Photoshop will able to save a fortune celebrating their 20th birthday today, after all they can just paint artificial smiles on everyone’s faces, place champagne glasses in everyone’s hand and hey – what a great party!

Oh the world of Photoshop… the image editing software, that often gets it spectacularly wrong, is celebrating its 20th birthday this year having been released on February 19, 1990.

Photoshop has been used to make family photo albums, magazine fashion spreads and scene designs for Hollywood movies such as Avatar. It’s even entered popular dialect, myself included when

I’m flipping through a magazine and an image of a model with unnaturally perfect skin appears and I say; ‘Well, it must have been Photoshopped!’

What people enjoy most about Photoshop is when someone has tried to be clever and got it spectacularly wrong! You know what I’m talking about; the floating hands, unnatural body shapes and the obvious addition of random objects. And what better way to celebrate their 20th birthday, than to include a few of my favourite mistakes for you now…

It seems that companies on the social web are trying to create better consumer relationships by doing good deeds. Their social media efforts are creating incredible new ways for companies to partner with customers, resulting in a wide range of initiatives including contests, giveaways and fundraising events to benefit communities.

Here are two initiatives that represent some of the best corporate “social media for social good” campaigns to date. Take note and be inspired:

Ford Helps Invisible People across America

What matters in these campaigns is visibility and impact, just look at Ford’s sponsorship of Mark Horvath’s drive across America. The company simply provided a Ford Flex and a company-promoted social site to Horvath’s virtually unknown “Invisible People” campaign.

In the end, Ford managed to make homelessness a primary issue. Furthermore, the 11,263 mile effort legitimised Horvath’s “Invisible People” campaign online. Since last summer Mark Horvath has become a national leader in the battle against homelessness.

 “Ford’s support of the Invisible People project was never one of lead generation; it was mainly because we believed in Mark’s mission and because it aligned with our own strategic initiatives,” said Scott Monty, Ford’s social media lead.

“We felt that Mark’s project was a way to extend that and to give some additional exposure to some of our strong products.”

The Pepsi Refresh Project

Although Pepsi Refresh is still in the works, there is no question that Pepsi skipped this year’s Super Bowl ad to reallocate $20 million to the crowd sourced community giving program. The fact that it was a weak year for Super Bowl ads only helped make Pepsi’s decision look even smarter and gave the company a tonne of publicity.

The reason these campaigns work is because it’s not just about writing a quick cheque but it’s about launching a programme that can make a huge impact over a spread out period of time.

Pepsi also did the smart thing of getting people involved with how the money is invested. Remember it’s not just about supporting good causes; it’s about letting your customers help decide which ones are worth supporting.

A lot of graphic designers don’t like using buttons to design a website. They believe buttons can look ugly if they are too large, too colourful, or too in your face. What they can’t ignore though is the fact that these kinds of buttons work.

Buttons are also known as a ‘call to action’. We’re calling the customer to take an action. Adding buttons or calls to action on not only your landing page but throughout your website can help increase conversions and conversion rates exponentially.

Launched in 2000, Rightmove.co.uk was the first property website in the UK to introduce paid advertising on properties for sale. They decided to plan a simple experiment using Google Website. Optimiser to test how changing the ‘Contact Agent’ button and removing the ‘Request Details’ link would impact the conversion rate of email leads to Estate Agents.

Using their existing Google Analytics account, Rightmove set up a multivariate test to experiment with different colours and wording for the ‘Contact Agent’ button, resulting in 16 button variations. Website Optimiser ensured that any changes implemented on the site would be based on actual user preference.

They found that by testing changing a single button they drove 33% more leads.

Now who’s saying buttons aren’t important?

Movies, music, and games topped a new list of the content types that consumers are most willing to pay for online. The survey of 27,000 consumers across 52 countries, also indicated that content created online, such as blogs, podcasts, and video, are the least likely to attract consumer’s money.

These findings come as good news, as consumers are clearly indicating more of a willingness to pay for more online, particularly online newspapers, magazines and radio. Take a look at the chart to see more:

However, the study also found that “nearly eight out of every ten (79%) would no longer use a web site that charges them, presuming they can find the same information at no cost.” In other words, unless your website breaks a lot of exclusive stories then charging for content will be almost impossible.

