We’re always trying to be efficient with our clients’ dollars while at the same time producing a quality product that will deliver results.  With Brenner’s Furniture and their commitment this year to television, there will be those special weekend sales that will come up from time to time.  So how do you produce a TV spot that is only going to air for 3 or 4 days and justify the cost of the talent, the crew and the shoot.  For us, it’s planning ahead and creating a shoot that we can use the intro and outro and just have the donut change.

With this Presidents’ Day Sale the TV spot, we created an opportunity for the next spot to have the same intro and outro, but the donut–or “offer” will be different.  In the above spot where you will see the ‘Presidents’ Day Sale’, you will see different graphics with Mandy talking about the ‘every day value’. That allows us to maximize the cost of the television production, while still creating a relevant television spot that makes sense for the big furniture shopping weekend.

The swift and decisive move by search engines to enhance their search experience and tailor it even more towards individual needs should come as no surprise. This is, after all, the fast and furious world of the web and its ever increasing number of social-networking sites.

Twitter and Facebook are fast growing and popular, with Bebo, MySpace and Plurk also well known and trendy cyperspaces to meet friends, blog and share a wide range of media. Data from such shared communications is often protected by a never-ending range of privacy settings. But for some people, sharing a photo, status or likes and dislikes publicly is all part of the fun.

The latest development now sees search engines teaming up with social-networking sites to create what is known as social search. They aim to enhance and personalise their services by using this publicly shared data.

By working with Facebook and Twitter, search engines such as Google, Ask and Bing are able to provide their users with far more detailed search results. More to the point, the search and the search results can provide a more personal and tailored response to a searcher’s requirements.

For example, if Facebook users enable their public-search options, Bing can return results that are based on the ‘likes’ of a Facebook friend. Similarly, Google has teamed up with Twitter and now includes relevant tweets within its search results.

For many, these options will be an interesting, if not necessarily useful way of searching for information on the internet. However, where it leaves SEO companies is another matter.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) companies are specifically focused on enhancing and improving the visibility of a web page or site using search-engine results. However, although these companies are of experienced and used to working with search engines, they are now starting to assess the potential and the impact of searches based on social-networking data.

With those in the know asking whether they should or will need to change their approach, it seems inevitable that SEO companies will in fact form an important part of this digital evolution. Search engine optimisation is always moving and shifting, its dynamic nature a defining element of competitive online business.

For an SEO company, it’s a case of getting a client to the top of the results list. It has to use all methods available to then make sure they stay there. In the light of the development of social search, the process used to achieve such goals will need to shift a little.

As new networking sites and new applications within these sites develop, effective ways of working with and managing the associated data will need to be found. Staying on top of developments such as these and working with social media will certainly be crucial.

Crucial not only to successful results, but to a loyal and large client base that recognise an affordable, cheap SEO agency with in-depth knowledge, effective application of such knowledge and the ability to understand where and when the tide will turn next.

Innovation on the part of search engines must go hand in hand with the development of affordable and effective SEO techniques. A reliable and cheap SEO agency must be ready with new ideas that see their business take a greater role in the enhancement of a client’s reputation as well as their rank.

Don’t look now! Facebook Timeline For Business Pages:

It appears the new facebook timeline for business pages is finally be arriving.  Word has it, and it makes sense, that the announcement will come at the Facebook Marketing Conference event, parts of which will be live-streamed, being held in New York February 29, that features a keynote by Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, Vice President of Product Chris Cox, and VP of Advertising and Global Operations David Fischer.

What does this mean? I think the new facebook timeline for business pages will open up new and exciting opportunities for small business owners.

How Small Business Owners Can Take Advantage Of Facebook Timeline For Business Pages:

Cover Photo:   Space on Facebook is a bit like space on the Vegas Strip it’s very valuable and sold by the sq. inch.  So with Facebook giving you 840 x 310 pixels, free advertising space, it allows brands to completely customize the top of their page.  This will certainly separate businesses that are truly vested in Facebook and those that are just using it because it’s FREE.

Much More Than Just a Like:    It’s rumored that as part of the new Timeline, Facebook is also giving users more options for how they interact with brands. Instead of being limited to just ‘liking’ something something, people will have the opportunity to  “love,” “want” or “own” a product.  Are you thinking of the possibilities now…

The Facebook Timeline Business Page Story:   We’ve seen where individuals can tell a story with their timeline, think of the possible stories that can be told by a ‘local’ business on the facebook timeline business page.  The ability to intertwine pictures and stories with that of their community.  To have people post older pictures to help fill in the timeline.  We have some small local business retail clients that have some have been in business for 75 years and one for over  a 100 years and are really looking forward to the possibilities that the Facebook timeline is going to allow on their business pages.

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words:   I’m sure you have but if not take a look at your wall and you will see that when a picture is posted by a person it’s much larger than when a picture is posted by a business page.  This will now be even and when pictures are the most interacted posts of Facebook this matters.

Summary:

Facebook no longer makes drastic changes that everyone must adhere to right away.  The Facebook timeline business page, like the personal timeline pages, will be a slow roll out where those that want to play early and have the resources to take advantage of the timeline will and the rest will be moved over with the mandatory roll-out that will more than likely take place 90 days after the announcement.

Either way this will further reward those that make Facebook a priority.

Related articles

• Facebook to Release Timeline for Brands This Month (adage.com)
• Facebook Timeline for Brands Coming Later This Month [REPORT] (mashable.com)

The answer to that question may surprise you. If a blog post has been created based on a keyword or a key phrase then essentially you have an effective blog post.

Wait a minute, what was that?

Let me explain in greater detail. A blog post or article that has been written based on a keyword or a key phrase is an effective blog post because everything within the post would have been designed and created based on the most important attribute of a blog: a focus or primary keyword!

Everything that has to do with writing and creating an article or post has to do with SEO and what is SEO? Content rich with “keywords” or “key phrases.”

That would mean that the Article Heading, Page Title, Page URL, Page Content and Image were created with a focus keyword or key phrase. Hence, the blog post was written using the Keyword in the 5 key components of an effective blog post. Keep in mind that your title tag and your meta tag description would naturally take the attributes of these 6 primary components as well.

“Hmmm….okay?”

I know it sounds way too simple but if I show you an effective blog example and breakdown each component, I think you’ll agree.

But first, lets review what those key components are for an effective blog post.

A Focus or Primary Keyword or Key phrase MUST appear in these areas:

1. Page URL
2. Page Title
3. First Paragraph
4. Content
5. SEO Title
6. Meta Description

Take a look at this first screen shot:

Components 1 and 2:

1. Does the Page URL have a keyword or key phrase? Yes! You can’t see the URL however here is a snippet of what the URL actually is – com/academy/ecommerce-mistakes ).

