We just released How to approach customer service 2.0, an article that has two social media experts discussing the “social revolution” and its impact on businesses and their brands.

To demonstrate the power of the social sites, I noted a blog post about terrible service that was delivered by Rogers Communications. Thousands have read the post and, despite many comments from other customers sharing their displeasures with Rogers, the phone company has yet to respond. That silence damages their brand.

Ironically, just yesterday, an Accounts Receivable rep from Rogers’ frontline stepped forward to personally apologize. Here’s what he wrote:

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As Web 2.0 matures, the line between marketing and customer service is beginning to blur.

Service mishaps and product breakdowns can no longer be swept under the rug. That’s because more than 70% of US and Canadian consumers use the Internet (InternetWorldStats) and can share their experiences with the world.

“The social revolution is forcing companies to evolve and redesign any and all strategies that include existing or potential customers and stakeholders,” said Brian Solis, Founder of FutureWorks and blogger at PR 2.0. “And,” he added, “many don’t even know it yet.”

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I believe design shapes the world, and PR can help give the industry a bigger and brighter stage. That’s why I’m delighted with my recent appointment as the National PR Chair for the Graphic Designers of Canada (GDC), which allows me to help foster understanding and appreciation of design across Canada and around the globe.

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You wouldn’t use Comic Sans if you expect to be taken seriously, and you heard somewhere Arial is supposed to be a “safe” choice…for some reason. Knowing how to use typography for business advantage, is partly why web designers, graphic designers and web copywriters have jobs. What is typography and why is it so important?

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A content marketer, web designer and web copywriter walk into a bar; after a few rounds of shop talk, the designer asks the other two to guess the most popular colour for websites. If “blue” is your response, you’re right. A recent Wired piece cites a study identifying shades of blue as the most used colour on the Web’s 10 most popular websites.

How and how much does the psychology of colour affect consumer behaviour, and why?

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Design thinking is suddenly very trendy — again. What’s changed, and why now?

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It’s reality today: the first place your customers meet you is online. So the big question is: are you putting your best self forward?

“Before any coffee, sales pitch or job interview takes place, there’s a high probability you’re going to get Googled,” insists University of Toronto Professor and Digital Media Strategist Jean George. “Fortunately, big brands and celebrities aren’t the only ones who can strategize and manage their digital footprints.”

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Comic Sans is one of the most popular fonts on earth, lurking amongst birthday cards, comic books, restaurant menus, signs and throughout the Web. Designed by Vincent Connare and released by Microsoft in 1994, the sans-serif casual script typeface is also the most despised font in the design world. It’s forged a phenomenon that has garnered attention from Design Week magazine to the Wall St Journal. So we bluntly asked creative types: Why do designers hate Comic Sans?

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Curious about what websites some of the top professionals in your industry consult on a daily basis? Webcopyplus recently surveyed people we admire in web marketing and related professions to find out what they’re reading online, for both professional inspiration and general interest.  We hope their answers shed some light on what drives them, and perhaps inspire you to broaden your daily reading.

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Online visitors form a first impression of a website quicker than the blink of an eye — literally. It typically takes humans 300 to 400 milliseconds to blink. Meanwhile, scientific research led by Dr. Gitte Lindgaard at Carleton University in Ontario reveals websites have as little as 50 milliseconds to establish a first impression — a mere 1/20th of a second. That’s it!

This is crucial information for any business because once a visitor forms an impression on a subconscious level, he or she will selectively search for information confirming that impression. People do this because we all want to prove we have good judgement. So, if our first impression of a website is negative, we have a tendency to mainly seek and see the negatives, regardless how good a business’ products and services might actually be. Alternatively, if we immediately like what we see, we’ll look for positive information to reinforce that impression.

So how do you avoid making a bad first impression on the Web? Easy. Get a good designer.

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