There’s a time to be nice and there’s a time to not. This idea of being disagreeable upsets many people, in particular the mediators out there and the people pleasers. Whilst I am inclined to roll my eyes, you may be inclined to use your charm and often you’re right. But sometimes, it’s not a matter of pleasing everyone and who can resist a good debate?

You see, I’m not afraid to be controversial when I’m writing. And you shouldn’t be either. Here’s why:

•    Do you remember learning about the “flight or fight response” at school? A time when something threatens you and your adrenalin starts pumping. Well, reading something that makes you mad is the print equivalent of being challenged by a rhinoceros. But the key difference is – instead of running away, you read more, and you read faster. You become engaged. You care. And that’s exactly the kind of reader every writer wants.

•    Strong opinions will make some people dislike you but it will also make some people LOVE you. As Kasabian said at last nights Brit awards: “You can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.” Nicey-nice writing won’t offend anyone, but it won’t excite anyone either. Did you know that some of the best-selling books on Amazon are the ones that 50% of people hate?

•    When people read strong opinions, it forces them to think – if only to defend their own point of view. Never underestimate the value of getting people to think – especially when they’re thinking about you, your service or business.

•    People who feel strongly will step forward to tell you so. And that’s the best thing of all, because suddenly, you’ve achieved interactivity. That’s the first step in building a relationship with your potential customer.

Now I’m not suggesting you go out and be controversial for the sake of it, just remember that you don’t have to be “safe” all the time. Don’t have an allergic reaction to anything that might be the tiniest bit controversial. Otherwise, your words will be bland and boring, and you’ll send your readers to sleep.

Take a look at our own 'My Nasty,' Simon Cowell for example. A man best known for saying what he thinks even if it is slightly controversial. You've heard the boo's but have you also seen the amount of fans he has? He gets more respect for saying what he thinks rather than saying what he thinks people want to hear.

Writing should be vibrant and lively with strong statements. You have to understand that you will cause some people to disagree and if you disagree with this blog, then good!

You’ll often have different visitors arriving to your homepage with different intentions and goals in mind. The key to a good homepage is to make it easy for visitors to find the quickest and easiest path to their destination.

As you can imagine, trying to find your destination is a lot easier when you have sign posts and a simple street layout. You need to make sure on your homepage you signpost the way for your visitors, keeping your layout clean and uncluttered.

Multivariate testing tools like Google Website Optimiser will help your develop a home page design so it makes it easy for you to land your visitors to their goal destination.

Let’s look at Debenhams as an example. As a leading department store group with a strong online presence at www.debenhams.com, they secure over 3 million unique visitors each month.

Debenhams has been using Google Website Optimiser to make online marketing decisions based on hard data and consumer preferences.

They have been testing creative design and placement to improve the sign up to Debenhams’ Beauty Club newsletter. Website Optimiser offered Debenhams’ Senior Web Manager, Brett Bennett, the ability to test and accurately measure the effectiveness of 4 possible combinations before committing to a final solution.

By using a new design for the promotional banner, and amending the layout for 2 of the variations, Brett set about testing. Within a week, a conclusive winner emerged from the variations.

The winning combination has since improved email sign ups by 89%.

So why don’t you identify an area of your site that you wish to test? This can be based on your analytics data, or a particular marketing or creative idea. By designing various combinations and running them through a testing platform, you’ll find a winning combination.

Let me introduce you to someone in our office… Siân. When Siân shops, she knows what she shops for. She types into Google... red shoes, high heel, size 5. When your site pops up, she clicks onto your site, ready to buy. Then you go and make the stupendous mistake of landing her into a page about handbags. Confused and disappointed, Siân clicks straight off your site and into your competitors, making a mental note never to visit your company again.

High street retailers, Next, noticed that they had a high exit rate from search pages for boys socks and they found that by testing more specific results, they reduced exit rates by 20% and increased conversions by 7%. Therefore if you had landed Siân into your shoe section you would have at least been on the right track, but if you had landed Siân into a page featuring high-heel red shoes size 5, then you too could reduce your exit rate and increase your conversions too.

Top tips for site search:

1. Check quality of results: Is your site’s search function working well? Ensure visitors are getting relevant results, even when they search on synonyms or misspellings.
2. Make site search visible: Visitors to your site should be able to see, at a glance, where to search. Consider enlarging your search box or making it more prominent.
   
3. Allow customers to sort results: People like to be able to sort through search results. Allow visitors to order what they see by anything from price or popularity to colour, style etc.
4. Lay out search results clearly: Ensure visitors can glance through search results and compare listings easily to decide where to click next.

