Six months ago, if you had mentioned Dollar Shave Club to a room of people, you would have gotten all blank stares (even though the company has been around since June of last year). Today, there are over 4.5 million people who would nod their heads and smile. 4.5 million YouTube views. In just a few weeks. How did they do it?

A viral video incorporates strong planning, careful execution, and a little bit of luck. Fortunately for those of us who have never won the lottery, the strong planning and careful execution part carries a little more weight than the luck part. Can you design a video and guarantee that it will go viral? Maybe not, but by incorporating these lessons from Dollar Shave Club, you can at least ensure that it earns the right to be seen and shared.

Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously

Humor is something Dollar Shave Club does really well. Seriously. There’s hardly a straight line in the entire video. But they’re not just cracking jokes either. Some of the humor is obvious and some is a little more under the radar, but all of it works together to communicate the vital information you need to know about the company. And it leaves you with that “You’ve gotta see this!” feeling.

Create a Unified Approach

Take a long look at your existing website and craft your video so that it supports your current marketing strategy. When you visit the Dollar Shave Club site, every element hangs together and sends the same vibes you received in the video. Your website visitors shouldn’t wonder whether you’re the same company as the one that produced the video they loved.

Put the Most Important Stuff First

In the first ten seconds, we know what Dollar Shave Club does, how much it costs, and what the quality of the product is. We get our questions answered: How can they afford it and are the razors any good? If we decide to stop viewing (which we won’t, because their fabulous style holds our attention) we still have everything we need to know to pique our interest and entice us over to the website.

Put a Face On Your Company

Even if you don’t have the marketing background and camera-ease that Dollar Shave Club’s founder, Mike Dubin does, it still helps viewers connect with your company when you put a face behind the name. Make the story human and people will relate to it.

Creating videos people love begins with understanding how to communicate a message they can relate to and want to share. After that, who knows? You just might win the lottery.

Taylor Linens, a retail and wholesale provider of linens, quilts, duvets, curtains and more, came to us with the need to rebuild and revitalize their online store. We helped them design and build a beautiful fully-functional eCommerce website with:

• Manageable Online Inventory
• Detailed Product Views
• Customer Wishlists
• Related Product Search
• Secure Member Zones
• Intuitive Content Management System
• Powerful Customer Relationship Management
• Blog
• Store Search (w/Google Map Integration)
• and much more…click here to visit the new website.

About Taylor Linens

Started in 1922 by James Taylor, Taylor Linens offers excellent service and quality products that intertwine the needs of today with the workmanship of yesterday.

Special attention is given to the smallest details – the tiny pintucks each taken by hand, the hand-embroidery, the antique-inspired laces and fine fabrics. Their quilts are made of 100% cotton fabric and batting, and many are quilted by hand with fine, close stitches. Their sheeting is made with 300 thread count high quality cotton percale; they are soft and strong and will not pill or fall apart. The fabrics are tested for colorfastness and durability. All of their quilts and linens are washed, preshrunk and soft to the touch. Lots of love, untold hours, and skilled hands have created these coveted heirlooms.

Is it time for you to get a new website?

Maybe, take a good look at your current and remember this – your website makes a statement about your business and projects an image that reflects on your products and services. If your site design does not project an image of high quality standards then it is probably time for some changes.

Stop.  Step back and take a look at your business, not from your point of view, but from the eyes of the consumer.  We all get wrapped up in the day-to-day operations of our business and it’s easy to overlook our appearance from the outside.  With a wealth of information at our fingertips, the first impression of a company is most often derived from its website as a person searches for a particular product or service.  As we know, first impressions are critical.  So take a moment to pull up your website and ask yourself the following questions (keep your customer in mind when doing so):  Can you find your website in a Google search for your product or service?  Is the site visually appealing?  Is the content up to date?  Can you find the information you are looking for and is it easy to navigate?  Does the overall design and layout look modern?  Compared to other sites for competing companies, would your online storefront win the business?

If your answer to any of the above questions is “no”, then perhaps it’s time to rethink your online strategy and consider a website redesign.  An out of date website can give an impression that the core of your business is outdated as well.  If you walked into a dental clinic sporting wood panel walls, orange shag carpet and an office manager on a rotary phone, would you feel comfortable asking for a root canal?  Ok, so nobody in his or her right mind would ever ask for a root canal!  My point is that this could be the best dentist around, but you would never know based on the first impression from walking into the office.  Take a moment and ask yourself this:  How do you want your business to be perceived and does your website give off this perception?