2. Does the Page title have a keyword or key phrase? Yes! Notice the page title in bold print – 9 ecommerce mistakes and how to avoid them.

Note: If you didn’t notice it…..look at the title and url again and you’ll see that the entire title and url do not match. This was done intentionally as the author first didn’t want a huge URL(permalinks) for their article so they shortened it. A Very effective SEO and Blog technique!!

Here’s our second screenshot :

Components 3 and 4:

3. Does the First Paragraph have a keyword or key phrase? Yes! Take a look at the second to last sentence in the first paragraph.

4. Does the Content have a keyword or key phrase? Yes! You’ll see that the primary keyword and key phrase is repeated multiple times within the body content of the post. In addition…..what you don’t see is that the shopping cart image with mouse has an alt tag consistent with the keyword and key phrase as well.

Here’s our third and final screenshot:

Components 5 and 6:

5. Does the SEO Title have the primary keyword or key phrase? Yes! You can’t see it but if you use the link below you’ll be able to view the Live post at Wordtracker’s website.

6. Does the Meta Description have the primary keyword or key phrase? Yes! Again…you can’t see it but if you do a “view page source” in the live article you’ll see the meta description and you’ll notice that it has both the keyword and phrase.

So What Makes an Effective Blog Post? Hopefully by reading this article you’ll be closer to understanding what makes a blog effective. But in case you missed something….just make sure you integrate at a minimum these 6 components and I think you’ll start seeing more traffic and visitors to your website. In the end getting more traffic is the ultimate goal, so use these techniques to create your effective blog!

To see the full article…Click Here.

Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

Rick Cano, Cano Consulting

Your Entrepreneurial Hub Your Website Design:

Andrea Pasutti is a longtime friend of Paradux Media Group, and when her entrepreneurial spirit came a calling we were glad to help guide her through the website design process.  Walking down the paved road while less adventuress can be advantageous in beginning your business, especially in regards to your website design.

Andrea, a master of so many skills, knew that becoming a virtual assistant and being able to utilize all of her skills made sense.  While social media does play a part of your business today, having a website as your hub is the BEST strategy that a small business owner can have.

Website Design Approach:

Andrea’s WordPress website design needed to match her professional image — and a very clean look was important.  Navigation was critical for her website design, it had to be easy to share her talents and those of her associates, quickly and efficiently with potential clients.

If you’ve ever thought of using a virtual assistant or wanted to know more about what a virtual assistant can do we’ve used Andrea’s skills in the past and have always been very pleased and would recommend her for you VA needs.

There’s a new book out by Randy Harrington and Carmen Voilleque called “Evolutionaries: Transformational Leadership: The Missing Link in Your Organizational Chart.” Randy and Carmen are brilliant, inspirational, and most of all, observant. They are consultants by trade, and any organization lucky enough to work with one or both of these individuals is vastly better off for knowing them. I’m fortunate to have known them both for almost 20 years now, and count them as counselors, friends, and an ongoing source of inspiration.

Their book is actually about being (or recognizing) an Evolutionary leader within your organization. Early on in the book, Randy and Carmen articulate what it means to be among Evolutionaries.

“An Evolutionary is:

• A Planner: Evolutionaries need a cause and a good, flexible plan – they need to be attached to a strategic outcome that they are invested in and believe in.
• A Leader: Evolutionaries must know the business at hand and possess the kind of “street credibility” with your organization’s people that garners trust, respect and followers.
• A Communicator: Evolutionaries are experts at delivering clear and inspiring messages. They can adapt to the language culture of those they lead, and they are willing to learn new “languages” as necessary to facilitate positive transformation for an organization.
• A Teammate: Evolutionaries aren’t just great leaders, they are great teammates and great followers. In fact, if you don’t have a strong desire to be a part of a team, or follow great leadership when you see it, you are probably not an Evolutionary.
• An Innovator: Evolutionaries are skilled in the business of predicting the future. They know how to identify trends, seek out thought leadership, and be awake and aware of new opportunities; they are open to change, comfortable with ambiguity and highly adaptable.
• A Guide: Evolutionaries are masters in the art and science of Guidance. They are confident in the “trail”; they know how to facilitate, inspire, foster trust, stay the course and bring people successfully toward a desired end state.”

Evolutionaries Make Great Marketing Leaders

Without too much of a stretch, the principles in the book and the very definition of what an Evolutionary is, apply directly to being a good marketing professional. Marketing professionals often fall into a very strange no-man’s land where, regardless of their actual position on the organization’s chart, they are tapped to work on the highest levels of strategy for an organization.

Marketing Evolutionaries

• A Planner – All marketers need a plan, but the very nature of a marketing plan expects a degree of flexibility. For the Marketer understanding what the strategic necessities are, while balancing that against a “nice to have” is a critical to the marketer’s and the business’ long term success.
• A Leader – The first place new marketers get tripped up is often in the street credibility war. Marketers have a tendency to walk in and tell seasoned managers and sales people what works and what doesn’t. And while, from a Brand perspective, they are probably right, selling that to the managers and sales people will only happen when they are able to back up their talk with results.
• A Communicator – Let’s face facts, if you’re not able to deliver an inspiring message in your capacity as a marketer, you might as well change professions right now.
• A Teammate – Being a teammate is an integral part of being a good marketing professional. The interesting part of being a marketing professional is that your team will bridge departments, offices, and management levels. As a great marketer, you’re going to have to sell your ideas to all the corners of your organization.
• An Innovator – In my experience, the very best marketers are innovators. The whole point of marketing is really combining and recombining disparate ideas into brand new concepts, that are both appealing and inspire passion.
• A Guide – Confidence is a key component to selling your idea, internally and externally. If you don’t believe in your idea, no one else will wither. So be confident, inspire, and foster trust among the internal audience at your organization.

So, while Evolutionaries was not meant as a recipe for a good marketer, there are definitely correlations between Evolutionaries and good marketing professionals. To be sure, there are additional aspects of Evolutionaries that are not necessary for being a good marketer, but on on it’s face — it’s a great guide for becoming a great marketer.

When you’re looking for your next great business book to read, give Evolutionaries: Transformational Leadership: The Missing Link in Your Organizational Chart, a chance — you’ll enjoy the opportunity to learn from Randy and Carmen, and whether you are an Evolutionary or not — being able to identify them in your organization and adopt some of the their traits to apply to your marketing toolbox will help you out tremendously.

The Enemy, Social Media Fragmentation

photo credit: erix!

Fragmentation, whether it’s traditional media fragmentation or social media fragmentation, it is marketing enemy #1 for the small business owner.  For the small business owner fragmentation means more for less.  More work , more money, and reach less people.

