- 9.7.10 - The LEGO Experience - Creating an Experience with Intention
- 9.2.10 - Breaking through the Clutter with Your Social Media Marketing
- 8.23.10 - Foursquare for Business - What, Why and How
- 8.18.10 - It’s Time to Move Mobile to the Front Burner
- 7.15.10 - Explaining SEO Through Analogies – Weight Loss
Recent Posts
09/07/2010
The LEGO Experience - Creating an Experience with Intention
Categories: Experience Marketing
The Lego Experience LEGO is quickly becoming more and more known for the “LEGO Experience." Hot off of their latest “LEGO Experience” tour, LEGO set out to let children and adults alike immerse themselves in the experience, and all that the LEGO brand has to offer. This ranged from hands-on experiences, minds-on experiences, family games and challenges, video games, and even inspiration models. The LEGO experience spans wider than just their recent tour, however. In fact, at every touch point, they focus on delivering a very specific, intention …
Read The Rest of This Post09/02/2010
Breaking through the Clutter with Your Social Media Marketing
Categories: Social Marketing
Let’s face it; more isn’t always better, and the Internet is the epitome of more. While the web is a platform for posting pretty much anything and everything, that doesn’t mean your social media marketing strategy should be to post just anything. Successfully creating and promoting content can directly draw visitors to your Website, help your search engine rankings, promote your brand, and create lifelong customers. So what is it that you are trying to say with your social media? Are you making posts to try to draw attention to your company, or are you saying something beca …
Read The Rest of This Post08/23/2010
Foursquare for Business - What, Why and How
Categories: Marketing Trends
I’m sure by now you have heard of Foursquare, and know a lot of people using it. If you’re anything like me, you have yet to get on Foursquare, and are unsure as to why you would want to in the first place….”Why do I want people following me around knowing where I am every second?” Well, I’ll tell you why… What is Foursquare Foursquare is a service that allows you to “check-in” to different locations you visit, using your phone. You can check into pretty much any location – bars, restaurants, parks, golf courses, …
Read The Rest of This Post08/18/2010
It’s Time to Move Mobile to the Front Burner
Categories: Effective Design & Usability
A lot of companies come to us with the desire to redesign and rebrand their online presence. There are already so many things to consider: • How will we manage content? • Should we start a blog? • Should we consider expanding into social media? • How can we make sure people find us on the search engines? All of these are important. But there’s one giant item to consider that often gets overlooked or moved to the back burner…what about mobile? …
Read The Rest of This Post07/15/2010
Explaining SEO Through Analogies – Weight Loss
Categories: Online Marketing
Search engine optimization is a great way to place your company in front of your target market and increase your business. SEO can place you at the top of the search results for the keywords that your target market is using to find your services. What a lot of companies don’t like to tell potential clients is that getting to the top of the search results takes time and work. In this blog post I am going to compare SEO to weight loss in hopes that the analogy will help you better understand SEO without boring you to tears. Now, I’m not saying you are out of shape but for the sake …
Read The Rest of This Post07/12/2010
Web 2.0 meets SEO
Categories: Online Marketing
Web 2.0 meets SEO In 2007, Google announced its Universal Search capabilities. It changed the way search results are displayed when doing a query. Universal search integrated images, videos, and results from other search verticals directly into the web search results. This has proven to be a huge driver of traffic to sites because their images, videos, news, local search information are displayed and easily accessible to the searcher. Now, with the incorporation of indexable content from Twitter and Facebook, online marketing has become even more important. Users are looking to c …
Read The Rest of This Post07/08/2010
Social Content Sharing - What, How, and Why?
