On The Sixth Day of Christmas, HMG Gave to Me: Six Birds-a Tweeting

Twitter is gaining momentum at an alarming rate and more and more businesses are using Twitter to create new revenue, build relationships and solve customer issues. As a Twitter user for both personal and business use, I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t. Below are 6 tips to writing good tweets and getting more followers!

1.  Keep it simple! Probably the most important piece of advice anyone can give you…no one wants to read a novel; especially on a network of fast-moving posts.

2.  Be original. Yes, I know this is trivial but a lot of people forget to use their own thoughts.

3.  Be personal. Bring your followers into your world, show them what YOU are about and make them feel welcome.

4.  Make ‘em laugh. If you can’t come up with anything creative then default to a funny joke, everyone can appreciate a laugh now and then!

5.  In conjunction with keeping it simple, make it catchy at the same time! Use words that define you and intrigue the reader. Separate yourself from the pack.

6.  Hashtags. Another no-brainer in the Twittersphere;  hashtags are to Twitter as SEO is to a solid website.

On The Twelfth Day of Christmas, HMG gave to me: Twelve Websites Winning

Web design has changed exponentially since the advent of web 2.0 in the early 2000’s. What used to be static-only websites have now been replaced with dynamic ones that incorporate many design features including widgets, social plugins and much more. Here are 12 tips to keep in mind when building or rebuilding your website.

1.  Show value– give people a reason to visit your site and keep them there.

2.  What does your website do? Are you informative, are you selling something? Include a call of action and let it be seen on the site!

3.  Simplicity– Keep it simple while still getting your point across.

4.  Myspace is out! That means no blinking text or magic cursors!

5.  Popups– Do I really have to explain this?

6.  Keep the home page accessible. I’ve been to many sites where once I click a link on the navigation bar, I cannot get back to the home page- so frustrating!

7.  Follow in Apple’s shoes and drop Adobe Flash– it’s processor heavy and there’s no place to embed SEO.

8.  I KNOW THIS MAY SOUND DUMB BUT DON’T CAPITALIZE ALL OF YOUR CONTENT.

9.  Speaking of words and content, check your grammar and spelling please!

10.  Use keywords and descriptive text that relates to your business. However, don’t over-embed keywords in your content- keep it natural.

11.  Be accessible, yes add a Contact page and put an email, phone number, something!

12.  Navigation is key! Keep a global navigation bar that allows accessibility to all of your pages.

I know the post reads “12 Tips” but I’m throwing in a BONUS, yay! 

13.  Social media integration- the key to the popularity and national/global success of your website and business.

Woot Woot for HootSuite!

 

If you’ve never heard of this odd application before, never fear (I was just introduced to it a few months ago)!  Once you get started, it’s a piece of cake.  For those of you that love organization, it’s a wonderful tool for you to manage all of your social media platforms in one easy place.  Although there are a few different types of HootSuite accounts, the version we will be investigating will be the basic account.

So let’s start with the basics.  All you need to do is go to hootsuite.com and create an account.  This doesn’t require much but an email, name and password.

Once you’re logged in, you’ll start by adding a social network.  As you can see, the three networks you are initially offered are Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.  By clicking on “add a different social network”, you are given many more options, such as: Google+, foursquare, WordPress, MySpace and mixi.

Choose the account you wish to sync first, allow HootSuite permission to that account and voila!  You should see something like this:

You can either compose or schedule a message by clicking in the “Compose message” box.  You will need to select your account by searching in the box which is right next to message composition.  To schedule, choose the calendar icon and pick your desired date and time.

If you would like to make any changes or view your scheduled items, choose the arrow icon located on the far left Dashboard.

To add on additional accounts.  Select the “+” tab at the top of the page.  You will then see the option to “Add Stream.” With the basic account, you are allowed up to FIVE different streams.  (Other accounts will allow for more streams depending on the price.)

You should now be able to complete the basic functions of HootSuite!  Can I get a woot, woot?!  If you’d like to learn more, you can always check out the free online tutorial they offer every member or contact us and we’d be happy to help.  Good luck!

