Ocreative Design Studio

Facebook Gets a Facelift: New Timeline Style for Pages

2012-02-29T11:49:00-06:00

Facebook unveiled the new Timeline-styled Facebook Pages interface for businesses, brand and organizations today (February 29, 2012). When Page owners logged into Facebook today, they were given the chance to update now or wait until the end of March to convert to the new look.

Ocreative took the opportunity to adapt right away and update to the new timeline style. We created sleek new graphics to support the acceptance of larger images. Check out the new Facebook Page look for Ocreative.

The new layout allows for a large "cover photo" which gives businesses a generous area to show what they are about and also allows businesses to make the page more personalized to support the company's branding.

One of our favorite features for businesses is that we're no longer stuck with keeping the latest posts on top, we can now add priority to certain posts by promoting posts to the top of the timeline (which will come in very handy for events, promotions and important news).

Another favorite feature is the Admin Panel with a show and hide button right at the top making it easy to access. This quickly gives the page owner an overview of what's happening on the page, including: new likes, notifications, messages, and an insights graph which includes posts, who's talking about the page and reach.

There may be some resistance because you can no longer specify a "landing tab" that you want new users to land on (which doesn't make me happy from a marketer's perspective since those were proven to work) but you can move posts from anywhere in the timeline to the top and this may help with the transition.

A cautionary note, once you publish to the new look, you can't go back to the old one so make sure you're ready to accept the new changes. To help ease transitions, admins of Pages can work with the new timeline style before the Page is officially published to get used to the new changes.

As you know, there will always be resistance to change. Tell us what you think. Do you like the new style for business Facebook Pages?

Do you need help converting over to the new style? Contact us and we'll help.

Ocreative at the Lake Country Community Fest on March 31, 2012

2012-02-28T20:00:00-06:00

We invite you to come and enjoy the 2012 Lake Country Community Fest.

Stop by and visit Ocreative Design Studio in the West Gym, booth #46. Meet and chat with our crew, pick up some Ocreative swag, and see some of our latest work. Ocreative is proud to have had the privilege to be a part of the Lake Country Community Fest since its beginning, as an active member of the planning committee and as a sponsor and exhibitor.

About the Lake Country Community Fest

The Lake Country Community Fest (LCCF) is a community expo that attracts thousands of attendees and brings together over 180 exhibitors, local food vendors, entertainment and a health fair. For the eighth year, the Lake Country Community Fest, presented by the Delafield Chamber of Commerce and Hartland Chamber of Commerce, will be take place at Kettle Moraine High School in Wales, Wisconsin.

Lake Country Community Fest
Saturday, March 31, 2012 from 10am-3pm
Held at Kettle Moraine High School in Wales, Wisconsin

Find out more on the event website: LakeCountryCommunityFest.com.

Why Pinterest is Good for Businesses and Why People are Getting Hooked

2012-02-13T00:00:00-06:00

Pinterest is a fast growing social media platform, and best of all, it’s fun for users and good for businesses. Why you ask? It puts some of the coolest products and photos out there, allows people to share them, and links to the website where the photo came from so you can buy it now or save it for later — fulfilling the “see it, buy it” shopping concept. Pinterest has reportedly raised $37 million in private investment funding and earned rave reviews, including a spot on Time Magazine’s 50 Best Websites of 2011.

From my experience with fellow Pinners (the people using Pinterest), it is looking like most Pinners are women. An Experian/ Hitwise Intelligence study confirms the demographics with 59% of the site's traffic from women between the ages of 25 and 44. It’s also sounding like people are spending hours per day on the site. Some that we’ve asked use it as a getaway to escape from reality for a moment, while others are saying that it’s the matter of fulfilling the human need to collect things that strikes a chord with them. Yet, more have said that it was ‘instant love’ or ‘magnetic’ and their new favorite social network.

In its basic form, it’s like digital scrapbooking or an online bulletin board:

You, the ‘Pinner’ see a photo or video you like.
You decide that you like it so much you add it, or ‘pin it’, to your own boards, or ‘pinboards’.
You arrange and rearrange your boards in different topics of your naming choice.
Seek new photos, pin, and repeat.

There is the ability to share video on the site as well, but it hasn’t taken off big yet. Plus, you can ‘Like’ photos (similar to Facebook) as well as comment on the things you see, and it integrates with Facebook and Twitter to sign in and share.

One of the arguable downsides is that you can’t create private boards. But on that same point, if everyone’s boards were private, how could you stumble upon the coolest things available over the internet?

How can businesses benefit from Pinterest

There are several hot subjects popular on Pinterest which would compliment businesses who offer products in those same categories.

Fashion & Accessories
Hobbies and Crafts
Home Décor
Interior Design and Remodeling
Travel & Places
Art & Photography
Design
Food/Drink
Hair & Beauty

Do you have products that would fit those criteria? If so, and you have great photography shots of your products/location, then your business may be a hit with the Pinners on Pinterest. Pin them up, add a description, and put them in specific categories so they can be found. Because there is the ability to easily share (Pinterest can also post to connected Facebook and Twitter accounts), there's a chance that your pins can go viral = huge promotion for your business.

There are already reports out that that state that Pinterest has brought more traffic to sites than Facebook. So what are you waiting for? Start pinning your products!

Not on Pinterest yet? Leave your email address below and I’ll invite you in or go to Pinterest.com and sign up. You can follow my pins on Pinterest at @andreakoeppel.

Understanding the Social Media Landscape

2012-02-09T12:00:00-06:00

Social media is everywhere.

It's on your computer. It's on your phone. It's in your inbox. It's on your TV.

Maybe it's even in your car.

And while there are some questions about how healthy social media is, it's pretty clear that lot of us are using it.

Social Media is Purposeful

I think the above statements are pretty obvious to most of us.

But to find social media's power, we need to back up and consider the primary benefit of social media: its ability to connect. Social media enables us to make connections we otherwise may not have been able to make.

"Ordinary" people can connect with celebrities. Relatives and friends can connect across long distances in an instant. People with common interests can find each other with relative ease. The list goes on.

And now ... another possible connection is becoming increasingly apparent:

Businesses can connect with their customers.

Social Media in a Business Context

The fact is that social media gives businesses an inexpensive tool to connect with customers; moreover, businesses are taking notice of this, and they're beginning to leverage social media in a big way.

According to Zoomerang's Marketing in a Digital World report, nearly 50% of small businesses are now using social media to connect with their customers.

It makes sense, really. Connections lead to relationships, and good relationships have the potential to lead to sales.

Even so, some small businesses are still reluctant to join. To this, I respectfully say that these small businesses on the outside need to reconsider.

The statistics are clear. As more and more small businesses join the social media revolution, it's going to be harder and harder for small businesses without a social media presence to compete.

Understanding the Social Media Landscape

While I certainly believe social media is important for small business owners, I also, to some extent, understand why there may be reluctance.

For small business owners, I suspect some of the reluctance is related to confusion.

Navigating the social media landscape can be tough. There is a lot of lingo that is unfamiliar and, frankly ... made up. From tweeting to poking to tagging - some of it almost sounds nonsensical.

Thus, it's understandable why some small businesses write off social media before even trying it.

But lucky for us, Flowtown has come up with an infographic that has made things much easier to understand and connect the dots.

It's called The Small Business Social Media Cheat Sheet. It provides an overview of the social media landscape and will help you choose where you should be.

While it likely isn't as good as taking a class with certified instruction, I hope this infographic will help some of you make sense of the social media jungle.

So now you have one less excuse not to join.

The Small Business Social Media Cheat Sheet

Image courtesy of Flowtown

If you have questions or comments about this post or the infographic, post them in the comments below!

What is SEO - Understanding Search Engine Optimization Basics

2012-01-25T10:23:10-06:00

We recently came across an awesome SEO infographic created by Search Engine Land, a must read online hub for the latest news and information on how search engines search and in-depth search engine optimization information. I thought this visual graphic would be helpful for our readers to understand the basics of SEO using a visual which gives a hats-off salute to the a periodic table of elements.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is always a high priority for any website. However, sometimes it’s difficult to grasp all of the elements that work together to achieve high rankings with search engines. At Ocreative, we often find ourselves educating our clients on various aspects of websites including design standards, content management systems, online marketing strategies, social media, and of course, Search Engine Optimization.

As I was browsing around Search Engine Land, I also found a great video they created with Common Craft that explains Search Engine Optimization basics in a way that can be easily understood. Enjoy! For me, it was exciting to find this video that closely paralleled what I have been verbally explaining to clients for years.

Let's discuss! Do you have questions about Search Engine Optimization? Post a comment below and let’s discuss!

Resolve to Make Resolutions You Can Keep

2012-01-05T10:56:00-06:00

Did you make a New Year's resolution this year and then watch the ball drop at your New Year's Eve celebration? Is this a metaphor for what's going to happen come February, March and April, when you realize that you've set your goal way to high and start to lose interest in trying to reach it? So many people see this happening and have, and I quote, "given up making resolutions because I'll just be disappointed" or have vowed to make smaller more attainable ones.

I am part of the latter group – and vowed to make smaller more attainable resolutions throughout the year. Here are some of my favorites that may also help you and your business in 2012.

Blogs are great, however you have to write content for them to keep them going. The tough part sounds simple: write more blog articles. However, that resolution stops when you can't think of things to write about. Need ideas? Check out one of my favorite articles by Lisa Barone called "100+ SMB Blogging Ideas to Kick Start 2010." I know, you're thinking, "Geez, that article is from 2010" but believe me those ideas are still relevant. You'll just want to save this page to your desktop for quick reference.

Being a good organizer is always one of those top resolutions, or as some say, 'a constant uphill battle.' We've tackled that here at Ocreative with the use of Basecamp, a project management and collaboration tool, to help us out and we haven't turned back. Our clients can log in to see where things are at with their project, we can keep files centrally located and available to all, and set deadlines for us and for our clients to help us reach the major milestones of each project.

Being accountable, that's another biggie. Our business is based on talent and time. It's imperative that we use a great system to keep track of how much time we spend on design, developing, managing... the list goes on. With Harvest, our team is able to keep track of projects and profitability while allowing us to efficiently run our business and keep client projects moving along.

It doesn't hurt to throw something in to a resolution to make it more fun for everyone involved – like company wide lunches on Fridays!

Happy New Years and cheers to a successful and fun 2012! Did you make a New Year's resolution for your business? Comment and share below.

Making a Mobile Experience a Good One

2011-09-21T12:00:00-05:00

Nine out of ten smartphone searches result in the users taking action. You heard it right, 9 out of 10! That's why the entire mobile experience you have set up for your clients and customers needs to be a good one... and a good one right from the start. As Morgan Stanley stated in their April 2010 report on Internet Trends, "Mobile is ramping up faster than desktop Internet did and will be bigger than most think...Regarding pace of change, we believe more users will likely connect to the internet via mobile devices than desktop PCs by 2015."

