At A Dead End

For artefact 3, don't have a clue where to go with it next.

Artefact 2 Evaluation

Following my first artefact of the questionnaire from business owners, I wanted to look into the extent of how much they used their online presence to sell their business. I looked into 15 of the 30 companies from the results of my first artefact I wanted to find out more into what they used digital media for e.g. advertising themselves or selling their products. How well do they use the opportunities of the web and establish the levels of effort, investment and relevance the business put into their website / social networking site. I also looked at companies that had both a website and Facebook page and then either or to see if this made a difference. The image created of comparing the sites can be seen in a previous post, I looked at how relevant the information was, the general design and layout, how often the site was updated. It was surprising that even though all companies from the questionnaire answered that their business had some sort of online activity that only 2 out of the 15 I looked into had a generally good website that was used to the full degree. Narborough Hall and Marks Electrical had the ability to not just view products but also order them online. Companies that ticked they had a Facebook page, the majority of them didnt actually use them at all. Claire's Cakes had 700 like on her Facebook page, often updating images and introducing competitions for her online views.

Marks Electrical were a business I interviewed for my actual research project and they said how much social networking had improved their business. Angela Adams, manager of Marks Electrical explained that the website which was set up 10 years ago for customers to buy the products online has massively boosted sales, with around 70% of sales being online. The Internet as a whole has a massive impact on the profits of Marks Electrical. The website allows an online booking service for the product to be installed the next day. An automated email or text is then sent to the customer to tell them of delivery times. It allows it to be quicker and easier for both the customer and business. This shows me them using the web to a full extent, being the local business that has the highest turnover (annually of £18 million) that I researched into leads me to question if using the digital media opportunities reflects on the success of the business.

The results also showed that some businesses established 15-20 years ago use social networking, some don’t although do have websites. Showing me that time businesses established doesn’t effect online presence. My results show that all local businesses have an online presence of some sort, however the extent to which they use them to good degree isn’t applaudable. Many websites are very basic, simply designed with no links to social networking or ability to buy products. Many create a Facebook page so the content has the potential to generate favourable search engine results for the business and brand.

Artefact 2 Presentation

Artefact 2 Presentation for 27th Feb

Artefact 2 Findings

Findings from Artefact 2..

Although all 15 companies I researched into had some sort of online existence, only 2 of them actually used the website to the full degree and their Facebook pages were frequently updated with the public also engaging, Marks Electrical had over 13,000 likes.

Websites were used predominantly for advertising and social networking to encourage online “word of mouth”. The only site avaliable to buy products were the two that had both a frequently updated facebook and website with good layout and design. (Narborough Hall & Marks Electrical)

My results showed that some businesses established 15-20 years ago use social networking, some don’t although do have websites. Showing me that time businesses established doesn’t effect online presence.

Hair and beauty services rely massively on social networking & word of mouth.

Artefact 2,

Artefact 2:
To what extent do local businesses use the opportunities of having an online presence, to advertise and sell their business?

After comparing the local businesses online existence, be it Facebook or a website or both, it became very apparent that although id did exist it was rare for the site to have good aesthetics or be regularly used by both the business and the public (many had under 20 likes on Facebook pages.) Marks Electrical had the best concept website, being able to order online, look at stock and links to the social networking pages which had over 13,000 likes.

Artefact 2 Website Images

Just for need of anyone to see the images, as the document I have created with them all the images are quite small so this is just for them to be compared as a larger image.
Some companies will show both facebook and website, what works well, what doesn't. If they have either a website or facebook then the companies that use it to the full extent and others that don't...

Aretfact Twoooo

Still a little unsure how this will work, but leading on from artefact 1 in which I found 29 out of the 30 businesses from questionnaires had some sort of online presence, i wanted to find out more into what for.. advertising themselves..selling their products. How well they use the opportunities of the web and ascertain levels of effort, investment and relevance the business put into their website / social networking site.

I'll look at companies that have both a website and Facebook page and then either or to see if this makes a difference, the time the company was established may make a difference, the type of industry the company is may also impact the results.

i'm going to take screen shots and compare the aesthetics, layout, frequency of content updates and just the general amount of effort put into the use of digital media.

Artefact 2

For my second artefact I plan to compare the websites and social networking presence of the businesses from my questionnaire results to see to extent they are using the opportunity of digital media to do so for their business. I'm hoping it will give me an insight into how it also effects the customers which could potentially lead on to artefact 3

jQuery Slider

Trying to find a good j query slider for the home page, have this basic one at the mo but browsing for better onesss

Also going to see if Claire wants social network links on home page

Artefact 1 Evaluation

Artefact 1:
For my first artefact I gave local business owners a questionnaire to fill in to find out to what extent they use the opportunities of the digital world, to advertise their business. I thought doing a questionnaire would be a bit useless and draw results that I was already expecting, however on reflection it showed some interesting information about companies use of the digital media and certain things that could effect it, for example when established and the industry of the business. All 30 companies sampled used either social networking or websites or both, with 29 using a website. This high level of online activity suggests proprietors recognise the importance of the digital age they operate in. Websites were used predominantly for advertising and social networking to encourage online “word of mouth” I found that service industries focus more energy on social networking, especially hair and beauty companies.My results showed that businesses established 15-20 years ago don’t use social networking, although do have websites.All 30 used business cards which always included links to their website and social network sites. Clearly not all business believe social networking to be a necessity, however the fact that all 8 service businesses established in the last 5 years, show it’s a growing phenomenon.
My research project focused massively on both how the companies advertised themselves and how they used digital media to achieve this, as well as selling the products and services. The questionnaire results show that that all clearly think having an online presence improves their business but how much? and how much are they using the opportunities of the media to do so?
My results have lead to onto artefact 2 in which it left me wondering that although the local businesses have some sort of online presence, to what extent are they using the web to sell the business? I want to compare all 30 companies websites and social networking sites to ascertain levels of effort, investment and relevance.

Artefact 1 Presentation

Artefact 1 Presentation for 12th Feb.

Black To Pink

Claire has said she wanted the text to be pink not black..

May need to changed the navigation colour as it may be too much pink now.

Changed the hover to beige.

Clienttt

Artefact 1 Findings

All 30 companies sampled used either social networking or websites or both, with 29 using a website. This high level of online activity suggests proprietors recognise the importance of the digital age they operate in.

Websites were used predominantly for advertising and social networking to encourage online “word of mouth” Service industries focus more energy on social networking.

My results showed that businesses established 15-20 years ago don’t use social networking, although do have websites.

All 30 used business cards which always included links to their website and social network sites.

Clearly not all business believe social networking to be a necessity, however the fact that all 8 service businesses established in the last 5 years, show it’s a growing phenomenon

Basic Fonts & Colours Mock Ups

Basic mock up to send to Claire to understand what fonts, colours and navigation she likes.

Font

Claire got back to me on the font to use. She wants to "yummy cake" for headings and then just a basic serif font for content.

unsure if to leave black or another colour, going to see other colours i'm using on the page to see how well it will fit in.

online shopping, came across this site which I like, layout & simplicity.

Fontsssss

Some fonts to use for client site, sent them to Claire to see what she likes best for headings etc etcccc