My first impression of the Google+ pages is rather an underwhelming one and I’m left questioning why we waited so long for this update. On the surface the new Google+ pages don’t appear to be any different from profile accounts and then after I played around with the new pages I also found out that the functionality isn’t that different either.

Here is a list of differences between Google+ Profiles and Pages from Google:

• Pages can’t add people to circles until the page is added first or mentioned.
• Pages can be made for a variety of different entities whereas profiles can only be made for people.
• The default privacy setting for elements on your page profile is public.
• Pages have the +1 button.
• Pages can’t +1 other pages, nor can they +1 stuff on the Web.
• Pages can’t play games.
• Pages don’t have the option to share to ‘Extended circles’.
• Pages don’t receive notifications via email, text, or in the Google bar.
• Pages can’t hangout on a mobile device.
• Local pages have special fields that help people find the business’ physical location.

So the majority of differences is that Google+ Pages are restricted from using many of the Google+ functions but on the other hand they have a +1 button. It makes me wonder what has been done over the past few months and I can only hope that Google has a lot more up their sleeves for Google+ Pages.

Something I would like to see in the near future is the ability to customize the pages, much like how Google allow companies to do fun and exciting things with their YouTube Pages. Even just the ability to change the background would be welcome!

A feature that Facebook has that Google+ Pages desperately needs is the functionality to have multiple admins managing the page. As well as this we are again left frustrated by not having vanity URLs. Surely this isn’t too much to ask!

A nice feature Google have included is called Google+ Direct connect where users can search for Pages from their search box by adding a + at the start of their search to view the Google+ Page and the company or brand logo is shown in the drop down. Although this is a nice feature I’m unsure whether it will change how people search. Instead it would be better to have the logo appear without the need for the + or for the Google+ Page to appear in a promoted location somewhere in the SERPS, with some of it’s latest updates (this would involve being a verified account or more likely coming at a cost).

There is bound to be more on the way…..there has to be if brands are to embrace Google+.

View the KMP Digitata Google+ Page

The constant development of better mobile devices and the improvement of data coverage by the mobile networks have been the driving force that has made mobile web browsing one of the fastest growing digital activities over the past 2 years.

Some organisations, such as Morgan Stanley, believe that mobile web browsing will take over desktop browsing as soon as 2015. Here at KMP Digitata we felt it was the right time for us to update our own website to cater for this change in browsing habits and interaction, not to mention the fact that we finally managed to find some time between client projects to squeeze it in.

The new KMP Digitata mobile website isn’t a scaled down version of the desktop site, instead we opted to keep all the same content and build it within the same WordPress install. For the mobile site we designed a new navigation and page templates that were more suited to mobile screens. Using a simple User Agent Detection script we are able to define which WordPress theme is displayed, depending on the browser used, reducing the need for a sub-domain, such as m.kmp.co.uk.

Mobile optimised websites are a small part of our expertise in mobile. We’ve recently launched a mobile site for Renold Plc and are currently in the early stages of developing a mobile experience for Manchester Airport. In addition to this we have also built mobile applications Manchester Airport and their regional airports, with other apps in the pipeline.

This latest mobile update is just one of many that are still to come for the KMP Digitata website to keep it up to date. We would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on our new mobile website, either leave us a comment below or tweets us at @KMPDigitata.

Here is Tim‘s (a front end developer), account of our most recent external user testing session (with a single user);

Earlier this year we launched a new website for a client. A few months down the line we felt it important to assess whether the website is achieving its set goals. Carrying out user testing is par for the course, particularly if the client isn’t getting the conversions that they were looking for. It allows us to see how their customers browse the site and brings to light any issues that they’re having which may not have been clear in our earlier testing.

The user involved in this batch of testing was an architect who had been using PCs for 23 years, browsing the internet for 18 years and had recently started to dabble in web design.