Categories: Marketing Trends Social Marketing
What is Content Sharing The sharing of all content across social media; general information, pictures, audio and video content. “ShareThis” is one such tool that allows for the sharing of social content. Now when you see a blog post or a piece of content that is enabled with “ShareThis”, and you can choose to share the content on the media of your choice. Choose to share it with your Facebook friends by posting it on your Facebook wall, or via your Twitter account, Delicious, text message, Stumbleupon, etc. Whatever social media you are a part o …
Read The Rest of This Post07/07/2010
Social Marketing - LinkedIn Greatly Enhances Groups
Categories: Social Marketing
LinkedIn, now with about 70 million members, is finally taking a big step to compete with the other large social media marketing sites. Recently (June 22nd, 2010) LinkedIn greatly increased the functionality of their groups. LinkedIn currently has over 650,000 groups on varying topics. These groups are now a perfect way for individuals and companies to stand out as experts on specific topics and in specific subject matter. The new group functionality includes: • The ability to share links • Profile pictures for associated comments – personalizing the experien …
Read The Rest of This Post07/02/2010
HTML5, the future of the dub-dub-dub
Categories: Effective Design & Usability
The web is rapidly evolving at a pace that most can't keep up with, or even know about. New and exciting innovations are being created every day, pushing the boundaries of what we know in every possible way. HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) is the core language of the web and HTML5 is the fifth revision since it was developed in the early 90s. HTML5 will attempt to solve known issues in previous versions of HTML and will try to address new web applications, something that has not been appropriately covered in the past. HTML4 has been in use for over 10 years now. Since then, developers hav …
Read The Rest of This Post07/01/2010
Experience Marketing Example - "Blue One" The Slug Bug Game
Categories: Experience Marketing
Experience Marketing transforms a product or service into something which engages people’s senses and reaches them on an emotional level. It connects people to a product in ways beyond the use of the product itself. The Punch Buggy game surrounding the Volkswagen brand is a great example of this. To play, whenever someone sees a Volkswagen Beetle (some play by qualifying all Volkswagens) you shout out “Punch Buggy” and gently punch the other player in the arm, thus scoring a point. Recently, for further proof of the vehicle spotted, many players are simply saying the c …
Read The Rest of This Post04/13/2010
5 Ways to Grow Your Business
Categories: Marketing Trends
It is possible to grow your business while taking the environment into consideration? Companies all over the globe are thinking about ways to save money in their businesses while increasing their revenue. It is definitely possible to do; a little creativity is all you need. Consumers appreciate when companies give back to the community, actively participate in creating a better society and consider the environment when making business decisions. Consumers also want to know that the companies they work with are cutting edge, use up-to-date technology and can get the job done well. Some …
Read The Rest of This Post04/12/2010
Experience Marketing / Experiential Marketing Defined
Categories: Experience Marketing
Experience Marketing or Experiential Marketing can be defined as: Intentional activities which immerse people within your brand through the stimulation of their senses, which results in a positive, emotional tie to your company. Some great examples of Experience Marketing or Experiential Marketing include: Disney World® - An interactive playground to promote the product of movies & entertainment. This is “The most magical place on earth” where customers are called “guests” and employees are called “cast members.” Starbucks Coffee – A tota …
Read The Rest of This Post04/06/2010
Is It Time for a Redesign to Your Website?
Categories: Effective Design & Usability
The marketplace is continuously evolving. In recent years, the number of purchases made online has sky-rocketed. Considering this change, it is essential for companies to have a well-functioning Website for their audience. According to a study done by Nielsen, “the average person in the United States visits 2,614 Websites per month.”* The convenience of providing your company product, information and brand online can help draw in users that are spending those lengthy hours online. To not have a properly working or up-to-date Website can be detrimental to your profitability. This …
Read The Rest of This Post04/02/2010
Does Twitter Have New Social Media Competition?
Categories: Social Marketing
Recently in Austin, Texas the SXSW® (South by Southwest®) convention was held. This is a conference that offers unique convergence of original music, independent films, and emerging technologies. The three sections of this conference are spread out over a period of days, each having their own set of dates for attendees. What does this have anything to do with Twitter and social media marketing? What they call the “interactive” section of the conference features cutting-edge technologies. This symposium brings together, “the world’s most creative Web develope …
Read The Rest of This Post03/30/2010
Create a Blog and Post Often
Categories: Online Marketing
Recently, Webolutions had a blog post about the 7 Benefits to a Business Blog. To follow it up, we wanted to emphasize the importance of creating a blog and posting often. Most people know the more back links your site has, the higher you'll go in the search results page. Technically, the quality of the links is more important than the actual quantity. If authoritative sites link to you, Google determines that you must be important. One of the easiest ways to generate links to your site is to start a blog. A blog is a great way to keep your site full of fresh content and attract users …
