Social Media vs Website

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Everybody knows social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, are great tools for your business to market their products, services, and promotions. It is an important part of any business’ marketing plan in today’s society. It is also important to know that these marketing tools are just tools and can’t replace the many functions of a fully functional website. If you are only using forms of social media and don’t have a website, take a moment to read these reasons why you should make an upgrade.

 1)   Credibility and Web Presence:

The biggest reason for having a website is credibility. If Facebook is your only web presence, people might think you are cheap or unprofessional, or possibly even like a scam. If a user gets this impression they are going to take their money elsewhere. A well designed corporate website makes the user feel warm and cuddly with your business and its products and services, and will make them more comfortable spending their hard earned cash with you.

 2)   You are Just Renting Space:

A Facebook page is basically a rental Internet space that is paid for by the 20 advertisements up and down the sides of the page. Also, since you are just renting, you could get kicked out at anytime. If Facebook one day decides to gets rid of business pages then you are out hundreds hours of work and energy. The same thing goes for an angry customer or employee that flags your page for spam hundreds of time and gets other people to do the same just out of spite and Facebook shuts you down. A website is that yours. It is part of your business, makes your business more valuable, and will be there for you no matter what.

3)   Control:

When you look at Facebook, you know you are on Facebook whether you are looking at your best friends recent post or a new contest out by McDonalds. There is always a Facebook logo in the top left and their standard blue and white layout. Sure, you get a logo space and a photo album, maybe even a customizable background with some social media, but that just isn’t enough. With your own website you decide the colors, layout, fonts, and anything else because it is YOURS! This lets you push your company’s particular brand to fit your business and your current marketing strategies.

 4)   Limitless Information:

Social media sites often have a small area where you can put some information about yourself and your business, but it is usually in an off place and is small and all crammed into one page with a small font size. This small area isn’t even close to enough space for history, a full list of services, employees with all their information, and much more that a small to medium sized business should have on their website. Also you may be able to talk about the stuff you are selling on social media, but forget about actually making that sale. Having your own site allows you to put any information you would need to for the world to see, as well as listing a full of products or services and you could even close the deal without even seeing the person, making the purchase that much smoother.

With all that being said, don’t think I am against social media for any reason. Every business should have a Facebook page as well as a Twitter account. They are quick, easy, and effective ways of reaching all your loyal customers in an instant. These tools should be used as an avenue to direct traffic to your very own, personalized website as should the rest of your marketing tactics. Today’s Internet driven world demands it.

Just to show you how much I like social media, I made these sweet button icons.

Management Tips

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Here are some management tips that I thought would be useful somehow in the world of business.
There are a lot of them but to be a great manager I believe that you need at least some or all to make your team the best that they can be. It all starts from the top and I wholeheartedly believe if you are not a manager you will become one with these nifty ideas!
Do your job  - Sounds easy enough doesn’t it?
If you do your job and I mean do it well everyone will respect you and follow your lead. Who wants to follow someone whom is totally lame at their job. No one. Do your job at the best of your ability and everyone will respect you for it. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty.
Be real with people- To be real with people means you need to show the human side of yourself, not the cyborg side. Be open and honest and just be yourself. So many people believe to get ahead in business or life in general you have to be cold and heartless and step on everyone to get to where you need to be. Nope, that is not true. At the end of a long day would you rather feel good that you made a difference and made folks smile? Or feel terrible that you yelled and made a conniption over something silly? I would always choose the first one.
Lead by example- I remember an old boss that i use to have and i will always remember him very fondly. He was the kinda guy that led by example. He was always on time, caring always light hearted and was always concerned about folks and how they were doing. He was the best boss that i ever had. A lot of people felt the same way. He cared more about the people than the business but at the end of the day who helps you run your business… The people who work for you.
Acknowledge the positive- Take time to tell everyone that they are doing a good job. Do not look over little accomplishments. they are indeed still accomplishments after all. let your peers know how neat of a job they are doing for a little extra boost in their confidence! Everyone loves to hear that their efforts are not overlooked. Even you!
Take Responsibility- If you do something wrong call yourself out on it first. Just because you are the boss doesn’t mean that you can’t make mistakes!! People like people who can admit when they were wrong. Not many can do that these days. It takes a big person to actually admit that they said or done something out of line. Don’t you hate it when someone is wrong and everyone knows it and nobody says HEY NOW!!
Be tolerant- if someone messes up and they feel bad for it, don’t yell at them! That’s just mean. There are other ways to resolve problems than going crazy mad. Other alternative methods to the madness of disagreements. A conversation. Hmm?
Be self aware- Everyone is watching you!! Especially if you are the boss or trying to be the boss. They will pick you apart! “they’re just standing there?” Always be conscious of every little thing you do. People hold bosses to a higher caliber for some reason. Just know you’re on candid camera. Help as much as possible and be a team player.
Alrighty then that just about sums it up on the tips. I’ll be back next time with some more ideas about some topics!! Take care.
Anissa- intern