The test subject is given different actions to perform, described by a facilitator such as “find a certain product and order” or “find out information about a certain subject”. The whole process is observed throughout by a group the other side of a two way mirror who take notes about how easily the user reaches set locations or points at which they become stuck as well as other considerations.

The first thing we noticed was the user’s browsing style. He would return to the home page for every scenario instead of carrying on from the page he was on even though the navigation was the same on both pages. This isn’t uncommon. He also didn’t use the back button on the browser at all, even to return to the previous/parent page; he’d go to the home page and follow the previous path to get back.

During this round of testing we discovered that the most common issues were that call-to-actions were difficult to find and the registration process for an event needed to be simplified. There were a couple of issues with navigation and signposting where the was in the site (the active navigation state wasn’t clear – colours were too similar) which probably explains going back to the home page with every scenario.

What did we take away from this test session? Well, it made me realise just how much influence even the smallest changes in colour, size, position, etc has on the customers’ ability to find what they’re looking for. It’s also good to have a fresh set of eyes (not webby eyes) run through what you’ve become used to seeing for months during the build. They picked up on things which I expected to be simple interactions and take for granted when browsing the web. It has made me sit and put my ‘user’ hat on more than ever because if there’s a bizarre way of doing something which you wouldn’t expect, it’ll be the first thing to pop up in testing.

User testing can be carried out as part of our Creative Support retainers. Clients choose to complete user testing and take up retainers in order to continually update and improve their websites to make them as successful as possible while generating outstanding ROI.

The winning entry was for TrekAmerica’s Ultimate Road Trip and the viral Facebook application we created at the heart of it.

The reasons given for winning this award was the campaign’s “Expert knowledge of the target audience, strategy to encourage engagement and the outstanding results it achieved”.

We were up against some stiff competition in this category, including promotions for brands such as ASDA and Cobra beer so we’re delighted to have won. We were also nominated for “Best Social Media Campaign” for the same work.

We are regularly nominated in these types of awards for the work we do and it’s worth noting that great work comes when working for clients, such as Trek America who are willing to put their faith in an idea and devote resources to social media and digital channels when competing with budget for more traditional marketing endeavours.

All that’s left now is to decide where the award will be proudly displayed.

With the Tensar International website, we used the Sitecore system to build a multi-lingual site that used a strong visual navigation. With Sitecore we were easily able to incorporate a number of tools including Share Point and Sage CRM.

IMI Cornelius’ website includes a comprehensive e-Commerce system to complement its full catalogue of products available on the site.

Our recently announced Sue Ryder partnership will involve a Sitecore project and we look forward to other projects that will come from being a Certified Solution Partner.

KMP Digitata was awarded the business following a selection process that initially included agencies from all over the country.

Martyn Ladds, Head of Marketing at Sue Ryder, praised KMP Digitata for their understanding of the Sue Ryder brand, for providing creative solutions that exceeded the Charity’s brief and for their passion throughout the entire pitch process.

Put simply “KMP got it spot on” said Martyn Ladds. He continued, “We were very excited by KMP’s strategic thinking and creativity and we are now keen to continue the process of change we have already begun within Sue Ryder.”

KMP Digitata’s work with Sue Ryder will incorporate the definition and implementation of an entire new digital strategy. Web and mobile channel offerings will be designed, delivered and integrated into a new CRM system. Business critical areas such as volunteering, fundraising, event management and donating will benefit from KMP Digitata’s 20 years of online expertise where delivering “Return on Investment” is always paramount. Functionality including personalisation and ecommerce, together with creative and technical support for new systems serving the Sue Ryder estate of over 350 shops and 14 hospices and care centres nationwide will be introduced and facility managed 24/7/365 by KMP Digitata.

Jon Keefe KMP Digitata’s co-founder and CEO commented “To be appointed digital partners and entrusted by a national charity as prestigious as Sue Ryder with steering, delivering and supporting their digital strategy is a huge vote of confidence in our people, their expertise and skills and our philosophy of delivering real return on investment for our clients.”

