http://www.corecubed.com/blog en leigh-ann.heuer@corecubed.com Copyright 2012 2012-02-21T07:12:05+00:00 http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/are-you-in-with-linkedin http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/are-you-in-with-linkedin#When:07:12:05Z Most of you probably know LinkedIn as the social network for job seekers. In fact, many of you have probably recently used LinkedIn to get a leg up on a job search. What you may not realize is that there are several ways to market your company on LinkedIn, and not just to job seekers. While marketing on LinkedIn is arguably better for B2B businesses, B2C companies can also stand to benefit because the users who make up the bulk of the network are, in fact, consumers. The first step to getting some company recognition is to set up a company page. Here you'll have a description to fill out. Use it, in line with your website, to share with readers the value your company offers. There's also a specialties section where you can use those old SEO keywords to promote your company's strengths. After that, you'll be able to pick your industry and location. These two things will be big deals when LinkedIn users search, so make sure the industry you choose is the closest and most appropriate to your field. You can list up to five locations, so if your company is represented in multiple regions, list them. Keep in mind that all these seemingly little details will only help your overall SEO marketing! If your company maintains a blog, be sure to link your blog's RSS feed to your LinkedIn page. Doing this will allow your blog updates to show on your company's LinkedIn page, giving it more reach. Finally, your company should update its LinkedIn status regularly and include links back to your website and blog. This is your chance to make your page dynamic and interactive, as well as send traffic back to your website. LinkedIn is not, in my opinion, one of the easier social networks to figure out, but it can allow your company to cast a wider net and add to your overall search engine optimization, which is never a bad thing. If you need some LinkedIn guidance, don't hesitate to call the experts at corecubed! Marketing, Social Media, 2012-02-21T07:12:05+00:00 http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/create-marketing-love-and-go-steady-with-your-clients http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/create-marketing-love-and-go-steady-with-your-clients#When:14:58:42Z It’s all about the relationships with your customers. Without loyal customers, your business simply cannot thrive. So how can businesses inspire loyalty? Make a good first impression. Poor company branding can have a negative impact on potential clients. It’s important to develop a distinctive branding style that shows off your business’s true personality—and all materials should reflect the style flawlessly. If you have great messaging and visuals, your branding will make potential clients and referral sources more receptive to trying what you have to offer. Strut your stuff. Oftentimes in order to get the girl, a guy must make repeated efforts to catch her eye. As a professional, you should consistently strive to make your business familiar to potential clients and referral sources, and maintaining a monthly marketing campaign to reinforce your messages is an excellent start. Continuously make an impression, and catch the eye of customers so they feel comfortable about accepting a “first date”. The first date. Remember, as in personal relationships, you want to be honest and straightforward, and exceed expectations. You would never arrive late for a date on purpose, so why would you be late for a deadline? Be on time, be polite, and make it your personal mission to have clients enjoy working with you. Happy customers are repeat customers. And from experience, we know that it’s more cost-efficient to work with repeat clients than it is to try and bring in NEW clients. Also, don’t forget the value of word-of-mouth. Just as a woman who has had a great date will tell ALL her friends about it, you want your customers to sing like canaries to their colleagues, friends and acquaintances about your great products and services. Keeping the home fires burning. To keep the spark in a relationship, you have to work at it. Plan special occasions; do sweet things; listen attentively even if you have heard that story several times before. The same is true in a business relationship. Even if customers are happy with the service or product, don’t get complacent. Try something different every once in a while, just for spice. Be communicative and ask if you are still making the grade. Keep the interest level high. Do you feel the marketing love? If your business is looking to build a lasting relationship with your target audience, contact corecubed! Our team of seasoned professionals will help you craft a strategic campaign to build valuable relationships with your targeted audience. Marketing, 2012-02-14T14:58:42+00:00 http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/boggled-by-google-what-the-new-privacy-changes-mean http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/boggled-by-google-what-the-new-privacy-changes-mean#When:18:29:09Z If you're a Google user, you've likely received an email regarding the upcoming privacy changes the company is on the verge of making. Even if you're not into Google, the news of these controversial updates has been all over the web and causing quite a stir. If these rumblings have you