Read The Rest of This Post03/29/2010
7 Benefits of a Business Blog
Categories: Marketing Trends
With the dramatic increase in popularity of Twitter and Facebook, it seems blogs are getting lost and forgotten in the mix. Don’t dismiss blogs as part of the past just yet. They are still an incredibly useful tool, and when used correctly, can be a great asset to your overall new media strategy marketing plan. While blog use as a purely “social” medium is down, blogs for business are doing very well. In fact, 70% of bloggers are now organically talking about their brands on their blog, and 38% of bloggers post brand or product reviews. This means that if you don’t hav …
Read The Rest of This Post03/26/2010
How To: Create a Username for Your Facebook Business Page
Categories: Social Marketing
This task is much simpler than it sounds. Once you have the proper URL and know what to look for this shouldn’t take you more than 5 minutes to create. Keep in mind that this post has been written to help you assuming that you have already created a Facebook page for your business. In addition, as a rule of Facebook, you must have at least 25 Fans in order to claim a username. If you are eligible to claim a username, simply follow the steps below. 1. Once logged onto your Facebook Profile enter the URL of: http://www.facebook.com/username This will bring you to a …
Read The Rest of This Post03/17/2010
How To: Set Up Google Alerts & Your Google Reader
Categories: Social Marketing
One of the most basic and easy forms of tracking your social media marketing is by setting up Google Alerts. In fact, Google Alerts are something that every company should have set up in order to effectively manage your marketing efforts online. What are Google Alerts? Google Alerts by definition are “email updates of the latest relevant Google results (Web, news, etc) based on your choice of query or topic.” Google Alerts are useful for monitoring news about your company, keeping current on a competitor in your industry, staying on top of industry new …
Read The Rest of This Post03/07/2010
2010 Marketing Trends - Why Social?
Categories: Marketing Trends
In our Top 5 Marketing Trends for 2010 blog post last month, we named social marketing among the top 5 marketing trends for 2010. Everyone hears about Facebook, Twitter and YouTube on a daily basis. However, most businesses are not making the connection between these tools and good old fashion word-of-mouth marketing, which has been a key to successful marketing for decades. We all know that a word-of-mouth referral to our business is almost as good as a check in the bank. This potential client will ask less questions, and the relationship will begin on a more personal level. In mo …
Read The Rest of This Post03/06/2010
Experience Marketing Example - GM Test Track Ride
Categories: Experience Marketing
The GM “Test Track” ride at Disney World® is a thrilling Experience Marketing example. The ride introduces visitors to the world of automotive safety testing. During this GM (General Motors) sponsored experience, visitors learn about and participate in the rigors of automotive safety testing. This 5½ minute, fast moving, test track ride exposes participants to freezing temperatures, hairpin turns, high G forces and speeds up to 60mph, which makes this the fastest ride at Disney World®. This experience attracts over 7 million visitors a year and is sponso …
Read The Rest of This Post03/05/2010
Webolutions Top 10 Link Building Strategies
Categories: Online Marketing
How can I create a powerful link? Unless you know the search engine algorithms or you are an engineer at Google, the solution to this question may be difficult to answer. Here at Webolutions, we like to focus on these 10 factors when we develop a linking strategy. Here is our guide of the 10 things to look for in a link-building campaign: It occurs naturally, or at least appears that way. It is one-way (non reciprocal). It uses the main keyword(s) for the page that it links to. It is from a site that is related and not off-topic. It comes from a Website wi …
Read The Rest of This Post03/05/2010
Social Media: A Growing Marketing Trend for Businesses
Categories: Social Marketing
Go to a frequently visited Website: CBSNews.com, Time.com, WholeFoodsMarket.com, and NBA.com. What is one thing they all have in common? Links to their social media sites! It seems that the number of businesses adopting social media practices continues to grow. In fact, according to a study done by the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business, one in five business owners are integrating social media into their business processes. Social marketing is a trend that business owners need to pay attention to. For all of those claiming social media is a fad, you are wrong! Business …
Read The Rest of This Post03/04/2010
How To: Build A Facebook Landing Page
Categories: Social Marketing
Creating a unique, noticeable Facebook Page can be difficult. In a market that is being swarmed with social media, it is essential to stand out in the crowd. By developing a landing page for users to see upon arrival of your Facebook Page, you can generate more interest and excitement around your brand. Some companies that are generating very unique landing pages include: Pepsi, Victoria's Secret, and Buffalo Wild Wings. All of these pages bring excitement and uniqueness to their Facebook Pages. Creating your own landing page is very easy to do, simply follow the steps below. 1. Add th …
Read The Rest of This Post02/08/2010
Twitter & Social Marketing - SEO Forces to be Reckoned With
Categories: Online Marketing Social Marketing