On the Ninth day of Christmas, HMG Gave to Me: Nine Clients Rocking

 

I can’t think of a better way to spread Christmas cheer than by recognizing nine of our current and previous clients who we are so very thankful for and, to be honest, just ROCK at what they do:

Bannerot Law Firm
The firm provides clients with a variety of legal services which include Business Law, Wills & Estate Planning, Texas Probate, Intellectual Property Licensing, Entertainment & Sports Law, as well as Litigation.  We have provided the Bannerot Law Firm with:
– Printing
– Website Redesign
(Check out a preview of the new website we’re working for them!)

Kelle Contine Interior Design
Kelle Contine Interior Design is a professional full service interior design firm providing clients with innovative and appropriate solutions.  We have provided Kelle Contine with:
– Web Development

One Star Foundation
OneStar Foundation supports the nonprofit sector of Texas and its stakeholders through initiatives that increase civic engagement, research, rigorous evaluation, and nonprofit organizational excellence.  We have provided OneStar with:
– Branding
– Press Release
– Website Redesign

PrimoDish
PrimoDish is a group of developers that love food and thought there needed to be a place where you can easily find the best food around.  We provided PrimoDish with a:
– Website Redesign/UX
(Check out the new website we’re currently building them!)

Quick Fix Stock Charts
QFSC is an online resource that provides insightful and annotated stock charts while enabling you to make time-sensitive, decisive, money management decisions.  We provided QFSC with:
– Branding
– Custom Email Templates
– Press Release
– Printing
– Web Design and Development

RetailMeNot
RetailMeNot rates every single coupon and then orders it by its usefulness.  Every store is then categorized and ordered by its popularity within that category.  Their users ensure that the best deals quickly rise to the top, and expired or superseded coupons quickly drop down the list.  We provided RetailMeNot with:
– Web Development

Shango
Shango is a cloud platform that enables service providers to more easily cloud-enable their services and provide them more easily to their wholesale channels.  We provided Shango with:
– Business Card Design
– Printing

Spontuneous
Spontuneous, created by Mr. Rob Ridgeway, is an award-winning board-game that brings your favorite song lyrics to life.  The fun family game brings your favorite song lyrics to life and can forever change the way you listen to music.  We provided Spontuneous with:
– Custom Email Templates
– In-Store Promo Signs, Banners, Flyers
– Printing
– Web Development

Taylor Linens
Founded in 1922, Taylor Linens produces quilts that are made of 100% cotton fabric and batting that are often hand quilted with fine, close stitches.  We provided Taylor Linens with:
– Custom Email Templates
– Printing
– Print Collateral (product hang tags, post cards, stickers)
– Web Design and Development

On the Fourth Day of Christmas, HMG Gave to Me: Four Calling Clients

The Client List: 4 Types of Clients, Pain Points and How to Deal

At HMG, we love our wonderful family of clients and customers. But, like any large family, there are a few that can, well, drive you a little crazy. Throughout my time working at PR, advertising and creative agencies I have noticed a distinctive trend in some of the “problem child” clients that take extra time, energy and effort to work with. While there are dozens of categories and sub-categories like law of attraction (I can’t wait to read the comments!), I have done my best to narrow down the 4 most common, and troublesome, types of clients that make Account Managers across the country face-palm almost every day.

 

1.     The Defensive Line
Think 260+ lbs., Texas born and bred defensive players.  Their goal? To keep the offense from proceeding down the field, of course.  And this is exactly how most of us feel when faced with a Defensive Line client. These clients or individuals tend to halt any forward progress you and your agency tries to make on their behalf. But they hired you, right? Last you checked you were the expert on hand to provide guidance on communications and lead the company to new, exciting territory. Well, not always.  Frustrations and confusion almost always accompany this type of client as agencies feel they are working against, not with your efforts.

Telling Signs:  Emails including the phrases: “This looks great, but..” “This is a little too much change for us.” Or “Let’s stick with what we already have in place.”