I have addressed social media fragmentation a few times but with the recent surge of Pinterest I couldn’t help but ask the question.  Where are the people coming from?  Are these individuals who are new to social media or are they disenchanted or missing something with Facebook etc. and looking for another alternative?

I have seen some figures that are reporting a 400% increase in Pinterest web hits in December, but  with as much activity as I’ve seen from my Facebook friends and my posts lately on Pinterest it’s easy to tell it’s gaining plenty of momentum.

I do believe that poor programming in radio and TV led people searching out new ways to be entertained and created social media.  While Facebook is the 800 pound gorilla and will continue to be so, it will find out it can’t be everything to everyone and so we will see plenty of niche social media platforms that addresses certain entertainment value that people will be drawn to, after all it is just about being entertained.

Solving Your Social Media Fragmentation Problem

As business owners we make decisions on where to spend our time, allocate our budget and what battles to take up.  Social Media fragmentation is no different, and there is no one answer to social media fragmentation, as all businesses are different and have different needs.  So look at your social media fragmentation dilemma and try to simplify it this way.

• Facebook:  Still the family reunion, mainstream platform, best for having living room conversations, more about the continued relationships with your current customers and getting them to buy more frequently.
• Twitter:   A link building machine that can drive massive traffic to your website.  A great way to communicate and begin relationships with individuals who ARE NOT your current customers.  If your business is more regional or national than local, if you sell on-line, hard not to invest the time or money here.
• Linkedin:   A Chamber of Commerce conversation that should be relegated more towards the personal resume and achievement than your business.
• Google+:    Early adapters, geeks, IT people, individuals looking for the latest and greatest gadgets and toys.  SEO is going to play a larger role in the success of any business today.  A buzz word for 2012 is certainly going to be ‘findability’ and with Google + possibly becoming a factor in search engine results it’s worth a look from the ‘lost and found’ aspect alone.
• Pinterest:   Have a visual business where a picture can say a thousand words?  Pinterest is that platform.  With a great demographic to boot.  The individuals that I see spending time in Pinterest are some of the most difficult-to-reach individuals as well as the most coveted.

Summary on Social Media Fragmentation:

Some of these platforms take more time than others.  Should you spend a bit of time each week in these?  For most, the answer is yes.  Weigh out what platform you should spend a little more time in.  Even with social media fragmentation you can make your time and money work for you.

Related articles

• 6 Essential Social Media Tools for Local Businesses (iblogzone.com)
• Social Media fragmentation (better-things.co.uk)
• Pinterest – A Social Media Game Changer? (savvyblogging.net)

WordPress Website Versatility:

We keep preaching the benefits of a WordPress website and it’s many benefits, and here is an example of another WordPress Website benefit.

Over the course of a year many things can change, including our minds and what we’d like to focus on.  When Brenner’s Furniture did their first web re-design with us the focus was not so much on showing the inventory, as it was highlighting a few particular items.  After all their inventory changes quickly and it was very important to Brenner’s that what was on the website was in the store.

A year later and after seeing the ease of updating and changing offers and inventory having a website that could now reflect that fact that they have the largest inventory in Lane County was their focus.  Enter the versititlty  of the WordPress Website.

WordPress Website Transition:

The decision a year earlier to go with a WordPress website made the transition easy. It was about choosing a theme layout that was more suited to what David wanted and the rest would fall into place.  David really liked a manufactures website because of the amount of inventory that could be displayed and how it was displayed.  That was all we needed. The rest just fell into place…

I know I’ve talked about it in the past, but it bears repeating, your brand is entirely about evoking an emotional response…we buy from brands we like.  In fact, if your brand invokes anything less than passion, you’re missing the mark and that means you’re missing opportunity. While I work with, and talk about, this aspect of brand everyday, I’m often surprised that this critical element is completely overlooked by seasoned marketers. A recent post on Brand Strategy Insider, articulates the difference brand emotion can make very well.

photo credit: muammerokumus

“Consumers care about what a brand represents to them on the highest emotional level. The physical properties and functional benefits that comprise and define a brand are of less importance–this explains the difference between Coke and Pepsi, Chevy and Toyota, Apple and the rest of its competitors.”

While functionally, there really is no difference between Coke and Pepsi, Chevy and Toyota, Apple and everyone, there are massive emotional divides. And I defy you to be ambivalent about which one you prefer.

Identifying Emotion Associated With a Brand is Big Business

Trying to identify the emotions that a brand evokes is big business. Millward Brown and Affectiva announced last month on PRWeb they can now add facial expression analysis to their copy testing solution.

“…brand owners can get at the emotional response that people might not be able to articulate in surveys,” said Graham Page, executive vice president of Millward Brown’s neuroscience practice. “By building this technology into our surveys, we can make non-verbal emotional measurement truly scalable and cost effective for the first time.”

This means that big brands have the ability now to measure real emotional response to brand messages and advertising campaigns, and this is critical, for brands that can pay the price, to be able to hit a home run on more advertisements with fewer “misses.”

What if Your Brand Can’t Pay Big Money for an Emotion Study?

So what about brands that can’t pay the significant study costs? They have to rely more upon the gut instinct of the marketing manager, the staff, and the community to tell them when they are on track — and when they are off track.

One thing we know for certain is that when a brand exists at the intersection of “love” and “respect”, they have a significantly higher probability of becoming a lovemark.) I’ve written previously about brand Lovemarks here, be sure to check out the Lovemark Profiler link there too!) As a marketer, positioning your brand in an appropriate manner to garner your community’s respect and passion is the best way to move into prosperous success.

Take the time to review the emotion behind your brand, and if you find it’s lacking take immediate steps to remedy that problem. If you need help, checkout the Brand Book Tutorial series, and specifically the post about Rubber Duckie’s Brand Manifesto, if we can write an emotionally resonate manifesto for Rubber Duckie — surely you can write one for your brand as well.

When business owners look at their internet presence, a higher search engine result is what they’re working towards. Of course, there’s a goal beyond that – what a higher ranking should bring. Increased revenues.

Blogging can help you increase your findability in searches and increase your revenues. Every blog post you publish, adds to your inventory on the web. The more inventory you have published, the more findable you become.

But who has time to blog, right?

Let’s look at the time investment of blogging in terms of calendar of days rather than hours in the day. If you invest 15-30 minutes a day, maybe 3-5 times per week, you’ll create a winning web presence.

In many ways, blogging is like farming:

1. You agitate the old earth, getting fresh soil ready for planting
2. You plant your seeds
3. You check on things frequently, sometimes watering or fertilizing the soil
4. Several months later: Harvest
5. Rinse and Repeat

And step one above may be the most important. It’s a changing of the soil. It’s not that the old soil is bad, it actually remains. By tilling the ground, we are integrating the old with the new. 

