We’re excited to announce that this past Friday, October 18, HMG took home an Austin Young Chamber FAVE Award! The AYC FAVE awards recognize and honor local businesses in sixteen various categories that cater to young professionals in the Austin area. Within the Professional Services Category, we competed with Capitol Factory, 3 Point Partners, De Leon & Washburn P.C. and Kennedy Creative.
We’ve been operating in the digital marketplace for ten years now, and things have changed a lot in that time. New technologies, new online marketing solutions, and new best practices are always clamoring for attention, and that sometimes makes it difficult to stay on track as a company. For more info visit http://titantransline.com . To think that there was no such thing as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter when we opened our agency. Can you even remember what life was like before these CPA Affiliate Networks forever changed how we engage and communicate with friends, family and brands throughout the world? We’ve also seen the rise and fall of MySpace from the front seat. But some things don’t change. Businesses that succeed in the lightning-paced world of digital marketing do so by staying true to some universal guiding principles. Here are three of the things we’ve learned during our decade-long adventure.
Interested in partnering with a creative digital agency? HMG is looking for likeminded, compatible businesses in the Austin area to partner with. For the first time ever, we’re trialing a partnership program to forge relationships with local business that have a similar mindset as HMG.
So what is this partnership program, exactly?
Awhile back, we wrote a blog post about Pageless Design. Now, as promised, you’re getting more information about the growing trend. In case you missed my last post, Pageless Design is a type of web design that encapsulates an entire site’s data into one seamless webpage. It’s compelling to visitors because it tells a story while simultaneously being visually pleasing. While not appropriate for every website, Pageless Design is perfect for startups, freelancers, small retailers and those selling a single product or service, such as a chef or author.
It seems just like yesterday I was frantically calling the office on my way in for my first day at HMG. I think I passed the office building about three times before I actually realized that was where I needed to be. Ha, what a newbie! After a friendly greeting, these eager beavers put me straight to work, which has been the best part of my internship—there was always plenty of work to be done. No matter how big or small, there was always something I could be doing and no, it actually didn’t require me to make a coffee run! There are many more aspects I loved about being an HMG Creative Intern that I’d like to share with you in one of my final blog posts.
After eight great months, my time has come to an end as the HMG Creative Social Media and Marketing Intern. I have had the wonderful opportunity to work on and contribute to a variety of different projects for HMG and before I say my final goodbye, I’d like to share with you what I’ve accomplished during my time here:
I’m Emily Weeks, our new PR and Social Media intern, and I couldn’t be more excited to kick-start my summer working to schedule instagram posts here at HMG Creative with such a great team. A bit about me—I’m an up-and-coming senior at the University of Texas at Austin (Hook ‘Em!) and will be graduating next May with a B.S. in Public Relations and a certificate in Business Foundations. Although originally an East-Coaster at heart, Austin’s climate and eclectic culture brought me down South. I love taking advantage of everything this city has to offer, including the music scene, hiking and exploring Austin’s amazing restaurants. Last semester I interned at Wellington Group PR, a local PR and Marketing firm in Austin, and prior to that I served as the Public Relations intern at Laura Mannes Design, a small interior design firm. I hope to take skills from my past experiences and expand on them here at HMG Creative. On campus, I am involved in my sorority, Alpha Epsilon Phi, several clubs including the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), and needless to say I love attending football games!
If you’ve been on the Internet lately (read: everyone), you’ve probably come across a site with an unnecessary amount of pages, too much going on, and most likely, you have no idea where to click first. You find yourself thinking, “Should I visit the ‘About Us’ page? What about the ‘Contact Us’ link? Maybe I should read the testimonials first to get a better idea of the product.” All you really wanted to do was check out your neighborhood’s new café, maybe order a sandwich for lunch, but now you’re about ready to throw your computer at a wall. Somehow you’ve found yourself overwhelmed by enough buttons and links to support an international company’s website.
Picture this. You’re halfway through college, your major is still “undecided” and you’re feeling the pressure to choose a sensible career path. You’ve always been interested in law, but let’s face it; you probably slept through most of your Intro to Law class freshman year. You want a resource that’s resourceful yet engaging enough to help you learn more about the process of becoming a lawyer. That’s where our client, Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA), comes in. You do some research and find out TYLA has a program called “What Do Lawyers Do?” After browsing through the site, you notice right off the bat that it’s a) visually engaging, b) easy to navigate, and c) has all the information you could possibly want about becoming a lawyer. You’re sold.
Think WordPress is just for blogs? Think again! WordPress is a great option for small businesses looking for an easy, professional way to create great designs for their website content. Let’s take a quick look at four easy WordPress design techniques for creating a killer site.
1. Choose a Theme
The sky is the limit when it comes to WordPress themes, but keep a couple of points in mind:
2. Customize Your Theme
Do a quick Google search and you’ll come up with thousands of widgets and plug-ins for your WordPress site. They’re the best way to customize your theme, incorporating special capabilities such as social media buttons and other common website elements. Just about any WordPress web design goal can be accomplished with the right plug-in or widget, so take some time to familiarize yourself with what’s out there and how to make it work for you.
3. Include Well-Chosen Images
We’ve all seen those mind-numbing, generic stock photos of people shaking hands or sitting at a computer in an office. Don’t be boring with your images. Choose something that directly supports the message you’re trying to communicate. If you can’t find something already out there, design your own graphic or snap some photos yourself.
4. Consider a Blog
If your business lends itself to a blog, WordPress offers a great platform for including one on your website. WordPress web design makes blogging easy. Regular updates are the key to a great blog, so don’t commit to one if you’re only going to post every six months.
Like any new platform, WordPress web design takes some experimentation and research to learn. However, it’s also one of the easiest ways to quickly design and format content for a small website. Need more help creating a killer WordPress website? HMG Creative can help you make the most of the latest plug-ins, widgets, and themes to create the website of your dreams.