Symptoms: Stillborn campaigns, Account Executive migraines from beating on desk, drained agency hours with nothing to show, bi-polar or apathetic creative team

Remedy: Remember that you are on the same team. Try to understand and communicate with the client on intentions when creating a new strategy or creative direction. The client either wants the assurance of your capabilities (should they finally commit to change), is appeasing a task from higher up for new ideas or at the end of the day is protecting a brand that they built and a shift will be incremental, if any.  If the client appreciates and likes your work, congrats. They know your value. I guess the questions for the agency would be: Is having a solid offense strategy enough or are you tired of standing on the sidelines in this game?  Regardless, identifying and understanding this client is key to a stress-free relationship.

Continue…

On the Fifth Day of Christmas, HMG Gave to Me: Five Golden Rules

Ah, the infamous Fifth Day of Christmas. I don’t know about you, but this might be the only part of the (original) song that I can actually remember every time.  But in the case of these Five Content Creation Rules, not rings, I encourage you to commit these to memory as well!

I’m sure you’ve already heard the saying, “Content is King,” but what does that really mean?  It all began with content as the key for search engine optimization and the huge role it played in positioning your company as an industry resource. Then came the rise of social and the need to push consistent communication. Creative tactics emerged through micro-sites and with social media popularity exploding, brands had to compete with the thought-leaders or become obsolete in the marketplace.

1.  Know Your Audience
Let’s be real.  If you don’t know who you’re trying to reach there’s no use in creating content at all.  Know who you’re writing for. Is it women ages 24-40 or men ages 60 and older? Decide who your audience is and then learn everything you can about them.  Find what questions they have, what motivates them and what they like. THEN, create your content.

2.  Tell a Story
Tell a story that is personable, approachable, tangible and memorable.  For example: Every year, The Hartford sponsors the Paralympics, and just last year the company decided to tell this story. They launched a media and video campaign through the medium of Facebook highlighting the athletes themselves. The result was a very successful and emotional story connecting with people on an individual and very personal level.

3.  Limit the Fluff
The average attention span is very, very short. You need to get right to the point or you run the risk of losing the audience. Eliminate any unnecessary points to keep content concise and hyper-focused. If you’d like some additional examples on the process of un-fluffing, check out one of our previous blog posts on a similar topic!

4. Make it Shareable
The best way to get your content out there is to spread it across all appropriate mediums.  So making it easy for others to share your content should be a BIG priority. Try to think of a blog that doesn’t prominently display social sharing buttons. It’s tough, right? That’s because most people won’t go out of their way to share your content so just make it simple!

5.  Say What You Know…
…and not what you sell. Customers are not looking to read your blog or micro-site to see what you sell, they can view that in a catalog or on the products and services tab on your site. They are interested in what you know and what you stand for. It’s time to start communicating as a trusted and relevant source and not as a sales script. Storytelling is the new content marketing.

See where your expertise and your customer’s interests overlap to tap into your niche. Tell a unique story and communicate in a way that no other competition can touch.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas, HMG gave to Me: Ten Blogs a-Buzzing