Aesthetic appeal is important and pertains to the artistic design and layout of your website.  Overall, this will have the most impact on the first impression of your business.  Studies have shown that little things such as a color scheme or font choice can have a psychological impact on one’s perception.  The layout for graphic elements and information is also important and should flow in a way that coincides with the natural tendencies our eyes have in scanning a page.  Believe it or not, there are hot spots where eyes tend to gravitate on websites and this needs to be taken into consideration. More information on eye movement patterns as it relates to web design can be found here.

Functionality and user experience of a site is also extremely important.  How many times have you searched for information on a particular site, gave up and moved on?  Information needs to be logically organized so the average person can easily navigate in its search.  Keep it simple and remember that often times, less is more.   Too many pages, especially if not properly organized, can confuse and frustrate people to the point that they continue their search elsewhere.

Speaking of searching, if people can’t find your site when searching for your product or service, you’re missing out on potential new business.  Designing a site with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in mind and having a strategy in doing so is crucial.  Social media integration, blogging and updating your site on a regular basis with current information will improve a site’s SEO, thus making it easier to find during a search.  In the SEO world, remember that content is king.  Also, being able to measure traffic and results is a must; if Google Analytics hasn’t been integrated, it needs to be.

Now that you’ve had a chance to think about a few things concerning your company’s website, ask yourself one more question:  If someone is searching online for your product or service, who’s going to get the call; you or the competition?  If it’s not you, then it’s time for an upgrade.

Give us a call today and ask about our special for May!  For more information contact, Rob Ridgeway, at 512-994-4429 or rob@hmgcreative.com

Below are top reasons why you need to launch a mobile site to compliment your traditional website.

Content Prioritization

• Mobile browsing is all about an easy, accessible experience. In comparison to desktop web sites (which usually contain a wide range of content and information) mobile sites include only the most crucial time- and location-specific functions and features. Traditional websites are too content-heavy, complicated and usually not relevant for practical mobile use.
• Traditional websites simply can’t give mobile users what they need. They are designed to be viewed on a computer screen instead of a mobile device. This means that regular websites, while still serve a purpose, are not effective for a mobile user with broken links and cluttered information. Too much chaos on a little screen equals high bounce rates and a negative response to your company.

Rank Higher in Search

• Because of their simplicity in nature, mobile websites have higher speed, making the visitor experience more pleasurable and this means increased relevancy to search engines.
• Mobile allows you to have the advantage of coming up higher in search engine results for local searches performed on mobile devices. This means that when people search for your type of product or service using their mobile device, you can show up higher in the results just because you have a mobile website.

Increased Conversions

• A mobile site makes it easier for on the go visitors to easily access information. Conversions increase as users can contact you with one-click calling, one-click email, and instant directions. This eliminates the need for your customers to take “extra steps” in order to contact or visit your business. In the age of instant information, an extra click could mean missed opportunities.
• Integrating social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube with your mobile website is simple and will help retain your visitors and increase customer base and lead generation.
• Fact: Mobile coupons get 10 times the redemption rate of traditional coupons.

Friendly User Experience = Repeat Interaction

• Mobile sites help you attract both new and repeat customers by giving your business instant appeal when visitors land on your clean mobile site with all of the important information clearly and easily accessible.
• When users are successful in finding what they need while visiting a mobile website, they’re more likely to come back. When mobile users land on a website that is distorted, they quickly exit and make a mental note never to return.

Bottom-Line:

Your customers and potential customers are utilizing mobile for almost every aspect of their daily lives. To stay relevant and accessible you must adapt your web strategy to align with the current mobile trends, which are only going to increase. Mobile gives you the advantage over your competitors; most of which are not yet leveraging the powerful benefits of mobile marketing.

Want a free assessment of your site to know how you can improve interaction with a mobile site? Give us a call and mention this blog post to receive $200 off your new sleek, very mobile interface.

I, like most of us, am subscribed to numerous newsletters for a wide variety of reasons. Some for aggregated news purposes, business tips, daily deals or retail companies that offer value. I think we all know our favorites by the excitement we get seeing the new email freshly unopened in our inbox. This for marketers is a dream come true; these loyal subscribers are the pulse of the messages they create and move the needle for what’s to come.

A company recently caught my attention and now goes into a short list of brands that I not only enjoy watching, but admire their email campaigns and overall integrated marketing.