If you have website, do you have a mobile friendly version of it? If you don't have one, you're among the 79% of major retailers who still need to invest in one. With technology and smart phone adaption changing on the quick pace that it has been, it's no wonder that many businesses are trying to 'catch up.'

If you're not sure how much traffic your site is getting from a mobile user then check out your Google Analytics report. Analyze the trend on your site from the last couple of years by viewing the trend of mobile visitors. You'll likely notice a steady upward stream of mobile users trying to access your website.

Make the Entire Mobile Experience a Good One

When you have ads out there directing people to your site, or QR codes directing people to your website, test out for yourself to see what that experience is like on a mobile device. If you have to 'pinch to zoom' on content in order to read it on your mobile device then you should rethink your existing mobile experience.

The mobile experience should be one where the content is formatted to fit the device that is viewing it. If it's a smart phone, you're looking at about 3" of space as a width. However, if you're directing someone to a website that's formatted for a large 21" monitor, don't make the mistake in thinking the user will care enough to 'pinch and zoom' to find information.

Ninety percent of the time customers will leave your site and go somewhere else. It's like trying to find your local coffee shop by looking at a state map -- it's just totally out of scale and you're not going to invest your time doing it.

Get Moving on Mobile

Make sure a mobile website is in your budget for 2012 if it wasn't included in 2011. If only a small budget is available, then at the very least, have a mobile friendly version that continues your branding, includes the business address, a link for map and driving directions (so the user can tap the screen for GPS directions), a phone number (to let people tap the screen to call), and links to social media so people can further connect and interact with your brand.

If you already have a mobile site, that's great! Now, let's think about how to improve the mobile experience and what future expansion goals are to make it even better.

If you have an e-commerce store, do you have a mobile version of it? 74% of smartphone shoppers make a purchase as a result of using their smartphones to help with shopping. With the end of the year holiday shopping coming up, get started now to capture those mobile shoppers!

6 Tips for Using QR Codes in Your Marketing Strategy

2011-09-21T12:00:00-05:00

QR Codes connect the printed real world with online virtual world.

Have you heard the buzz about QR Codes? QR Codes, or Quick Response Codes, are 2D square bar codes that are scanned by a mobile device's camera. You're seeing them more and more all the time. Even the United States Postal Service (USPS) ran a special (July-August 2011) giving patrons 3% off postage rates if they included a QR Code in their direct mail piece.

Want to effectively integrate QR codes into your marketing strategy... then you ought to keep these 6 tips in mind as you're planning:

1. Keep the QR Code of ample size and clarity

All of those little squares are important! You will need all of them.

Contrast is important (it doesn't always have to be black).
The final size is important - how far away is the person going to be scanning it.
People will need extra time to scan it (they'll need to whip out their phones and open the QR code reader app) so don't flash it through at the end of your TV commercials or presentations -- leave it up throughout the whole period or at least an extended part of it.
You can even get special QR codes with your logo in them or branded.
The shorter the URL, the less squares there will be -- keep your links short! While you're shortening it, track it so you know how many page visits the code has made for you.

2. Tell people what they get if they scan and reinforce how to use the code

People are really embracing QR codes in the US but are still learning about them and their capabilities. Tell people what they'll get when they scan the code. For example:

Watch a video
Like us on Facebook (Become a fan on a social network)
Shop online
Visit our mobile site
Download our app in the App Store
Get a discount
Make a reservation
Enter to win

A code by itself, without telling the person what they get if they commit to scanning it, is like sending a blind-folded clown into a bull fight ... not the best idea because he can't see what going to be coming at him. So, tell your customers what they'll be getting to further encourage them to scan the code.

3. Make sure the address that was used to create the QR Code sends the user to a mobile friendly website

Send those people who commit to scanning one of your codes, to a website that is optimized for their mobile device. Think about that for a minute. You don't want to offer some spectacular deal that is convincing enough to get them to scan a QR Code, however, when they scan, your QR Code is directing them to a website that's made for a large desktop computer. The smart phone user isn't going to want to 'pinch and zoom' around your site when they don't even know what they are looking for. Remember, all they need to do is hit the exit button and 'poof', you've lost them -- say bye-bye your potential lead or your potential sale.

4. Don't send them to your shopping cart or website if you're using Flash

Apple and Adobe Flash are not friends. If you try to put them together on the playground, you'll get a nice little message letting you know that they will not be playing nice anytime soon. I love to try out new things so I always scan the codes that i receive in the mail. One of my favorite stores, I won't mention names, just sent me a QR code on a recent direct mail. Being the loyal patron that I am, i scanned it to 'do online shopping' but not only was the website their main large website (not formatted to fit my iPhone screen) but it also used this gigantic Flash image that was just a large white blank space on my iPhone. I quickly backed out of there in disgust... I didn't do any shopping there that day.

5. Let them like you on Facebook and follow you on Twitter

While we are on the shopping note, I recently bought a mattress from Verlo Mattress Factory Store. After the purchase, i received a letter from the President of the company which thanked me for my patronage, gave me a coupon for 15% off my next purchase, and encouraged me to 'Like them on Facebook' if I scanned the QR code. I loved the message and presentation so I scanned the code and was given a large, 'you can't miss it' Facebook button to click on. Sure, after clicking through to their main website, it didn't end up being mobile optimized, but at least their mobile landing page was and was able to convert me to be a fan of their Facebook page (which was their goal of the QR code for that campaign). Chalk it up as successful.

6. Test. Test. Test.

Can I say it again... TEST! Always do a scan TEST of code at every point of production. Get your friend to TEST it. TEST it from different devices. TEST from different QR code scanning apps. TEST it when at the printer on a press check to make sure the contrast and clarity are what it needs to be to be scanned. Ok, i'm going to say it one last time... TEST the QR code.

These are just a few of the things to keep in mind when using QR codes. I know that some advertisers and designers feel like a QR code is like some ugly barnacle on their designs, but in my opinion, it's how your incorporate it in. I take freedoms with it but I also know the limitations and have a detailed plan to back it up it's usage.

Prepare an Online Marketing Strategy for Your Business

2011-08-19T07:21:00-05:00

It's not all just about the PC desktop or the Mac desktop anymore. Consumers are mobile. Your audience is mobile. How many people do you know have a cell phone? Think about that for a minute. How often do you see them without it? Never, right? That's because having a cell phone, especially a smart phone, right at your fingertips, is intoxicating. I remember my math teacher in middle school told me that I had to do the math problems in my head because I would never be carrying a calculator in my pocket. Well, I showed him! My smart phone is in my pocket every day, and it has a calculator app!

The world is on demand. With a mobile device, you have answers just a few finger taps away and literally in your pocket when you need it. Who wouldn't be wooed over that? For more details about how the mobile market is taking over, see the Morgan Stanley presentation at the Web 2.0 Summit.

Businesses take note. With so many people on their mobile phones doing everything from searching out price checks on products, doing mobile searches for an answer to a question that was just asked to them, or mobile travelers trying to find out where to eat while they are in unfamiliar territory... the possibilities for seeking out information at your fingertips are endless.

That said, I ask the question a second time, what is your online marketing strategy? Have you considered it or are you reconsidering it? The research is showing us consumers are driving businesses to answer.... YES! According to Mobile Marketer, one out of four consumers today has a smart phone with web browsing and apps. This same figure is on it's way to jump to one out of three in 2011.

So what's part of an online strategy?

1. Content is king. Do you have a mobile friendly version of your website to make content on your website optimized for customer's mobile devices?

2. Connecting print with online. Have you heard the buzz about QR Codes, 2D square bar codes that are scanned by a mobile device's camera? Want to use one... then you ought to be sending those people who commit to scanning one of your codes, to a website that is optimized for their mobile device. Think about that for a minute. You don't want to offer some spectacular deal that is convincing enough to get them to scan a QR Code, however, when they scan, your QR Code is directing them to a website that's made for a desktop. The smart phone user isn't going to want to pinch and zoom around your site when they don't know what they are even looking for. Remember, all they need to do is hit the exit button and poof, you lost them and there goes your potential customer.

3. Websites that 'wow.' When consumers are 'wowed' by websites, they share them. They share them with friends, family, colleagues and the world via Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Google+, Stumble Upon and all of the other social media sites out there. More sharing = more popularity = better search engine placement = more traffic. With all of the sharing of your website links, it should add up to more brand recognition and sales. If it is not converting to sales, analyze how to convert them into sales by studying the website's analytics.

4. Online advertising. Spread the word and let people know you are out there. Whether it's Facebook ads, Google Adword campaigns, and website banner ads. Be noticed.

5. Social Media. Do you have a page on Facebook or a social storefront? If not, find out if your audience is there first, if not, then it may not be right for you yet. If you do have a page on Facebook, what personality / tone are you setting with each post? Are you stirring conversation? Do you have a plan for how you are using it? According to Digital Buzz, there are 206.2 Million internet users in the U.S. and 71.2 of them use Facebook. Definately not the small potatoes in the stew pot.

Those are just a few things to consider with starting an online marketing strategy or reconsidering and continuing your online marketing strategy. If you have questions, we're well versed in the area and welcome your comments below. Got a more personally related online business marketing question? Email or call us directly for a conversation on how Ocreative can help you develop and execute an online marketing strategy for your business.

We're hosting a Tailgating Business After Hours July 20, 2011

2011-07-15T10:40:00-05:00

Business networking over brats and beer... yes, only in Wisconsin! Ocreative Design Studio teamed up with Wessels Sherman Law Office for a fun shared Oconomowoc Chamber Business After Hours event on Wednesday, July 20th. There will also be a chance to win a door prize, Brewers tickets.

We invite you to join us, Ocreative Design Studio and Wessels Sherman, for Tailgating Business After Hours. Point your GPS to 1860 Executive Drive, Suite E and E2, Oconomowoc, WI 53066. Our offices are located at the Oconomowoc Executive Suites building.

Admission is your business card plus $3 for Oconomowoc Chamber members and $5 for non-members.

Please RSVP at the Oconomowoc Chamber office 262-567-2666. See you there!

Event details:

WHAT: Tailgating Business After Hours
WHEN: July 20, 2011 - 5pm - 7pm
WHERE:Wessels Sherman Law Office and Ocreative Design Studio
1860 Executive Drive Suite E and E2
Oconomowoc, WI 53066

Business Needs Drive Creativity: Presenting at UW Whitewater

2011-05-11T21:58:00-05:00

Excitement About the Future

Following the great experience I had with my colleague Matt Koeppel at the first-ever UWW Hackathon (you can read my blog entry about it here), it was my hope that Ocreative Design Studio could continue to be involved with students at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (henceforth referred to as UWW for brevity). While it seems another Hackathon is all but inevitable considering the success of the first, Matt and I did not have to wait until the next Hackathon to return to UWW.

A Door Opens

Shortly after attending the Hackathon, the Student Organization for Web Design (SOWD), approached me with the idea of having Ocreative Design Studio come to a meeting and give a presentation. I was immediately intrigued and excited at the potential opportunity, but I wanted more information about what this organization stood for, and what I could expect from this student organization.