The voice of a consumer has proved to be the most powerful tool for the success of any business. The evolution of the internet has made several marketing solutions as simple as clicking a mouse; so let’s deck the halls with ten ways to integrate age old word of mouth marketing with modern social outlets!
1. On average, one of five customers will say something about your business just by asking them to. “Would you tell your friends and family about our service?” The trick? Just ask, every time!
2. Optimizing the search engine effect; a product cannot be shared virtually if it cannot be found online. Optimize your website and online content with multi-word tag lines to avoid vast competitions with companies shelling out the dollars for one key word.
3. If you choose to advertise on multiple social media sites, allocate time to update and engage with readers and followers daily. Consistency with posting ads and follower engagement is crucial for brand recognition.
4. Everyone wants to be heard; whether positive or constructive feedback is flowing in, always respond. Take time to address concerns and thank all customers for all feedback. Reviewers will talk about the brand just by feeling heard by the company.
5. Give back to followers, use social media to offer small gifts for kids and prizes. These gifts and prizes can be awarded for various online contests that will increase engagement with existing and even more importantly new interest.
6. Encourage bloggers and review sites to rate the product and brand. Share the positive blogs and feedback on the company website and social media outlets. There is a vast market out there that will buy in once a third-party endorses a brand.
7. Write regularly. Post PR and blog content on the company website. Publish it through social media links, and distribute it directly to relevant media outlets. The likelihood of new and additional conversations about a brand and its products will increase with the amount of online content that is published.
8. Use the free tools available to keep up with specific markets and interests in the business. Take Google, for example, they offer an application called Google Analytics. This free service has statistics on website visits and can be linked to any website despite the volume. Google Trends also provides details on popularity with specific search terms over time. Stay competitive by being alert and up to date on the trends in your companies’ vertical.
9. As soon as a consumer decides to purchase from a company a second time, odds are good that they have spoken highly about the business or even indirectly referred potential clients. Encourage feedback, and make it easy to respond with simple short questions. For example ask new clients; “How was your experience?” and “What can we do to expect your business in the future?” An example for returning clients could be “Thank you for coming back to our business! What made you interested in our product/service again?”
10. Never expect the end user to manage the relationship. Regularly interact with contacts and subscribers via newsletters, promotional offerings, and by keeping up to date on all active social media outlets.
Marketing is a team effort and we cannot do it without the influence of our customers. Leverage all resources with blogging, integration of helpful tools, and social media to spread the news and keep folks talking!

On the Third Day of Christmas, HMG Gave to Me: Three Experts Blogging

At HMG Creative, we know that like most things in life, blogging is better when done with friends. So we searched from coast to coast to bring you some of the most-respected marketing experts in the business. We know it is important to not only share our thoughts and insights, but impart the expertise and perspective of others; and we think these 3 individuals got it going on. Enjoy opening these 3 gifts from industry experts and friends of HMG Creative.

6 Ways to Use Images to Improve Your Web Conversion Rate by Tim Ash
CEO SiteTuners, Author, Landing Page Optimization

5 Types of Blog Content That Drive Engagement by Shelly Kramer
Founder and CEO V3 Integrated Marketing, FORBES Top 50 Social Media Influencer

3 keys to Scaling Content Marketing Success by Lee Odden
CEO TopRank Marketing; Author, Optimize

On the Third Day of Christmas, HMG Gave to Me: Lee Odden Blogging

I had the pleasure of meeting Lee Odden and his awesome right-hand lady, Ashley Zeckman, at a marketing conference here in San Diego. Lee has a reputation that precedes him, and for good reason. From search, social to PR and optimization, Lee knows how to breakdown valuable and actionable information whether he is speaking to a crowd of hundreds or taking pen to paper in his book. Enjoy this post from Lee on content marketing, think: “sharable.” 

And for more insights be sure to follow him on Twitter @leeodden.

 

3 Keys to Scaling Content Marketing Success

 

Is Your Content Findable, Engaging & Shareable?

“KISS” is probably the best advice when it comes to giving advice (Keep It Simple Stupid) and for that reason this post is short and sweet on the topic of how to ensure your great content attracts, engages and converts.

Whether your goals are narrowly focused on revenue or more strategic involving branding and community as well as growing the business, the scalability of effective content is essential in today’s competitive marketplace.

No matter how much you invest in content marketing strategy, planning, production, amplification or analytics, there are three key requirements that each content object should satisfy. Great content isn’t great until it’s discovered, consumed and shared.

Findability – A lot of our work involves content development and the way many organizations are structured, content discovery isn’t a driver, but more of an afterthought.

Effective content marketing is about creating information that’s useful for specific audiences and with certain outcomes in mind.  While intent and context are often satisfied, the question of findability is usually underestimated. In particular, I’m talking about optimizing for search or social discovery. There are also promotion channels such as email, cross linking from existing content, 3rd party editorial links, news release distribution, social promotions, pay per click advertising and social media advertising.

What good is the great content you’re creating if no one can find it? By ensuring findability through optimization and promotion, the reach and amplification for content can be extended dramatically and for a very long period of time.   If you set goals for social and organic search traffic for the content being produced, those involved might become as thoughtful about content optimization as they are about content quality. This isn’t either or, expect both.

