04/03/2021

Recognising International Women’s Day: Women who influenced branding, marketing and the web.

In recognition of International Women’s Day we’re exploring the women who have influenced and shaped the branding, marketing and web industry. 

There’s no doubt future generations will influence and change the way we market products and services, use the web or create brands. Here are only a handful of influential women who have made a major impact: 

  • Ada Lovelace

"Ada Lovelace, 1838" by Nefi is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Back in the middle of the 1800s Ada invented computer programming when she wrote the algorithm for the first computer machine. Her contribution has made the internet and today’s web possible, thanks Ada! 

  • Carolyn Davidson

What brand do you associate a tick with? Carolyn Davidson, graphic designer, created the all so famous Nike Swoosh logo and originally contracted it for just $35 back then. 

  • Ann Handley 
"Ann Handley - Keynote" by TopRankMarketing is licensed under CC BY 2.0

A digital marketing pioneer, she’s an inspiration to create better marketing that delivers results. ClickZ, her previous company, is one of the first sources of digital marketing information in the world and IBM named her as one of the 7 people shaping modern marketing with a mention by Forbes as being a top thought leader. 

  • Susan Kare

Susan Kare is a very influential computer iconographer, she has designed thousands of software icons which are recognisible to anyone who uses a computer. Her most notable icons are Apple, Microsoft and PayPal. 

  • Kim Krause Berg

In 1998 Kim founded Cre8siteForums.org which is a forum for SEO, UX and web design. It’s a great place for advice and talking with other SEOs on different topics. Kim, from the start of SEO, provided guidance on balancing usability with SEO. 

  • Carol H. Williams

Creator of many famous advertising campaigns, Carol has worked with several big companies and one of the most memorable is The Walt Disney Company where she created the groundbreaking “Imagination” campaign. 

Here at 22 Group, we’re really pleased to have welcomed a number of women to our team over the last 6 months, and we couldn’t be more proud to have a balanced, talented team.

But let’s be clear, when recruiting we of course search for the best person for the job, irrespective of gender. Running a small to medium-sized agency with a wide range of clients and industries, we find real value in having a balanced team to work on branding, design, web-build and marketing.  

03/02/2021

Do I need a business website?

Wondering if you need a business website? Did you start your own business during the pandemic? Or have a business but never got round to creating a website? 

The answer to your questions about needing a website for your business is a straight up: yes. Not just any website that you think will just do the job, a good one that’s been professionally designed and developed to drive your business forward, generate leads and future-proof your online profile.

Does it generate sales? Does it organically attract customers? Is it user friendly and intuitive?

You also want the website to make a splash and look great!

COVID-19 has ensured that every industry needs to be digitally capable. It’s more important than ever to have a website. 

three drawings of a website design layout plan in blue, purple and green watercolour

Reasons why you need a website: 

1. Improves credibility

Having a website to a lot of customers proves to them that your business is legit. A lot of consumers tend to look for a website when they are thinking of buying from you and check that what you are offering is actually authentic. 

2. It’s advertising 

It’s a no brainer that having a website is 24/7 advertising. No employee will do that for you! New customers may find your business online while they’re shopping around and may not have come across you otherwise. 

3. One stop shop 

Having a website means you can collate and have all your business information in one place, whether it’s information on all the services you provide or products you sell. This helps to focus your business objectives and makes it a better experience for customers to know what you have available and they can see everything in one place. 

4. Customer connection

Your website can allow customers to connect with you. This can be via a booking or reservation system where your customers come to make an appointment. Or simply if a customer is trying to get in contact they can fill out a form or get your business details in order to do this. We are form-obsessed at 22 Group and our clients’ websites include the latest and best forms to capture leads.

5. Sells itself

If your website is made well with a professional look, it’ll sell itself and attract customers that are browsing online. You want the website to be a valuable asset to your business and it should be a tool to help you stand out from the crowd.

6. You shouldn’t rely on social media 

With the social media platform algorithms constantly changing, it has meant that reaching and engaging with your audience or potential customers has been getting harder and harder. So many other businesses are on all the platforms as well which may mean less people are seeing your posts. It’s frustrating for businesses who are trying to build themselves.

22 group team sitting discussing building a new website and the website design for clients.

We’re a leading, award-winning company based in Manchester for website design, website build, branding and marketing. Since we are a Manchester website design agency it means we have an understanding of young, booming businesses to already accomplished organisations. Manchester has been recognised as the ‘entrepreneur capital’ (Business Live, 2020) and is known to be a digital and tech hot-spot.

Now is the time to get your website designed and developed. We know this is an important investment into your business and can accommodate websites to suit a range of budgets.

If you know the time is right for a website or a design refresh to your existing site, we’d love to hear from you and show you what we do.

Get in touch here or give us a call on 0161 672 7822.

Manchester

+44 (0) 161 672 7822
enquiries@22group.co.uk

26 Dale Street, Manchester, M1 1FY
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