:)

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In the dictionary is says that process of promoting is the act or process of making a product, cause, or organization more widely known or more successful. Activities have a lot to do with promotions. You need to take action to get the customers in the door, After all its your business! Taking action in the business world means you need to take advantage of everything.

Lets use this as an example. Everyone likes hot dogs! How about selling some cheap hot dogs for a quarter, or popcorn or something like that in front of your business as like a special thing for the customers! When they walk into your store you can do a special buy one get one free or something like that. Everyone loves a sale especially if they think they are getting something for nothing. As business folks you know as well as I do things are overpriced just for this reason. Lets take a look at the mall and everywhere you see “50% OFF! Buy 1 get one FREE!” everywhere. (You know you stop and look lol.) All i am saying is people flock to sales and food. Knowing this could help you think differently about some things! When in doubt follow your gut… no pun intended! .

Anissa- intern

Networking!

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Networking in the dictionary states that it is the practice of gathering of contacts: the process or practice of building up or maintaining informal relationships, especially with people whose friendship could bring advantages such as job or business opportunities

You can never have enough contacts of any kind. You will never know if that (particular person you ignored the whole meeting) might be someone of great importance in the future.

Networking helps get the customers that maybe wouldn’t know about your business by getting in touch in other areas like the computer. There are so many free networking sites available that can get you out there and on the public’s mind. Facebook is a great tool to get your name and what you offer out there. All you need to do is make a page and ask for friends!!! Its that easy!!
You don’t have to use the computer for this though. If you are a people person, you can go to meetings in your area and hand out business cards and tell them if they ever need anything you will be there. E mails are helpful also.

Remember passion is what drives the successful to succeed.

 

Anissa- intern

Anissa’s Blog

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 Marketing is a wonderful way to get your business out there and these are a few techniques that just might give you an edge on the compition.
These are a few marketing techniques I will be talking about over the next few weeks. Word of mouth, activities, Networking and sponsoring.
WORD OF MOUTH
    The best marketing and promotion your company can generate is the word-of-mouth advertising when it comes from happy customers. Potential clients will listen to a friend who has had a good experience with your service than anything else! You can accomplish it by doing a good job and satisfying your existing customers.
Lets say that you own a business that is just comming up in the town or city you live in. Your first customers will be able to tell everyone how great of a job you did! The best part about this is that you pay nothing! Sounds perfect right? The only catch is that you have to bend over backwards to prove that you are indeed worth the peoples time. Some things that you might do to keep the word of mouth going well is to have good business hours. People will not want to work around your schedule unfortunately… Another way is to hire dependable people who will show up and are pleasant and caring. And last but not least let the customer feel like they are in control even though they arnt its always a good feeling none the less.You know what they say “the customer is always right” anyway i hope that this helped a little bit there will be more to come! Next is Activities!
Thanks for reanding, Anissa

My intern experience… so far.

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My experience has been great so far! Brushfire Design is a wonderful place to intern. My first day i was a little nervous; but everyone put me at ease right away. I am very excited to intern here and i believe it was a good choice. I am learning a lot about different things and my time here flies by. I have noticed that their clients/hosts mean a lot to them; and that is a very good thing! Advertising has always interested me and it is neat to see how you can get your product out in all different kinds of ways! For a TV/Radio Broadcast student like me, it’s pretty cool.