Student Organization for Web Design (SOWD)

Created in the spring of 2010, SOWD is the braindchild of UWW student Eleanor Jacobson. She created SOWD to be a professional organization where members interested in web site design and development could come for fun, informative sessions, and interesting events. From this description, the organization sounded exactly like the type of student organization Ocreative Design Studio would like to present to. Moreover, it sounded exactly like the type of student organization I would have loved to have been part of when I was attending UW-Whitewater.

Presentation

From the moment that we decided to do this presentation for SOWD, I challenged myself. I wanted to hold myself to the standard of making this presentation valuable and informative to the students.

My colleague Matt Koeppel agreed. The presentation had to bring value to students.

Unfortunately, the mere act of agreeing on that point didn't really get us too far in preparation. No, we still had some big hurdles. One of them was selecting topics to speak on.

Selecting Relevant Topics

I can remember being underwhelmed by many presentations made by companies to student organizations I was involved in when I was in college. I clearly recall that many presentations seemed to be mostly about self-promotion for a particular company. In fact, I sometimes got the impression that the only reason the presenters came at all was to meet potential recruits.

While I can appreciate and understand that recruiting is part of the reason to do a presentation, as a former student, I couldn't, in good conscience, make that a primary goal of our presentation. I always felt that those types of presentations left me feeling a bit cynical considering there was such an obvious attempt to sell the company’s merits.

That isn’t really our style at Ocreative.

Answering Some Questions by ... Asking Questions

The answer to the question of topic came about rather by accident. I was talking with friend and UWW Hackathon organizer, Jonathan Stassen, about what topics would interest students.

It suddenly occurred to me that to answer this question, I'd have to remember back to what would have brought me value back in college. With that in mind, I determined the goal of the presentation would be to answer the following two questions:

What do I know now about the industry and business world that I wish I had known when I was in school?
How does what I learned in college compare with what I will need to know in the real world?

Presentation

Using those two questions as a framework to form our presentation's foundation, we moved forward.

We wanted to give students a taste of what it’s like to work at a small creative agency like Ocreative by explaining our internal processes. So we did so.

We also wanted to give students a glimpse at how the academic environment compares to the business / professional environment. To achieve this, we gave scenarios to explain concepts and processes.

A key focus of our presentation became showing students the difference between the academic environment versus the professional / business environment.

That is, at least how the professional / business environment is viewed through our lenses at Ocreative. While we don't claim to be a microcosm of the macro business environment, we do know what works for us specifically.

One comparison we presented was on the subject of coding style.

An Example: Coding Style

In the academic environment, object-oriented style always seems to be emphasized. When I was in school, it was a pretty clear bet that every programming class I took would emphasize this.

So the question posed was this: is this the reality in the professional environment?

The answer we gave? It isn't straight forward, and it depends on a lot of factors.

A Litany of Factors

From project size, to project scope, to project goals, to business goals, there are a lot of things that play into whether a firm will use an object-oriented style of code or fall back to a classic, procedural style. In our view, at least.

At Ocreative, our decisions are typically based upon looking at things from an efficiency standpoint rather than what creates the most “beautiful” code. This in and of itself is a difference between the academic environment versus the professional environment. It's an entirely different mentality and we're asking an entirely different question to arrive at a decision versus the academic environment.

In the end, we're mostly concerned with how quickly we can turn a project, how re-usable the code is, and whether the code is something we can maintain moving forward. Sometimes that means using procedural code. Sometimes that means using object-oriented code. So, ultimately, this ends up being a case where we can use the classic consultant answer: “It depends."

A Broader Perspective

Another goal of the presentation was to give students a glimpse of not only specific concepts, but also the bigger picture. The 1,000 foot view, if you will. So what is the key driver to successful decision making then?

In my view, it comes down to asking a simple, yet immensely powerful question: "What is the business need?"

If you find this question to be of value to you, you can actually thank Sara Deschner, an instructor at UW-Whitewater. She’s the one who introduced me to this idea, and I must say it comes in handy quite often. It seems so obvious, but it's so often overlooked. If you’re a student studying at UW-Whitewater, interested in technology, and have the opportunity to take a class with Sara, do so. It’ll be well worth your time.

By relying on this question to determine what direction to take a project, the implication is that the business goals and needs should drive the decision of what coding style the project should be - moreso than even a programmer's preference (within reason: the programmer has to know the language otherwise that is irrelevant).

Of course, this isn't to say that there are not other things to consider here as well, but the point is that when you're working in a business environment, the business needs should drive the project – not necessarily the programmer’s preference.

Paradigm Shift

Admittedly, that is not always an easy paradigm to follow as a programmer. Or as a designer. Or as a marketer. Or as a computer geek. But such is the reality of working in a business. Business comes first. At least if you want to stay in business.

If you’re having trouble digesting that, consider this fact that I remind myself of quite often:

I love working at Oreative Design Studio, and I want Ocreative to be around for a long time.

Now apply yourself to this situation. If you end up working somewhere, and you love where you work, applying a business-first mentality will help ensure that you’re making logical decisions based upon the business needs instead of personal agendas, emotions, or preferences. In turn, this will contribute to ensuring that the company you work for is solvent.

This isn’t to say that the business needs should quench your passion. In fact, it should be just the opposite. I’ve found at Ocreative that the more clear our business processes, goals, and needs are defined, the more free we are to be creative.

A Paradox

That's the paradox of putting business first: we've found that business needs actually DRIVE creativity. You read that correctly. It doesn’t seem logical, but it seems that when the business is running smoothly and efficiently, your creativity and skills will take care of the rest.

If that doesn’t excite you, and it isn't enough of a reason to consider business needs before making a decision, I don't know what is.

Your Findings

I'm interested in hearing what your views are on this subject. These are some ideas I have, but maybe there is something I have not considered.

Do you feel that putting business needs ahead of the creative process, and allowing business needs to drive decision making, is a good idea? Why or why not?

I await your responses!

AP Stylebook Changes E-mail to Email - A Welcomed Change!

2011-03-22T12:09:00-05:00

The AP Stylebook has changed E-mail to just email, without the hyphen in the middle! This is a welcomed change, since I've typed it that way for years. At least now, I won't have spell checker point that mistake anymore!

The announcement was first made on Twitter by @apstylebook on March 18th. In the new 2011 edition, you'll also see updates to smartphone and cellphone, both without spaces between the words. Late last year, they announced another favorite change of mine -- the word web site would evolve to website, one word.

If you're like me, you'll be happy to nab a copy of the 2011 AP Stylebook, which has these new changes along with many others. Look for it on their website in May - apstylebook.com.

See Ocreative at the Lake Country Community Fest!

2011-03-18T00:44:00-05:00

On Saturday, March 19, 2011, the Lake Country Community Fest (LCCF), presented by the Delafield Chamber of Commerce and Hartland Chamber of Commerce, will be held for the 7th year at Arrowhead High School in Hartland, Wisconsin. The LCCF brings together over 180 exhibitors, local food vendors, entertainment and a health fair. New entertainment this year includes an exciting mascot parade featuring the Milwaukee Brewers Baseball Club's 5 Famous Racing Sausages^TM.

We are very excited to have the opportunity to be a corporate sponsor of the community festival this year. On Saturday (10am - 3pm), we will be at booth #6. It's a chance to meet and greet our staff, learn about services and have a great time at the festival!

Find out more on the event website: LakeCountryCommunityFest.com.

Hackathons and 21st Century Programmers

2010-12-21T13:13:00-06:00

Let's start with square one: What on earth is a Hackathon?

To put it simply: a Hackathon is collective code creation or collective programming.

As a web developer (or web programmer, if you prefer), I find this concept to be very exciting. Besides being a fun learning experience for programmers and an efficient way to develop an application rapidly, in my view, these events provide another benefit. Events like Hacakthons help to question what I believe to be some incorrect notions about the "typical" present-day programmer.

Incorrect Notions?

One incorrect notion that I believe Hackathons question is the notion that programmers are corner-dwelling, socially awkward introverts.

While I have no doubt that there are computer programmers out there who fit this description, I wonder just how many "introverted corner-dwellers" really exist?

From a personal standpoint, I've met more programmers that are social, have a bustling personality, and don't fit the supposed stereotype all that well. While I realize that this evidence is anecdotal and not scientific in the least, it would seem that Hackathons and introverted programmers go together like oil and water. Yet lots of programmers show up to Hackathons all over the country.

Moreover, from my perspective, present-day programming is generally a collaborative effort that not only requires socialization and collaboration - it thrives on it! Hackathons certainly support this idea as well - it's amazing the synergy that can be developed when working in a group on a coding project.

While it's all well and good to describe to you what a Hackathon is and why I believe it has the power to change perceptions about programmers, it's probably better to have a concrete example of a Hackathon so you can get an idea of what these events are all about.

UWW Hackathon - ( uwwhackathon.com )

On Saturday, December 4, 2010, I was in attendance of the first-ever UWW Hackathon. Held at Timothy J. Hyland Hall, the new business building at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (my alma mater), the Hackathon was 18 hours of collective-coding genius.

At the Hackathon, I was joined by the Principal and Co-Owner of Ocreative Design Studio, Matt Koeppel. While neither of us participated in any of the programming, we did enjoy the event immensely in our role as judges.

Most impressively, I found that many of the students who attended the event had some very unique and innovative ideas. Students created everything from useful calculators and mapping applications to full-fledged iPhone apps and games - all in 18 hours. The variety and depth of the projects attempted was noteworthy and impressive - especially given the time-frame. It was refreshing and reassuring to see the level of socialization amongst the students and obvious collaborative efforts going on with code.

Encore!

Major kudos to UWW Hackathon organizer and developer Jonathan Stassen (jStassen.com) for pulling off such a great event - especially in such a short amount of time.

From all appearances, I believe the UWW Hackathon was a huge success, and I am looking forward to attending the next event soon.

Importantly, I'd also have to say that none of the folks who participated seemed to be introverted to the point that is commonly stereotyped. Granted, you could argue that the introverts avoided me ...but how do I truly know?

And, for that very reason, I'm encouraging you to chime in ...

What's your take?

I'm interested to hear your perceptions and opinions on the "typical" 21st century programmer. While every programmer is unique and should be judged individually, what kind of trends, if any, do you notice about programmers as a whole these days?

Are most of the programmers you encounter introverted or extroverted? Does it depend on the setting they're in? What kind of interactions are required of programmers you've met?

If you're a programmer yourself, what kind of perception do you think you give off from a personality standpoint? Do you interact with others on a regular basis? If so, how? Do you feel that collaboration is an important part of programming? Why or why not?

Of course, the questions can go on and on. That's part of the fun. Let's make this into an interesting discussion and see what kinds of conclusions (if any), we can draw.

Now, don't be shy. (Not that I'm worried ... )

New website launches for Ocreative!

2010-11-09T23:38:00-06:00

On behalf of all of us here at Ocreative Design Studio, I can proudly say, we are pleased to have launched our new website today!