As you produce posts, remember the acronym FARM:

Frequency – Develop a frequency that is sustainable and consistent. Ideally, you’ll write a post at least three posts each week. By doing so, you will produce an inventory of pages on the web that will increase your credibility and findability in search rankings.

Audience – Your intended audience is who you write for, who you talk about, who you get your ideas from. Don’t try writing award-winning posts. Don’t talk so much about you. Talk about your intended audience and how their problems and pains can be solved. Listen to your day, to your customers. The question you answer today may be a blog post tomorrow.

Readable – Have plenty of breaks in the text, what I call “eye rests”. These can be images, bold phrases, hyperlinks, and bullets. Today’s web and mobile readers are skimmers. Having ample eye rests will slow them down so they read and remember what you write.

Manageable – Blog posts don’t need to be long (boring?) tedious word counts. The Gettysburg Address was 272 words short. Shorter blog posts are more likely to get read, shared, and remembered. In addition, shorter blog posts don’t take as long to write.

If you FARM your blog with diligence and care, in a few months you will see higher rankings, stronger relationships, and increased revenues.

Related articles

• Why You Want To Be the Last Blog Standing (outspokenmedia.com)
• Never Mind SEO, How Much Traffic Do Blog Comments Bring Me(jamienorthrup.com)
  

Being able to communicate to potential customers when you’re open is one of the key elements of door signage. Even better, when that door signage communicates which business you’re at. The good news is, door signage can be relatively inexpensive and can go a very long way in communicating the foundational elements in your business – particularly if you’re working with a glass door.

Computer Guys Door Signage

As part of the project to create the window graphics for Computer Guys, we also designed their door signage. Since their front door was in glass, we designed the door signage in vinyl lettering , relying heavily upon the color scheme dictated by their logo. If you’ve never had the opportunity to look at vinyl letters up close, you’d be surprised to see that they are, in fact, vinyl letters. The beauty of vinyl lettering is that it is both cost effective and easy to change.

For the Computer Guys, we needed to communicate a sense of place with their name and logo, their brand position – with their tagline, their hours of operation, and phone number. Their front door now communicates the degree of professionalism and attention to detail that you can expect from the Computer Guys.

Web Design for Real People

At Paradux Media you won’t find a cookie cutter web design approach.  We believe that if control over your website is what you want, then we will create a unique affordable web design that will have your personality and stamp on it.

Rogue Outfitters, a trophy hunting guide service based in Southern Oregon, was looking for a web design that would attract potential customers and repeat customers alike. It was also important that the new web design allowed Rogue Outfitters to make edits and changes in real time to the website.

Allow Your Business to Stand Out with WordPress Web Design

Business owners, managers, and employees alike all deserve the ability to make changes to their website as business needs dictate, without having to wait for the assistance of a web designer. The beauty of WordPress websites is that they allow the average individual to make edits pages and add content to the page.

At Paradux Media Group, one of the services we are proud to offer are personalized SEO (Search Engine Optimization) classes.

Web Design First – SEO Classes Second

Website design is only half the equation when trying to get your site found on the internet. Kelly at Richard Stevens & Associates, Inc. just completed our SEO class series.  When we began the class we set goals and objectives for the SEO work on the website.   We picked some important key words that we wanted to make sure that rsaoregon would show up on the first page when searching in the Medford area.

By the time Kelly had completed the first three classes, Richard Stevens & Associates Inc., had passed their competition and landed on the first page of a Google Search. They only trailed the city of Medford page on one important search and came in at number one on another search.

SEO to Put You in Control

The SEO classes from Paradux Media Group are intended to give you the tools you need to control your own SEO.  Giving you what you need to make the adjustments and control your search destiny.

If you would prefer not to take the classes and have no part of controlling your SEO, and for those businesses we offer a hands free SEO package as well.

Kelly had this to say about working with Paradux Media Group to learn SEO.

“I am very satisfied with the SEO classes. Everything I learned was useful and helpful. I have already seen our website move up in the Google searches, and as I write and SEO more blogs, etc., I have a feeling we will be in the # 1 spot in no time. It was very nice having a one-on-one class over the phone. I didn’t have to drive anywhere for a seminar, and no interruptions by fellow students! Thank you, Mike, for getting me up to date with SEO. Also, thank you, Tisha, for creating our awesome website!! I have already recommended Paradux Media to several people (one just this morning!), and I look forward to another opportunity to work with you again!”

Whatever way works for you, let us help you get found on the internet by creating an affordable SEO solution for you.

For three years I carried a MacBook Air for business and travel.  I loved it, the only issue was that I needed to run Microsoft Office software for my work with several clients.  I was thrilled when I got the news a few years ago that I could run Office 2007 on a Mac with success.  Not usually an “early adopter” I jumped at the chance to own such a slim little laptop, forever changing my experience of traveling with a heavy, clunky Dell in my backpack.  The Air even fit in a very fashionable purse!  Life was good.  Until…

The thing I really hate about Microsoft is how they take over your computer in the middle of the night and install big updates while you are getting your much-needed beauty rest and then your computer won’t start in the morning.

10 hours of IT work later from two different shops, my laptop worked in “safe mode”.  Very useful…

Enter Twitter.

This is not actually a blog about Macs or Microsoft.  It’s about social networks, and Twitter specifically.  You see, I didn’t believe in them until last year, when Twitter solved my laptop problem.  Let me explain.

Green Dragon Pub in Portland, OR

It’s common knowledge today that tons of brilliant IT professionals live in Portland, Oregon. And for those in-the-know, they can apparently be found attending the much-famed “Beer and Blog” nights at the Green Dragon Pub. My husband, an avid Twitter user, sent out an emergency tweet: “Carmen’s Mac can’t be fixed! Who will take on the challenge?” Then, he announced he would be taking my laptop to the Beer and Blog that Friday night. I said, “These people will not care about my laptop problems, and besides, we pay our IT people to do this sort of stuff and they can’t fix it, so why would these folks do it for free?”  He advised me to think of it this way: “You are doing a public service.  Without puzzles like this to solve, these people would just be criminals.”

After several hours in surgery at the Green Dragon, (and subject to much conversation and competition) I received back a laptop that worked perfectly, but with no sound.  Hey, better than nothing, right?

For those who care, today I am back with a PC.  Still… I continue to dream of the day the MacBook Air and Microsoft work in perfect synchronicity.