concerned and wondering what it all means for your personal privacy, let us help you break it down. So, what's going on? Essentially, Google is condensing its current 70 separate privacy policies into one policy to govern many of its products. The basic idea behind the new rules is to give the company more leeway to combine all your Google products – Gmail, Picasa, Google+, YouTube, etc. –  in the future. It will also be integrating all your information from these services to learn more about you and your online habits. What do you mean they'll learn more about my habits? Under their new, all-encompassing policy, Google can track your calendar appointments (made via your Google calendar, of course) and location data, search preferences, contacts, and personal habits based on Gmail chatter, and track device information and search queries, to name a few. But, why would they want that info? To create a targeted, individual Internet experience for each customer. The folks over at Mashable put it this way: “Not searching for a gym membership in January? Google will remove those ads from your search. Email a friend about adopting a puppy? You might see ads for animal shelters in your area. Your friend Jon doesn’t have an 'h' in his name? Google Docs will remember this, too. By syncing your Google products, the ads you see and your search results will be customized. Google will be different for each individual.” What if they sell my information? Google claims that it will never sell your information to advertisers. They do, however, use the information to place the ads that they purchase. Their official policy, which can be viewed online here, states that this data collection is not something new and that they are not collecting more data about their customers. According to the company, “Our new policy simply makes it clear that we use data to refine and improve your experience on Google across the services you sign in to use. This is something we’ve already been doing and we plan to continue doing in the future so we can provide a simpler, more intuitive experience.” In a way, this change could certainly make the search experience more convenient. However, it's understandably off-putting in many ways. These changes will roll out on March 1st. If you have more questions, check out Google's policy FAQ page. 2012-02-08T18:29:09+00:00 http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/customer-service-goes-social-on-twitter http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/customer-service-goes-social-on-twitter#When:21:49:50Z Customer service. We've all had our own nightmares with it in one way or another. A few days ago, I had an interesting experience in both the good and the bad sides. While having an issue with my Christmas present – one of those uber popular e-reader/tablet combos – I reached a point where I just had to contact customer service. Since I'm not a fan of sitting on the phone for hours listening to muzak, I opted for the company's online chat service. Not the best move on my part. After roughly two hours, including having to start the conversation all over due to an accidentally closed chat window, I still hadn't found a solution to my problem. Cut to the next day. I discovered a Twitter account for the e-reader devoted entirely to customer service. Five minutes later, I had my answer and my problem was solved! So what does this have to do with marketing? Well, just when I had given up hope, the company completely redeemed itself with a superior customer service experience. And in the world of social media, no less. Many companies are still looking for a compelling reason to use Twitter. Reaching out to customers in need in 140 characters is a quick and easy way to utilize social media, help clients, and gain respect for your brand at the same time. Hey, it worked for me. Need help navigating Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn YouTube, etc.? corecubed has helped dozens of clients get started on their way to successful social media marketing. Contact us today. Marketing, Social Media, 2012-01-25T21:49:50+00:00 http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/wordpress-3-3-1-has-been-released-update-now http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/wordpress-3-3-1-has-been-released-update-now#When:12:40:38Z On the heels of the latest major release two weeks ago, WordPress 3.3.1 was released today in order to patch a security vulnerability that was recently discovered, as well as to fix a few other bugs.  What does this mean to you? If you have a website that runs on WordPress, you need to update it as soon as possible. Hacked Websites Unfortunately, websites do get hacked, and it can happen to even the most secure-minded companies out there. The worst kind of hack is what they call a "Drive by download."  