anything posted to your site. If you encounter a problem with a spammer or destructive comments you have options. You can remove someone from your fan page or permanently block them as described in #1 Protect Yourself of this article, you can delete individual comments by clicking “Delete” in the comment’s box underneath the comment, and you can delete individual posts by mousing over the far right of the post and clicking the “Remove” button that appears.

If you decide that you don’t want fans to be able to post content on your wall or want to limit their settings, click “Edit Page” under your profile picture on the far left. Then click “Wall Settings” from the list below. This tab allows you to change the default landing page as well as giving you control over what Fans can or cannot do. On the Captico Page our fans can post to our wall, post photos, post videos, and share links. These things all appear to come from the individual fan and can be moderated by us at any time.

6. Content!

You want to make your Facebook Fan Page a fun and informative place to be! Once you have your basic information set up (which you can manage by clicking “Edit Page” under your profile picture on the far left), you want to get to work bulking it up. Click the “Photos” tab in your top navigation to create photo albums and upload pictures of your products, offices, staff, events- anything at all! Click the “Discussions” tab to get a forum started. The “Reviews” tab is a place for your fans to post reviews about your company, its products, and services! You can also add new tabs by clicking the plus “+” sign.

Hopefully this article helps get you posting and networking with your fans. Remember that Facebook is a conversation and transparency is key. Interact with your fans and give them a reason to join – coupons and incentives go along way – but be genuine!

Don’t set it and forget it! Post at least once a week – but don’t over post or you’ll annoy your fans. You’ll find a happy medium as you get to know your fan base.

Captico can not only set up your Facebook and Twitter accounts for you, but we can manage them as well. Let us know if you would like more information on these services. Thanks for reading and please share any tips or advice you may have – or ask any questions – in the comments section below!

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In March 2009, Walt Disney Studios and Pixar (and Lee) announced they would theatrically re-release Toy Story and Toy Story 2 together in 3-D. This double feature would be the first place to see the trailer of the newest film in the series, Toy Story 3. As an avid fan, I jumped at the chance to see the movies on the big screen again- and based on their reported box office receipts in October, I wasn’t the only one.

But it was while reading some of Lee’s “tweets” or messages on Twitter, that I was struck by yet another example of how Twitter is breaking down walls between people. While “listening” to the online chatter and responses from people who had attended the Toy Story double feature, Lee learned that not all of the theatres were showing the Toy Story 3 trailer – to a large number of people’s dismay! Lee immediately began putting the word out through his Twitter account that everyone should let him know exactly where and which theatres weren’t playing the trailer and he personally took care of it.

Let me repeat, a major studio director/editor was asking individual movie goers to send him a message detailing their problem and he would take care of it. They did. And he did. This is one of the amazing things about Twitter – accessibility. Not only does it provide a window into the lives of those we admire – whether thats a CEO or movie star – but it allows us to open a dialog with them (or at least feel like we do). In return it allows those who would otherwise be cut off from individual feedback to have a hand in their public perception and to connect with “the little people” and each other.

Imagine having this kind of control over how your products are displayed in a store, or being able to participate in consumers’ discussions about your brand. Twitter allows you to do this and more. So jump in and get involved in the conversation that is social media!

In the past this dispute may have been swept under the radar by Monster, or at least limited to the friends and family of the brewer, but with the access and power of social media, Monster is potentially facing a PR nightmare. Matt and Renee of Rock Art posted a video on YouTube and their website (www.rockartbrewery.com) explaining their history and addressing the lawsuit. They are putting a face and a story to their dilemma that people who had never even heard of Rock Art Brewery are responding to. Their followers on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are taking up the cause and forwarding the story to their followers, using twitter hashtags such as #boycottmonster and #monsterboycott. Their Facebook group Vermonters and Craft Beer Drinkers Against Monster boasts almost 14,000 members. Journalists all over the world are picking up on the story and individuals are blogging their opinions and comments (for both sides).

Whichever party in this debate you find yourself backing, its the power of social media to sway public opinion that is a force to be reckoned with. No matter who wins in court, Monster will have some damage control to run to get their product name back into a favorable light.

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How to add Facebook Like and Share Buttons to Your Website

Facebook: Like

Facebook Ditches Fans in Favor of Likes