A year later, we bought my brother a new tablet.  But it didn’t play some of the games he wanted, and it wouldn’t work with a spellchecker app he wanted to use for his business proposals. So you guessed it – we used Twitter and tweeted the network again, and four hours in a coffee shop with some tech geeks later we had stripped the operating system off the tablet, installed a whole new operating system, and got my brother all the customized bells and whistles he wanted.  Was it the same tablet he bought? Nope – it was better.

But, back to the point.  Actually, there are two:

1. Social media isn’t as bad as I thought
2. The use of social media in the workplace is inevitable

I am now a proud participant in Twitter.

Carmen's Laptop Skin - Rebooting the Dragon

I try because I have discovered that the social collective I am building on Twitter, though small, is authentic and true. They are smart people, and they feed me great information and resources. These 45 people follow me because they are interested in what I have to say. And if I need help with my computer, they can make that happen too. In other words, for very little output, I get a lot of value from Twitter. All in all, it’s not so bad.

So hurray for me, I have joined the social media world.  But does that mean it’s for everyone?  Does that mean businesses and organizations should do it too?  Not only do I think they should, I think it’s inevitable.  Here’s why…

Back to the Green Dragon.  The first thing you notice about this crowd is they have really cool tech toys. And all the apps to go with them. Recently Bill Jensen, the well-known author of the books Simplicity and Work 2.0, wrote an article called “Hacking Work.”  He opens one paragraph with the sentence,

“When a 12-year old can gather information faster, process it more efficiently, reference more diverse professionals, and get volunteer guidance from better sources than you can at work, how can you pretend to be competitive? When the personal tools in your mobile phone are more empowering than what your company provides or approves for your projects, how can you be saved from devastating market forces?”

You can’t.

I speak at conferences all the time. And I can tell you that at every conference in the last three years at least one speaker has been talking about the blend of personal and work life. But, what Jensen does a better job than anyone else at conveying is how the personal has so quickly surpassed the professional when it comes to simplifying life.  Just look at my story – the IT professionals we employ could not fix my problem, but by turning to a more personal social network, solutions abound.  My brother’s tablet didn’t do what he wanted for his business, so reprogram the whole thing to get what you want. Jensen tells us that “Business’s lingering love of bureaucracy, process, and legacy technology has fallen completely out of sync with what people need to do their best.”

He claims to know of several IT managers that have hacked their own corporate systems to provide the reports necessary to give the executives in the C-suite the information they really want.  (Cue cringing auditors and security compliance professionals).

The point is that corporate control of information for knowledge workers is not under siege, it is already an illusion. Workers are hacking their organization’s systems daily in the name of increased personal productivity.  As CEO’s scream for “doing more with less” in this new transitional economy, employees are stepping up the game and working the system to achieve results.  Jenson explains that “Bloggers are telling your employees how to bypass procedures, forums give tutorials on how to hack your software security, and entrepreneurs are building apps to help your employees run their own tools and processes at work instead of yours.”

Time to call security?

What’s the use?

Jenson tells us that there is only one successful strategy for a hacked world: “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”  As companies like Google, Nokia, and Best Buy lead the way in embracing new tools that hackers will use with or without permission we see a new age dawn where workers are finally gaining the resources they have in their regular lives in the workplace as well.  As bad becomes good the results are greater worker control over tools and procedures, increased transparency, and a new competitive edge.

Now, if I can just get that MacBook Air to run Office 2010 perfectly all will be well in the world…

One significant, and often overlooked opportunity that many business have is using window graphics to share their message. (Tisha has blogged about the importance of Branding on Windows.) Window graphics will work wonders for most businesses, unless a business exists on low-traffic street, or has no windows at all.

One of the nice features of using  50% vinyl screen for window graphics is that you can still see out if you’re inside the building, but from the outside, the window graphics appear to be solid and vibrant.

Utilizing Window Graphics at the Computer Guys

The Computer Guys had a better-than-average opportunity to use their windows for Branding purposes as there is a VERY popular drive-through coffee kiosk across the street, and angled just right so that people waiting for their morning cup of coffee have a great view of the windows. While it’s true, that without their dose of caffeine, the customers across the street may not be fully awake and able to appreciate the window graphics, but at least subliminally, Computer Guys had the opportunity to increase the awareness of their store.

Key Messaging in Window Graphics

The key to good window graphics is understanding that, like all outdoor advertising, the opportunity for the reader to see and focus on the graphic is minimal. Truthfully, the reader should be focusing on driving instead of reading too much text on the window graphics. In this case, we were able to put more text than we otherwise would have on the windows because the primary viewing audience would be parked across the street waiting for their coffee. The result, are two windows that work in tandem together – reminding readers that the Computer Guys can help with computer sales, repair, and virus removal – taking full advantage of the premium window space that the building affords.

So what’s the fastest growing social network?  If you didn’t say Pinterest you’re wrong.  So what is Pinterest you say?  Pinterest.com is a virtual pin board, where you collect and admire images found all over the web. It’s like a bulletin board, only you are pinning up web images, on an online board. You can pin whatever images you want, and you can sort and organize your pin boards based on your interests.  So any interest in Pinterest?

Pinterest moves fast, much like the pace of Chip Kelly’s offense.  Combinations and styles to share, well there are as many combinations of boards to put together as there are uniform choices for the Oregon Ducks.

As a marketer I look at who is actively involved in Pinterest

photo credit cambodia4kidsorg via Flickr

I see some of the hardest to reach individuals through traditional or social media platforms.  With 11 million hits in one week this past December and the numbers continuing to climb, there is no reason to think interest in Pinterests is going to slow.

The jury is out to see how creative some visual marketers will get will pinterest.  As a business owner there are lots of reasons to take a look at the platform.  It will take a little imagination as many of the marketers have not yet taken over Pinterest and pathed the way much like they have on Facebook.

So who can benefit from this interest in Pinterest?

Stylists, Real Estate Agents,  Furniture Stores, Home Decor Businesses, Restaurants, Arts and Craft Shops, non-profits, and Travel Agents just to name a few off the top of my head.   There are plenty of stories that can and will be told.  Like with most outlets the first in can have a huge advantage., and if this platform continues to grow those that are in now can create a real competitive advantage.

Related articles

• Pinterest: The Power of Images (impressionsthroughmedia.com)
• Pinterest’s Marketing Possibilities (thenyegotist.com)
• Type-A Parent on-line digital hub for moms and dads (typeaparent.com)

As an Executive Director at Orenda International, and with more than 8,000 people in her downline, it was becoming increasingly important that Anne create and maintain a personal brand. She needed a platform that would allow her to connect, regularly with members of her downline, offering ideas, coaching and support. But with a downline that big, it was unrealistic to try to connect with each person on the phone, or via email. At the same time, Orenda International is rightfully concerned about the messages that appear on the web about their products, and prefer that all information about the company appear only on the official Orenda International website.

