|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In a sea of competitors you are one!
We make you Number One! |
|
|
|
| Greetings! |
 July is flying by and the studio continues to be a busy place. From getting comfortable with all the new technology and faced paced projects to obtaining some new knowlege and taking a few days off... it's been a fast paced few weeks!
We hope you will find this issue informative, useful and applicable to you.
Again thank you for your continued business and the responsibility you continue to place in our hands.
As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you might have. |
| Welcome! |
Since our last newsletter, we would like to welcome the following new client to our growing family...
Knead Relief Massage
Vestal, NY
Progressive Laser
Endwell, NY
Apothecarie
Darlington, MD
We are happy to have you on board! |
| New Sites... | |
This month we launched the following new sites...
www.VestalAsphalt.com
www.NYSVARA.org
We have more in development! Be sure to check back next month! |
|
 |
|
|
| Grey Goose Graphics takes to the Road! |  We are proud and excited to have been invited to present at the New York Volunteer Ambulance and Rescue Association's Annual Pulse Check Conference in Albany, NY on October 1st of this year.
John will be speaking to an audience of emergency services providers in the management track delivering a 60 minute presentation titled "Making your website work for you". The presentation will cover basic web terminology, the process of developing and maintaining a website, creating web content and basic search engine optimization. If you are interested in more information you can check out the conference page
www.PulseCheckConference.org or To obtain a pdf of John's presentation summary and bio click here! |
| Updates - What are you waiting for? | | Sometimes we get so caught up in the passion of what we do, we find ourselves repeating stories, directions to new clients or reminders to existing clients . We know we are repeating this... but this is important!
 Have you updated your website recently? What are you waiting for?
Why? - We are glad you asked...
As our client base continues to grow, the number of websites we build and continue to maintain has also grow. This volume now allows us to confirm and dispute many of the industry claims and compare our company trends those across the web. One industry claim which we have believed and conveyed to you since day one was the frequency of your website updates contributes to your search engine ranking.
Just a couple of months ago, we talked about this during our SEO series. (Missed it? Click here for our old newsletters.) As of June 15, 2010, it is believed that 1.7 million websites now go live on the web each day. The problem is many stay there forever and are not maintained or updated. Think about the political candidate who puts one up, does not win the election, and fades away... their sites are often not removed... What about the sites that are put up to publicize a special event, concert, benefit, etc... these could be active for a few weeks... and then be dormant for months or years, but stay on the web. The companies which go out of business, the art student who graduates and leaves their web project live, etc. etc.
The search engines have reported to be labeling sites as "abandoned" after a period of time, however, it has been a question as to what this interval was. We can share first hand that three of our client sites which have recently started to fall off the search engine returns have only one thing in common (other than we maintain them), THEY HAVE NOT BEEN UPDATED IN OVER 8 MONTHS. Two of the three were built by others which we inherited, they are all hosted with different companies, and all represent a different market segment.
So are we saying;
- The interval for being labeled as abandoned is 8 months... No.
- If you do not update your site, you will definitely fall off the search engines... Nope.
- You need to update your site just for the sake of updating it... Absolutely not!
What we ARE saying... is up until know the importance of regular updates has been a theory conveyed by the experts... we are now starting to see this in a few of our client's websites which have not been updated.
Your website should be producing for you. If it cannot be found by others, what's the point in building or maintaining a site?! It should be an accurate, current reflection of you and/or your organization or company. Most of us do not stay still for very long. So your updates should be reflecting you!
 I would urge each of you to think about updates on at least a quarterly basis, but even more frequent if you can. If you have any questions, concerns, or need help brainstorming appropriate updates and/or expansion of your web presence... |
| Is your identity becoming a crisis? We can help! | Over the past few weeks we have found ourselves doing a bunch of logo and identity work not only for our new clients, but helping some existing clients freshen up their look. We even took a few minutes to freshen up our logo for the production of some new corporate apparel for our team.