We rebuilt the entire site from square one, spending countless hours on design, revisions, group critiques and development. Not only does the front-end of the site look different, but so does the back-end management of the website. For quite some time, we have been wanting to move from our old style Content Management System (CMS) onto our new CMS, which is more robust, feature loaded and custom to fit our needs today. In addition to that, it's faster and more flexible, making it easier for our whole team to manage the site, add to the portfolio, update blog articles and more!

As Ocreative Design Studio continues to expand our offering to clients, we hope this site will provide a showcase for our print design, web design, web development, and logo/branding work. Please feel free to comment below, e-mail us your personal feedback or contact us for any project inquiries.

About Ocreative Design Studio

Ocreative Design Studio (www.ocreativedesign.com) is a vibrant creative agency committed to designing outstanding creative experiences that inspire consumers through compelling online and print communications. Ocreative Design Studio develops creative and innovative brand identity, print, and interactive, user-focused websites, ensuring target audiences are vitally connected to every facet of its clients' brands. For project inquiries, please call Matt Koeppel (contact@ocreativedesign.com) at 262-567-1164.

How to Manage All of Your Social Media Accounts

2010-09-08T07:15:00-05:00

When people are stepping into social media, sometimes people can feel overwhelmed with how to get started, or how to keep on track and even showing concern over the time involved in managing all of the accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, etc). My best advice is to set up an account with a program like Hootsuite. It's online, has a mobile app for the iPhone (others coming soon), and is plain just an easy way to manage all of the accounts. Some of my favorite features include:

Schedule updates: Set posts to display immediately or in the future
Target and track links and see the results in Real Time Stats.
Monitor Keywords to build leads, find more people to follow (make connections) and overall create a listening station about mentions of your company.
Custom interface with team collaboration
It integrates with Google Analytics (your website stats) so you can see how your Tweets or message have affected your website traffic.
It let's you know how many people have clicked on the links that you have posted.
It's FREE and had advanced paid accounts so try it out.

Questions:

If you have questions or comments, feel free to email me at: andrea@ocreativedesign.com.

Representing Yourself on Social Media Platforms

2010-08-27T08:01:00-05:00

Last week, we talked about how social media was just a fancy name for "ways to talk to people." The conversation continues here with our tips on finding where your customers are, representing your business on Facebook, Twitter, and Linked-In and what the keep in mind when posting messages.

“Find the fish. Go where the fish are.”

Ask yourself these questions: What platform (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) are they using the most? What they are most comfortable with? Be there.

Make every single community (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) it’s own unique thing. Consider the audience on each and determine if what you are posting is appropriate to share on all communities or just one. Remember, it’s easier to sell and gain knowledge when you are on the inside track with people in your network. That’s why it’s important to start making connections. Invest time to build the community but put the quality time in your website to drive people to your content, your company, your brand.

Representing Yourself on Social Media Platforms

Engage in conversation — That’s huge!
Don’t live entirely out on these social media sites. Bring your customers back to your website (where all of your information lives). Use the social media platforms to use it, share it. (Like a magnet)
Most people don’t want to befriend a company, they want to befriend a person.
Show your personality and be approachable.
Take photos and attached to your website or Flicker account and link those to posts on Facebook or Twitter. It helps to give a visual of what you are talking about and helps to draws attention to your post.
Don’t promote too aggressively.

With all Social Media, remember:

Take time. Budget your time. Set aside a specific amount of time each day.
Be remarkable.
Be consistent.
Be supportive and helpful.
Be a resource.
Make yourself indispensable. Be a leader in your industry.
HAVE FUN!
Remember, social media is just people. You are not marketing to followers or fans, you are marketing to
people. Listen, engage, respond.

Questions:

If you have questions or comments, feel free to email me at: andrea@ocreativedesign.com.

Benefits of Using Social Media

2010-08-20T11:45:00-05:00

Social Media is just a fancy name for, ‘ways to talk to people.’ It’s about building community. So, let's first get familiar with the three social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter and Linked-In and the benefits of each one.


400 million registered users. Most popular. Typically more personal Casual conversations People connect with businesses because they want to know more about them and be part of news, They are interested in being the first to know about special deals and events happening.	People use for news People are very vocal. They use it to talk about good/bad experiences Start conversations. Conversations sometimes harder, it’s more like reading headlines and a constant flow of information. Follow people you are interested in. Quality not quantity. Use can use it for research to find out what people are talking about.	The more ‘professional’ social network Business/Career minded people. Join groups to find like minded people and participate in discussions. Learning/teaching environment. People share their expertise.

Benefits of Using Social Media

Social media in the general sense has many benefits from being a direct link to customers, educating yourself and gaining insight, lead generation, and increasing traffic to your website.

Connect: It's a direct link to your client base. You engage your customers with conversation and listen for their reply. Your customers can easily interact with your company. A two way conversation.
Education: Learn about your customers and their clients. See what types of people your customers are and what their interests are.
Insight: See what people are talking about that relates to your industry. See what they're linking to and mentioning.
Lead generation and networking: Monitor keywords (create a listening station about what people are saying), follow people/companies of interest and build a network on each social media platform.
Traffic: It's good for your website analytics or stats. Twitter comments indexed with search engines to help to increase the overall search engine ranking strategy.

Next week Friday, August 27th, we'll be continuing part 2 of this discussion. If you have questions or comments, feel free to email me at: andrea@ocreativedesign.com.

Ocreative Attending unGEEKED Elite - Nat'l Social Media, Marketing and Branding Open Forum

2010-05-07T10:00:00-05:00

Ocreative Design Studio is excited to announce that Andrea Koeppel, Principal at Ocreative Design Studio, will be attending unGeekedElite - National Social Media, Marketing and Branding Open Forum with Chris Brogan, Jason Falls, Olivier Blanchard and Scott Stratten. The event will be held from Thursday, May 13, 2010 to Saturday, May 15, 2010 at The University Club in Milwaukee.

Eight Nationally Recognized Early Adopters of Social Media will be featured including:

• Olivier Blanchard - The Brand Builder and Red Chair Group
• Jason Falls - Social Media Explorer - Marketing and PR
• Dan Schawbel - Personal Branding Guru, Author, Columnist for Business Week
• Sally Hogshead - Author, Marketing Consultant and CBS and NYT Opt In
• Visible Technologies - Social Media Monitoring and CRM
• Chris Brogan - Best Selling Author, Trust Agents and Social Media Guru
• Hubspot - Inbound and Outbound Marketing Strategist and Experts
• Scott Stratten - Marketing Guru and Consultant

unGEEKING is the widespread adoption of trends, strategies, and tools that allow us to enhance and embrace internal and external marketing campaigns, enhance customer service, strategize effective sales efforts, and develop better PR campaigns. This nationally-focused event will share a wealth of knowledge, tools and best practices in all those areas and more.

For more information, check out the unGeekedElite Event page.

Understanding Google Analytics - Your Website Traffic Report

2010-04-20T15:35:00-05:00

We are often asked, "How do I understand what is going on in my Google Analytics report that I am getting each month? or "What are the numbers that I should really be paying attention to?"

The traffic reports from Google Analytics are a great way to learn more and understand the customers who are on your website and can also help us (and you!) understand how we can improve your website and generate more leads and sales.

The above video is a great visual tutorial directly from Google. As we move on, I will be sharing some definitions of the basic metrics, key reports to keep an eye on, and some of my favorite reporting tools from Google Analytics.

Let's start by logging into Google Analytics. Visit http://www.google.com/analytics and login with your username and password. If you need help with your username and password and are a client whom we just set up the account for, please contact Ocreative Design Studio for help.

The first report that you will see when you enter into Google Analytics is the 'Dashboard' with the top visual being a line graph with each week measured out. If you put your mouse on the blue dots within the graph, you will see the number of visitors for that particular day (which in itself can be impressive and quickly informative).

Under the line graph of traffic, at the top of the report, you will see a section called Site Usage (the first gray horizontal bar), which contains the following metrics:

Visits: The number of visits to your site during a given time period -- Default time period is 30 days (I will tell you how to change this date range further down in this article).
Pageviews: The number of pages the total number of visitors viewed.
Pages/Visit: The average visit in terms of page views. Meaning that it is the average number of pages a visitor viewed before leaving your website.
Bounce Rate: The percentage of people who only visited one page on your site before they "bounced" somewhere else. (If this number is high, it could mean that many people get to your website and realize that it is not what they are looking for (visually or content wise) or if it is a blog page often people come to read the blog and leave. Alternatively, it may represent that your site is difficult to navigate or understand for new visitors.). I would consider a good bounce rate to be under 40% but ideally I would strive for under 25%. If your bounce rate is above 50% I would consider revisiting the site with either new graphics, content or revised search engine optimization.
Avg. Time on Site: The average amount of time a visitor spends at your website during a single visit.
% of New Visits: The percentage of new visitors to your website as compared to all visitors. If the number is high, you are receiving lots of new traffic (or it could be that you just implemented a new Pay-Per-Click program or that Google Analytics was recently installed on your site), if the number is a low percentage, it may be because you are receiving repeat visits (but why would anyone complain about people coming back to your site multiple times!?).

Diving Deeper into Understanding Google Analytics

The Dashboard information gives a great snapshot of how you're ranked with visitors over the last month. The great thing about Google Analytics is that you delve deeper (to what seems like endless metrics) into each piece to understand and target your traffic even further. A few other reports that I keep a regular eye on include: Visitor Report, Traffic Sources, Keywords, Content Overview.

Visitor Report. One of the key numbers here is the Absolute Unique Visitors. This number counts visitors to your website (counting each visitor only once in the selected date range).
Traffic Sources. You will see a quick metric of this report on the Dashboard page (the blue, red and green pie chart), however, you can get a more in-depth report by click on ‘Traffic Sources' in the left menu. This page gives you the percentage breakdown of traffic from Search Engines (and what percentage came from each search engine), traffic from Referring Site (perhaps which clients are your cheerleaders or if you were mentioned in an article or directory), and Direct Traffic (the people who knew your domain name and typed it in specifically to reach your site).
Keywords. Under the left menu item 'Traffic Sources' is a page for 'Keywords'. Knowing what keywords your visitors are using to find you can help you further develop your content and target your market and tell you how long the average visitor spent on the site giving the keyword they used to come into the website. It can also help you determine if a keyword is too broad (and users are not finding what they thought they would from the keyword).
Content Overview. Under the left menu is 'Content.' The overview page can tell you what pages people came into your site on (Entrance Paths), what keywords landed them on those pages (Entrance Keywords), what your top pages are (Top Content) and one of my favorites Click Patterns.

A Few of My Favorite Reports

Three of my favorite reports include: Site Overlay, Map Overlay and changing the reporting dates for comparison.

