Posts Tagged ‘Social Media’

I Need a New Website – Now What Do I Do?

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 by John Jambor

You finally decide your company needs a new website, but you have no idea who to call. You check the yellow pages, Google web design, ask friends and family, and you’re still overwhelmed with all the choices. Who do you call when your brother-in-laws sisters boyfriend will do the job for $500. “We Are Web Sites”, the best web shop on the internet, will build your site for $2,000 and, “The Interactive Agency” down the street wants ten times that amount for a website and an integrated marketing campaign.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an online expert who knows all the new technology or you know about this “World Wide Web thingy” that’s kind of cool, picking a company to build your website can be a daunting task. In the following article I will explain some of the key differences between a web shop and an interactive agency and what you should expect from both.

Your Brother-in-Laws Sisters Boyfriend

Don’t do it! No really; don’t do this. After months of stress and frustration (because the basketball game with his buddies was more important than working on your site) you will end up with a website that looks like, well, you paid $500 to your brother-in-laws sisters boyfriend to build. Remember your website is the face of your company to millions of online people. Is this the image you want to portray?

The Web Shop

There are several different types of web shops. There is the design centric shop, the technology centric shop and the canned – just add your own copy and pictures and have an online presence today – type of shop. With the design centric shop your site will look great. It will portray exactly what the designer thinks of your company. With the technology centric shop your site will have all the bells and whistles whether you use them or not, and with the canned shop you will be forced to form your site around their cookie cutter solution.

No matter which of the three “web shop” solutions you choose there are several constants you can be sure of. Your business needs, determining who your consumer is and what they are looking for, search engine optimization, and your overall marketing plan will not be considered. Now, I’m not saying these are bad designers and programmers. They are probably great at what they do. What I am saying is that they either don’t have the time, desire, or knowledge to create the true online tool your business and your customers deserve.

The Interactive Agency

The interactive agency approaches websites as an extension of your entire marketing plan. They focus on your brand, and integrating your digital marketing campaigns into your overall marketing plan. The starting point for any interactive agency is learning who you are, learning your competition and, understanding your consumer. The second step is information design. Interactive agencies take what they learned in the first step and organize it in a way that creates straight forward navigation, and presents information on your website to best meet your consumer’s needs. This is the heart of a consumer centric website. For a detailed look at consumer centric websites watch for my next blog. Step three consists of the actual site design and build. Interactive agencies utilize a team of highly skilled designers and programmers to create your website. The design team creates an aesthetic, yet simple to use, look and feel focused on keeping the consumer engaged. The programming team takes into account consumer usability, accessibility and, search engine optimization. When complete your website will pass all validation testing, and will be well guarded against common hacking practices.

The job of the interactive agency doesn’t end with completion of your website. Your Website is only the beginning, the creation of what should become the backbone of your entire marketing plan. Now it’s time to look at, among other things, social media, pay per click campaigns, banner ads, email campaigns, product specific micro sites, personalized URL’s (PURLS) and, integration of digital marketing into traditional marketing efforts. The interactive agency is never far away. As your strategic partner they will routinely review, test and recommend upgrades to ensure it remains up to date, relative in search engine results and, in compliance with the latest best practice recommendations.

So now you understand that yes, anyone can build a website but to get the most out of your marketing efforts an interactive agency is the best solution. To find out how your business could benefit from using a full service interactive agency call Force 5 today at 574-234-2060 for send us an email at info@discoverforce5.com to schedule your discovery meeting.

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Do’s And Don’ts Of Running Facebook Business Pages

Friday, March 26th, 2010 by Nevin McElwrath

More and more businesses are moving to Facebook as a platform to reach new customers and communicate with existing customers. It is becoming increasingly important to set yourself from the pack in the world of Facebook business pages. Make sure you are getting the most out of your Facebook business page by following Force 5′s Do’s and Don’ts of running a Facebook page for your business.

Do: Post at least daily. A stagnant page will often be forgotten and be viewed as irrelevant. If you don’t have the time to stay within view of your customers, you more than likely will not be the first option they think of when they need your services.

Don’t: Send frequent mass emails to your fans. This could be viewed as a form of spamming and is often annoying to many users. Although this can be determined by industry, typically the limit is weekly – although we recommend monthly or quarterly.

Do: Post questions or conversation starters. Engage your audience and let the conversation and interaction drive the relationship. This will keep you relevant with your fans.

Don’t: Post personal information. This is more common than you may think. The line of business and personal life in most cases should not be crossed and is important not to blur. Create rules within your organization to help curb any chance of posting anything sketchy and of course use your best judgement.

Do: Ask questions about your fans. Market research can be tricky to gather. Facebook is filled with opportunities of gathering customer information to better know your core audience. Ask questions, create polls, engage your audience with thought provoking questions.

Don’t: Just post links. Mix your posts up. Ask questions, post links, post photos, post a news update, ask a question, comment on posts, etc. Don’t come across as a machine, mix your content up and keep your fans on their toes.

