Graphique Communications Design

If you use Facebook to promote your business online, then you are probably aware that it currently boasts over 500 million active users. This makes it one of the largest mediums around which to create a targeted marketing community for your business.

Facebook allows its users to express their “like” for certain things such as images, updated posts or pages. Facebook then tracks those “likes” for uses such as advertising, networking and connecting businesses to each other. Facebook also allows people who like something to comment on it. Use this feature as an advantage to build credibility for your business, by offering expert advise to those within your network. All of this information as well as personal data is tracked by Facebook. It’s then served up for you in the form of analytics that identify your brand target market of visitors. All the while while building credibility through its social network.

Each user’s page has a news feed section, allowing them to share information with their friends, to express their interests and thoughts. This is convenient if your company has a Facebook business page as well. A user can visit your page, “like” it, and comment their reason for liking your page. This makes for instant community review and credibility. You can also benefit by adding a Facebook “like” button to your business web page. When people “like” your page, updates posted along with comments will show up in their friend’s news feed. This can also be set up to allow people to comment directly on your website and display which of their friends also liked your page. This provides your business’ website instant live social reviews, presence and reference.

The average user on Facebook has over 130 friends. Wouldn’t you like to have a competitive market advantage of having as little as five people on Facebook “like” your business page, and tell 130 of their friends about it, and so on, and so on? That makes for fast and effective word-of-mouth marketing.

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10. Being a Messy Marvin
Always be selective when it comes to the content on your site. Be organized and logical in the manner in which you present the information. Try not to force feed too many details on your homepage. Use a grid to lay items out and stick to that grid on all pages.

9. Requiring GPS to Navigate Your Site
Keep navigation simple, direct and logical as your visitors move from one page to the next. The general rule is to always keep your navigation in the same place and on bigger sites only change the side navigation from section to section.

8. Forcing Customers to “Do it Your Way”
Make the route from first click to sale easy and unencumbered. Is it really necessary for them to have to set up an account prior to making a purchase? Put yourself in the place of the site shopper or user.

7. Avoiding Change and Being Boring
No one wants to see the same thing over and over and over again. Create new ways to engage your customers/users while developing exciting and fresh new ways to keep their attention. And make sure to let your visitors know when you have new content. You can accomplish this through email, social media, RSS feeds, etc.

6. Looking Like the Guy Down the Street
It’s important to know what your competition is doing and how they are ‘dressing’, but you don’t want to be exactly the same. Be sure something about your site makes you stand out and differentiates you from the rest of the pack.

5. It All Looks Like Fine Print
Understand the needs of your customers and tailor your site accordingly. Make it easy to read (large enough type) or less jarring (softer, subtler color palette). Do your homework to get it right. If your target audience tends to be retirees, shoot for larger type. You get the idea.

4. Don’t Forget About the Metrics
Take advantage of all the analytic tools that are available. If you are investing in a new SEO campaign, review Google Analytics to understand where your traffic is coming from and what words they are using to find you.

3. Only Designing for One Browser
With all the various internet browsers that are out there, it is critical that you verify that your site functions properly across all of them. What looks great on Internet Explorer 8.0 may not be so hot on Firefox, Chrome and Safari. Those three browsers together account for more than 60% of the browsers used today.

2. Not Securing Your Domain and a Few Variations Just in Case
Don’t let a competitor steal some of your traffic because you didn’t secure your domain and several variations (ie. .net, .info or .org). It’s inexpensive to buy several different domains and redirect traffic to your preferred URL.

1. Not Getting Help from Someone who ‘Knows’
You’re the expert on your product or service, not on website development or search engine optimization. Enlist the help of a person or team that ‘does this for a living’. In the end, you will get much better ROI in a much shorter time frame.

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If service is the rent you pay for your existence on this earth, are you behind in your rent?

As I stumbled across this Robert Allen quote this morning, it reminded me of the emotional and fun-filled Lights, Camera, Fashion STARS Awards Luncheon I attended this past Friday. Seeing the joy on the STARS client’s faces as they were the stars on stage, wearing beautiful fall fashions provided by Dillard’s, make-up and hair styled to perfection...a sight I will certainly never forget.