Engaging– Competition is tough and as more brands employ content publishing in their mix, it’s important that the content being produced considers engagement. How? Relevance, context and experience are good starters.

Is your content object relevant for the audience that will discover it? Is the information useful? Does it provide utility? Is it thought provoking? Does the information help satisfy the reader’s goals and at the same time, help bring them closer along in the buyer journey?

The notion of engagement can be very subjective so be sure to identify goals for engagement whether it’s a combination of page views, comments and social shares or traffic and conversions. Monitor interactions with content to discern trends so you can optimize future content object performance.

Sharability – A lot of optimization for search and social media performance is about making it easy for buyers to do what you want them to do. Adding social share widgets is part of that. Writing compelling titles that work for short character counts in social sharing situations like Twitter is also a best practice. Content quality and relevance come in to play for sharing as well.

Are you creating content that’s so good, people will want to share it with others? Have you made it easy for them to share?  Sharing for sharing’s sake isn’t going to solve any business problems, so make sure you know: Does the act of sharing help fulfill your objectives for the content?

There’s a lot of great brand content and story out there that isn’t getting the exposure that it could, simply because content producers are not tasked or accountable to one or more of these three simple requirements: Findability, Engagement and Shareability. Ensuring these characteristics are present for each content object through a process is a sure way to scale content marketing effectiveness whether your goals are social, PR, customer service or marketing focused.

Glance Back at 2011 As You Gear Up for Holiday 2012

A quick trip to the mall this morning revealed that stores are already gearing up for Thanksgiving and—yikes!—Christmas shopping. 10 percent of retailers have already sent a Christmas email to their subscriber list, but don’t feel bad if you haven’t yet. There’s still plenty of time to get your jingle on. Check out what worked and what didn’t during the 2011 holiday season:

What Worked: Sending Emails During the Week of Black Friday

While email opens were average on Black Friday itself, the week leading up to it was a good week for email marketers. Nearly 16 percent of email subscribers made a purchase in response to an email that was sent during the week of Black Friday.

What Didn’t: Relying on Gimmicks to Earn Better Open Rates (like certain words in the subject line)

Popular subject line word choices for 2011 included “free,” “sale,” and “shipping.” Surprisingly, these words did not result in higher open rates. However, the word “coupon” did entice more people to open an email, although it wasn’t used as often.

Take away: Tried and true subject line methods of stating clearly what your email contains, piquing interest, and promising value earn more opens than gimmicks.

What Worked: Sending Emails to Subscribers on Christmas Day

Surprisingly, 6 percent of the emails sent on Christmas Day were opened, despite the many festivities of Christmas morning and dinner with the in-laws. That’s just 3 percent less than average. Also, people spent over 170 percent more on their mobile devices this year than they did on Christmas Day 2010.

What Didn’t: Expecting Better Response Leading Up to Christmas But Ignoring Christmas Day

Actual customer behavior showed that click-throughs increased on Christmas Day, meaning that the savvy marketers who sent a Christmas Day email were rewarded for their efforts with a spike in sales.

Takeaway: People are already looking for sales and after-Christmas deals even before the wrapping paper has made it into the trash can, so give them plenty of shopping options.

What Worked: Using Social Media to Promote Specials and Sales

Promoting sales and specials on Facebook and Twitter creates buzz as your fans share with their friends, giving you a much broader reach than just your subscriber list.

What Didn’t: Failing to Link Social Media Campaigns With Other Marketing Efforts

Of course, Facebook and Twitter can be limiting in their own way, so don’t expect them to do all your marketing for you. People need commonality across marketing venues to keep them oriented.

Takeaway: Coordinate your social media marketing plans with other marketing campaigns to create a unified strategy that reaches as many people as possible.

The 2012 holiday season is upon us. By reflecting on what did and did not drive sales last year, you can create an effective marketing strategy that will keep shoppers merrily clicking away, even when the weather outside is frightful.

Statistics Source: Epsilon 2012 Holiday Trend Report