We were able to create a website that reflects Anne’s sense of style, articulates who she (and her husband Nick) are, and allows her to blog, sharing ideas, and systems with interested parties in her downline. Anne’s website would be incomplete without mention of Orenda – and we were able to include links to the Orenda website on the menu bar so that all content about Orenda is housed on the Orenda website.

Like so many websites, the Optimal Ageing site is a work in progress, but it’s foundational elements are solid and with time, it will grow into the site it’s destined to become.

In marketing, as in life, the hardest thing to do is tread water.  It’s much easier to swim or drown.  Groups and organizations are no different.  One of the major goals of the Eagle Point Upper Rogue Chamber of Commerce is, despite the decline in businesses, to be pro-active in recruiting new businesses to be a part of the EPUR Chamber.

Step one is in inviting Brookings Chamber President and CEO Les Cohen to be a guest speaker at the February 6^th Chamber meeting.  With over 20 years with the Brooking Chamber Les has very valuable experience when it comes to attracting tourism to your area and with all the traffic on Hwy 62 traveling to Crater Lake a lot of what he has to say could resonate with local business owners.

To attract those member who don’t normally attend, and those business owners who aren’t members a mailer was designed to be sent to members and non-members a like.  The goal, to attract new members, and get current members more involved.

Free always seems to work, I mean how many of us are going to pass up a free lunch?  We obviously feel that way as well as you can see if learning from one of Oregon’s premier Chamber Presidents wasn’t enough for a business owner that free prizes and lunch would tip you over the edge..

Direct mail can be as expensive or as affordable as you’d like.   Obviously to be more budget conscious you’re going to have to give up color, gloss etc., but when you can target a specific demo list it can be an efficient to target your marketing dollars.

Even though we’re all adults here, let’s be honest; talking to strangers is sometimes awkward and uncomfortable. This is especially true when you have to contact a company that seems like a faceless organization out to get your hard-earned money. You can prevent this from happening to your company, though!

When Dorothy and the rest of the gang saw the man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz, their fears were instantly calmed. They were no longer staring at an intimidating face, but just a regular guy. Similarly, your customers sometimes view your company as the wizard, meaning an almost non-human entity that just “is.” By showing your customers the employees you have working behind the curtain, also known as being “transparent,” you’re sure to remind them that you’re a down-to-earth company.

Transparency is the thing that can separate a successful company from the ones that end up quietly disappearing off the radar. However, waking up one day and declaring, “our company is going to be as transparent as cellophane,” isn’t how it’s done. Well, not exactly. Thankfully, there are some new tools out there that will make your declaration easier to achieve!

Instagram

Although the two social media kingpins (Facebook and Twitter) are important, customers today want a lot more communication from their favorite companies. They want to know about new products, company news, and anything else that may impact them. Fill them in on everything by showing them the human side of your company with pictures. Taking pictures with a digital camera and then loading them onto a computer can be time consuming, so instead use this handy app called Instagram and tell your employees to say, “Cheese!” What sets this app apart from traditional ways of taking pictures is that you can add a filter to change the look and feel you want to portray to your customers. Get artsy!

For example, if you have a new product to show off, include one of your buyers in the picture so customers can see the face behind the product. If you’re celebrating a holiday or just a random Friday, then include a picture of your marketing department having fun. Any moment can be a way to build a stronger connection with your customers. They’ll appreciate knowing that they’re not just working with a faceless organization, but that instead they’re working with Jim in accounting or Kate in orders.

Pinterest

Chances are, by now you’ve read how everyone and their grandmother are “pinning” recipes, home decorating tips, or wedding ideas. However, this site is growing in popularity every day and not just by grandmothers but by people of all ages – especially the female demographic aged 13 and up.

You can get your customers’ attention on this popular site by doing a variety of things. While Pinterest does not allow for “self-promotion” by companies (believe me, they’re a stickler on this), you can still do some things to attract attention.

1. Show Off New Products: Post that new product (or the proposed one you’re thinking about) on Pinterest and think of your followers as a captive focus group. If the product image is re-pinned by your followers, then you know it’s something that could be a success. If it’s not as popular as you thought, then make any necessary tweaks and try again until something sticks (or pins, in this case).

2. Show Off Your Brand’s Unique Personality: What books are your employees currently reading, or what are they obsessing over currently? Show off the quirkiness of your company and the people you have working for you and you’ll come across as down-to-earth and easy to interact with. Strengthen your community of loyal customers by showing them your personality and you’ll win them over!

While there’s no denying that the majority of Pinterest users are women, men are taking notice of this site as well. Gentlemint.com is a very similar site, with the exception of the content being more masculine, and it is still growing every day. These two websites allow you to interact with customers who you would perhaps otherwise miss out on by only using the social network kingpins.

Tumblr

While Tumblr isn’t exactly a new or up-and-coming site, it’s one that should still be utilized in order to gain a stronger following with your customers. It’s an easy way to blog and share information or tidbits with your audience via text, photos, quotes, videos, music, links, or anything else you deem worthy!

Several large brands are using Tumblr to interact with customers, such as Huggies, Elle magazine, Life magazine, Ann Taylor, Comedy Central, NPR, and Mashable. All it takes is a quick picture or video (posted every day) to really get people hooked and coming back to visit your Tumblr page and your website as a result.

Now What?

Your customers will love to peek behind the curtain of your company and see how the inner workings unfold, and they’ll feel more comfortable working with your company knowing that it isn’t some faceless corporation only interested in money. Instead, show that you’re a company where Jill takes an interest in selecting the best products for the company and where Steve runs the order department to make sure that your purchase is delivered to you on time!

After playing with these tools for a bit, you’ll notice patterns regarding effective or ineffective strategies and gauge if your customers interact more seamlessly with you. While Instagram, Pinterest, or Tumblr shouldn’t completely replace any of your current social media marketing efforts, they’re a great addition to add further transparency and communication with them.

Being a part of programming and creating engagement are two important marketing platforms today. While so much advertising is dismissed do to being overwhelmed with ads, we now try to become part of what you’re watching or doing.

With Papa John’s Eugene/Springfield we’re always looking for those kind of opportunities, and with sports being such a huge part of our culture and the pizza eating demo to try and get all 3 well, can it be affordably done.

We were able to create a partnership and promotion with the University of Oregon Women’s Basketball team. When the Ducks score over 100 points its garlic parmesan breadsticks for everyone who is in attendance.