One night, killing some time before dinner I walked around downtown San Diego and went into the Goorin Bros. hat shop. The store pulled us in and almost back in time as we tried on hats reminiscent of the 1960s, old derby days that radiated class. It was so fun spending time in the store that on my way out I wrote my name in a book to be added to their newsletter list.

A few days later I received my first email from the Goorin Bros. and I was able to open it on my phone without a hitch. I thought the email looked very clean, sharp and with closer notice to this and emails to come, I was continually impressed with the beautiful, thoughtful design, clear messaging and access to information.

Here are a few of many things that the Goorin Bros. have clearly mastered:

1. Short, accurate subject lines. They tell you what to expect and deliver.

2. An aesthetically pleasing design. All emails are consistently focused, highlighting one product. Rich in image but light in content makes this easy on the eye and on-the-go. Familiarity is also nice for consumers receiving hundreds of messages a day.

3. Access to information. Simple layout with light and light hearted copy gives you direction and not too much data at once. This allows men and women to know quickly where to click to see selected styles. They also offer quick links to the “Goorin Bros. Story,” Blog and Customer Service. These tabs allow subscribers to easily choose to learn or view more, and for the Goorin Bros. these links are trackable and offer consumer insights.

4. Transparency and accessibility. The Goorin Bros. provides a real email address. Not a “Do Not Reply” email, giving off the stigma that they do not want to hear from you.

5. No falloff when directed to the main site. When you do click to see more gorgeous hats, the main web site is compatible with a laptop or mobile device and stays as clean and simple as the original message. This almost ensures a lower bounce rate and keeps customers digging on their own and not overwhelmed with selections.

6. Social. In the email viewers are invited to an event with an RSVP on Facebook. While this did eliminate some subscribers as the event was in select cities, it added value letting everyone know they are present in the social world. Another way to stay engaged and connected with an audience, and turns out they are doing well in that arena too.

So a great email campaign should definitely strive to possess as many of the above characteristics as possible, but more importantly your communication needs to be consistent and cohesive among all platforms; representing more than a product or service. It was immediately clear to me that the Goorin Bros. is a company tuned into their identity who is doing a lot right in the realm of email and branding, marketing a nostalgic essence and modern appeal. Hats off to ‘em.

If you’re looking to partner with an agency who understands branding and email marketing, we may just be the right fit. Feel free to give me a call to chat. After all, a conversation will cost you nothing: 858-255-0027.

Amy

Flesh Out Your Profile

The most important thing you can do to boost visibility on LinkedIn is to flesh your profile out as much as possible. Make sure profile completion is at 100% and be sure to include as many skills and experiences as possible in order to increase your likelihood of showing up in search results.

Create a Company Page

LinkedIn’s Company Page feature helps you network with other businesses, gets you listed with Google’s search engine, and creates a platform for you to promote company news and services. Your company page includes information such as a company description, specialties, logos, Twitter and RSS feeds, company news, career opportunities, and more. Fill out each section of your company profile as completely as possible to boost visibility and attract page views.

Build Credibility with Groups and Answers

These two features are essential for building brand awareness. Let’s take a closer look at how they can boost your credibility:

• Groups—By joining a LinkedIn group or starting your own group, you can connect with others in your field or with potential customers. Taking an active part in group discussions also demonstrates expertise in your field. If you’re starting your own group, be sure the headline communicates clearly what the group’s purpose is in order to attract the right types of contacts.
• Answers—The Answers section enables you to provide input on questions relative to your field, thereby demonstrating your knowledge of the subject matter and increasing the relevance of your comments throughout the site. Posting on other members’ questions also increases your visibility and can establish you as a credible, thinking leader within your field.

Promote Your Company Profile

Once you have established your brand within LinkedIn itself, you can begin promoting your company profile on other venues. Invite followers with a button placed on your website, blog, email communications, and other points of contact.

Ultimately, the best advice I can offer regarding LinkedIn is this: keep it current. By making sure your profile remains up to date and that you’re interacting regularly, you can ensure that you stay visible to the people you want to reach.

As you probably already know, or maybe are just noticing, changes for your brand’s Facebook page have just rolled out as of this past Friday, March 30^th.  All Facebook brand pages have now been converted to the Timeline layout that most of us have seen on many of our friends’ personal pages.  With this conversion come many changes your company should be aware of; there are pros and cons.

