Latimer’s Seafood, based in Whitburn, Tyne and Wear, wanted to reach clients old and new by introducing interactive features to their website. Robert Latimer and the team offer visitors the opportunity to download recipes, get involved through social media, comment on the latest Latimer’s news and purchase gift vouchers online.

Now in its 9th year of trading, Latimer’s is widely regarded as the place to buy the best seafood in the North East and the team at Urban River helped them to create a website which is informative, fun and encourages customers and website visitors to get involved.

John Barker, Head of Digital at Urban River, said “we built the original www.latimers.com website back in 2005. Six years is a lifetime in the online world so the site was due an update. By integrating social networking features such as Twitter, Facebook and Google+1, and creating functionality which allowed for real-time interaction between the website and mobile devices, we modernised the user experience to a Web 2.0 standard.”

As John mentioned, Twitter is now up and running and is one of Latimer’s favourite new website features. Robert uses the application to inform followers on the daily catches, what events are taking place, when Deli discounts for Twitter users are available and when new season stock will be available in store.

Ailsa Latimer, Co-Owner of Latimer’s Seafood Deli, said “Robert and I revisited Urban River about adding a gift voucher element. We were then introduced to the capabilities of social media and updating through our mobile phones which we find extremely beneficial to promoting Latimer’s as a company.

As a result, we’re getting positive feedback from customers about the new site; the modernised system has revolutionised how we use it and we update the content at least twice a week now as opposed to sometimes every couple of months! What I like about Urban River is the human element, I like being able to ring if I have a problem and pop in and see someone with my computer to get them to show me how to get the best out of the new technology”

The North East web design agency has developed and integrated social media campaigns for a number of clients, placing high importance on ensuring they create the optimum customer interaction strategy to increase website traffic and engage with current and potential customers. Carl Buckley, Managing Director of Urban River, said: “Social media used correctly can create real awareness for your business at very little cost whilst constantly promoting your brand and offering to customers old and new".