I'll also never forget to give back, pay it forward, be socially responsible...whatever word combination makes most sense to you. For over ten years Graphique has made it part of its culture to give back to not-for-profits based in our own back yard. From Sojourner Center to The Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale and Metropolitan Phoenix, Scottsdale Training and Rehabilitation Services (STARS), and so many more, we have always strived to not only raise funds and donate services, but to also learn about the clients that they serve.

Today, I want to share a story about one of STARS’ clients that warmed my heart at the STARS Fashion Show. And a huge thank you to Mark Lipczynski for capturing Dana’s smile and excitement on stage! Visit MarkLipczynski.com for all of the show photos.

Dana was born with severe brain damage as a result of a disease called Toxoplasmosis. One of the effects of her disease is Cerebral Palsy – she can't talk, walk, feed herself, or do anything else independently. She is also blind. But that doesn't stop her. She is extremely social and always aware of her surroundings. “People might see what she can't do, but all she cares about is what she CAN do,” says her mother, Janet.

Even with Dana's unyielding motivation and sense of ambition, she and her family have always had obstacles to overcome. “Not a day goes by where people aren't staring at Dana,” Janet says. “Sometimes we feel like outsiders or we're on display.”

That's why finding a place to go and people to socialize with became a vital part of her life after she had finished school. Participating in a program with her peers gives Dana the opportunity to relate with people who face similar challenges. At 23, she is one of STARS' youngest participants. She began attending STARS' day treatment program (DTA) in July 2009 after graduating high school.

Janet initially chose STARS for her daughter because she thought the environment was warm and inviting. The participants seemed happy and everyone was supportive of each other. “I want people to be watching over my daughter like I do, and that's what I found at STARS,” she says.

So I ask you again, if service is the rent you pay for your existence on this earth, are you behind in your rent? If the answer is yes I encourage all of you to take the time to get involved. Not for profits can use volunteers, in-kind donations and as always, financial donations. And please remember a little can do so much. Here’s a challenge - gather 10 friends and pledge $10 each per month (just 1 lunch) to support the Art and Photography Programs at STARS. I bet exchanging that one lunch per month to make a STARS client smile is well worth the sacrifice. I skipped my lunch today. Visit STARSAZ.com for more information on this amazing organization today. 

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After ten years in business, I hear the same quote from peers and clients; “You have the perfect business."  I’ve tried to explain that a perfect business is a dream, and that owning a successful business is much like training for a marathon.

For your first marathon your goal should be to finish and to be able to walk afterwards, but that’s only your first goal. Once you have achieved it, there is always another milestone...a personal record, an ultra, a relay race, an over-night run and even trail running. Some of these races may seem impossible, but similar to running, owning your own business means you’ll never be totally done...and the dream of a perfect business is exactly what it is - a dream!

If we only had something similar to a running calculator for our business with a suggested pace, time to warm up, when to kick into fast paced repetitions, and to know what days to take off for mental and physical recovery, I am sure there would be many more successful businesses. Since such a device does not exist, I’ve equated training for a marathon to a few simple principles for those venturing into owning or simply improving their business.

Do Not Forget Nutrition

What works well for some businesses and people will not work for others. Have the 'nutrition' of your business in place before race day so you don’t bonk. Don’t judge the success of your business by the money you have in the bank. Plan for each race day by reviewing your financial forecasts, listening to customer feedback and evaluating employee morale.

Focus. Focus. Focus.

Consistently force yourself to focus on the few critical, proactive activities that produce exponential results. Minutia can be draining on any business. Too much email anyone?

Cross Train

Find partners and team members who are strong where you are weak. Too often, owners preach this statement but don’t act on it.

Last But Not Least...HAVE FUN!

Celebrate your victories. It's too easy and very common to move on to your next goal without realizing or appreciating the win. After all, what's the point of being in business if you can't enjoy it.