First, notice that the images and application thumbnails have been resized so these graphics should be updated to fit the new dimensions; new icons may be needed. The Timeline cover photo should be 851 x 315 pixels, while the new application tab thumbnails are 111×74 pixels.  I’m sure the Graphic Designers Association (if there is one) must have lobbied for this change.

In designing your cover photo, be aware that it CANNOT contain any links, deals or any call to action.  Doing so could result in a visit from the Facebook Police.  The ability to select a default landing page is also no longer an option; so keep this in mind when creating the cover photo.  Get creative, but follow the rules.

Another disappearing feature is the tab column formerly displayed on the left of the page.  Now you’ll notice only 3 application tabs are displayed at the bottom of the cover photo, with a dropdown menu to access the rest.  Choose carefully which ones are displayed and focus on the most important applications for your brand and its message.  It may be worth looking into using a page analytics tool to help determine the top 3.

A new feature that will help overcome some of the above restrictions is the ability to “pin” a post.  By pinning a certain post, it will remain at the top of the Timeline for up to 7 days, at which point it will automatically become “unpinned”.  Use this to showcase events, contests, important information and any call to actions that need featured.  Think of this as the solution to the lost landing page.

One more new feature is the ability for private messages to be sent between brands and users.  Although brands cannot initiate the conversation, they can respond to users whom prefer communicating privately rather than wall posting.  This is a great feature for personalizing conversation with customers, handling customer service issues in a private setting and reducing clutter on the Timeline wall.

In summary, take the time to make necessary updates and adapt to the Timeline layout.  Obviously there are a few nice features that go away, but with that come opportunities.  The Timeline is a great way to tell your company’s story, and with a little creativity, can be used to further engage your customers and showcase the company’s brand.

Hello again!  In our last installment, we told you about Yelp’s business model, their online and in-person presence, their users and growth.  In this installment, we give you concrete advice on how to leverage Yelp to add value to your business.

How you can harness the power of Yelp

1. Claim you free business listing on Yelp

This is so incredibly easy and free.  It gives you the opportunity to put your business out there and not wait for a good Samaritan (or Yelper, in the case) or the dreaded D&B to list your business.  Your business will come up when people search either on the mobile app or the actual website.  You have the ability to post photos, give a detailed business description, list the business history, and your specialties.  Also, Yelp has free business tools associated with the business accounts, like how many page views you’re gotten or how your business comes up in searches.  Pretty cool.

2. Host or sponsor a Yelp event

If your business is in a city with an active Yelp community, consider hosting a special event for the Yelpers.  This is a great way to get Yelpers in your business and introduce yourself to the community at large.   Contact your local community manager for more details about this.

3. Read your Reviews

Read both the positive and negative reviews.  People are much more likely to complain about something than to praise it, so if a reviewer does praise something, take that as 10 people praising it and keep doing whatever that was.  As a business owner, you can respond to reviews publically, right on that review, or privately, by sending the reviewer a private message.

In reading negative reviews, it is important to read them thoroughly to truly understand the issue.  Do not be tempted to lash out at the reviewer, especially publically; nothing good can come of that.  My best advice for this is to respond privately to the user and apologize for their experience, tell them that is not how you do business, and invite them to give you another shot.  I have personally had this experience and was glad to have the opportunity to share my experience with the owner and give them the opportunity to correct the issue.   And after that better experience, I updated my review.  Remember, the customer that complains is your friend.

4. Buy Yelp Ads

Personally, I think if you do the first three steps well and often, you will not have to do step 4 or 5 at all, but the option is there if you want it.  In fact, there have been accusations of Yelp being overly-zealous with trying to sell ads to business owners and these ads not being as effective as other advertising purchases you could be making (see Yelp Ad Sales).  From my experience, businesses on Yelp that provide a good service, reach out to the community in general and the Yelp community, will do well without needing to advertise—word of mouth is so much more powerful.

5. Have Yelp Deals

This is another service offered by Yelp and again, is there if you want it.  These are similar to Groupon and Localiter Deals but on your Yelp page.  One benefit of these is that in the search options, users can filter on companies that currently have a deal, so depending on the type of business you have, this may be helpful in initially penetrating the market or trying to stand out among the crowd.  However, you want to be careful and avoid “Daily Deal Backlashes” which can actually alienate customers and employees and erode your prices and reputation over time.  Value and quality propositions are always better in the long run and it will pay off.

Good luck and happy Yelping!

