Since our last newsletter we have released several new projects...

Websites:

 
The Body Lab 

The web is always changing. While video and motion were once considered only for the "expensive projects" it is become common on sites with even the smallest development budgets. As part of our commitment to maximizing our clients return on investment, our studio has expanded the capabilities of producing web presentations.

While there is animation, these presentations are not actually video. They are built similar to a slide show or power point presentation however our software suite has endless combinations of styles, transitions and special effect capabilities to transition photos, text and other content into a multimedia presentation. While there is no replacement for quality video, these presentations allow our clients to maximize their spend and produce videos for hundreds of dollars, not thousands of dollars like a typical video production.

Have something special in mind? Contact us today to see if we can exceed your expectations while maximizing your spend! 

Click on the links below to view recent releases using this new technology.

 

 

We are excited to announce our presence on Facebook!  As we prepare to celebrate our 5th year Anniversary, we will be using Facebook as one of the ways to communicate special offers, programs and announcements.  In addition, it is our intent to use Facebook as a tool to keep you up to date on breaking news in our industry which affects you, changes or updates with our studio and for other general communications.

In just the last few days we've shared information about the development of Internet Explorer 9, How Facebook affects your Google ranking and posted photos from our studio.

We urge all clients to visit our page by clicking on this link:  Once on our page, be sure to "like us" so communications can be delivered to you directly from our account.  Like what you see?  Be sure to share our page with your friends!

Click here to visit our facebook page (& LIKE US)  or visit our website (& LIKE US at the bottom of the home page.)

Social Media and Search Engine Optimization

Okay, maybe you've been busy getting ready for the upcoming holidays, wrapping up your shopping, or maybe trying to finish up last-minute projects before the end of the year. If you have had your eyes focused on any of the techie sites, blogs, Wall Street technology reports, or CNN you may have missed this...  Google recently made a formal announcement discussing the relationship between social media. 

Read the summary here: http://thebizcoachblog.com/1534/google-bing-confirm-twitter-facebook-now-have-impact-on-your-site-seo-search-ranking/ 

So what does this mean to you... 

First... Although Facebook and Twitter have always been thought to have a positive impact, the confirmation of the importance of participating in social media has been confirmed!

Second... Regular use of the media is just as important as having it.  Many of you have discussed the concept of having a blog... A blog still is a great tool... but only if you use it...  Same thing with Facebook or twitter.

Third... Having your audience engaged is also important.  If you are posting, tweeting and no one is reading or following... this will not help you.  Having pertinent information and a regular or growing following is key to your success.

Lastly... it's important to have a comprehensive marketing plan... Not everyone surfs the web and goes to your website... not everyone reads your newsletter...  not everyone has a Facebook account and many despise twitter... but the more variation you have, the better chance at getting your message out.  This is why despite satellite radio growing in popularity, some clients continue to use radio as an advertising medium... 

No matter where you are with the social media integration with your business, we can help you.  From helping you get started with a comprehensive plan, integrating your current media campaigns with your website or helping you with some of the more advanced features or applications, we can help! 

Some of our early adopters of this technology include:

• Tropical Siesta
• Silvestri Dental Associates
• Traditions Resort & Conference Center
• The Spa at Traditions
• The Southern Tier Chapter of the Emergency Nurses Association
• The Body Lab
• Knead Relief Massage 

 If you are interested in learning more or need help implementing this in your business, contact us today!

Over the past several weeks, we have had several conversations with multiple clients regarding the use of social media, e-mail marketing and web analytics. While every conversation started slightly different, several ended up addressing the inherent value of a contact.

For this discussion we define a contact as a visitor to your website, a recipient of a newsletter or other e-mail marketing campaign and a recipient/subscriber to one or more forms of social media originating from you. These contacts may be further classified as potential customers or clients, current customers or clients, or perhaps somebody you have worked with in the past. They may be very active in pursuing information and/or ready to make some sort of buying decision. They may be just an interested observer of you or your activities. They may also be someone whom you've done business with on a regular basis.

While defining a contact is relatively straightforward, the definition of value can vary considerably based on your specific situation, business objective or goal of the interaction between you and the contact. Some clients may measure this in dollars spent on your goods or services while others may measure it as time spent on your website, an increase in traffic to a website, Facebook page or blog, or perhaps the success of another variable driven by the social media effort.

We've searched the web, spoke with many clients from a variety of industry sectors and people with different backgrounds and representing numerous.  While the opinions and responses varied slightly, there we believe there are three basic beliefs that everyone agreed on...

1.) There is value in every contact.  While some contact may bring you immediate results in the form of a sale, service or cash flow... others may have a higher potential over a long run and should not be simple disregarded.

2.) The old school thoughts of focusing on the "top twenty percent of your clients as they will generate 80% of your business"  are quickly becoming something for the history books.  In today's world you can reach many more clients or potential customers for a fraction of the cost.  While every business has the couple large accounts... the ability to pick the smaller, but lower lying fruit is easier and many times will produce more over the long run than focusing on the top 20%.

3.) Contacts expire!  Remember the old story of the college freshman in orientation... "Look to your left, look right, forward & behind you... on the five people you just made contact with, only 3 will graduate..."  Do the same now with your address book... Look at five email addresses, phone numbers, and affiliated companies.  We recently read an article on the changing web: In 2005, 31% of email users changed their address at least once in a 12 month period.  In 2009 that number increased to 46%!  Keep track of your contacts.  Engage them.  And Keep Them.  Lists get out dated very quickly.

Next month well be talking about some strategies to build your contacts.  If you have a creative way you build contacts, followers on Facebook or twitter... let us know... we'll feature you in next month's newsletter!

While the year and can be a busy and hectic time for many clients, many of our clients experience a significant slowdown in business during the holidays.  We would like to remind you that a good use of this time may be the review and update of your web content.  From updating text or adding new photos to developing new features or adding recent testimonials, we have several clients who have found this time of year to be a convenient time to update their site.

The end of the year is always hectic as most clients are wrapping up  this year and getting ready for the challenges and changes a new year often brings.  Realizing this, we have already sent out our expiring contracts for 2010. SECOND NOTICES WENT OUT EARLIER THIS WEEK!

These contracts are identical to those executed in the past, EXCEPT:

1.)    They reflect the increase in our hourly rate for all contracts written and/or renewed after December 1, 2009. This was announced to all clients in September of 2009.

2.)    At the advice of our attorney, we updated and further expanded section 8 regarding the payment of fees.

These renewals lock in your pricing until December 31, 2012.

If you have not received your renewal, and believe that your contract is expiring at the end of the year, or you wish to extend your current contract through 12/31/10 to lock in your pricing, please contact us and we'll be sure to follow up immediately.

If you have received your renewal, please return an executed copy to me as a scanned copy via email, US mail, or you may fax your completed contract to (607) 785-2537.  (If faxing, please fax the entire contract.)  We would ask that these be returned as soon as possible so we not only all have one less thing to worry about at the end of the year, but also so their is no interruption in any of the services we provide you.

Thank you for your continued business.