New Apparel Logo | As we guided many through this process we realized that many of our regular readers may be facing similar situations and not sure what direction to take. We thought we would take a few minutes to share some information about identity crisis in business, how to recognize it, and what we can do to help you.
When we talk reference a company identity we are talking about the visual characteristics associated with the promotion of a company or organization. It may be a logo, color palette, font selection, website layout, attire, or even a company's dress code. Each plays an important part of establishing not only the way to identify a company or organization, but also convey much more. These attributes each play a part in the representation and communication of a company mission, vision and/or values, as well as create lasting impressions about the experience, products, or services which a company may produce.
 While a company identity is a very definitive and formal undertaking with larger companies or organizations, it is usually a casual process with small to medium businesses. The root difference may be attributed to larger companies may focus more on building a brand where as smaller companies focus on doing business.
 Large organizations spend a significant amount of time with defining not only what a logo may look like, but how or where it can be used, what colors it can appear in, and what objects it may be used or be restricted from be used with. Approved corporate colors including web palettes, ink colors and specific fonts, sizes, etc. are defined and specified for consistency. In sharp contrast, many smaller organizations have someone define their logo... they like it... and they fail to take the next step towards building a brand.  While we as graphic designers do our best to ensure the quality production of a lasting logo, the fact is it is not uncommon for a logo to be adjusted and evolve over time as like a website, it should be a continual reflection of a company or organization. Check out this diagram of common logos which you see every day and how they have evolved over time. (Note Pepsi has had at least 11 different corporate logos!)
 If you are just starting a business... it's pretty easy to know you need to define yourself with a logo, color palette, etc. but what if you are an established company, how do you know if you have an identity issue?
- Does your logo reflect your business and what you provide to your key customers?
- Are you emotionally excited when you see your logo in print, on the web, on the side of a vehicle, or on a billboard?
- Could you easily find paint to replicate your logo or company colors at your local home improvement store?
- Does your logo have a modern, renewed, or refreshed feel which when compared to your competetors grabs your attention and draws you in?
If you answered "NO" to any one of these questions you might have an identity issue. If you answered "NO" to more than one of these, we should talk, contact us!
If you feel you are having an identity crisis there are many ways to correct this. From a total revision to a "re-freshen", we have you covered! The process begins with a consultation reviewing your current identity and supporting materials and then can go in many directions based on your input, goals, and budget. We realize any changes in your identity can get expensive quickly as it can outdate everything from a business card to vehicle wrap. We'll work with you to minimize this impact and still accomplish your goals!  If you are a client and we did your logo, be rest assured that at Grey Goose Graphics we take the next steps behind the scenes ensuring color, font, and usage consistency, but these efforts are often diluted by the fact once the logo is developed, many client head off an create their own marketing materials and/or promotional items. Clients may wish to consider having us assist them with the creation of their promotional and/or marketing materials or obtaining a consultation from us as they move forward in establishing a corporate identity. |
| Advanced Calendar Functions now available! | | If you have or are considering the addition of an interactive calendar on your website we are excited to announce that completion of some recent continuing education programs has provided us with some additional skills in advanced calendar integration for your websites.
From setting up calendars which you can manage your own updates to calendars which you can restrict the users access to, we've got you covered!
Sound interesting? Contact us today and we'll create a custom solution which will exceed your expectations!
|
| July Schedule Reminder - HEY... MAKE SURE YOU READ THIS! |
 Summer is finally here and we are taking advantage of it in many ways. In July are taking a few days off to "sharpen the saw" and enjoy some time with family and friends.
We will be out of the office July 19th - 23rd. We appreciate your understanding as we will not be available during this interval.
If you have any questions, concerns, etc., please contact us. |
|
|
|
Thank you for your continued business and spending some time with us today. We value you as a customer and continue to enjoy our relationship with you.
Sincerely,
John J. Hussar
Owner/Principle Designer
Grey Goose Graphics, LLC |
|
|
|
|
|