Twitter now part of Google, Bing and Yahoo Search Results As of recent, search results are showing real-time Twitter results in the organic search results. Google and Yahoo made the announcement on the same day, paying Twitter $15 million and $10 million respectively, to index Twitter’s tweets. Twitter’s search results display the most recent five tweets for your search query, and it will always match the language in which you are searching (i.e. – If you are in Italy, only Italian tweets will show.) Currently, Twitter results are included only for the most …
Read The Rest of This Post02/08/2010
Top 5 Marketing Trends for 2010
Categories: Marketing Trends
Webolutions is a fully-integrated, strategic marketing agency specializing in helping our clients optimize the highest impact areas of their marketing programs. Below is our list of the Top 5 Marketing Trends for 2010 1. Value – Thought, Leadership, Help, Innovations, Green After a year like 2009, all businesses need to be able to define the value they provide to their customers. Are your prices in line with the value that you provide to your clients? Are you sure your competition has not snuck up on you and is offering somethin …
Read The Rest of This Post02/08/2010
Using Experience Marketing - Selling Your Bouncy Ball
Categories: Experience Marketing
During a recent trip to Disney World®, I saw many great examples of experience marketing. At Webolutions, while working with our clients, experience marketing seems to be one of the more difficult concepts for people to truly understand and it is definitely one of the more difficult marketing practices to implement. Why? The fact is, that this is something that hardly any businesses understand or are willing to do. So, it is more difficult, There is no roadmap. Creating unique experiences around your brand is not like any other form of marketing. It involves truly changing the wa …
Read The Rest of This Post01/26/2010
The Importance of Actively Managing your Online Reputation
Categories: Social Marketing
It is a well known fact that negative word-of-mouth spreads quicker than positive word-of-mouth. With Internet tools such as social media sites and blogging, negative word-of-mouth has more power to influence than ever before. According to the Retail Customer Dissatisfaction Study in 2006 done by the Jay H. Baker Retailing Initiative, only 6% of customers that experienced a problem with a retailer physically contacted them; however 31% went on to tell friends, family or colleagues what happened. As social media becomes a more prevalent way to communicate with friends, family and colleag …
Read The Rest of This Post12/23/2009
Disney: An Experience Marketing Example
Categories: Experience Marketing
During a recent visit to Disney World, I saw some great examples of Experience Marketing which I will be covering in this section of our blog over the next few weeks. After all, Disney’s theme parks are one the ultimate testaments to the concept of Experience Marketing. If all entrepreneurs could somehow capture the passion, vision, imagination and determination of Walt Disney, we would live in a truly amazing world. Let’s break this down a little bit. Disney was first recognized (after several failed business attempts) as an innovator in the world of animation and movies. …
Read The Rest of This Post12/22/2009
Website Redesign SEO - What You Need to Know!
Categories: Online Marketing
If you are considering the redesign of your Website, it is critical to consider the impacts this could have on your existing and future search engine positions. In many cases your business will have an established Website with some decent search engine positions. In order to update your site to a new or fresher look and to include more functionality, you may be considering investing in a Website upgrade. This will usually be a more expensive Website redesign and functional upgrade which includes a CMS, maybe a blog, some sort of Social Marketing and other substantial functionality upgrades …
Read The Rest of This Post12/21/2009
Go Green and Save Your Business Money
Categories: Marketing Trends
Greening your business is easier than you think. By doing a few small things you can save energy and resources and save your company money. The economic and business climate has changed over the past few years. Much emphasis has been placed on the downward spiraling economy and how this affects business owners today. Many small businesses and even corporations are closing their doors after years of hard work and dedication. There are several small steps your business can take to save a few dollars here and there; this will help improve your bottom line. There has also been a lot of …
Read The Rest of This Post12/07/2009
Website Easter Eggs - A Little Can Go a Long Way
Categories: Effective Design & Usability
Not everyone has the budget or the cause for an uber creative Flash site like EinsteinBros.com or the visually stunning JonathanYuen.com but that doesn’t mean your site needs to be dull. Don’t be afraid to spice it up and add little surprises for your users. Take your Website one step further by offering users just a little bit more. Perhaps you can add a little personality like the flying “W” that lives in the Webolutions.com header? Yahoo.com has a hidden gem. Click on the exclamation point in the logo and you’ll hear the Yahoo yodel. …
Read The Rest of This Post12/07/2009
Customizing Products & Brands for Social Media - The Motorola Cliq
Categories: Social Marketing
The holiday season is upon us and electronics are constantly being advertised to consumers as the perfect gift. There was a particular electronic gadget that caught my eye in a commercial being titled as “the first phone with social skills.” I had to check it out for myself. The next day I was at TMobile looking at the brand new Motorola Cliq phone. Being a Social Marketing Coordinator at a strategic marketing company, Webolutions, I was highly intrigued by the socially advanced phone. Only a few short days after seeing the advertisement, I purchased this phone. As I began to p …
Read The Rest of This Post11/17/2009
Giving for Free - Strategic or Silly?