A new study has revealed that the majority of consumers react positively when companies respond to postings on social media sites. The response indicates the value of social media as a new way to engage people and build your company’s image, reputation and brand.

The study found 55% of consumers felt positively when companies responded to a social media posting, with only 5 percent reacting negatively and 40 percent remaining neutral.

The study included feedback from 27,000 consumers about their use and impressions of social media whilst 22 companies provided information on their social media policies to see how it compared.

Whilst the results reinforce the value of monitoring social media sites, companies should also be aware of the fine line between using social media to connect with customers and constantly selling to them.

Other highlights of the survey included:

•    60% of consumers engage in social media sites (62% women, 57% men).
•    The percentages by age closely mirrored the general population with 35 year olds and younger using social media 80% of the time or more and 36 to 50 year olds using it an average of 60% of the time. Of those consumers in their 70's and 80's, 21% are visiting social media sites.
•    Slightly more than 85% consumers utilise on Facebook, where all the participating companies have a presence, 38% on YouTube, 19% on MySpace, and almost 13% on Twitter.
•    One in ten consumers who did contact consumer affairs departments from the 22 companies polled posted dialogue to a social media site. 58% percent of the women posted a positive comment, compared to 49% for men. 35% of the males posted a negative comment versus 26% of women.

Auto dealers say the Internet has given them the highest return on investment in five years and 96% of dealers now believe that the Internet will play the dominant role in the future of their marketing.

One hundred percent of respondents reported that their Internet strategies helped them through the recession, with the over 75% reporting that the Internet had been their highest ROI.

In comparison, 7.5% of dealers ranked TV first, 6.5% ranked newspapers and 2.5% ranked radio.

Dealers said the advantage of the Internet was being able to reach more customers, as well as the fact it’s cheaper and more targeted than traditional media, like TV & radio.

93% of dealers have increased their Internet marketing budgets in the last five years, with more than half (56%) boosting their Internet budgets by 50% or more.

According to 93% of those surveyed third-party leads continued to benefit dealers for the following reasons:

•    Having control over what I spend/how many leads I’m guaranteed to get
•    ‘Because so many consumers use 3rd-party research websites I’m able to capture ready-to-buy car shoppers’
•    ‘They’re cost-efficient and measurable’
•    ‘They enable me to expand my reach across the Web’

1. Don't Ignore Brand Mentions

As you create your personal brand, your name will start appearing in search engines and on social networks. This can be good or bad, depending on the context. The viral nature of social networks means that you will need to listen what people are saying about you and you don’t want negative mentions spreading fast. I recommend setting up a Google alert for your name, your company’s name, key competitors, partners, and industry buzz terms. There are also many other free tools out there that can help you monitor your brand.

2. Don't Spread Yourself Too Thin

If you use each and every social network that launches, you will probably start to spread yourself too thin, which can really hurt your brand. You won’t have enough time in the day to update all of your social profiles, as well as keep track of pictures, profile information, groups, etc. In general, you should only join the largest social networks (Facebook (Facebook), Twitter (Twitter), LinkedIn (LinkedIn)), as well as those networks in your industry.

3. Don't Give the Wrong Image

On Facebook, it’s a good idea to have a profile page for your inner circle of friends and family members and then a Facebook Fan Page for your professional image. This way, you can make your profile private and hide it from search. People will know you’re hiding your profile but they should respect your privacy, especially since you’re giving them the option to follow your fan page.

4. Don't Over Promote Yourself

Self-promotion is an extremely important part of building your brand because if no one knows about you, then how are they going to do business with you? Self-promotion works best in moderation otherwise, if you’re constantly promoting yourself, many people will unfollow, unfriend, or block you from their network. One of the best ways to build a strong personal brand is to promote other people, this creates a connection, as well as distributing value based on what you have to offer: Your expertise.

5. Don't Be Inconsistent

Consistency is extremely important when it comes to any kind of branding. Selecting an image and spreading it across your social media — your website, your blog, your presentations, your press kits, your business cards, etc. — will build image recognition in the mind of your audience. There is no question that you already have a personal brand — whether you built it yourself or not. The way to differentiate it from everyone else is through management.

By paying attention to mentions of your name online, not spreading yourself too thin, knowing your audience, offering more value than self-promotion, and being consistent, you can be very successful.