Anissa

Crafting a Memorable Logo

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We design a lot of logos for companies, churches, and other organizations. It never ceases to amazes us how varied the definition of logo is to people. The biggest faux pas are using clipart, cluttering the design,  and confusing images. Below is an a few thoughts on making a logo that really stands out.

Historically, logos have been more of a luxury than a necessity. Businesses once attracted customers because they were the only game in town, so to speak. But that’s no longer the case. Today’s highly competitive industries, global markets and visually oriented consumers have catapulted the logo to prominence. Now your logo is one of the most critical components of your brand. So how can something so little make such a big difference to the success of your business?

1. Your branding efforts not only start with your logo but are dictated by it. Your logo appears on all your sales tools, from your business cards and stationary to your website. As a result, your logo design influences the design of all your sales tools–for better or worse. A professional-looking logo can be leveraged to create professional-looking materials. A poorly designed logo can’t. In other words, you need a “brandable” logo–one you can make use of when designing other materials to brand your company.

Brandable logos are scalable, memorable and meaningful. If people can’t remember what your logo looks like, they won’t remember your brand. Think of the logos of some of the popular brands today. Do you think of M-shaped arches, a shell or a swoosh? All are simple concepts, effectively employed by McDonalds, Shell and Nike. How can you tell if a logo’s going to be memorable? If you can’t look at a logo for fewer than 10 seconds and re-draw it with decent accuracy, it’s probably too complex to be easily remembered. (Besides being difficult to remember, most complex logos can’t effectively be reduced in size or rendered in black and white, making them useless for such elements as fax cover sheets and other business forms.)

2. Your logo is a quick visual cue that conveys the essence of your brand in an age when image is everything and time is short. Perhaps you’ve heard the writer’s lament that “nobody reads anymore.” In today’s markets, not only do you face ever-increasing competition, you also face an audience accustomed to visually stimulating media, convenience and instant gratification. Sure, a few people may read your entire ad, more may read some of it–but everyone will SEE it. The overwhelming amount of choices faced by time-crunched consumers forces them to identify shortcuts. Your logo is such a shortcut: it instantly conveys your brand message and emotional appeal.

3. Awareness and familiarity are keys to growing your business, and your logo is instrumental in both areas. Your logo is your brand’s most basic graphic element. It ties together all your sales materials–in fact, your logo may be the only visual element your materials have in common. The right logo helps solidify customer loyalty while differentiating you from the competition.

4. Your logo may be the only thing by which a potential customer can judge your business. Think of small newspaper or Yellow Pages ads. Often all that fits in these small spaces is your contact information and your logo. If your logo projects the right image, it may be the sole reason someone decides to try your company. Conversely, if it looks unprofessional or unclear, it alone may be the reason they choose to look somewhere else.

5. Your logo affords a unique opportunity for you to look like a bigger (that is, more established) business than what you are. With the right logo, you can look like a larger company that’s been around for awhile even if you have only one employee and just opened your doors last month. People who see it will associate the positive attributes of big companies–like security and financial stability–with your company. And you can still deliver the entrepreneurial qualities–like personal attention and superior customer service–that you’re known for.

Building a solid brand identity is pivotal to success in business today. Lay the right foundation with a professional, brandable logo.

 

“10 Things I hate about You” I’m looking at you websites…

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A large part of our business is redesign. While a few times we are merely freshening up the look  and adding some new content, more often than not we are overhauling the entire website. I am pleased to share with you the top 10 things that can ruin a website.

10. Non-liquid Layouts

Many people don’t think about the fact that the 22″ monitor you are working on is probably not what my grandmother is using with her Windows 2000 computer. Liquid layouts are layouts that will scale (whether up or down) for different sized monitors. This can become a problem especially for our older users who may have small monitors. The text can become very small and elements on the page can begin to overlap each other.

9. Over use of Flash

Since the creation of Flash by Macromedia in 1996, there have been people abusing it.  Flash can be a great tool used to create video players, online games, mobile apps, and even some pretty cool websites. But you have to be really careful.

First of all, Flash websites are not always easy to navigate and even when you figure out how, there are often all kinds of animations that happen to get you to the next page. This can be really frustrating to a user who is only looking for some information and be on there way. Essentially you are alienating that user.