Categories: Marketing Trends
You always hear people say, "there's no such thing as free..." While this may be true in some cases, there are a multitude of exceptions to this antiquated rule. When you're in business, sometimes giving things away for free is beneficial. In fact, many times, giving something away for free can actually save you money. We are fast approaching a time where the consumer expects to get a lot for free. iPhone apps are free, blogging is free, consuming blog content is free, consuming online newspapers is free, tv shows and songs can be downloaded for free, you can …
Read The Rest of This Post11/11/2009
Transparency in Marketing
Categories: Marketing Trends
There is a lot of talk today about transparency in marketing and what this means. A blog post that I recently read defines transparency as, “the degree to which a company shares its leaders, employees, values, culture, strategy, business processes and the results of those processes with its publics. It’s the opposite of opacity, in which companies operate behind closed doors and shuttered windows." (By Shel Holtz of Shel Holtz PC , http://blog.holtz.com/index.php) This definition is as good as any for this post on why marketing transparency is so important for your busi …
Read The Rest of This Post11/09/2009
Online Search Reverse Engineering for Success
Categories: Online Marketing
The successful Online Marketing of a Website requires a very different approach than the conventional marketing techniques used to market most other products and services. Historically products were made, perhaps based on some level of market research, and then they were taken to the marketplace and mass-marketed. To successfully plan, develop and market a Website to the search engines requires a completely different approach. Many factors play a role in where your Website shows up on the search engines. This positioning is critical to most businesses’ success or failure. W …
Read The Rest of This Post11/03/2009
Your Employees are The Brand
Categories: Experience Marketing
Company heads and CEO's nationwide spend hundreds of millions annually, "branding" themselves. They collectively sit and decide who they want to be. They come up with this great idea on exactly who they want and need to be, an idea that is guaranteed to set them apart from the competition. They may even go so far as to redesign their Website and create new collateral materials to show off their new flashy brand. However, when you sit down to brand your company, if this brand is not communicated to, and lived out by each and every single one of your employees - …
Read The Rest of This Post11/02/2009
Usability Testing: Do it Early and Often for a Great Website
Categories: Effective Design & Usability
Usability testing is imperative if you want to take a good site and make it a great site. It will often reveal usability issues that designers, developers and clients will never discover because they are too close to the project and too familiar with the content. Typically, a usability test involves one user who is shown a site or a wireframe and asked to do something or explain what they are looking at. It’s not too complicated. However, usability testing is often cut from Web design budgets for largely two reasons: It’s too expensive It takes …
Read The Rest of This Post10/22/2009
Getting the Most Out of Twitter - A "How To" on #hashtags
Categories: Social Marketing
As social media takes the world by storm, many are feeling left in the dust. Social media continues to influence the world of marketing, and it can be very overwhelming trying to keep up. From a business standpoint, it seems to be difficult to stay ahead of the game. There are many ins and outs to social networking sites which can help you progress in the realm of social media marketing. One of the Websites that continues to remain in the forefront of social media is Twitter. Twitter has created a way to tag your tweets and group them together easier. Much like tags on other social net …
Read The Rest of This Post09/24/2009
Personalize Your Business Communications - Thank Your Clients
Categories: Experience Marketing
Let your clients know you appreciate their business A few years ago, I moved back to Denver and was looking for a beauty salon that would service all of my beauty needs in one location. It can be challenging to find a full-service salon to meet all of your specific beauty needs, so I asked around for recommendations. I got a personal recommendation from my mom; she really liked the hair stylist at this particular salon, so I went to try it out. Wow, was I impressed with the experience! I walked into the salon, which was located right off of a very busy street in town. …