Click Patterns - Site Overlay. This is really one of my favorite features of Google Analytics -- particularly because I am a visual person. What this feature does is it opens up your website and overlays percentages over to top of all the links on your site. This way you can visually see how visitors are moving through your site. For example, if you are on your home page, you will know that 35% of people visit the 'About Us' page next and 15% of people go from the home page directly to the 'Contact Us' page. It is very interesting to see and I love that you can follow the direction from your users on your site and gather information about how you can make 'less attractive page' become a 'more attractive page.'
Map Overlay. This is another cool visual of Google Analytics. With each click on the map, you can see where your traffic is coming from country to state to city -- even what keywords your visitors came in on for each city! Maybe you will find out that most of your customers are visiting your site from Chicago, Illinois versus Milwaukee, Wisconsin as you originally thought! You can find out where your website visitors are coming from using the Map Overlay.
Changing the Reporting Dates. The default setting that Google Analytics shows is 30 days of activity. You can change this setting and compare multiple date ranges by clicking on the date range box found in the upper right corner of the each report and changing the ‘comparison' drop down from ‘site' to ‘date range.' Once you have a date range selected you will see that the past history is green and the current history is blue. This gives you a great comparison how your are doing month to month or year to year.

If you have any further questions or want more info about Google Analytics, please don't hesitate to contact me, Andrea Koeppel, directly at andrea@ocreativedesign.com or leave a comment below for discussion.

About Ocreative Design Studio

Ocreative Design Studio (www.ocreativedesign.com) is a vibrant creative agency committed to designing outstanding creative experiences that inspire consumers through compelling online and print communications. Ocreative Design Studio develops creative and innovative brand identity, print, and interactive, user-focused websites, ensuring target audiences are vitally connected to every facet of its clients' brands. For inquiries, please call Matt Koeppel (contact@ocreativedesign.com) at 262-567-1164.

Surges in Mobile Marketing, Social Media and Mobile Apps for Businesses

2010-04-08T08:00:00-05:00

The mobile market is quickly growing. Are businesses thinking about preparing, adapting and pro-actively working their businesses for this accelerated growth or if they have even considered it as part of their overall business model? Technology is without a doubt, changing quickly, but are our businesses keeping up or staying ahead?

In 2010, you will see more companies move from testing the waters with Facebook pages and blogs to treating social media as a mature channel and serious part of their budgets (Pepsi's is spending 20 million on social media campaign), with formal listening and measurements plans. It's more than just getting leads, it's about interacting with customers on a one-to-one level, typically through their mobile device – whether through your companies mobile website, social media outlets or mobile apps for smart phones like the iPhone or Android. Social media and mobile marketing is huge (Mobile App Market to Surge to $17.5 Billion by 2012 [STUDY]), so is assessing social media networks on their mobile phones. There are more than 100 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices.

Mobile Market for Smart Phones Growing!

Two weeks ago, I read a stat that said that 87.4% of the U.S. population are cell phone subscribers with 16% (42.7 million people in the U.S.) having smart phones (iPhone, Android, etc) and 50% of the cell phone subscribers saying they were going to purchase smart phones in the next year! An amazing growing stat for the growing mobile market! (comScore Reports January 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share).

Does your Business have a Mobile Friendly Version of Your Website?

To know more about any of these services, or if you would like assistance with your social media campaign or mobile website, email us at contact@ocreativedesign.com or call 262-567-1164 to set up an appointment with Ocreative Design Studio.

Social Media and Mobile Marketing is a Reality; Is Your Business Ready?

2010-03-19T07:23:00-05:00

Social media and mobile marketing are growing at an accelerated rate. It is not a fad or a trend; it's a reality. Forrester Research predicted huge growth for social media marketing, revealing that mobile marketing and social media will be the hottest areas for growth. They were right.

This Week's Social Media Activity Will Have a Substantial Effect on Business Marketing in 2010

This week has been an exciting week for social media, Twitter announced on Monday (March 15th) it's new set of frameworks for adding this Twitter experience anywhere on the web called Anywhere (See announcement)

The next day (March 16th) social networking website Facebook has surpassed the search engine Google in popularity, although the margin is slim.

The following day (March 17th), Foursquare added almost 100,000 users in 10 days. Meanwhile, it continues to shatter its own daily usage (check-in) records. Foursquare, is a location-based network that combines locations with Twitter like status updates (which can post on your Twitter page or Facebook page). This allows you to update you status, and connect with friends online and in real life by meeting up at locations. A partnership with BravoTV places local restaurant recommendations within the app, and even gave it a TV Ad. Keep in mind, Foursquare is only one year old!

What's great about Foursquare for businesses is that you know who your customers are and when they are in your store, restaurant or location. From this, you can post specials, which can start viral marketing and encourage real time interaction with customers.

Surges in Mobile Marketing, Social Media and Mobile Apps for Businesses:
Interacting with Customers on a One-To-One Mobile Market

Ocreative attended the 2010 Wisconsin Governor's Conference on Tourism in Milwaukee where the focus was on the traditions, trends and transitions of tourism in Wisconsin. It got me thinking about how our businesses, and ones that are tourism related, are preparing, adapting and pro-actively working their businesses for this accelerated growth or if they have even considered it as part of their overall business model? Technology is without a doubt, changing quickly, but are our businesses keeping up?

Mobile Market for Smart Phones Growing!

I just read a stat that said that 87.4% of the U.S. population are cell phone subscribers with 16% (42.7 million people in the U.S.) having smart phones (iPhone, Android, etc) and 50% of the cell phone subscribers saying they were going to purchase smart phones in the next year! An amazing growing stat for the growing mobile market! (comScore Reports January 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share).

To know more about any of these services, or if you would like assistance with your social media campaign, email us at contact@ocreativedesign.com or call 262-567-1164 to set up an appointment with Ocreative Design Studio.

About Ocreative Design Studio
Ocreative Design Studio (www.ocreativedesign.com) is a vibrant creative agency committed to designing outstanding creative experiences that inspire consumers through compelling online and print communications. Ocreative Design Studio develops creative and innovative brand identity, print, and interactive, user-focused websites, ensuring target audiences are vitally connected to every facet of its clients' brands. For inquiries, please call Andrea Koeppel (contact@ocreativedesign.com) at 262-567-1164.

Focus Local, Spend Less and Increase Qualified Leads

2009-11-07T09:12:00-06:00

Are the majority of your customers within 50 miles of your business location? Do you prefer to work with local customers or businesses? Do you want to increase the number of local customers doing business with you? I'm guessing you just answered "Yes" at least twice and most likely three times. Yet, why do you spend all your efforts marketing your website to the entire world? Why not focus your efforts on your local audience? There are several positive reasons to market local:

Travel less to do business.
If you have a storefront where you are selling products, local customers are most likely to be the ones driving to your location. If you provide a professional service, there is less distance required for meetings or service calls. Less travel means less gas and thus fewer expenses. By being a local business you now become convenient as well.

Build a local awareness of your company, products and services.
In a more local target audience, it is much easier to build brand awareness. People talk all the time. Why not have them talk about you? Get involved locally through Chambers of Commerce or other business organizations. Become a locally renowned business that everyone knows about. When a potential customer is in need of your services/products you want to be the first name to come to their mind.

Lower your advertising costs.
If you are advertising local, there are several ways to save on advertising. A smaller audience typically will cost you less. Your local Chamber of Commerce is a great way to advertise to other businesses if you are a B2B company. If you are doing paid advertising online with Google or Yahoo, localized keywords are much less expensive (ie. auto mechanic vs Brookfield auto mechanic).

Less Competition.
When you compete on a national or global scale, you are potentially competing against thousands or even millions of other businesses offering the same products/services you have. Why not compete locally instead against a handful of other local companies- lowering your competition and raising the potential of your website being listed at the top of search engine results.

Spend a little time and think about who your ideal client would be. Someone local who knows you already? Someone who will speak highly of you to other potential (local) customers? Someone who isn't just price shopping the web but looking for a long-term business relationship?

5 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Right for Your Business

2009-11-04T21:26:00-06:00

I have been seeing more and more of 'How to use: LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter' types of classes pop up around the area. Is it useful? Well, that depends on how tech savvy you are, how new you are to searching on the Internet and how much time you are willing to invest in learning something new. But, why would you want to do it in the first place? Well, here are five reasons why social media marketing is right for your business.

• Social media is an 'immediate message tool' - I think that the most important part of any social networking site for a business is to get your message out quickly -- whether you have a new product, upcoming sale or promotion or just something that is interesting and going on internally within your business. People long to know more about the people/companies that they are doing business with. It's surprising how much time people spend researching a company before buying from them. Consumers are doing their homework -- reading blogs, user reviews, posting and reading comments about a product, reading a company's website, etc. For example, an $11 book on Amazon (The Reader: A novel (Paperback)) has received over 700 customer reviews!

• The Internet is a tool to get things done. - Use the tool to your advantage to communicate with customers through email marketing, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blog postings to your website, enabling product reviews (good and bad can be good for your product to help you understand potential flaws and learn more about your customers), research, sharing your product knowledge and so much more!

• Social media is also a tool; learn to use it! - A LinkedIn or Social Networking class may be useful to introduce you to these "immediate message tools" but it is true that it is personal to how a business uses that information to benefit and compliment existing marketing messages. A business should assess various social media outlets and determine what is most appropriate for your business, industry and target audience. Need help assessing the benefits for your businesses involvement with social media? Call on social media marketing expert Ocreative Design Studio.

• Social media relates to search engines rankings - Social networks are essentially search engines. It is likely a post that you make to Twitter will end up in a Google search for your company. This is a good thing. It shows that your website is popular especially if people Retweet or “RT” (The highest compliment you can get from Twitter users by sharing your post or what you said with their own followers or contacts). This external linking will boost the popularity of your website with a higher PageRank and a lower Alexa Rank (Each site across the internet has an Alexa Rank, the lower the number the better, which is an aggregate of the last three months of traffic data).

• Listen, Respond, Resolve - If you customer is unhappy with a product and complains about it on Twitter and you happen to be monitoring your business name on Twitter, you have an unbelievable opportunity to resolve the issue and retain that customer. Case in point, take any of the big box corporations, cable companies, phone companies etc, they are all monitoring their name on the social networking sites. In fact, most of the big box stores have at least 2+ people dedicated to monitoring these sites, on a full-time basis. Medium and small companies are monitoring it too, or should be monitoring it, for customer comments in order to resolve any customer issues -- neutralize any negatives, reinforce the positives.

• Commit. Then determine your ROI - One thing that is difficult about social media is that it is additive - with each post, each touch point, you are building credibility, building your following and building a history. This continuous effort can make it difficult to determine your ROI. Each business is different; each post quality is different so no company is the same. The best move, in my opinion, is determine how much time you can invest and invest it. Build up your online presence through social media and form an opinion a year from now as to how successful your commitment was.

The world is immediate; can your business afford not to participate?

With the world literally at your fingertips, it is important to become a part of it (like you already are by reading this blog article). Building your business is about making touch points and Social Marketing is one of the many touch point opportunities you may have with both potential and current customers -- one that can give you direct contact to a world of customers in a matter of minutes! Now, that is power; harness it and use it for your business!

A Happy Halloween Video Treat from Ocreative!