Do: Post various forms of media. Utilize photos, music and videos as a way for your fans to see “inside” your organization. Behind the scene insight is a great way to connect with your fans and gain trust.

Don’t: Sell something all of the time. Post your deals respectfully and without salesman clichés. Create a tab where fans can find the deals you are offering and don’t let “Act Now” posts dominate your wall. Let interaction do the driving.

Have questions? Post a comment below or on Force 5′s own Facebook page.

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Top 5 marketing waves you should ride in 2010

Monday, February 8th, 2010 by Jeremy Smith

If you’re a marketer in any capacity and you’re reading this post then I’m 99.9% sure you’ve also read about, or thought about, or discussed some sort of Top 10 list – goals, trends, etc. – for marketing in 2010.  Around the New Year this topic is often fodder for bloggers, trade publications, and the like.  Now that the dust is beginning to settle, and we’re approaching mid February, I’d like to throw my weight around regarding this matter. 

So, in the spirit of Force 5, (which we all know – as indicated by the Beaufort Wind Force Scale – is also a wind speed of 17 to 21 knots and considered most favorable by avid sailors) I’d like to talk about the Top 5 marketing waves you should ride in 2010. 

  1. Social Media:  Don’t ignore it – embrace it – because it’s here to stay.  Consider last nights’ Super Bowl as evidence.  The game is no longer just a three hour advertising window.  Jon Swallen of TNS Media Intelligence states, “It’s now a 3 to 5 week advertising event, with brands focusing on the period leading up to the game, and the period after to do social media marketing.”  Even if you’re not a fan of Denny’s screaming chickens, consider this – in a poll conducted online this month by Harris Interactive “nearly half (48%) of online US adults who watch Super Bowl ads say they will somewhat likely discuss the ads on a social networking site.”  Regardless of scale, and if you haven’t already, you must figure out how to incorporate social media into your marketing mix.   
  2. Mobile:  We talk about it often in our shop – the idea that mobile marketing is about to blow up (in a very good way).  I completely agree with Joe Marchese, President of SocialVibe, when he says, “Mobile will be huge, especially if marketers can build digital campaigns with mobile extensions.  Phones are smarter, networks are faster, and open development is leading to faster innovation.”  Together, these inconceivable truths will prove blissful to direct marketers who have been optimistically yearning for this day to come.  Imagine what lies ahead with geo-targeted marketing now upon us.  Read what else Joe had to say.
  3. Customized/Exclusive Content:  See Mobile (above).  Exclusive offers and customized content, all at your finger tips!  But remember, customization and exclusivity can also be delivered via other channels.  It’s all about using everything in your marketing tool box to make your customers feel special.     
  4. Integration:  Denny’s Super Bowl ads aimed to drive people online to their website, then Facebook.  This is one example of how traditional, outbound marketing tactics can be integrated with inbound tactics (web/SEO, social media) for a greater ROI.  The down economy has forced marketers to be more creative with budgets, but in hindsight it’s also made us better marketers.  So, integrate your campaigns – if you’re not sure how, ask.  Check out Denny’s efforts.
  5. Measurement/Analytics:  See Integration (above).  If you’re executing integrated campaigns – and you should – then you’ll need to be able to measure them as well.  The catch phrase more and more marketers are becoming familiar with is cross-channel analytics.  Those who can navigate this analytical approach will come out on top – big time.   

Over the next several months, I will report back with updates, findings, and such about the 5 waves we should all be riding.  So if you’re interested, stay tuned and happy sailing.  `J

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Tips for Creating your Company’s Facebook Presence

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 by John Jambor

Facebook isn’t just for keeping up with old friends and family, sharing photos, and finding lost classmates. With over 125 million users worldwide your business can benefit greatly from this social networking giant.

Mari Smith, Facebook for business guru, and author of 10 Reasons to Use Facebook for Business, has stated that millions more will join Facebook in the coming months and years, and the vast majority will use Facebook primarily for business purposes.

So you agree that your company needs a Facebook presence, but you have no idea how to get started. Setting up a business page on Facebook can be a little confusing. So I’ve created the following list of tasks to walk you through the process.

1. Create a personal Facebook account. Business pages are created, accessed and managed from within your personal account.

2. Create your business page. This is actually a very easy. The registration process gathers all the necessary information to get started i.e. business name, description, mission, products etc.

3. Become a fan of your business page. You need to be your business first fan. Without a fan your page will not be seen when a search is performed.

4. Now get social!

a. Link your Facebook page to your website.
b. Link your blog to your Facebook page.
c. Invite people to become a fan of your page.
d. Search out related businesses and become a fan of their pages.
e. Finally, communicate.

i. The more valuable information you post on your business page the more likely you are to be found.

Creating your business page is only the first step. Now you have to make sure your page is accessible and populated with relative content. Following the items in step four above is a great place to start. With access to millions of users daily Facebook could become an invaluable marketing tool for your business.

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