Posts

Why your website should be mobile friendly

/in /by

Is your website mobile friendly? If not, you are missing out on opportunities and here is why.

Did you know that more than 50% of shoppers are now browsing from a mobile device versus from a PC? Also, the rates are increasing in favour of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, even when it comes to making purchases. What this means is that brands and retailers are missing out on a great opportunity if their websites are not designed to be mobile friendly, or in other words: your website should have a responsive design.

mobilegeddon

Now more than ever, having a responsive website is critical to the health of your online presence. On April 21st, 2015 Google released its latest algorithm that will reward those sites that are mobile optimized, and on the other hand “punish” those that are not. The algorithm nicknamed “mobilegeddon” will affect million of websites, and most of those will be small businesses.

How does the “mobilegeddon” work?

According to The Next Web, the algorithm scans your website for responsive design elements, loading times and mobile best practices. If you don’t pass their mobile friendliness test  then you can expect to see a 1/3 of your traffic drop. You will also notice that your website won’t rank as high in Google searches on mobile devices (especially if you rely on localized searches such as “fashion designers in Toronto”

So, what can you do?

First step, check if your website is mobile friendly by using Google’s own test tool (click here). Then, if you don’t have the resources to redo your entire site, start with one page at a time in terms of importance. For instance, first optimize your homepage and then move on to subsequent pages.

That being said, redoing your website shouldn’t be a burden and it might even do you good to get a web facelift and keep the look fresh. Our team is ready to help any fashion businesses that are in need of website mobile optimization, and our special packages start at only $1000 for a complete website! As always, don’t hesitate to drop us a line if you have any questions about your web and marketing needs, our advice is always free!

 

New marketing services for emerging fashion designers

/in , /by

Earlier this year we launched a number of support services for emerging fashion designers: web design, marketing and social media and public relations.  Our crowdfunding website can now be found at preorder.luevo.com and we are getting ready for next season!

For the last 2 years we’ve been working with dozens of fashion designers and we’ve learned some things about their business process and what defines success:

1. Good designers DESIGN. We’ve talked to designers that went to school or that were self-taught, and they all share the same passion: to design. If they are good at it, they live and breathe design.

2. Designers are CREATIVE minds. They work well with shapes, colors, they have a visual memory. They are not as good with numbers and analytics.

3. Designers lack TIME. You see, if they are good designers they spend most of their time designing and use their creativity to get inspired and keep designing. They don’t have the time for much else.

The problem is a business is not just the product. It’s just not good enough to have amazing products. The online space is an opportunity and a curse. It is an opportunity because you can reach so many people around the world virtually instant. But you are a small fish in the biggest ocean there is, so you will have a very hard time getting on that opportunity.

I was fortunate to be able to build an amazing team around me and that we share the same common values: to help emerging designers succeed in their businesses so they can create more jobs locally and further grow our textile industry.  We decided to put forward our knowledge, our skills and our experience and continue our work a lot more hands on that we were doing it before.

So here is how we can help aspiring and emerging fashion designers:

1. Fashion Branding & Web Design Services

Remember that “people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it” – and for that you need cohesive branding and a strong online presence that tells your story.

I know that web design might be overwhelming, and I also know that design agencies take advantage of those that are not tech savvy. We build wordpress based websites that offer our clients a variety of options and e-commerce built in. The advantage is that your website will be search engine optimized (SEO) and responsive (mobile friendly) and we offer free coaching to teach you how to do your own small changes and updates and how to further optimize your content to get more online traffic.

2. Fashion Public Relations

We created a unique new method of running public relations campaigns for our fashion clients. Our formula is easily customizable, and we can either teach you how to do it yourself or we can run a complete PR campaign for you. Be aware of agencies that charge ridiculous amounts of money and request monthly retainers. We can help you on a project based basis and we only charge a one time fee, there are no hidden fees with us!

3. Social Media for Fashion Brands

With this one we really have fun! While I teach Social Media at the George Brown College Fashion School, I make sure that myself and our team is always up to date with the latest tools and techniques.  We can work with you on a one time basis where we evaluate your social media presence and build your strategy, or we can get our hands dirty and manage your channels month to month.

As a side note, I am also personally available for hourly consultations if you just need me to come in  for a couple of hours and give support. And always remember, that we don’t start a project until we communicated the solution with our potential customer. So not only do we analyse the state of your business and your goals but we also offer our recommendations for free.

 

This article was written by our co-founder Ana Caracaleanu.