Read The Rest of This Post09/16/2009
Don't Make Me Think! (Book Review)
Categories: Effective Design & UsabilitySteve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think was popping up in so many “must read” lists, I couldn’t pass it up. This book outlines Krug’s “common sense approach to Web usability,” and is indeed a “must read.” Don’t Make Me Think does not cater only to Web usability professionals. Anyone who manages a Website will find the material to be easily digestible. You do not need the vocabulary of a seasoned Web professional to get value out of this book. The book’s title is also what Krug refers to as, “Krug’s First L …
Read The Rest of This Post09/15/2009
Using SMS Text Messaging for More Than A Good "LOL" - A New Social Marketing Strategy
Categories: Social Marketing
A New Use for SMS Text Messaging: Over the weekend, I helped out at an event in Downtown Denver. This event was a scavenger hunt to win a $15,000 engagement ring donated by a local jeweler. Over 250 couples showed up for the race in hopes of winning the ring. The key to winning the ring was to receive the highest amount of points by a certain time in the day. Now you may be asking yourself, what does this have anything to do with Social Marketing? It is important to note that when couples registered for the event that were required to enter their cell phone number and cell phone car …
Read The Rest of This Post09/14/2009
Call Tracking Services Improve ROI Measurement
Categories: Online Marketing
Most Onlin Marketing initiatives include some sort of Web analytics. However, many people overlook the critical measurement of the telephone calls received as a result of these efforts. Webolutions’ call tracking solution allows businesses to add a new dimension to their online and offline campaign ROI measurement. Some of this service’s features include: Unique campaign-by-campaign call tracking numbers Dynamic population of tracking numbers throughout your Website, based on the originating campaign Call recording for the monitoring of call conversion quali …
Read The Rest of This Post09/14/2009
Client Relationship Building - Critical to Your Long-Term Business Success
Categories: Marketing Trends
Changes in the world have made Relationship Marketing to your existing client-base more important than ever. Some of these key changes include: Unlimited access to information and options Decreased overall brand loyalty Perceived and actual commoditization of products and services Blogs, rating systems, and other consumer-driven publishing platforms The downturn in the economy The trend towards the personalization of all products and services Never before has the consumer had so much influence over the products and services they purchase. Previously, bu …
Read The Rest of This Post09/14/2009
How Much Are Your Bananas? – An Experience-Based, Pricing Model Case Study
Categories: Experience Marketing
Whether you are selling bananas, professional services, or manufactured goods, the client experience you create dictates the price that you can charge and your overall level of client satisfaction About a year or so ago, on my semi-daily visit to Starbucks, I noticed that they started selling bananas. The cost was .90 each. This seemed pricey especially since bananas are available at every grocery store for quite a bit less. I began to notice that some mornings there were no bananas. When I asked why, they told me that on many of days, the bananas sell out early. Starbucks also has c …
Read The Rest of This Post09/10/2009
When Customer Incentives Become the Expectation
Categories: Marketing TrendsA friend of mine recently moved to Denver and bought a new house. Being new to Colorado, she was unfamiliar with American Furniture Warehouse. As she was perusing the ads a few weeks ago, she was absolutely elated to see that AFW was having a huge Labor Day Sale. I just sort of chuckled to myself, and went on about my day. I figured I would let her stay excited; she'd learn soon enough. What she will come to know, is that AFW is ALWAYS having a sale; there is nothing really special about this particular "Labor Day Sale." Last month it was a "Back t …
Read The Rest of This Post08/19/2009
Is Your Website Usable?
