Websites are important to have and here are a few reasons why:

It helps a company, or a person, establish its identity.

You want people to know who you are. This is an easy way to do it.

People are able to locate you or your company easier.
Meaning, it allows your company name to pop up in search engines if someone searches terms associated with your website…and everyone uses a search engine.

It’s an easy, convenient way to do business.
Who these days doesn’t like easy and convenient things? Come on.

Extra Promotional Material.
Need I say more? You may have business cards, brochures, billboards, etc., but those pieces can only hold so much information, which is why a website is useful. You hand out a printed piece with your website URL on it, if the client is interested and wants to know more information, they can look up your well designed and very informative website instead of you personally having to answer hundreds of phone calls! It’s also available information 24/7.

A website also allows for Internet advertising and email newsletters.
This basically allows for super, extra promotional material! You shouldn’t really have online advertising if you don’t have a website, but if you have online advertising then you know the importance of being a part of the Internet. Also, if you are wanting or planning on having an email newsletter, you better have a website to back it up. What would they click to? Where would they go to learn more?

Only having Facebook doesn’t allow a company to include all the information they should have out there for their clients and excludes those potential clients that do not have Facebook. It is a really great tool to accompany a website, but is not enough to be your only online presence.

Lucky for you, Marketicity can help you become a part of the online community! Give us a call and we can chat about building your online presence.

Think of the advantage that one person had over the group. Imagine if this group had been your peers and you had the position of being better than 95 percent of your competitors?

So do you use LinkedIn AND do you get the most from it you can? We’ve found LinkedIn to be both the most utilized and underutilized social media tool for professionals. Many professionals have LinkedIn accounts … few of them use it effectively.

Our seminar touched on the countless ways you can use LinkedIn to find new business, connect with potential service partners/vendors, recruit talent and foster an unlimited number of business relationships. LinkedIn has powerful search capabilities to increase your firm’s awareness, give your company another powerful tool for positioning and allow you to continually manage your personal professional growth.

We use LinkedIn to solve problems, meet new people, hire employees, seek out new business and stay in touch. The thing is, using it effectively does not take a lot of time. In fact, the short amount of time it takes to check LinkedIn each day is time well spent!

We offer this LinkedIn seminar to the executive teams of mid-to-large-size companies throughout the Midwest. Give us a call if you want us to improve the networking effectiveness of your team. Or better yet, shoot us a message on LinkedIn.

If you answered no to any of the above questions – read on. You may be in need of a refresh.  Don’t know how to start?  Let’s break down the creative process, figure out what your company is all about, learn how to grab your audiences’ attention and define rules to maintain consistency.  Who knows, reflecting on your company’s brand may inspire you to reach your customers in a new, more effective way.

First, define your brand.

Having a clear idea of how you want your company to appear is key. Think about who your audiences are and which one will see the brand the most.  Know the one message that you want your brand to communicate to each audience. Have the ability to describe the personality of your envisioned brand. You want your brand to look and feel like it should. 

Know your audience.

The final design has to have the ability to connect to your customers, so do the research. Find out what makes them tick, what appeals most to them. Look at how other companies are targeting your customers and what is working or not working.  Analyze your competitors brand and focus on doing something different so your company looks and feels unique.

Decide with simplicity in mind.

A logo can say many things, but it should do so simply and clearly.  The design should play off the words that you came up with when you described your brand.  The chosen design should not be the most obvious – if so – it has probably been done.

Test and get feedback.

Does the design engage your target audience? Ask a small group of potential or past customers for feedback. Find out what the brand says to them. Next, ensure the design has flexibility. Think about where your logo will appear most often – print? signage? packaging?  Does the design work effectively on color, black, small and large format? Set some ground rules. Having a plan for your logo in all different kinds of media will ensure it stays consistent.

Think about these four important aspects of a rebranding or even new branding effort.  Having these in mind will empower you in the creative process, help you communicate your ideas and fast-track the brand into a successful design. Marketicity can help you through your rebranding project step by step. Contact us to get started.

After working at a marketing company where everyone in the office has an iPhone and being big into Twitter, Facebook and reading a lot of blogs everyday, I’ve come to realize the importance and need for these new advancements.

iPhones are brilliant. Since they have come out I always said I didn’t need one. There is no need for Internet on a phone. All that is necessary is the ability to make a phone call. Boy was I wrong! Years later I am finally figuring out why everyone needs an iPhone or Droid, whatever your preference may be. The camera by itself is a reason enough. It takes absolutely great pictures, as good as an actually camera would, but the reason the camera on the phone is so handy is because you can automatically post it to Ffacebook or your blog! These days life is ran by social media. Everyone needs everything now. The ability to send images immediately is a great way to keep your followers interested, mainly for businesses I’d say, but for personal pages as well.

Another lesson learned from working at Marketicity is always keep up with the news and have some go to blogs. We are huge on social media and I think that is a wonderful thing. Companies are always wanting to connect with their customers and social media is the perfect way to accomplish that with the immediate response it provides. I find it fast and easy to share blogs I find interesting, which is why I have a new pile of blogs I like to check every day!

