Klout and Kred are very similar but have distinct differences as they are from competing companies (who take residence in the same building!) who both measure the impact of your company or your personal social media impact. It’s a way of not only scoring your success over the likes of Facebook and Twitter, but rewarding users and measuring HOW people respond to you.

Rewards, you say?

Klout offers rewards in terms of influence. For instance, if you have a high score on Klout for influence, companies in association with Klout are likely to offer you freebies, deals and prizes in exchange for a tweet or a Facebook post about them. They call these ‘perks’. However, without the right amount of Klout or Kred, it may or may not be worth these firms presenting you with giveaways. The average score for any Klout user is around 20, and anything above that you may well be eligible for perks. That’s why you need to work hard on your Klout – to maintain the good things in life!

What a Klout profile should look like.

So, they sound pretty similar?

Klout was the first Social Media measurement tool of its kind, and is now used by the likes of Audi and Disney. It measures the influence you have over certain platforms, and then gives you a score out of 1000 as to what actions have gone well for you that day and why/how this occurred.

+Kred however, mentions and identifies influencers who are inspired to take actions from your posts – a key difference in contrast to Klout. It measures how you inspire others: focusing on the expanse of your outreach (the number of people looking at you and being influenced by you.) and the likelihood that people will act upon your posts (taking into account their Kred influences as well).

Both platforms make it possible to pass along +Kred and Klout to other users they respect, and also to help their ratings. In this sense they become a Social Media platform as well as an analytics database. And although they are both good platforms at giving you an incentive to get better at honing your Social Media skills: it is debatable at how accurate the levels of ‘influence’ really are. As Obama has a lower score than some local bloggers, it could be criticized for not taking enough factors into account.

MAXX are sure that as Klout and Kred grow they will become more influential in the way that users use Facebook and Twitter. Already with over 1million daily users, we are sure it will develop into an integral part of our daily routines. It’s definitely worth watching the Klout and Kred space!

If you need help with Social Media then don’t hesitate to contact us! MAXX are great at making you look good online as well as on paper. Don’t forget we are on Twitter and Facebook too!

IS YOUR WEBSITE CONFORMING TO THE NEW COOKIE LAWS?

The law states that if a website makes use of cookies, especially if they are not considered necessary, the visitor to that specific domain must:

• Be clearly notified that their information will be collected whilst browsing the site.
• Be provided with the information on the types of cookies used, the purpose of storage, and what will be collected.
• Note their consent.

Originally implemented last May, websites were then given an extra year to sort out the heavy implications of the new law, it becomes fully policed on May 26^th 2012.

WHAT IS A COOKIE?

A small file that collects specific information about your actions on a website. Google Analytics uses cookies to track your progress through a site. Some cookies collect your details and remember where you have been on a site and what you have clicked on.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?

If you are a business that makes use of cookies on your website, you will need to abide by these requirements. This means more terms and conditions integrated into your privacy policy and in some extreme cases the opportunity for users to give their consent for you to use cookies to collect information. Although the law is intended to target things like Spyware, it has become entangled with the day-to-day use of cookies on all websites.

For a website using a lot of cookies it could mean the development of a pop up box delivered to every user before they access your site, requesting permission. This is obviously unworkable and would result in severely reduced visits.

So a reasonable work around seems to be, as long as your cookies are considered only a minor intrusion, and are essential for the working of your sites, updating your privacy policy is a good place to start. At MAXX we have updated our privacy policy in relation to the cookies we use, find our example here (scroll to bottom). In our privacy policy, we clearly state what cookies we use, the time the cookie is set for and what data will be collected.

This amendment to your privacy policy, assuming there are no cookies on your site collecting unnecessary data, will be sufficient to keep you within the Cookie law for now. It has not been made clear what is considered a “strictly necessary” cookie so until the new law becomes a little more specific we believe our amendments are fully inline with the spirit of the law.

However, if your cookies are “moderately intrusive” you may need to work on constructing a consent form. For help with this don’t hesitate to contact us!

Further Reading:

The MAXX approach

http://www.maxx-design.co.uk/privacy-policy.html

A website offering excellent material about the new law

http://nocookielaw.com/

An example of a website which uses a lot of cookies

http://www.london2012.com/cookies-policy/

What Google says about Analytics

http://code.google.com/apis/analytics/docs/concepts/gaConceptsCookies.html

What the BBC have said

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-13541250

An example of a website that is not compliant with the law at the moment.

http://www.parliament.uk/ is not compliant with this law as of 26-06-12.