Second, search engines are your friend. They work by scanning through your pages and indexing information that they can use to send the right users toward your site. On an HTML page all of this information is there for the search engine to read every word. On a flash site none of that is there. The search engine doesn’t have eyes so it has no idea what is on your page and therefore can not index it.

8. Splash Pages

Have you ever visited a website and before you were allowed to view the content you had to sit through a 10 second, or even worst 30 second, intro where it looks like the designer added everything they knew about flash into one single page? Sure there is a button that says “skip” but good luck finding it. This is known as a splash page. Annoying right? Or maybe this has happened – you are surfing around the web and you come across a site but as soon as the page loads you are forced with a decision – do you click on site A or site B?

Splash pages can be a real pain and break a user’s flow. Another sure fire way to make sure most users won’t return.

7. Text that goes on and on and on and on and on and on…

When we were in school most of us learned, and may I say mastered, the art of BS or adding fluff to our papers and other writings. This was a great tool when writing the review on “To Kill a Mocking Bird” so you could pass 10th grade English. But when it comes to websites the old adage ”less is more” is very true. Website users do not read! Sorry, but it’s just true. Website users skim. Think about the last time you came across a large amount of text on a website. Maybe it’s this post even. What was your first reaction? “Great! A bunch of text for me to read through. This is awesome!” Probably not. If you’re like most people your first thought was more, “Ok where is the information I really need?” or “What’s the gist of this thing?”

For this reason it is important to keep your text simple and concise. Break up short paragraphs with bullet points, graphics and provide your user with a more satisfying experience to keep them coming back. Now is not the time for your expert fluffing skills, leave that for the English papers.

6. Pop-ups

Ok, so this one is pretty self explanatory so I won’t spend a lot of time on it. Basically there are two reasons. One, they are really annoying, they break the user’s flow and they make your website seem less legit. Second, most people have popup blockers. So whatever you are trying to get across to them is getting lost anyway. If it is that important just put it on the page. Ok enough on that, moving on.

5. Website Counters

Nobody cares how many people have been to your site. If you want to track your visitors use something like Google Analytics. The counter from 1996 that you have at bottom of your page is only making you look like you haven’t updated your site since 1996.

4. Using images in place of text

I don’t really know why people do this but instead of just typing in the text like a normal person,  they build the whole page in Photoshop and then just link the picture. It is wrong on so many levels. To pick just a few… it makes it really, really annoying for the user. But worse than being annoying for your users you are stabling yourself in the foot, repeatedly. Remember when we talk about flash and I said:

“The search engine doesn’t have eyes so it has no idea what is on your page and therefore can not index it.”

Well guess what. This is still true. All the search engine sees is a page with a large picture that will take a long time to render.

3. PDFs as content

A PDF is a Portable Document Format. They are intended for distributing materials, not for building website. When a person tries to open a PDF from a webpage they usually have to download the file to their computer and open it using Adobe Reader. This is a major break in the user’s work flow. Not to mentions many users have security concerns with downloading a file. Over all using a PDF in place of an HTML page is an egregious offense. If it is truly important, put it on a normal page and leave the PDF alone.

2. Every link opens a new browser window

When I click on a link inside a website, unless it is taking me to a completely different website, I expect that I will stay in the same browser window. Nothing is more annoying or frustrating than clicking around a website and finding that now I need to close 15 windows because every time I clicked on a link it opened a new one. Not to mention that the back button will never work because when you open a new window there is no history for that window so there is nothing to go back to. I think the biggest thing that frustrates me is that by default when you make a link it will just move you to that page. You have to specifically tell the browser, by writing more code, that you want this link to open in a new window. This means these people are doing it on purpose! Maybe it’s a conspiracy…

1. Every page looks different

When it comes to the internet, familiarity is key. A user is going to feel comfortable, and therefore stay longer, if the page has a familiar feel. There is a reason that we make a website look similar site-wide. You want to know if the link you just clicked on took you to a new site or kept you on the same site. When a website has a completely different look and layout for every page people get confused and lose confidence in your site. They won’t be back.