I recommend for those of you who are like me and didn’t want to fully embrace the new world to start. It’s difficult to keep up with the times anymore and there are only going to be more and more advancements. The Thing is, they are only going to pop up closer and closer to one other.

Truth: Sales ≠ Marketing

Truth: Marketing ≠ Sales

During meetings and discussions with other companies, we often hear the terms “sales” and “marketing” used interchangeably. When I do, I cringe just a bit.

Sales and marketing are separate, yet complementary, activities and behaviors that must be performed together to succeed. One without the other is useless. Yet, a number of people lump these two activities together. For organizations focused on growth, that’s a mistake.

How do I define marketing? The role of marketing is to create awareness. That involves effective, multi-faceted communication that positions your brand/service as the front-of-mind choice for potential customers. When they need something in your industry, you want them to think of you first, i.e., awareness. Marketing generates the website hit, email inquiry, phone call, etc.

Sales takes it from there. Effective sales teams capitalize upon this awareness. It makes them better. They close the deal. What salespeople possess is an entirely different – yet crucial – skill set that convinces consumers as to why they need to buy your product at this time.

Successful organizations realize there are distinct differences in the skill sets required to be effective in marketing versus sales (and vice-versa). Your marketers (or marketing partner) must be tremendous communicators – strong writers, knowledgeable in message distribution, focused on reaching your customer through multiple channels. Your salespeople, on the other hand, need to have the drive to be out in the field, meeting people, networking, following up on leads, shaking hands and closing deals.

Organizations that place marketing (i.e., awareness) in the hands of their sales staff are selling themselves short in both sales and marketing. Let your sales people actually sell! Who wants them back in the office monitoring social media, handling ad campaigns or other communication activities?

Those are roles better handled by a communicator (or agency) that can partner with your sales team to get results. Doing so will improve your awareness and allow your sales team to focus on their ultimate goal. Sales!

Well it just so happens that WE are looking for a marketing and communications intern! Here are the details:

In this role, the individual will be responsible for assisting in creating and implementing marketing and communications projects and campaigns, writing public relations/social media articles and providing some agency clerical support. Confident and creative self-starters will be successful in this role and enjoy the wide array of projects available through our rapidly growing base of clients.

Perk? The BOSS, Scott, makes the coffee, not the intern!

Requirements:

• Progress toward Bachelor’s/Master’s degree in communications, journalism or similar field (Junior year students, at minimum)
• Exceptional creative writing skills and thorough knowledge of AP writing style (please do not apply without extensive knowledge of AP style)
• Excellent proofreading skills and attention to detail
• Strong project coordination skills
• Strong public speaking, presentation and interpersonal skills
• Familiarity with social media and blog management
• Critical thinking, originality, ability to work independently, i.e., self-starter, deadline driven, excellent planning and organization skills

To Apply:

Email 2-3 writing samples (one news release, two creative writing samples/articles/ads) and a resume to Jen: jennifer@marketicity.com.

Know a fit? Send them our way!

On the subject of social media, I try to remind my clients of one important thing: its purpose is to help your business connect with people, not sell them something. Marketing isn’t what it used to be. Consumers not only have more power – they know they have more power. They want to find a brand they trust, feel comfortable with and can return to with confidence. Facebook has picked up on this sentiment and is forcing businesses to adapt to a business page format that pushes this social concept – the Timeline.

Many businesses have ignored the fact that in 8 days, their Facebook page will be transformed. Some just figure the change won’t effect their pages much or that the page will adapt. Unfortunately, if businesses miss this opportunity to impress their followers, they may be losing fans, and ultimately, customers, not just failing to gain new ones.

Sound scary? No worries!  Start priming your page by taking these 3 simple steps.  Do it before the update becomes mandatory on March 30! Being late isn’t always fashionable.

1. Choose an Eye-Popping Cover Photo

Imagery is a powerful aspect of advertising. Great design and photography can invoke emotions and quickly gain attention for a brand. Therefore selecting an affective cover photo, the first thing one sees when they visit your business’ page, makes a huge difference for your brand.

Facebook is strict about one thing: No call-to-actions, URLs, contact information, pricing or other spammy information. A tagline is fine. Facebook wants you to focus on capturing your fans with image-induced emotion, though, not a sales pitch. Again, focus on connecting with your fans, and you’ll be fine.

Another thing to remember: Only the bottom half of the photo is initially visible, so keep important information, such as the tagline, below this fold. The entire image size is 851 x 351 pixels.

2. Create a List of Milestones

What’s a better way to connect with fans than familiarizing them with your business’ history? You can list all of your company’s biggest moments by adding them to the timeline. Not sure where to start? How about with the day your business opened? Here are a few other ideas:

• Dates of hire for high-ranking staff members
• Business name changes
• Business location moves or new location openings
• Dates new products or services launched

3. Update Landing Tabs – Now Called Applications

Did you spend some time designing and organizing specific landing tabs (now called apps) that you linked to externally? Yeah, us too. We feel your pain. Luckily, Facebook isn’t eliminating them. They’ve just moved them to underneath your cover photo. You may notice, though, that they now look like gray boxes. You can make custom images by editing the app. They will need to be 111 x 74 pixels. Again, make them eye-catching and interesting! Just because they’re small doesn’t mean they’re insignificant.