Categories: Effective Design & UsabilityNowadays everybody has a Website. You have to do more than just throw up a site with good content to stand out. You’ve got to start by making your site usable. There is more to Website usability than just ensuring you do not have any broken links. Usability is all about getting your site visitors to the content they are looking for in an easy and intuitive way. You can have the best content in the world but if users have to think too much to move around and find what they want, they will be dissatisfied and go elsewhere. Evaluating Your Site’s Usability Your site is usable if i …
Read The Rest of This Post08/19/2009
Social Marketing: A Channel for Success
Categories: Social Marketing
Social Marketing is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s society. Many companies are beginning to direct their entire marketing campaigns towards Social Marketing. As a Social Marketing Coordinator at a Marketing/Web Design company, I am very drawn to social Websites such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. Just the other day I was at home cleaning with the television on for background noise. I heard some catchy music coming from the TV and looked over at it. On the screen, was a commercial where a series of dancers doing different moves and then pausing several times when they …
Read The Rest of This Post08/13/2009
Increase your Sales by Caring
Categories: Experience MarketingEverybody wants to increase their sales, and is looking for the secret on how to do so. Well, the secret is, there is no such thing. The best way to increase your sales, in my opinion, is really quite simple: CARE; Genuinely Care. Care about your customers. Care about your company. Care about your products/offerings. Care about your coworkers. Simply care. When you truly care, people will know. People like to do business with people that care, bottom line. I went to GNC yesterday to buy a multi-vitamin. I normally don't even shop at GNC, as it seems a little …
Read The Rest of This Post08/10/2009
Efficiency vs. the Experience & Increased Profits
Categories: Experience MarketingWhen evaluating the overall experience you provide to your clients, there is a fine line between the efficiency and speed at which you deliver your products and services vs. the overall interaction you provide. More interaction could lead to a better overall client experience as well as vastly increased profits! Case Study: Lunch at Chipotle I am always amazed at the speed at which the line at Chipotle moves. Like McDonalds, they have a simplified product offering (limited menu and options) and one …
Read The Rest of This Post08/10/2009
Connecting Your Business One Social Network at a Time
Categories: Social Marketing
At this point in time, it is probably safe to claim there is a world-wide obsession with Social Marketing and its importance on daily life operations. It is difficult to go anywhere in today’s online marketplace without noticing a Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or Flickr icon. As businesses switch to aim their marketing campaigns through social media, they are trying to use all available networking sites. Most businesses are not just on one of these social networks, but rather as many as they can get their hands on. It is becoming continuously easier to manage the various social network …
Read The Rest of This Post08/08/2009
Product Customization – Are You Keeping Up?
Categories: Marketing TrendsMany companies are finding ways to customize their products and services. This customization allows them to provide an individualized experience for every customer. Customization adds to the novelty of doing business with them, which helps them stand out from their competitors. Below is a list of products and services which illustrate this trend towards increased customization: • Nike & Converse – Design your own shoes …
Read The Rest of This Post08/05/2009
Web Analytic Software - Only Useful if Actionable
Categories: Online MarketingThe key to successfully using Web analytics is ensuring that whatever you are tracking is actionable. It is easy to get bogged down in a huge amount of information provided by these tools. As well, all this information can be manipulated dozens of different ways. Without a plan, it is not uncommon to sit down in a meeting to review your Website analytics information and have everyone heading off in different directions, based on the numbers they relate to in the report. This is complete waste of time. The only informat …
Read The Rest of This Post07/29/2009
Online Design, Evoking Emotions and Influencing Decisions
Categories: Effective Design & UsabilityEvoking Emotions through Effective Design When it comes to our interpretation, "pretty" or "ugly" is determined by many factors. We are not usually aware of them as they influence our sub-conscious reactions. Certain triggers or "aesthetics" in everyday life evoke emotions in us that influence our choices, decisions and reactions. These triggers are not limited to just our vision, but appeal to all of our senses and they happen every minute of every day. To go even further, they can then tap into a personal experience and can influence our emotional responses. I …
Read The Rest of This Post07/27/2009
Social Responsibility - A Growing Marketing Niche
Categories: Marketing TrendsThe world as we know it is changing. The current economic situation has people changing their lifestyles to match these challenging times we are in. Unemployment rate is high and it continues to rise, people are cutting back in a variety of ways, and are conserving in areas of their life that they never considered conserving in before. People are re-evaluating their priorities and consumers are changing their buying habits. Companies that are quick to embrace these changes are going to be more likely to prosper in a difficult economic climate. Today many people are losing their jobs, taking pay cuts and as a result, they are learning to reduce their personal spending. Over time, people will become accustomed to this and eventually learn to appreciate and value a more simplified lifestyle. Living more simply will happily coexist with living smarter. Consumer trends drive profits and shape the marketplace. There is a $230 billion marketplace that exists for products and services that meet the needs of consumers who buy based on their personal, social and environmental values. What can your brand do to ensure it will still be relevant in the changing times? …
Read The Rest of This Post07/21/2009
We Choose The Moon – A Social Marketing Mission
Categories: Social Marketing“We Choose The Moon” is an interactive Website built by the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of NASA landing on the moon. This site displays a real-time reenactment of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. It went live on July 16th, 2009 at 8:02am and followed the launch at 9:32am. The site is divided into 11 different stages which the Apollo 11 spacecraft went through. It provides a to-the-minute representation of the historic Apollo 11 mission 40 years ago. After July 20th when the Apollo 11 lands, you can re-visit the site and travel through t …
Read The Rest of This Post07/15/2009
Foundations are to Houses what Information Architecture is to Websites
Categories: Effective Design & UsabilityInformation architecture (IA) is where it all begins. It is critical to the success of your new Website. Everything done to build your site is heavily influenced by what is discovered and determined in the IA process. Without these fundamentals, your site will be built on shaky ground. Step 1: Define goals and success metrics All Web projects have to start by defining goals. What do you want your new site to do? Sell more products? Generate interest in your services? Establish your company as a leader? How will you measure the success of your site? …
Read The Rest of This Post05/31/2009
Business Profile vs. Personal Life – For Social Marketing is there really a Difference?
