3 Things For January 3rd, 2023

Connection, Clarity, and a Healthy Ego!

Share Your Passion!!!

Wintertime is a time of renewal, a time of more rest, comfort, and family.  And now, finally, the days have started to get longer and soon, before we know it, spring and new displays of life.  A new year, new beginnings, renewed hope.

We may have made some resolutions about our health (never a bad idea) but have we made some resolutions about how we are going to share our passion with the world?

If not, I invite you to set aside some contemplative time to spend with yourself, then some time with your team, and finally some time with your extended team (aka: Strategy 3).  After all, that is what marketing is: sharing your passion with the world.  The undertaking doesn’t need to be overwhelming, but it should involve some thoughtfulness and planning.

Whether you’re on a good path that just needs some review, or you’re needing to pave a whole new path, we’re here to help.

Cheers to 2023! 🥂

3 Web Design Trends for 2023

Web design is ever changing and new trends pop up yearly, we stay on top of these trends here at Strategy 3 so our new designs stay fresh and relevant to users.

Below are 3 trends we see for this year:

  1. Thumb Friendly Navigation
    – As of November 2022 over 60% of web traffic is from users on mobile devices! People tend to click, scroll, and navigate on mobile devices with their thumb, so taking into consideration where their thumb can access the screen can make the difference from a user easily browsing your site to a chore to do so. Thinking about and designing your mobile navigation so it is easy to use by mobile users is critical for 2023.
  2. Increased Use of Video
    – Video platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram Reels are booming in popularity, so it makes natural sense to incorporate this into your next website design. Video will create additional engagement with your audience and help you stay competitive in your field. Videos are also perfect for our on-the-go society allowing someone to quickly watch a video on your service rather than having to read a wall of text.
  3. High Focus on User Experience (UX)
    – Thinking about how your visitors will interact and consume the content on your site has become important to turn visitors into potential clients. You want to put yourself in your users shoes and try to make interacting with your site as easy and smooth as possible rather than just a “pretty” website.

These are just a few of the design trends we see and are incorporating into our new designs going forward, if you are in need of a new website or a redesign reach out to us at Strategy 3 and we can work with you to plan and design an effective website for your business.

Unflattering Authenticity

Okay, there is a balance here, science does reveal that we can’t shoot a video at an angle that looks up our nose or is overstimulating, etc. and expect to get a positive result. That said, I recall when I worked for a global organization and there was a tangible shift as social media and YouTube started to be a real thing. We went from shooting video of our President in his office, poised behind his desk with a collared shirt and tie, to… down in the lunch room with a polo shirt. The more we began to have access to quick turn, video content, the more we preferred it. Sure it’s entertaining, and even a “good” distraction, but it also serves up quick answers to questions in both our personal and professional lives. We no longer have to spend days researching something, we can likely find a 5 minute tutorial from a human just chilling in their studio, pumping out real solutions. The other thing that psychologically began to happen was a level of authenticity, which translates into trust (regardless if it’s actually warranted). As we became more physically disconnected and shifted to online connections, we needed to feel like it was “real.” We want to know that the people we look to for answers, solutions, services, etc. are not only legitimate, but trustworthy. I will note, this can be an illusion to some degree, but… one of the ways we connect is how much we relate with someone. So, as you consider video as a means to connect with your audience, keep in mind, as long as it’s tolerable (be objective), we often prefer an unpolished, relaxed human rather than someone who’s overly poised and seemingly flawless. Be consistent, be professional… and be human. Embrace an element of unflattering authenticity.