Factor1’s own Matt Adams was awarded the “Marketing Superhero of the Year” award from the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce at their Annual awards dinner, on January 14th.
This Award is to recognize all of Matt’s volunteer work and role on the Chamber’s marketing committee.
http://copanews.com/Article.aspx?ID=775
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
1929—1968
So I have seen companies who hire and shoot their clients video testimonials. Our clients are all over the country, so going to them would be a pricey endeavor. So we just stick to asking for a referal via email to share with our friends and potential clients. I was excited to see this from our client.
Over the summer we built a large site for Get College funding. It was actually our first real expression Engine site, and it went really well.
This video testimonial actually is pretty cool. It shows a great use of technology. Get College Funding is really embracing video rather well into their organization. Its a nice touch, and they find creating these videos a breeze.
Back in November I lead a small round table discussion on how we can best leverage social media in our businesses. The event was a hit, and we had a great discussion. So in partnership with the Maricopa Chamber of Commerce, We are doing it again. Actually 3 times.
You must be a Maricopa Chamber member to attend.
Site launch: streetlightphx.com
This is an exciting website for us. Such a great new non-profit here in our local area. Factor1 has been very excited to be a part of this organization from its infancy, and proud of our latest design for their site.
More features are coming soon, like a more advanced news portal, action center and more video / animations to better communicate the story & mission.
I love how a good clean site can be so simplistic and yet so aesthetically pleasing. Minimalism is hard to accomplish without seeming boring, but when done properly, the outcome is amazing. Check out these great sites that have nice color and typography choices, and a stunning minimalist layout.
Often we are contacted by potential clients that have little to no money. Just yesterday we had an up and coming actress inquire about a site, and only had $300 to spend.
This is hard on me. I love to help people, and I really love the web and marketing. In fact its why I love my job. I really wish I didn’t have bills, I would probably sit around, and help people for free or cheap all day long, and still love my job.
So back to my story. I thought to myself, I wish I could help this actress out, but for $300, there was little we could do. So I had an idea that would get her started on a site, help her out, and not use her entire budget.
Wordpress is a blog. but it has pages. and you can flip wordpress around to be pages first, blog secondary. Thus turning it into a sweet little CMS anyone can use. Here are the steps.
Personally I love Liquid web, and we use LW for our dedicated servers.
or wordpress.com works. If you go this route, skip step 2.
Most big hosts can do this for you, or give you a simple install button in their control panel.
there are great free themes and paid for themes.
free:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/05/18/100-amazing-free-wordpress-themes-for-2009/
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/08/100-excellent-free-high-quality-wordpress-themes/
Or there are paid themes: woothemes.com
wordpress is traditionally a blog, but with a few tweeks, it can look more like a website, with a news page, than a blog.
Learn more about using wordpress here
Now while this is a good cheap and dirty set up, its no substitution to a great designer building something custom.
A property manager once told me that the best indicator of the nature of a renter is to take a look at the condition (exterior and interior) of the personal vehicle they arrive in. If it is well maintain, it is a strong clue that so too will your property be. Their behavior will be consistent.
Consistently good sells. So does consistently helpful service. Consistent quality. Consistently accurate and reliable information. Consistent insights. Consistent and effective design.
You favorite place to eat hasn’t just been good one time, but it has been good 9 times out of 10. And if that one bad experience would have been the second time you went, you probably wouldn’t have gone back.
So here is a kicker… not every place that has something good to offer is going to be consistent. Wanna know if you are going to get consistently good? Compare these 4 simple things before making a commitment or decision:
- the individual you have interacted with
- the place of operation or the service vehicle
- the website of the company or a print piece advertisement
- customer feedback
Go with the outfit that consistently presents the quality, message and experience you desire to receive. As a leader in your industry you must consider that ALL aspects of your organization communicate about the mission, message, quality and service you aim provide.
In this hyper-connected era people come to your web page long before they come to your restaurant, your store, your church, your meeting or employ your services. What does your web site say about you? Does it connect with your current followers or is it aimed at reaching people who aren’t yet in your loop of influence? Does your site clearly and quickly convey your core message? Does your site reflect your style, your values or your unique position? These are all very important factors to consider because whether or not you have intentionally designed your site with these things in mind, these are the types of things that people are inferring about you based on the experience on your web site.
Huge reminder = People DO make decisions based on your web presence, fair or not.
Some quick and easy things tim make improvements:
- Determine your audience – Identify your target audience and always have them in mind when doing anything on your website.
- Clean up your content - Keep it straight forward and easy to understand. Most people say to much and don’t get to the facts and basics fast enough.
- Less is more – If you don’t have high level of graphic design abilities or insights then certainly error on the side of ‘less’. Keep your site clean, fresh and under control. Don’t over use graphics (especially ones you copied & pasted), fonts, font colors and amateur photos.
Sure many of you think Veterans day is a fluff holiday for banks and government. We take the day off here at Factor1. Want to know why?
So go home, and celebrate Veterans day with your friends and family. Thank a vet, and enjoy your day!