Categories: Social MarketingWith the advent of Social Marketing, more people are asking us where the line should be between their public business profile and their personal online communications. Over the past few months, several people have told me that they have a LinkedIn business profile that they use to post and befriend business colleagues and associates online. They also may have a Facebook page. But, they reserve this for close friends and family. The approach you take to using social networks really just depends on your goals. If you use these social mediums to casually communicate with …
Read The Rest of This Post05/22/2009
Twitter Tips
Categories: Social MarketingTwitter is undoubtedly the fastest growing social medium on the Internet today. According to Nielsen Online, Twitter grew an average of 1,382% from 2008 to 2009. In February 2008, Twitter averaged 475,000 unique visitors; February 2009, it grew to an astounding 7 million unique visitors. As you can see in the graph below, the amount of user’s interacting with Twitter is growing. It now surpasses both MySpace and Facebook. Tips to Marketing on Twitter Twitter is growing at an exponential rate and businesses are beginning to see its value. Itemized below are examples of …
Read The Rest of This Post04/08/2009
Push the Reset Button on Your Marketing Initiatives
Categories: Marketing TrendsThe markets are topsy turvy. The employment and business landscapes have changed. Everything seems to be in somewhat of a state of flux. I heard once that the Chinese word for crisis is, “Opportunity Riding the Dangerous Wind.” I always remember this. I am truly of the opinion that when drastic change occurs, great opportunities arise, at least for those who are looking for them! Are you someone who stops growing your business when times change or someone who refuses to be beat, no matter what? In a recent South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce (www.bestchamber.com) m …
Read The Rest of This Post04/07/2009
Social Marketing with Facebook
Categories: Social MarketingFacebook is steadily becoming the largest social network on the Internet, with over 175 million active users. Consumers are turning to Internet resources, such as Facebook, when searching for feedback on a company’s products and services. Facebook allows businesses the chance to build customer evangelists, connect with new or existing customers, promote products, participate in conversations, establish credibility in their industry and create brand awareness. Best of all…it’s free! How Do I Use Facebook as a Viral Marketing Resource? Personalize Your Business - The first …
Read The Rest of This Post08/03/2008
Starbucks Marketing Observations
Categories: Marketing Trends
Starbucks current branding, marketing and advertising seems to focus on a “return to our roots” effort. They are refocusing on what has made them such a huge success in the world. Using this as an example, we can identify some keys to marketing success in today’s marketplace. This video focuses on the experience of Starbucks. At Starbuck"s website select, “Discover Our Heritage” then, “In The Beginning”. As you watch this video, pull yourself away from the company itself and focus your attention on the messaging, and the specific language t …
Read The Rest of This Post11/20/2007
When you compete on price you lose
Categories: Marketing Trends
Creating unique, relevant and memorable marketing experiences attract new customers, reawaken the interest of existing customers and generate additional demand for products and services. …
Read The Rest of This Post10/08/2007
The more you give away the more clients you get
Categories: Marketing Trends
When people are shopping for a new product or service they want to make the best choice. They are likely thinking: …
Read The Rest of This Post10/07/2007
The most important question in marketing
Categories: Marketing Trends
In a previous post I talked about asking questions as a way to stimulate ideas. Questions open your mind to possibilities. One question in particular, when asked over and over again, can dramatically improve your company"s long-term profitability. That question is: …
Read The Rest of This Post10/06/2007
People never buy your product or service
Categories: Marketing Trends
Many business owners don’t know what they are “really” selling. Once you understand what your customers are “actually” buying, you have a much better chance of selling them. …
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