2009-10-27T08:00:00-05:00

Click play below to watch our team do the Monster Mash! Happy Halloween!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

See Ocreative at the Oconomowoc Community Harvest on October 11th

2009-09-21T08:00:00-05:00

At Ocreative Design Studio, we feel it is important to be solid and rooted in your community. The Oconomowoc Community Harvest will be held on Sunday, October 11th from 11am to 4pm at the Oconomowoc High School. We welcome you to this great event to cruise around and visit Ocreative's Platinum Sponsor table. This year's event will allow consumers to taste foods from Oconomowoc, shop local vendors and businesses, be a part of the energy fair and green living, meet and learn more about the various local business tables, enjoy performances, sign up for prizes, drawings, giveaways and much more! For more information, visit the Oconomowoc Area Chamber of Commerce website at http://www.community-harvest.com.

Design and Marketing Fact: Ocreative designed the marketing and promotional materials for the event including flyers, handbills, banners, yard signs, newspaper advertisements and website design and maintenance. Keep your eyes on the look-out for these pieces to be distributed throughout the city and surrounding areas this week. If you would like some informational promotion postcards to display at your storefront, please contact Andrea Koeppel at andrea@ocreativedesign.com.

Mom, I think this website is stale!

2009-09-17T14:11:00-05:00

There's nothing worse than an outdated website that hasn't been updated in months, or worse... years. Your average web surfer can usually pick up on this. Worse though are search engines which can spot outdated content from miles away. Search engines are extensive systems developed and programmed to seek out websites, index the data and information contained there and then continue to monitor when and how often that information changes. More than likely, Google knows the date and details of the last website change better than the owner of the website themselves.

How to keep it Fresh!

Below are a few ideas that provide you the power and control to update your website yourself and ensure your content is Fresh.

Content Management System
A content management system puts you in the driver's seat and in charge of updating your own content, the direction it goes and the speed at which it changes.

Blog
Blogs are an informal method of communicating directly with your audience. It has become a socially accepted format of sharing information, thoughts and ideas on the web. Being informal means you don't need to be a seasoned writer, as long as the information you are writing about is useful or interesting.

Event Calendars
Businesses and organizations which are involved with the public and public events can benefit from an event calendar. It is a positive way to keep people returning to your site to see what events are happening or coming up.

News Headlines
Providing your audience with information is key. A news headline can range from something business related to interesting social or personal topics.

Project Gallery
What better way to show off the work you do. If you are in a business producing any type of product, why not show off the latest and greatest? Simply add new projects with text and photos to your website as they are completed. If you don't have photos, even a testimonial or case study would work.

Photo Galleries
Organizations or businesses providing leisure activities may build photo galleries of their events. These galleries can promote traffic from both current members/patrons along with potential new individuals.

Ocreative Unveils Three New Websites in July

2009-08-05T08:00:00-05:00

July was a busy month at Ocreative Design Studio! Not only have we been working away on graphic design and identity projects, we've also unveiled three new websites! During July, we launched three exciting new websites including:

Lange Enterprises - http://www.911signs.com

Launched on July 8th, Lange Enterprises is a 3rd generation family-owned and operated business providing products and services relating to the traffic control industry which include traffic signs, hardware and sign related products.

D'Agostino Designs - http://www.dagostinodesigns.com

Launched on July 23rd, Mary D’Agostino of D’Agostino Designs offers full-service expert interior decorating consultations for enhancing home décor from the inside and out.

Milwaukee County Federated Library System - http://www.mcfls.org

Launched on July 31st, the Milwaukee County Federated Library System (MCFLS) is primarily a state-funded organization, which functions under Wisconsin statutes to improve access to library services throughout Milwaukee County.

We also made significant improvements and enhancements to DirtPail.com

For further information please contact:
Ocreative Design Studio
contact@ocreativedesign.com.

What is Web Design?

2009-06-22T08:00:00-05:00

At Ocreative Design Studio our workload divides fairly evenly between printed graphic design work and digital website design work. However, in our years, we have not found a definition that we felt truly defined the work that we do. Recently, I came across an article by Jeffrey Zeldman who, in my opinion, described it quite well. Mr. Zeldman said, "Web design is the creation of digital environment that facilitate and encourage human activity; reflect or adapt to individual voices and content; and change gracefully over time while always retaining their identity."

Getting started with Email Marketing

2009-05-13T11:02:00-05:00

Email marketing is growing in popularity due to the 'green' qualities, the thorough reporting features and the sheer ease of use. For some a drawback can be getting ideas on how to grow the contact list and make new connections. We can turn that negative into a positive with a little creative thinking. Below are two articles, which I have found to give helpful ideas applicable to all types of business and non-profits regarding building their mailing list using incentives and social media networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

For other ideas on email marketing or for information on how we can help your business get started, please contact Andrea Koeppel at Ocreative Design Studio for a complimentary consultation.

A Little Something Extra

Mailing list incentives can be used by all organizations

by Ron Cates, Constant Contact Development Director, Southwest Region

We'd all like to think that all it takes to get someone interested in learning more about a nonprofit or another organization is a charitable nature. But sometimes it takes more than that to entice someone to join your mailing list or become a supporter.

Of course, when you don't sell something tangible -- products or food, for example -- you can't offer a two-for-one special or a percentage off. The good news is that even if you're a service business, there are ways to build your mailing list by offering something extra to a potential subscriber.

[Read more]

Build Your Email List on Social Media Sites

Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn offer new ways to find subscribers

by Martin Lieberman, Constant Contact Managing Editor

Social media sites offer exciting new ways to showcase your newsletter content and invite people to sign up for your email list. But it's not about adding your voice to the din just for the sake of increasing exposure. It is about making new connections.

The key is demonstrating that you have valuable content to share with new subscribers and then turning those connections into customer relationships -- and additions to your mailing list.

[Read more]

Goodsearch.com : Searching the Web; Giving to Charitable Organizations

2009-03-14T12:25:00-05:00

As I was reading today on on of our client's blogs, TYME OUT Youth Center in Nashotah Wisconsin, I noticed that they had added a search to GoodSearch.com on the pages of their website. Being the investigative person that I am, I inquired to learn more and I was impressed! Users of GoodSearch can select which charities benefit from their search of the web and they can also see how much money and searches have been performed on behalf of each charity. It's a very interesting concept!

So go forth and search the web using GoodSearch (and give to TYME OUT Youth Center)

More about Goodsearch.com
GoodSearch is a Yahoo-powered search engine that donates 50% of its revenue, about a penny per search, to listed American charities and schools designated by its users. The money donated comes from the site's advertisers. According to the company, as of March 2009 more than 77,000 non-profits are participating in the program and 100 new organizations register daily.[1]

References:

[1] (Info about GoodSearch.com is from Wikipedia - Click to learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoodSearch)

Subject lines are important in email marketing

2009-03-11T09:21:00-05:00

As i was opening my email today, I came across an email from Constant Contact and it made me think about why I open some emails and flag others for follow up later on. Thinking about this idea and thinking about it from your customers' perspective is a great way to improve your email marketing open rate (getting your customers to open a message from you). You have three seconds to make an impression and get them to decide to read further.

Below are two articles from Constant Contact that i would like to share:

Subject Lines that Click: the 2-2-2 Principle by Julie Niehoff

Six Tips for Writing Better Subject Lines by Martin Lieberman

Enjoy!

Smart phone websites: Get your business ready!

2009-03-05T12:00:00-06:00

Mobile consumers expect a good Internet experience. They expect information about your company to be convenient, easily discoverable and they trust surfing the web on their phones.

If you haven't thought about creating an internet version of your website for smart phones such as the iPhone or Moto Q then now is the time to start. Increase customer satisfaction and re-engage customers in mobile internet with positive user experience.

Why doesn't your current 'desktop' website work (or look good) on a mobile phone? Most common reasons are: 1) ill-fitting and complex graphics; 2) Slow access; 3) Difficult Navigation; and 4) Frames.

Clear trends are emerging. Research shows that the mobile internet will be bigger and have more reach than fixed internet. Mobile users are especially large in non-us markets --93%! Four mobile phones are sold to every one PC today! 25% of paid internet subscribers use thier mobile phone as thier primary access (IPSOS) with 1.3 Billion people connecting!

How do you become a part of the mobile internet world? Purchase a .mobi domain from Ocreative Design Studio, contact us to register for you or register your .mobi domain yourself. Your next step is to talk to Ocreative about designing a smart phone version of your website!

Get more info about the .mobi domain.

.mobi: the domain that says “internet made mobile”

.mobi is the first and only Internet address specifically designed for the mobile. It works on any phone on any network anywhere in the world.

Pigs with lipstick are still pigs

2009-02-23T08:00:00-06:00

So, I hear you're ready. You're ready to take the plunge.

You've allocated your budget, you've thoroughly researched your options, you've consulted with coworkers, and you've even asked your friends for their opinions.

Yet, between the countless websites you've visited, the infinite pages of fluffy copy you've waded through, and the endless, heavy-duty sales pitches you've encountered, you're about ready to say, "ENOUGH ALREADY!" You still can't choose a web site designer.

But the problem definitely isn't you. After all, you've found lots of web site designers. They all offer "web site design services" and most even claim to submit your site to search engines. Fancy schmancy. But, is that truly enough? How do you ensure that the web site designer you choose is going to look out for your business and its needs? Can a single web site designer even adequately do that?

If you're asking those questions, you probably need more than a web site designer. What you're really looking for is a true solution provider.

While there are thousands of talented web site designers out there, web site designers often stop just there: at the design level. You might get by with just a designer if you're wanting a website to show off the high school glee club, but typical business owners need more power.

Each business has unique business needs in a website. If you believe your business only needs a presence on the web, you may want to re-evaluate your competition. More and more, businesses are using websites as an interactive sales tool for their products and services. The web is much more than it was just a few years ago. Only a true solution provider can provide the kind of services, reliability, and interactivity your business needs to stay a cut above the competition.

Pigs with lipstick are still Pigs

Since many web site designers out there are one-person shows, it's not uncommon for the typical web site designer to produce shortcomings in some area of the final product. This isn't to say all aspects will be horrible - but somewhere, inevitably, there will be a shortcoming.

If it's not the design, it's probably the coding. If it's not the coding, maybe it's the design. If it's not the design and it's not the coding, it's probably search engine optimization. Maybe it's all of the above!

To make matters worse, some "web site designers" do not design at all. Some will resort to out-of-the-box solutions to meet your needs - possibly without your knowledge. Yes, some web site designers will throw a template at your website and charge you for it! Others skimp on the content management system.

They may tell you these templates and systems are sufficient to meet your needs, but are they really meeting your needs? Maybe - but more than likely not.

While a template will likely get you out the door cheaply, it is more than likely a very poor representation of your business. A website should work in harmony with your business' image, and unless your website's design has been made with YOUR business in mind, it's probably not an adequate representation of your company's vision, values, and goals.

Moreover, while "one size fits all" content management systems do not require much development time, these systems cannot possibly account for every system you need. To make matters worse, these often portly content management systems will turn your web server from a lean, mean, web-hosting machine into a slothfully-slow one.