This is when your website is compromised, but it doesn't appear that anything is different when you look at it. What's going on is a hacker has implanted code in your website pages which tries to silently infect anyone visiting your website. Another common attack is for a hacker to deface your website, which can be quite embarrasing and costly. Back It Up From hackers to failing hardware, there are many reasons you need to be backing up your website's files and database. Ideally, you would be doing this daily or weekly, and storing your back up files somewhere other than your website. You never know when you might need a copy of everything to restore your website from. Whether it is hacked or someone accidentally deletes something they shouldn't have, a full backup is crucial to have. We Can Help We here at corecubed have recently started offering a variety of WordPress maintenance packages which can help you get updated and secure. Let us help you upgrade WordPress, back up your files, and put measures in place to help you be able to quickly get back up and running in the event of a disaster or hack. Learn more and sign up for a WordPress maintenance plan today! Security, Web Development, 2012-01-04T12:40:38+00:00 http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/holiday-mobile-sales-go-up-and-so-should-your-security http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/holiday-mobile-sales-go-up-and-so-should-your-security#When:20:22:03Z Another holiday season has come to a close, and despite a still struggling economy, sales pointed at record heights this year. Online sales, specifically those made from mobile devices, increased greatly, particularly on Christmas Day. In fact, Christmas Day online sales jumped 16.4 percent from last year, likely owing a lot to tablets like the Kindle Fire, iPad, and Nook being hot items on many people's wish lists. These handheld computers make it extremely easy to purchase music, movies, games, books, and nearly anything else online from the comfort of the couch in front of a crackling fire. According to TechCrunch.com, “Sales completed from mobile devices grew, reaching 14.4 percent versus 5.3 percent on Christmas Day 2010, representing an increase of 172.9 percent. In terms of specific mobile devices, the iPad led all mobile device traffic to retailers at 7 percent, followed by the iPhone at 6.4 percent and Android at 5 percent.” As mobile devices have become so abundant, mobile security threats continue to evolve. Websites offering mobile sales (and even those that don't) must keep a constant eye on updating security patches to keep out the dreaded hackers. corecubed's web experts are experienced at maintaining website security. Contact us for help with any of your security needs. For WordPress users, be sure to inquire about corecubed's annual maintenance packages. Internet, Security, 2011-12-30T20:22:03+00:00 http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/a-new-year-a-new-marketing-strategy http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/a-new-year-a-new-marketing-strategy#When:19:58:56Z New Year’s is right around the corner– it’s almost time to turn over the calendar and begin another year of hope and promise. Whether 2011 was a successful year or a difficult one, you can choose to begin 2012 with a clean slate. Think fresh and be open to looking at marketing from a different perspective. TIP #1: Write down what your product or service does for the customer. To successfully market a new or existing product, you have to identify its selling points. Entrepreneurs cringe when their product or service is not what consumers want to purchase at the price they can afford to sell it. So, avoid unpleasant cringing, and pay close attention to what consumers want and what they are willing to pay. TIP #2: Make room in your budget for a modest marketing plan. Money is always tight. Nevertheless, the astute entrepreneur will always set aside some cash for investment into a sound marketing strategy. TIP #3: Hit them with everything you’ve got. It may surprise you, but marketing is most important at the beginning of a company’s lifespan. Employ a multi-pronged strategy to introduce the business and show them what you’ve got. Here’s how to do it: Launch a website. In today’s high-tech world, you have to have a website and it can make or break your business. Get assistance and advice from marketing experts!  Offer free advice. This is a brilliant way of getting your name out in public. Help your customers understand what problem you are solving. Communicate through email, direct mail, social media or speaking opportunities. Become a media hound. The first stage of any new campaign ought to be public relations. Get assistance with attaining media coverage. Look for who is writing about business or your industry. Build up a library of literature. Don’t forget the importance of tried-and-true methods. Brochures, product sheets, direct mailings – all of these can be used to introduce your business to the consumer. Your design should match your message and be appealing to your target audience. TIP #4: Learn the art of networking. Success becomes contingent on who you know. That’s why it pays to join a trade association. And don’t forget to keep track of leads, inquiries and everyone you meet so you are growing a list of potential customers and referrals each and every day. TIP #5: Measure what is successful. Doing things in the old way and expecting different results is insanity. Pay close attention to what is working and what that costs. Do more of what works that is affordable and the most profitable. Email us at info@corecubed.com. Shorten the learning curve with our strategic, integrated marketing that brings exponential results. Happy Holidays! Marketing, 2011-12-22T19:58:56+00:00 http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/find-out-whats-new-in-wordpress-3-3 http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/find-out-whats-new-in-wordpress-3-3#When:17:48:07Z As WordPress advocates and users, the corecubed team likes to stay on top of all the latest news from our favorite CMS. WordPress 3.3 has just been released this week with some exciting new features to help make site management even easier. So