As many of you probably already know, South by Southwest (SXSW) recently wrapped up in Austin, and despite a few rainy days in the beginning, turned out to be a great event.  If you’re not familiar with SXSW, Google it; you’re missing out.  This was my first time attending, as I recently moved to Austin from Montana, and I doubt I’ll ever miss it again.  With multi-faceted themes including music, film and interactive, SXSW is not only entertaining, but it becomes a breeding ground for creativity.  Most importantly though, it is THE place to be in terms of networking.

Some of the most creative and brilliant minds from around the world converge in Austin for SXSW.  The challenge is trying to meet them, but more importantly, that they remember you.  Personally, I enjoy networking events and meeting new people.  I guess I fall into that category, “people person” and typically don’t have too much trouble introducing myself to complete strangers.  It’s a bit of an art, but really just requires the ability to muster up enough courage to walk up to someone and say, “Hi, my name is……..”  Easier said than done, I know.  Could there be an easier way?

Well as a serial networker looking for ways to meet new people, my colleague and I stumbled across what could quite possibly be one of the best icebreakers known to mankind; the fake mustache. On the first night of SXSW, a representative from the American Mustache Institute (who was dressed like Elvis) was handing out fake mustaches. For the rest of the night, everybody wanted to be our friend. We met so many interesting people that we made a trip to Party City the next morning and bought more mustaches. That night the mustaches came out and were all gone within 5 minutes. Again, we were the life of the party and had met everyone by the end of the night.

I think the real power of the fake mustache lies with its ability to serve as an icebreaker and how it prompts complete strangers to initiate conversation with the person in “stache”. What I found amazing though, was the number of people I ran into several nights later that said, “Hey, you’re the mustache guy!” From now on, I will always carry mustaches in my wallet; you never know when they could come in handy!  Anyway, I encourage you to give it a try; I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

If you are unfamiliar with Yelp.com, as I imagine many people are, given the percentage of times I tell someone I am an Elite Yelper and they say, “What’s that?,” it is time to get familiar.

On March 2, 2012, Yelp hosted their IPO with shares closing at $15 a share, 64% higher than anticipated.  Nearly 6 million people use Yelp’s mobile app to find businesses near to them and 66 million unique users visit the website per month.  Some of the top Yelp communities in America are in San Francisco (where it was founded), L.A., New York, and Austin (of course!).

Why is this important to you?  If you are a small business owner, Yelp can be used to add value to your business by leveraging social strategies to increase visibility of your business in your community.  That is, unless you have poor customer service or are peddling a poor product, then Yelp can be your worst enemy.   Let’s assume you have a nice small business, be it a restaurant or food trailer, day spa, clothing store, salon, day care, gym, or what-have-you.

Why Yelp is Good for Your Awesome Small Business:

1. Yelp is Mobile

Both dedicated and casual Yelpers look up businesses on the mobile app.  I found it especially useful when traveling since the app allows you to look for places meeting your criteria within a certain distance (2 blocks, 6 blocks, etc).  One author called this “enabling hyper local neighborhood searches” and this is the reason that many people prefer Yelp for local business searches to Google.  Yelp’s directions to your business are also superior to any I have seen on the web or on apps.  In New York, it even told me which subway to take since I was on foot.  That’s pretty cool.

2. Yelp is Trusted

66 million users per month and growing 80% per year.  Mm-hmm, people trust Yelp.

3. Yelp is Social

We are all familiar with “digital strategies” that businesses can employ to communicate with customers.  These include your website or emails you send out, even your tweets.  Anything you do that is basically one-way communication from the business to your current or potential customers.  “Social strategies” are when a business encourages interaction with itself and the customers and interaction among the customers.  This is becoming a much more powerful strategy to implement to help grow your business.

Yelp’s business model incorporates both digital strategies and social strategies.   Yelp is not only an on-line review website, there are also on-line and in-person social aspects to it that most people don’t realize.  Users (“Yelpers”) can set up their own profiles and tell the world what their favorite movie is or what their last meal on earth would be, they can have Yelp friends, or follow people on Yelp (becoming their Yelp fan), users can post events to Yelp, or topics in the Talk threads, they can give each other compliments, and send private messages.  In active communities, there are Yelp parties, and Community Manager Yelp Events (CMYEs), Yelpers can host their own “unofficial” Yelp events (UYEs).  And there is a tier of Yelpers known as Elite, but that is a whole different blog entry…

Stay tuned for Part II of this article, where we tell you exactly how to harness the power of Yelp to add value to your business!