For some web sites out there, the lipstick definitely goes on thick. Real thick. It might even be a pretty shade. But make no mistake: A pig with lipstick is still a pig. Your customers will not be fooled. These web sites are not the answer to your business needs.

If you're still not convinced, consider the advantages of a true solution provider below.

The advantages of a true solution provider:

A true solution provider recognizes the importance of, and provides a full, end-to-end package. Submitting a site to search engines is great - nearly everybody does it. What many people don't realize is that it means nothing if there has not been end-to-end planning from the beginning. Search engine optimization is about more than just keywords. Without the proper design and development choices being made early on, even the best efforts to improve search engine ranking can be futile. A true solution provider knows this and designs and develops accordingly.
A true solution provider has a staff with diverse backgrounds, carefully recruited for maximum effect. That carefully selected staff forms a cohesive whole of end-to-end expertise in web technologies, trends, and design ethos. The true solution provider's staff enjoys internal synergy, which in turn leads to your website's synergy: a website where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A true solution provider never supplies you with out-of-the-box packages that are a poor fit for your business needs.
A true solution providers' capabilities go far beyond the website it is developing for a client. The true solution provider will actively engage in discussions related to the business needs of an organization. Moreover, a true solution provider will develop ways to meet business needs by harnessing the power of the web.

It's your lucky day

If your website designer cannot provide solutions to the areas presented above, you may want to reconsider your choice.

The good news is that if you do decide to switch, you won't have to look far for a true solution provider. You're already here ...

Using Flickr to Promote your Products

2009-02-15T08:12:00-06:00

A great marketing idea for getting your product out to customers using social media....

"Flickr, a photo sharing site, can be a powerful tool for promoting your products. Not only can you upload images of your products, where they can be seen throughout the Flickr website, but you can encourage your customers to participate and socialize with your company and products by uploading and sharing their own images of your products."

What language are you speaking?

2009-02-10T08:00:00-06:00

Certain industries seem to thrive upon developing obscure acronyms, annoying abbreviations, and specialized terms that outsiders are not likely to understand. The use of this specialized language, often referred to as jargon, has the potential to create huge communication problems when business spans across different industries.

Whether you notice it or not, no matter what industry you work in, you probably use jargon every day at work. Jargon doesn't discriminate!

We're certainly not off the hook at Ocreative Design Studio. In fact, professionals in the IT industry (web sector included) are especially notorious for using jargon. I certainly use my fair share: AJAX, PHP, HTML, CSS, CMS, SSH, DNS, MySQL - and, yes, I'm just getting warmed up. While this kind of jargon makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside (it's okay if you don't feel that way), is it appropriate to use this kind of language with a customer?

The answer: Of course not!

Jargon functions best as internal shorthand for industry members. While there is a chance that a customer outside our industry may understand our jargon, is it worth the risk? Is it worth making our customers feel unintelligent if they do not understand our jargon? Probably not.

Don't get me wrong - I understand why people are prone to using jargon with customers. Communication isn't easy, and jargon becomes habitual over time. It's also easier to fall back on what comes "natural" than to critically analyze and practice how to clearly convey complex ideas to customers. Even so, wouldn't it be nice to know that our customers understand us? I think so, and so does MindTools.com.

If you're interested in more information on how to minimize your use of jargon with customers, read the excerpt below from MindTools.com. It gives some great tips on how to identify and bust out of bad jargon habits!

Excerpt from MindTools' article - Jargon Busting:

Jargon Traps

Here are some common uses of jargon. Which ones do you use?

Communicating with others in your field/group
It's okay, within reason, to use jargon for this, but be sure that everyone really does understand. Use jargon when it helps convey specialist information, and avoid it at other times.
Unthinking
People often use jargon simply because they are not thinking - it becomes a (bad) habit. Jargon that's appropriate within you team or specialist group is often unintelligible to outsiders, such as your customers or members of your family.
Trying to impress
Jargon rarely impresses intelligent people. You are more likely to create the impression of "trying to impress" than "being impressive". Others may see it as insincere or irritating.
Distracting from facts or knowledge
Some people drop into jargon when they want hide the truth, lessen the magnitude of something, or make it sound more impressive. This is best avoided as it's sure to be spotted. Experienced businesspeople may reject jargon-ridden communication for this very reason.
Distracting from lack of knowledge
Sometimes it's unintentional but when you're unsure or under pressure, you might give a jargon-filled answer rather than a straight one. Again, it's best to avoid this as it gives a bad impression.
Trying to fit
Using the same language as others is natural when your trying to build rapport, so jargon may have a place here. But beware! Only use jargon that you fully understand, and that you know is understood by everyone in your audience (not just the ones you want to impress.)

Jargon busting

The first step to avoiding unnecessary jargon is to be aware of when you use it. Check through the jargon traps above. Do you tend to fall into any of these? And if so, when?

Perhaps it's when you are in a particular type of meeting, when you're under pressure, or when you are talking with a particular person or group. Perhaps you use company jargon when talking to people outside your organization.

Once you have identified when you tend to use jargon, think about the things you actually say. A good way to do this is to look back at letters, emails, or speeches you have written; or think back to a specific conversation you have had; or even ask someone you know to comment. What specialist words, phrases, expressions, acronyms and abbreviations do you commonly use? Are they necessary and understandable to your intended audience?

The final step is to think about alternatives to the unnecessary jargon you use: Ask yourself what you could say differently to make things clearer. For questions you frequently answer with jargon, practice alternative answers that are as simple and clear as possible.

For the full article, go here: http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/JargonBusting.htm.

Jargon photo courtesy of E!Sharp: http://www.peoplepowerprocess.com/jargon.htm

Market your business through the recession

2009-02-09T21:35:00-06:00

The recession is all around us. Sometimes is difficult to know what you should do with your businesses during these tough economic times. There is a lot of research to show that one should continue marketing their business during a recessions. One could use this analogy:

We are all long distance runners. Now, the runners are faced with a very large hill. Do we keep running and pushing forward or do we stop and give up? We push on. We push ourselves and our businesses up the hill because we need to finish. WE NEED TO SUCCEED. WE NEED TO WIN. Imagine how much easier this could be to push forward with your crowd of loyal customers supporting you.

In order for those customers, your loyal fans, to keep you moving forward, you need to say in contact with them. Find out more about them, what their needs are, and how they are responding during the recession. Then, react and respond to those needs. When economic hard times loom, people tend to retreat back to their homes for family time. Images of extreme sports and adventure will be replaced with images of cozy homes and warm, fuzzy feelings.

If you do need to cut marketing spending, try to maintain frequency of advertisments by shifting from 30-second ads to 15-second ads in radio or from full page ads to 1/2 page ads in magazines or increase the use of direct marketing like e-mail marketing or direct mail.

Gimmicks are out; multi-purpose goods, reliability, durability, safety, and performance are in. Customers will be out shopping for the best deals. You do not need to necessarily cut your prices, but perhaps offer a temporary price promotion, extend credit to long standing customers, or price items in smaller packages.

Most importanly, you need to cement your customers' loyalty to your business. You can't be all things to all people, instead focus on your core company values and invest in getting know your customers. Strong company leadership and dedication to customers is what is going to help you hear the loud cheers to get you get to the finish line.

"When times are good you should advertise, when times are bad you MUST advertise"

2009-01-06T14:30:00-06:00

With all the email newsletters recieved lately, I can't help being constantly reminded of the current state of our economy and that you should start advertising wisely during this recession.

Does one need to be reminded of the necessity to advertise their business? Is smart advertising disregarded in times that are good? Shouldn't all your advertising decisions be smart, no matter what the state of the economy?

Smart advertising spending will help your business maximize it's potential while optimizing your budget. All decisions should be done wisely, measured, and evaluated no matter what business you are in or what the state of the economy is.

Although if you are seeking something to chew on during this recession...Advertising and marketing are staples to any business. The end result of continually focusing on advertising and marketing is simple: when the recession ends, your return on your marketing expendatures will be multiplied. While your competitors cut back their marketing spending, and you maintain yours while making smarter decisions, you increase your voice among your competition and within your community, clients and potential clients. By knowing this, you are already ahead.

Below are some statistics that I've found from research by McGraw-Hill:

Increasing Short and Long Term Sales and Profits.

In a study of U.S. recessions, McGraw-Hill Research analyzed 600 companies covering 16 different SIC industries from 1980 through 1985. The results showed that business-to-business firms that maintained or increased their advertising expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession averaged significantly higher sales growth, both during the recession and for the following three years, than those that eliminated or decreased advertising. By 1985, sales of companies that were aggressive recession advertisers had risen 256% over those that didn't keep up their advertising.

Comparison of Sales & Ad Expenditures

Sales for the companies studied were relatively even before the recession, but varied sharply during and after it. Companies that cut advertising during both of the recessionary years maintained flat sales during the period and only modest sales growth in the following two years. In contrast, the companies that maintained their advertising experienced significant sales growth throughout the four-year period.

In analysis of the 1990-91 recession, Penton Research Services, Coopers & Lybrand, in conjunction with Business Science International, found that better performing businesses focused on a strong marketing program enabling them to solidify their customer base, take business away from less aggressive competitors, and position themselves for future growth during the recovery.

Increasing Market Share.

A recessionary market can provide an opportunity for businesses to build a greater share of market through aggressive advertising. This according to The Strategic Planning Institute of Cambridge, MA. Correspondingly, businesses that reduce media expenditures suffer loss of market share. It was demonstrated that aggressive businesses can accomplish these gains through greater expenditures without reducing short-term profitability.

Comparison of Net Income & Ad Expenditures

Companies that maintained advertising during the recession enjoyed measurably higher net income gains not only during the recession, but even more so, two years after the recession. This in stark contrast to those companies those companies that cut advertising both years and significantly reduced their profits during the recession, and for years following.

Advertising can skillfully reposition a product to take advantage of new buying concerns, give an advertiser a stable image in a chaotic environment, and give an advertiser the chance to dominate the advertising media.

Conclusion

A series of six studies conducted by the research firm of Meldrum & Fewsmith showed conclusively that advertising aggressively during recessions not only increases sales but increases profits. This fact has held true for all post-World War II recessions studied by American Business Press starting in 1949.

One major business-to-business advertiser summed it up best. "When times are good, you should advertise. When times are bad, you must advertise."

Materials compiled from a variety of sources, including America Business Media, McGraw-Hill, Penton Research Services, Coopers & Lybrand and MacTech Magazine.

Green Paper Resources

2008-11-25T08:00:00-06:00

GREEN PAPER RESOURCES
Excerpted from the October 2008 ‘Going Green’ special issue of Graphic Design USA Magazine.