Papa John’s gets logo in the arena during the game, PA announcements during the game, mentions during the play by play of home and away games. We like the partnership, certainly the Women’s basketball team doesn’t have the following of the men’s team and this isn’t Duck football, there is a NASCAR support the sponsor mentality that comes with being a part of ‘non-revenue’ sports.

We’re glad to be a part of this and while they’ve come close a few times will be rooting for that first 100 point game as we know and have seen how excited the crowd gets as they get closer to that magical number.

BTS Manufacturing wanted a website that would allow them to sell product online, and be easy to maintain. It needed to reflect the dive industry, and feature that the products were “Made in the USA.” As a manufacturer of spear fishing equipment, being able to feature their products in use — and perhaps more importantly the catch that their products facilitated was critical. We created a public upload function that allows their customers to share their catch photos in a “Brag Book”, while also allowing the customers to describe how the product made the difference.

Business and marketing is all done in steps, and it’s always nice when as a business you get to take the next marketing step. With the foundation in place it was time for the Computer Guys to begin to extend their message through electronic media.

With their on-site IT business performing very well, everyone felt it was time to focus on expanding their services to take advantage of the store front and reach-out to the home computer user as well as the home business users.

Doing the research, we all determined that radio would be the most efficient platform to craft and execute the message.

In developing the concept we wanted to tell a story that would/could resonate with the home computer user. Marketing should be about telling a story, trying to captivate your audience and talking about situations that may relate to them.

For Computer Guys the story is to create an ‘it’ team. An IT team that can solve it no matter what it is. How many times are we at home and wish we had those IT guys that we have at work that to solve our home computer problem?

It didn’t take long before someone got it. You can see with this Facebook post that Dogs for Deaf got ‘it’ the first day the spot was aired.

Nothing says more about how you do business than when you stake your reputation on the line by recommending them. We’ve recommended the Computer Guys with all of our clients when they’ve had computer problems. We’ve done ‘it’ with confidence knowing that the client will be well taken care of and the problem will be solved.

Know what the secret to a great brand is?

One thing – just one thing.

It’s admittedly the hardest part of creating an amazing brand. And the trick, as Jack Palance in “City Slickers” reveal, is figuring out what your “One Thing” is. It’s going to take discipline and fortitude to choose the “One Thing” your brand stands for. Allowing your brnad to be distracted, taken off course, and generally waylaid is far far easier than maintaining your allegiance to just one thing.

I was recently meeting with a local chapter of a national non-profit organization. As is true for most non-profits with national affiliations, this organization raised money for it’s national charitable fund, as well as it’s local charitable fund. (If you’re keeping count, that’s 2 things). The local organization also wanted to demonstrate it’s commitment to the local community and give away money to other non-profits in the region. (That’s 3 things). Now, in good economic times, that’s marginally acceptable, at least there is enough money to go around and support all three of it’s charitable goals. But in today’s tough economy, three things is at least one too many (and in all likelihood two too many), there isn’t enough money to go around, and unless this organization makes some difficult decisions about what the brand stands for, they will be unable to support all three charitable goals.

photo credit cogdogblog via Flickr

The bigger problem, however, is that the local chapter’s membership and potential membership doesn’t have a clear understanding of what the chapter’s reason for being (brand) is. The chapter struggles with it’s identity and providing potential donors a reason to join this chapter over others. In failing to stand for something, their brand has failed to stand for anything.  The root of the problem is simple to explain and almost impossible to change.

By trying to raise money for three distinct and separate causes, the local Chapter’s brand fails to stand for anything. When the Chapter fails to stand for something, new members cannot choose to affiliate with the ideals and goals of the Chapter. Existing membership struggles to remain conscious of why they affiliated in the first place. And what we see begin to happen is an inevitable march toward obsolescence — a fundamental problem for the brand.

Every Brand Must Focus on It’s One Thing

This doesn’t just happen to non-profits, it happens to every brand that loses focus on what it’s One Thing is. Changes in staffing, business opportunities, and community needs, all have the potential to throw a non-profit or business off it’s One Thing. When that happens, unless the organization has the fortitude to check itself and return to it’s One Thing – or have the guts to step away from it’s old One Thing and create a new One Thing, then the organization will slowly slip away out of it’s donors/customers’ minds, and donation/buying patterns. One Thing — and sticking to it — that’s it, that’s the secret to a great brand.

It’s a great time for small local businesses to “Think Differently” and create campaign messages and not immediate hit and run messages.

Photo credit Mac-flick

The most remembered commercials:   Outside of Apples 1984 commercial,  the most remembered commercials, are comapaigns, not commercials.  National companies and big boxes, think that way, they see the benefits of the campaign while the small local business  lose patience, commitment, focus and tend re-invent their message with every traffic change in electronic media.

Campaigns:   Begin with a common theme, actors etc. they’re short stories, they’re chapters from a good book.  They have an on-going  tale that becomes familiar to all of us when we see or hear the spot…Budweiser, Geico,  T-Mobile,  Apple and Subway  just to name a few have all run successful campaigns.  Visiting the links will take you to the first spot of some very popular campaigns.

Large Business Thinking:   Having worked with ‘Large’ and ‘Small’ one of the differences between the two is the commitment with their decision.  When a larger businesses is looking at a campaign they look at the ideas and the concept, they buy off and make a commitment to the proper amount of time and spots necessary to create a successful campaign.

Small Business Thinking:   The small local business will believe that they commit to the campaign, but in reality most are  committed for the day but not for the time it’s going to take, they think they have the patience but a lot really don’t.

Locally:   If you were to think of the businesses that are most prominent in your area, they are more likely businesses that run campaigns, that build upon their radio and TV commercial.  It probably won’t be the companies that hit and run with every TV or Radio commercial re-thought, re-created and without building on the time and money invested on the last spot.

Marketing is investing:   Investing in your name and brand.  As a business owner build a strong foundation and then build up using the resources you used to build that strong foundation, don’t rebuild your foundation with every message.

Jay Reese is one of those great clients to have…still as excited about what he does today as he was when he started in the biz over 25 years ago.  After designing Jay’s website, we at Paradux Media Group, felt that blogging was going to be very critical for Jay’s future business success.

I’m glad to say that after consulting and some blog coaching Jay has taken the ball and really run down field with it.

The important reasons why Jay needed to blog:

• It Builds Traffic.  For Jay, this site was brand new and was inheriting zero existing traffic.
• It Increases your Credibility.  Jay’s was landing in a new market for him Bend Oregon.
• It establishes you as An Expert.  Was easy to recognize Jay as an expert in Southern Oregon, not so much in Bend, but after reading a few blogs it would be easy to see that Jay was an expert with experience.
•  It gives you a Voice.  It gave Jay a voice beyond the on-air persona.  You don’t always have the opportunity to go into detail and depth about how you feel about a game or subject, blogging has given him that opportunity and on more than a couple of occasions he’s taken advantage of it.