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In a world where Apple has mastered the art of its brand through packaging, and Target’s fun-loving attitude happily lines the shelves with Method, it’s the design of food staples that has been woefully ignored. When was the last time you picked up a can of Garbanzo beans and thought to yourself "Wow, what a cool can of beans? I love the typography" More often than not, you either grab whatever is cheap, or the tried and tested method of buying what mom always bought. 

There is a glint of hope. No, it wasn’t another of Target’s latest package designs. You won’t find it in the snack or candy aisles, where there are often glimmers of hope of new package designs. The product we’re talking about is Soy Milk. 8th Continent’s Soy Milk doesn’t just make you smile. It’s adorable cuteness is enough to make you want to pick it up, hug it, and jump into a world brightly colored with crayons. Thumbs up to a much needed update to a neglected package, thumbs down to the taste of soy milk in general. But that’s just a personal opinion. www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/shiny_happy_soymilk.php

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People often think of social media as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. And that it specifically targets 13 to 30 year-olds. In the wake of the social media storm, they may have been correct, but now social media has become a marketing tool that targets a much broader, more inclusive age demographic. With all the social network sites popping up, it is difficult to decide which site is going to work best for your campaign’s age demographic. The last thing you would want to do is promote your investment and insurance company on a networking site that’s largely populated by children and teenagers that have no interest in your services.

We came across some research (courtesy of pingdom.com) that recently charted the age distribution on several social network sites. Not only review a wealth of useable sites, but we are now armed with information providing greater visibility to our target markets. It is important to note here that age demographics are already provided by all the networking sites, though in lesser or greater amounts depending on the site. While the 25-44 year olds have a dominant presence on social networking sites, it is certainly interesting to see that the over 65-year olds are on all the social networking sites as well. Grandma and grandpa aren’t as technologically-illiterate as you thought! 

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Ever wonder how to follow an item or story of interest on Twitter? Well here's your chance. I just finished reading Mashable.com's article: "How to Follow the 2010 World Cup on Twitter" and it makes for a very interesting read.

Even if you are not interested in soccer, and you really should be, but even if you're not, this blog post is a great lesson for anyone who wants to follow any event or story that is unfolding on Twitter. And thousands do each day.

Here's a link to the article. Happy reading. http://mashable.com/2010/06/09/follow-world-cup-twitter/#

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I recently re-read a the white paper, "Rethinking the Relationship Between Subject Line Length and Email Performance: A New Perspective on Subject Line Design," detailing some of the more important considerations that marketers should be thinking about. Here are four tips you can use to increase your subject line effectiveness.

1) Front-load your subject lines with the most important or relevant information.
Take a look at the messages in your inbox, and you'll soon see, it's a strategy that few marketers embrace. The biggest problem is with ordering information. If you've only got 38 to 47 characters-the average number of characters that show up in the subject line of 57% of all U.S. e-mail recipients' e-mail programs-you need to put the most important information to the left.

Use urgency and relevance as a guide. Is your offer or newsletter time sensitive? Put that up front. Make sure your brand is in the first few words. However, if your company has multiple brands or categories, lead with what's most recognizable and important to your target audience.

2) Keep the subject line as short as possible to deliver the message.
Epsilon's research shows that shorter subject lines have higher click-through and open rates. You're looking to pack the most information you can into the smallest number of words while avoiding words that have a sensationalist slant, such as "free" or "discount." Your messages need to be rooted in your customers' expectations," Mabley said.

3) Test the subject lines.
"At the minimum, you should be performing an A/B test on every message that goes out," he said. "The general rule is you can test 10% of your list in order to figure out which option is a better one." This is how you're going to figure out if your front-loaded data should be the brand name or the actual benefit to the recipient, and it's something that may change on a day-to-day and message-to-message basis, he said.

Your messages should also go through a spam filter or email tester so you know how likely it is that an ISP will consider your message to be spam.

4) Dynamically personalize the subject line.
This is something that's simple to do, and shows that you know who you are e-mailing and what they are looking for. "Whether you use their first or last name or their company's name, it makes it more personal and provides better reception," Mabley said.

Some of these suggestions may be difficult to follow for a variety of reasons, but they are simple and effective enough that they should be headed for every campaign you undertake.

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