She even got more than she bargained for when she was presented with – not the expected Hotel Chocolat ostrich egg, but a Chocolatier’s TABLE. A meter wide, containing 125 delicious individual choccies, this truly epic prize is made for sharing – have a look and see!

Samantha also won a Facebook cover photo design from MAXX’s talented design team, and a social media strategy so Genus can really get to grips with social media and the benefits it brings to business. Be sure to visit the website here, to find out more about our winning company.

We can’t wait to show you our cover photo designs, so keep checking in to our blog to see the final results! Don’t forget we are on Twitter and Facebook too.

We have picked out some brilliant examples of timeline cover photos for you, as well as some of the worst out there. Have a good look and enjoy:

This angry birds cover photo design is imaginative as well as fun: a great way to launch their new game. They have turned their space into a proper piece of artwork!

Dr Pepper have been very clever here: it’s one way to get fans involved to include them on your Facebook page, and another entirely to comprise your logo and cover photo with them. That really is gratitude for you! We also love the added bonus of the bottle merging into the icon!

Leo Lee: an individual with an imagination. Love the reference to Social Media here as well as a personal touch on things. And as a typical female, it’s refreshing to see a man include the ‘my love’ app, instead of being replaced by ‘the football’. MAXX loves.

This proves that even B2B Businesses dealing in specifics can market themselves on Facebook with pazazz. I’ve never seen more desirable looking measuring equipment! This proves with the style, and the right cover photo: your B2B business can look fantastic.

This is one way to make your events company stand out for the rest, strong and eye catching design that blends in perfectly with the branding. The image stands out and is typically attractive and interesting with its rockstar theme.

And last but not least we come to MAXX’s cover photo (of course). Our Easter themed banner went down well, especially the fluffy critter in the middle. From simplistic to fun filled themes, the Facebook cover photo is your way of making any people that stumble upon your Facebook page, get the best impression possible. This is why it’s crucial to have a good cover image, rather than a bad quality one, or worse, nothing at all!

Make sure you look fabulous: whether it be with a new Facebook cover photo, new logo design and rebrand or brand new website design! MAXX can help you with it all. If you would like any of our help, please contact us here – and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

]]> http://www.maxxdesignblog.co.uk/uncategorized/the-cover-photo-craze/feed/ 2 http://www.maxxdesignblog.co.uk/uncategorized/campaigning-in-style/ http://www.maxxdesignblog.co.uk/uncategorized/campaigning-in-style/#comments Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:40:18 +0000 EllieS http://www.maxxdesignblog.co.uk/?p=1875
Read the Rest...]]> Take one bus…..

Recently MAXX were given a brief that not only tied in with the world’s excitement around a certain worldwide sporting event… (can you guess which one?), but also tested our design team’s abilities and creativity. A duo location technology company working in the mobile space, Arieso, had creative ideas for their marketing in quarter one this year – which we were thrilled to work on!

Our design and digital team were given an aim, a concept and a… bus! The London Olympic edition bus to be specific. Arieso wanted to make the most of the celebrations and generate visits to their stand at mobile world congress in Barcelona. They wanted to send out compelling invitations to clients that would produce visits, and also demonstrate their technology and ideas with an interactive online game.

We devised a game to showcase their capabilities and in which the player is literally in their shoes. You are the mobile operator for a massive sporting event and have to work out where to place the 3G antenna, Wi-Fi points and advertising for best possible mobile coverage and maximum revenue. Based on the decisions you make, you are allocated points and evaluated as to how well you did.

Having played (and quite well if I do say so myself) I can vouch for the fact that the game gives you a sense of temporary importance, and a long lasting appreciation of the intelligence that Arieso technology delivers!

The game was supported by a clever piece of direct mail, that invited recipients to the Barcelona conference and delivered a memorable and collectable London Olympic bus.  The messaging promised “gold medal” mobile network performance and supported this with a beautifully printed gold medal.  Attendees at the event also received their very own gold medal – of course, this medal was considerably more edible than the ones given out at the Olympics, but just as appreciated.

Arieso ensured they made a lasting impression!  They know how powerful campaigns can be, as the last one MAXX delivered for them based around the football World Cup returned sales leads worth a significant sum to the company. Strong marketing is the key to success, and lots of it – and if you are willing to invest in a campaign the return can be huge.

Don’t forget we offer campaign strategies, branding and re branding and design for all: with our expert team we can market your company in the way you want – or even help you find that route. Contact us for more information, perhaps a visit, and plenty of biscuits.