It just so happened that the timing for Jay to embrace blog coaching couldn’t have been better, as Jay who does the play by play for Mt View High School in Bend Oregon, was a witness as Mt. View won their first ever State Championship.

It’s all in the numbers, and blogging is no different.  Mt. View’s victory in the 5 A State Finals generated over 500 unique hits in one day, when a high school coach in Medford resigned in the middle of the season it led to over 1,000 unique hits in one day and over 2,000 hits in a 3 day period.  Not bad for someone blogging about Bend area high school sports…

Blogging is important for any business owner and if you feel that some blog coaching or consulting contact us.

There are many reasons that Twitter chats are gaining popularity. They can be used quite successfully for branding yourself or business as well as promoting products. I have had many people asking for  a calendar of Twitter chats so, I am providing you with a list of the Top 10 Twitter Chats for Social Media that I feel are worthy of your time.

1. #leadershipchat-  Fast moving chat that focuses on leadership tips, best practices and more on Tuesdays at 8 pm EST.
2. #usguyschat-  Follow this chat on Thursdays at 1 pm EST. They cover a wide range of topics such as social media, marketing, and technology.
3. #blogchat-  Created and moderated by Mack Collier on Sundays at 8 pm EST. Learn how to effectively promote and grow your blog.
4. #linkedinchat- Learn the latest tips to help you network on Linkedin and grow your business on Tuesdays at 8 pm EST.
5. #Smmanners-  Dabney Porte is the hostess and creator of this very popular weekly chat. You can join her every Tuesday night at 10 pm EST.
6. #socialchat- Every Monday 9 pm EST.  Learn tools to help your succeed in Social Media.
7. #brandchat- Wednesdays at 11 am EST, they talk about how to brand your products with social media.
8. #pr20chat-  This chat is for pr professionals, social media managers and those wanting to learn new ways to work in the business or help grow their brand every Tuesday at 8 pm EST.
9. #eavchat- Thursdays at 7 pm EST is Empire Avenue Chat. They approach a variety of topics including social media.
10. #mmchat-  Learn how to market through social media as well as other channels every Monday at 8 pm EST.

“With its grace and carelessness it seemed to annihilate a whole culture, a whole system of thought, as though Big Brotherand the Party and the Thought Police could all be swept into nothingness by a single splendid movement of the arm.” 1984

As you surf the web today you will see a ‘Blacklash’ as January 18^th 2012 is a day of internet protest.

You’ll notice the blackout of Google.  Go to Wikipedia  and you will see a black image with the simple message:  ”Imagine a World Without Free Knowledge.”

Our website at Paradux is blacked out with a stop censorship banner, as is Craigslist, and many others websites.  Everywhere you surf today you are bound to run into the ‘Blacklash’ and for most you, you have no idea why.  What has created all the commotion, protest and blackout?

It’s all about SOPA & PIPA.  On January 24th, Congress may vote to pass internet censorship in the Senate, even though the vast majority of Americans are opposed to it. We need to kill the bill – PIPA in the Senate and SOPA in the House – to protect our rights to free speech, privacy, and prosperity.

It’s another chance for social media and the internet to make a difference.  I would encourage anyone and everyone to tweet using the #SOPASTRIKE.  Turn Facebook black by changing your profile as well as posting, and be sure to let your Congressional Representative know what you think by adding your name to the protest list.

If you are looking for how to turn you website black or other ways to participate in the protest SOPASTRIKE is a good place to start.

Information is power.  Don’t let congress strip us of the freedom on free information.  Take a stand.

You might notice that the Paradux Media Group site has gone dark today, January 18, 2012. We’re joining thousands of concerned businesses and individuals nationwide to protest the “Stop Online Piracy Act” (SOPA) that was introduced into the House of Representatives on October 26, 2011 as bill HR 3261 and “Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011″ (PIPA), which was introduced into the Senate on May 12, 2011 as Senate Bill 968.

These bills, if passed will jeopardize internet freedom and shift the power of the independent web into the hands of a few corporations. If you haven’t heard much about SOPA or PIPA, take a moment to learn what it’s all about by watching the video above.

The bottomline here, if we don’t act, we’re permitting censorship and the intervention of large corporations in what has become the primary information exchange system in our country and the world. Just in the last 12 months, we’ve seen governments overthrown, major scandals exposed, and begun to turn to social media, bloggers and online content for our news and information sources – to the detriment of traditional news corporations.

These bills jeopardize that freedom of information in the most fundamental ways, allowing corporations to eliminate any site they feel poses a threat to their copyrights. Now, I’m all for copyrights and protecting intellectual property, but that’s not what these bills will do in reality. Any site, Facebook, Twitter, Craigslist, Paradux Media Group, you name it could be censored at a moment’s notice because a corporation  believed one link, one post, one piece of information would violate it’s copyright.

The aggregate result? The US Government “could order the blocking of sites using methods similar to those employed by China. Among other things, search engines could be forced to delete entire websites from their search results.” This level of censorship would have a dramatic effect on employment in the USA — think of all those internet jobs that could become obsolete.

Now that you know what’s at stake - take a moment to let Congress know what you think about these bills by letting your Congressional Representative know that you do NOT want it to pass – it’s quick, easy, and painless, and it could be the difference between censorship and freedom on the Internet.

“Somewhere the saving and putting away had to begin again and someone had to do the saving and keeping, one way or another, in books, in records, in people’s heads, any way at all so long as it was safe, free from moths, silver-fish, rust and dry-rot, and men with matches.” ~Ray Bradbury, Farenheit 451

Over the course of time there are many different platforms that your logo/business information will be seen and keeping some consistent continuity is important.  In some cases, a call-to-action ad is appropriate, and in other cases, a brand ad is appropriate. Putting a brand ad or two “in the can” is a smart and easy way to be able to sponsor community, events, and charitable causes and to instantly take advantage of those community-building activities that return print ad space as a thank you.

This kind of generic branded print- ad is exactly what Brenner’s Furniture needed for their sponsorship of the Olympic Trials. This ad will appear on the Olympic Trials posters that will be hung all around Eugene, Oregon in anticipation of the event.

New logos and brand identity mandate new social media iconography. The was true for Camden Hock’s brand new logo. To coincide with the rollout of her new brand image, we updated the Facebook and Twitter icons for her business.

Maintaining a consistent brand image across all outward facing channels is critical to successfully launching a brand position and social media gives an ideal place to show off the new brand. Camden’s new social media look matches her entire brand position and gives her the consistency necessary to take her business to a whole new level.