Here are a few of my favorite brands who have successfully made the switch to the Facebook Timeline:

• Coca-Cola
• Red Bull
• St. Louis Blues
• Dove
• Pontiac
• Nike
• Bruno Mars

Confused? Have questions? Contact the Marketicity team. We’d love to help you out. Don’t forget to keep your eye out for our new Timeline which will go live on Friday!

Oh, the month of March – the month in which millions of Americans who otherwise would never even watch NCAA basketball become obsessed with brackets, Cinderella stories and 40 minutes of intense games. Until this month, I watched my beloved Mizzou play basketball maybe once or twice on TV. Usually this was because my fiancé was screaming his head off, and I wanted to understand what was going on. The only game I watched all the way through was the Big 12 Championship. (Yes, we won!)

As soon as Mizzou, as well as 67 other teams, made it into the tournament, though, I was an avid fan. I had a bracket and a highlighter. I had game updates sent to my iPhone. It’s been an intense week for me so far. It’s the same for many of my other friends, male and female. The question is – how does this happen? What makes millions of people, otherwise uninterested in college basketball, get so amped up for the month of March?

My Answer: Great Branding

The NCAA puts a great amount of effort and funds into branding its tournament into not only an entertaining series of games but a complete fan experience. The non-profit organization taps into the emotional side of its audience – into our competitive drive, our need for camaraderie and loyalty, our love for social interaction around a national event. And so, the brand explodes on a national level, and all of the fans who never watch basketball come out of the woodwork. Those who actually watch basketball on a regular basis, including my fiancé, get a bit more intense, more obsessed.

What can your business learn from this?

Promoting your products and services isn’t enough to gain the attention of your targeted audiences.  The best customers are the most loyal customers, and in order to create loyalty and devotion for your brand, you must find a way to spark an emotional connection with these audiences. This is what the NCAA does best. It taps into our love to bind together over a mutual passion (and hatred of all opponents, of course) and causes us to not only watch our beloved team but all other games in hopes of winning our office bracket pools.

The Big Picture

Building a brand isn’t about talking over how much better your products and services are than your opponents. It’s about advertising how your products and services make others feel, how it impacts and changes their lives.  So here’s your new goal: figure out how your brand should make people feel and focus on that in your advertising efforts. I promise it will get your business much more interest than a bulleted list of services!

Need a little help figuring out how your brand should make your targeted audiences feel? Not sure how to express that emotion through marketing and public relations efforts? Give the Marketicity team a call. We’d love to sit down with you and help you figure out what sets your brand apart and makes it great.

And as for Mizzou? Unfortunately, I had to watch them get killed in the first round. It’s embarrassing. And definitely a topic for another blog.

Lowes is a great example. Many hardware/ home improvement stores just talk about their products and price points. Lowes, however, focuses on corralling its customers by focusing on home projects, with informative literature on their site. This online community includes forum boards on which customers can ask questions and exchange interesting decor ideas. As members of this online community discuss how to build a birdhouse, for example, they are noting all of the supplies they would need to get from Lowes.  Therefore by interacting with customers and allowing a discussion to be formed, Lowes gains brand loyalty, which increases business.

Another great driver of online community is JoAnn Fabrics. Community members have access to forums in which they discuss DIY projects, different ways to use craft supplies from JoAnn’s and galleries of completed crafts. By allowing its customers to interact with each other through its website, JoAnn Fabrics encourages them to continue to find and start new projects, and their first stop is the company’s store, of course.

Starting Your Brand’s Community

The kind of online community you create for your company depends on your industry and/or field. If you are a retailer, focus on forums that discuss ways to use your products. If your business provides a service, allow customers describe how you helped them with reviews and galleries of finished work. Need some help on the brainstorming end? Contact the Marketicity team today. We’d love to talk to you.

Why was it budget neutral?  We looked at their past annual marketing budgets and determined they could do better without spending more.   By reallocating resources and initiating new, more effective marketing methods, we were able to increase awareness without increasing their bottom-line costs.

Included in this approach was a new, easily updateable website chock-full of SEO efforts, a fresh and consistent look for their print ads, initiating social media, an email newsletter and blog. We explained that, by using multiple channels, their department could better target an array of audiences – because, after all, they don’t “just work with farmers.” Instead, they work with commercial builders, homeowners, landowners, business owners, and yes, farmers.

We launched their new site in November 2011, and they have experienced a steady increase in traffic as a result. Their print ads use consistent branding to reflect their current work and array of services. Finally, their Facebook presence and blog is becoming a credible source for industry news, company updates, community involvement and advice for their clients and consumers.

With each marketing objective deploying collectively, FS Construction Services has been able to convey their message efficiently and effectively. In six months of consistent hard work and outreach our client recently stated during a meeting, “We have never had the amount of sales leads this time of year as we do now. That’s not a coincidence.”

We’re sure to take a close look at the situation of each and every client and tailor a plan to effectively pursue whatever goals they have set. We can help so give us a call!  It may not even cost more than you’re spending on marketing today.