There’s so much buzz and competition these days to try to make content go viral, that it has, by nature, become more difficult to do. But it is still possible. Going “viral” only means that a piece of content has enough appeal, either broadly or narrowly, that people take the time and effort to spread it to their friends and colleagues with their endorsements or commentary.
I came across this idea on the blog, Brand New, and was instantly compelled to check it out. Basically, it is a map made up of logos. Although this concept is fairly new, I think the idea behind it is amazing and they do such great job of pulling it off. As a designer, I know it is hard to make a collection of different logos look good when they all need to be placed in such a small area. But the company that creates these maps, CityMaps, achieves it beautifully.
Trust me when I tell you, the excuses abound. Let’s see, “we don’t have time,” “don’t know what to say,” “can’t write,” “lack a good email list,” “don’t know what software to use,” “have no ideas,” “won’t be able to keep up with it,” “don’t know how to make it look professional.” Breathe. “Don’t have enough expertise,” “don’t see the point,” “don’t want to turn off our customers”, “don’t want to give away our secrets”, “think emailers get blocked anyway”, “aren’t creative enough,” and our favorite of all time, “I don’t want to bore people.”
Content marketing is nothing new. If you are a company that consults or advises, or deals with “selling the invisible,” you may already be considered a thought leader and have a paper trail of articles, speeches and case studies that you’ve shared with clients. But are you consistently producing and distributing material that is useful and engaging to your target audience? Are you seeing results in organic search or social media efforts?
In late March, we’re scheduled to launch our new website. (Can’t wait!) We chose WordPress as the content management system in which to develop the site, and we think our reasons for doing so can be relevant to you, our clients, as well.
We know what it’s like to be you. We’ve been our own client lately and we’ve been working on a new website. Questions have come up on just how and when we should announce and launch it. So we thought we’d share some best practice tips with you — and, at the same time, use it as a nice way to let you know about the change that’s coming. So, that’s tip number one.
Good office morale is important for success. In fact, little in the office is more influential to success than the happiness of our employees. Happy workers are more productive and interface with clients more cheerfully and effectively. And the efforts required to cheer up the office are both affordable and invaluable. Here are some things to consider:
Thanking clients for their business is not only a nice thing to do, but it’s good for business. It leaves clients with a good feeling about you and prompts them to reflect on your value as a resource to them. A definite win-win. You appreciate them and they appreciate you back. And while some businesses go all out with client appreciation dinners and events, particularly around the holidays, sometimes those expensive endeavors just become one more holiday obligation that can really push the budget, rather than have the personal impact you’d hoped. Here are ten innovative, cost-effective and memorable ways to deliver your appreciation:
Ok, so there’s no way around it. Losing a million customers in a few months is not a good thing. That’s what has reportedly happened to Netflix after they announced that they planned to separate their DVD rental business from their online streaming business.
It was a perfectly normal day. Rainy but warm, and hump-day — the day that divides the beginning of the work week with the end of the work week. So who could have known that a crisis was just about to come in our door — literally.
The sky is blue and air is warm, and there’s just a little bit of true summer left to enjoy. Hopefully you’ve had some downtime, while still keeping up with the important marketing and business tasks at hand. But with the slower summer days coming to an end, how can one best prepare for the busy pace that always comes in early September? Here’s our checklist:
Take the “no-header test.” Go to your website and scroll down so that the header is out of view of the browser window. Now take a look at what’s left. Is it easy to tell what your company does? Will a first-time visitor to your site know what you do, have any sense about what makes you unique, or care? Now put the header back in. Uh-oh, that might not help either?! Here’s the point: you have about six to eight seconds to make an impression, which means you need to give visitors something to latch on to right away so that they will continue to learn more. If they can’t even discern what it is you do, there’s a problem.