It is an exciting time for both KMP Digitata and Sue Ryder. We will keep you posted on all future developments and news.

Milligan believed that it’s old website lacked certain features, such as a “What’s New” area, a “Firsts” section that focused on innovative elements created by Milligan and an “About Us” page that contains a video which showcases Milligan’s unique approach and vision to create places where people are inspired to shop.

Milligan challenged KMP to produce an innovative design that would create an immediate positive impact on the user while still catering for a wide range of audiences. The site was to be exciting and bold with clear signposting and branding to allow users to quickly and easily navigate through their journey.

KMP Digitata has created a visually striking website that is easy for all users to navigate and fully editable thanks to its underlying CMS platform – Ackura SiteManager; a system developed by KMP Digitata as part of their Ackura product range.

The new website uses a strong visual element that focuses on using striking full screen images to convey information about Milligan and its style. The images and photos used have been specifically chosen to complement the content on the pages they are used on.

The decision was made to split the navigation into two sections, one in the in the top left containing Milligan’s services and company information, and one across the bottom containing secondary navigation information, such as T&Cs and approach. This was used in order to provide the more important information in a clear and concise manor and avoid having large navigation menus.

Milligan Retail now has an outstanding new website that embodies the company’s drive to create inspiring retail venues.

We spent weeks looking through arty print websites full of movie poster prints, black and white scenery, flowers and even babies, none of which felt right. It seemed like we would never find something that everyone in the studio agreed upon until I discovered a range of Retro game wall stickers that everyone immediately knew were perfect. So now the office walls are the home of 70s games, such as Pong, Asteroids and Space Invaders.

For the full collection of photos of the KMP Digitata office redesign go to the KMP Digitata Facebook page.

KMP Digitata helped Manchester Airport set up their hugely successful Twitter account and aided them with their strategy for the first few months. Here at KMP Digitata we had already had success with TrekAmerica‘s 8 Mates Across the States and VIE at Home Facebook applications and we knew that there was an opportunity for Manchester Airport to take advantage of the popularity of Facebook.

The Task

Manchester Airport came to use with 2 objectives that they wanted to achieve through any means that we saw appropriate. Following on from KMP Digitata’s and Manchester Aiport’s success with Twitter and the Tweeting Departure board we felt that something with Facebook was the next step.
The first objective was to inform people of all the destinations that the public can fly to from Manchester Airport outside of the destination map on the Manchester Airport website.
Secondly Manchester Airport wanted to increase the number of contacts in their CRM database in manor where the contact would be happy to provide their details.

The Solution

Drawing inspiration from a campaign run by Manchester Airport back in spring 2010, featuring a piggy bank, KMP felt there was a game in the concept of an airport making a pig fly. The idea of pig-a-pult was born and to fulfil the objectives given by the airport. The aim of the game is to launch the pig (named Piggles) via a catapult from Manchester

Airport and get him to land at one of their many destinations and in doing so subtly inform the user of where Manchester Airport can catapult them to. By applying a scoring system that rewards those who get nearer to the furthest destinations we can create a leader board and give a top prize to whoever scores the highest then smaller prizes to randomly selected players. To be entered into the competition the player enters their email and so fulfils the 2nd objective.

The Prizes

With Social Games the main pull is getting the bragging over your friends as to who have the highest score. To add extra incentive to play the game, Manchester Airport is giving away an iPad to the person who gets the highest score. In addition to the iPad there is also a lucky draw to win £500 worth of holiday vouchers.

So if you want to win an iPad or £500 give pig-a-pult a go and make some pigs fly.

Concern Worldwide have today released a video of the latest developments of how the Twestival money is being spent in Liberia on building a new school for the local community and how much they appreciate the efforts made by everyone who got involved in this year’s Twestival events.

In 2009 Manchester Twestival raised £4000 for Charity Water and with the 2010 event beating that amount we hope that 2011 will follow the trend and raise even more money for those who truly need it.