Mohawk: Lost, designed by Abbott Miller at Pentagram, looks at the once-thought-extinct Wollemi pine.
http://www.mohawkpaper.com

Neenah: Two of Neenah’s flagship grades, Classic Linen and Classic Crest, have a makeover and new swatchbooks.
http://www.neenahpaper.com/newclassiclinen/

Finch: Perfect Blend, by Bart Crosby of Crosby Associates, debuts the Premium Blend text and cover grade.
http://www.finchpaper.com

Wausau: Redefining Identity promotes the eco-friendly Royal brand of premium writing, text and cover papers.
http://www.royaltyredefined.com

CTI Paper USA: GLama Natural is the first FSC-certified translucent; a swatchbook features all surfaces and weights.
http://www.thepapermill.com

Smart: Premium cast-coated Kromekote is now fully FSC certified; it is sampled on the cover of GDUSA magazine.
http://www.smartpapers.com

Fibermark: Naturally Creative, the 16th Annual Specifier Awards program, is open until December 31.
http://www.fibermark.com/awards

Domtar: Ode To The Earth by Cougar pays tribute to the importance of sustainability.
http://www.domtar.com

Potlatch: Brochure features Ancora, an FSC-certified coated two-side white paperboard for designer applications.
http://www.ancorac2s.com

Kallima: Kallima Coated Cover is FSC certified; learn more at...
http://www.kalllimapaper.com

Monadnock: Third edition of the mill’s popular Field Guide to sustainable print and paper.
http://www.mpm.com

Ocreative Design Studio proudly celebrates five years in business!

2008-11-01T08:12:00-05:00

Dear Clients and Friends,

November begins a landmark for our business -- FIVE YEARS! It's hard to believe that just five years ago, I started Ocreative and now we have many wonderful and diverse clients and a very creative design/development team. Thank you to all who have supported us throughout the years, and we look forward to many more! We have some exciting things planned for Ocreative in 2009 so stay tuned. After the holidays, look for our client appreciation and 5-year celebration party announcement.

Creatively yours,

Andrea Koeppel
Principal/Creative Director

PCI Compliance - Understanding the Importance.

2008-10-31T08:00:00-05:00

As a online merchant, being compliant with credit card processes and securing your customer's information during and after a purchase, should be on your top priority as a merchant. Ocreative partners with ControlScan for monitoring our servers for the tightest security. ControlScan has launched the PCIComplianceGuide to help educate merchants and acquirers on PCI compliance requirements and how they impact businesses like yours.

The site is easy to navigate and contains relevant articles submitted by subject-matter experts in this space, important links, security tips and an "Ask the Expert" section so that you can ask your own questions about PCI compliance. Visit http://www.pcicomplianceguide.org to learn more about these requirements and to find out how they apply to you.

The Almighty Web Fonts... There is Hope

2008-10-10T22:22:00-05:00

One of the most frustrating things, in my opinion, with website design is the limited use of fonts available. Sure, there are images that you can use to get the font that you want. There is also Flash. Both look great, but when you are considering other factors such as download time and search engine optimization your great font sometimes get the backseat due to either usability or because you want have people to find your website with search engine optimization.

Things are looking up though. As recent as June 20, 2008, search engines have the ability to read Flash files and extract text and links. In particular, Google and Adobe announced a new algorithm for indexing textual Flash content. However, hoping that search engines can decipher your Flash is not a substitute substitute for providing indexable HTML content as explained by Rand Fishkin in Flash and SEO - Compelling Reasons Why Search Engines & Flash Still Don't Mix, and Vanessa Fox in Search-Friendly Flash?. This all means that for now, it looks like for now we will continue to use the eight typefaces (Arial, Comic Sans, Helvetica, Tahoma, Times, Times New Roman, Trebuchet and Verdana) while mixing in a few cool fonts and of course some rockin' graphics.

As the world of the web and search engines is ever changing, we'll be waiting with bated breath for the standard web font selection to expand.

Domain Registration Scams

2008-09-12T10:37:00-05:00

For many years now, domain owners have been plagued by various domain registrars trying to dupe owners into transferring their domain registration to them. Even today, they continue using the same unethical tactics to trick domain owners. They attempt to make you believe your domain is about to expire and they send you what looks like an invoice for domain registration renewal.

It's a SCAM.

In their postal letters (click below to see an example) and now email campaigns (click below to see an example), they try to convince you to transfer your domain to them by using threatening language and misleading information. They usually claim their communications clearly state they are not an invoice or bill and that the correspondance is truly a solicitation. (it is usually in very fine print)

Letter Example

E-mail Example

Shady History of Shady Tactics

This particular company has been deceiving and duping people into transferring their domain to them since 2002, under multiple names under different countries. They continue to have several complaints filed against them with the Better Business Bureau. If you also received these letters and want to file a complaint with the BBB.

Ocreative Joins Facebook!

2008-09-08T08:00:00-05:00

Ocreative is pleased to annouce our presence on Facebook.com. Become a fan. Share it with others. Post a few photos and videos and/or write on our wall. Visit our Ocreative Design Studio page on Facebook

A Brief History of Facebook: First launched in February of 2004, Facebook.com (initially known as Thefacebook.com) is an online networking website that allows users to create their own profiles and link to and view the profiles of others. Facebook is the #1 fastest growing website (just passing myspace.com as of August 2008).

Facebook Statistics

Facebook has more than 64 million users
54% of Facebook members are under the age of 35
More than half of users return daily
People spend an average of 20 minutes on Facebook
Facebook is the #1 photo sharing application online with 14 million photos uploaded daily
3 times more people are invited through the event application than www.evite.com

Out-of-the-Box or Custom

2008-08-25T08:34:00-05:00

At Ocreative, we take great pride in our abilities to provide customers with a website custom to their business needs and goals. We address this not only through design but functionality as well. Every website we produce is a custom product. This brings a question of "Why Rebuild the Wheel?" In short, it can be improved upon.

Out-of-the-Box Web Applications

Pros

Quick to implement
Smaller initial investment
Already Developed and tested

Cons

Difficultly integrating into site
Loss of branding and corporate identity
Limited options
Inability to add new features
Likely to be replaced by custom application
Eventually outgrow and must pay to upgrade

Custom Developed Web Applications

Pros

If you can dream it, we can develop it
Integrates seamlessly with your website
Consistent with existing branding and identity
Add new features at any time
Can evolve with your site and business
Ultimate options and flexibility

Cons

Development time
Increased initial investment

Basically, an Out-of-the-Box Application is a quick and inexpensive solution. If you want something you will truly be happy with, consider investing in a custom web application. The flexibility and options available with a custom application ensure you will receive exactly what you want out of your website.

Web applications are developed to provide additional website functionality and often include a level of self-management. Being able to maintain your website yourself can save you enough money in the long term to out-weigh the initial cost of investment.

Common web applications

Content Management System
Web Calendar
Blogs or Forums
Photo Galleries
Member Management Systems

Going Green: Case Studies in Outstanding Green Business Practices

2008-08-21T22:52:00-05:00

PR News has published an extensive Going Green guidebook, which offer strategies, campaigns and case studies for greening a business.

Diane Schwartz, vice president and group publisher of PR News, edited the 200+ page guide. She comments that, "most companies are in the early stages of going green and there's no one-size-fits-all solution to environmentally responsibility. By providing perspectives and ideas from hundreds of executives across the globe, this Guidebook shold give our readers a clear idea of what's working, and just as importantly, what's not, when it comes to going green."

Included are numerous profiles of companies that have reininvented or reconfigured their businesses to be more environmentally responsible. Among the topics: non-profits, manufacturing, printing and design, and CSR reporting and tactics.

The book is for sale on the PR News website.

http://www.prnewsonline.com/store/13.html

Paper Choices Affect the Environment

2008-08-17T21:05:00-05:00

If you are interested in how your company paper choices can affect the environment, I invite you to explore an interesting website powered by the Environmental Defense Fund.

This tool will help you quantify the benefits of better paper choices. The Paper Calculator shows the environmental impacts of different papers across their full lifecycle.

http://www.papercalculator.org

Ocreative Design Studio

Facebook Gets a Facelift: New Timeline Style for Pages

Ocreative at the Lake Country Community Fest on March 31, 2012

About the Lake Country Community Fest

Why Pinterest is Good for Businesses and Why People are Getting Hooked

How can businesses benefit from Pinterest

Understanding the Social Media Landscape

Social media is everywhere.

Social Media is Purposeful

Social Media in a Business Context

Understanding the Social Media Landscape

The Small Business Social Media Cheat Sheet

What is SEO - Understanding Search Engine Optimization Basics

﻿Let's discuss! Do you have questions about Search Engine Optimization? Post a comment below and let’s discuss!

Resolve to Make Resolutions You Can Keep

Making a Mobile Experience a Good One

6 Tips for Using QR Codes in Your Marketing Strategy

Prepare an Online Marketing Strategy for Your Business

So what's part of an online strategy?

We're hosting a Tailgating Business After Hours July 20, 2011

Event details:

Business Needs Drive Creativity: Presenting at UW Whitewater

Excitement About the Future

A Door Opens

Student Organization for Web Design (SOWD)

Presentation

Selecting Relevant Topics

Answering Some Questions by ... Asking Questions

Presentation

An Example: Coding Style

A Litany of Factors

A Broader Perspective

Paradigm Shift

A Paradox

Your Findings

AP Stylebook Changes E-mail to Email - A Welcomed Change!

See Ocreative at the Lake Country Community Fest!

Hackathons and 21st Century Programmers

Incorrect Notions?

UWW Hackathon - ( uwwhackathon.com )

Encore!

What's your take?

New website launches for Ocreative!

About Ocreative Design Studio

How to Manage All of Your Social Media Accounts

Questions:

Representing Yourself on Social Media Platforms

“Find the fish. Go where the fish are.”

Representing Yourself on Social Media Platforms

With all Social Media, remember:

Questions:

Benefits of Using Social Media

Benefits of Using Social Media

Ocreative Attending unGEEKED Elite - Nat'l Social Media, Marketing and Branding Open Forum

Understanding Google Analytics - Your Website Traffic Report

Diving Deeper into Understanding Google Analytics

A Few of My Favorite Reports

About Ocreative Design Studio

Surges in Mobile Marketing, Social Media and Mobile Apps for Businesses

Social Media and Mobile Marketing is a Reality; Is Your Business Ready?

Focus Local, Spend Less and Increase Qualified Leads

5 Reasons Why Social Media Marketing is Right for Your Business

A Happy Halloween Video Treat from Ocreative!

See Ocreative at the Oconomowoc Community Harvest on October 11th

Mom, I think this website is stale!

How to keep it Fresh!

Ocreative Unveils Three New Websites in July

What is Web Design?

Getting started with Email Marketing

A Little Something Extra

Mailing list incentives can be used by all organizations

Build Your Email List on Social Media Sites

Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn offer new ways to find subscribers

Goodsearch.com : Searching the Web; Giving to Charitable Organizations

References:

[1] (Info about GoodSearch.com is from Wikipedia - Click to learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoodSearch)

Subject lines are important in email marketing

Smart phone websites: Get your business ready!

Pigs with lipstick are still pigs

Using Flickr to Promote your Products

Let's discuss! Do you have questions about Search Engine Optimization? Post a comment below and let’s discuss!