let's go over some of the brand new things you'll see in this latest upgrade. New interface: The new HTML5 responsive design of WordPress 3.3 makes pages look even better on smaller devices, like tablets. The new fly out sub-menus also make access to all admin features quick and easy. New toolbar: WordPress 3.3 has combined the admin bar and the old dashboard header into one easy-to-use tool bar that provides quick access to all admin features. New media uploader: The new drag and drop media uploader makes it really simple to add images, files, or any type of media to your website. Basically, this is a great upgrade for WordPress users, but don't click that button too fast! While most WP upgrades are easy and without problems, backing up your existing website is essential. With a backup, even if something does go wrong, none of your information is lost. Need help? corecubed offers WordPress maintenance packages to help clients stay current with all CMS updates without losing any data in the process. Contact our WordPress experts today to find out more! News, Web Development, 2011-12-14T17:48:07+00:00 http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/facebook-timeline-what-it-means-for-your-page http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/facebook-timeline-what-it-means-for-your-page#When:11:19:51Z Over the last couple of days, Facebook has begun rolling out their much anticipated (and dreaded among some) timeline. It's the big change that's been in the works at Facebook for months now. To see how it will visually change your page, check out their Timeline breakdown here. As you can see, things will look pretty drastically different, so you might want to prepare yourself now before the change hits in the coming days. (We all know how fussy Facebook users tend to get, myself included, when these changes occur.) So how will Timeline affect your user experience and/or your company's Facebook page? Personal Pages: First off, on it will be much more visual. Your profile picture will expand across the top of the page, a far cry from the tiny box on the left. You'll still be able to post status updates, “like” things and people, add photos, etc. All that is changing there is the look and feel of the experience. each aspect being sectioned off into its own area of the page. Think of it as an online scrapbook for your life. Apps are another new addition in Timeline. Apps like Netflix and Spotify let you share with your friends what movies you've watched recently (via Netflix) or what songs you're listening to (via Spotify). Of course, you have the option not to share these items as well. With new sharing features, Timeline will allow you to share posts with certain friends or hide posts from your Timeline altogether. Whether you're a regular Facebook user or you're just getting into it, I highly recommend doing a thorough review of their privacy features so you can customize your online experience to the level of sharing you are most comfortable with. Business Pages: While Timeline is definitely coming to a personal profile near you, it is still unclear whether or not Facebook plans to add the new feature to business pages. If they do, however, the changes, while likely annoying at first for regular users, should be pretty awesome for business pages. The highly visual style of Timeline makes Facebook an even better place to position a brand. Also, it would give businesses a better sense of how to effectively use Facebook. For instance, according to Mashable.com, "Prior to Timeline, brands often felt confused as to how Facebook fit into their brand strategy and felt the need to have a gimmicky app or sampling incentive for people to "Like" or engage with their page. According to ExactTarget, of the people who "Like" Facebook brand pages, 40% are doing that to receive discounts and promotions. Now with the larger post size and photos, Timeline can easily serve as a brand blog, providing fans with frequent and engaging updates in a neatly packaged profile." This could be a huge advantage for brands, making a Facebook page even more valuable, providing that the company decides to let businesses in on the Timeline game – which they likely will, though maybe not at first. So, are the changes that come with Timeline big? Visually, yes. Your profile WILL look very different than what you're used to. But, all the old essentials will be there. If you're anxious about the changes, I suggest taking charge of it and signing up for Timeline early, before it surprises you one morning. Visit this link and click on the Sign Me Up button at the bottom. Has your profile already made the switch? Let us know about it on our Facebook page. And if your business needs a hand navigating the world of social media, contact us for help today! News, Social Media, 2011-12-13T11:19:51+00:00 http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/create-a-smooth-landing-with-the-perfect-landing-page http://corecubed.com/blog/entry/create-a-smooth-landing-with-the-perfect-landing-page#When:22:18:09Z A landing page is the page website visitors arrive at after clicking on a link, usually from an advertisement. It can be a website's home page, or a more pared down page that gives readers a bit of good information and encourages them to investigate further. Because your landing page is essentially how your company makes a first impression online, it's extremely important to make it perfect. So what do we mean by perfect, exactly? Well, there are several key areas to focus on with landing pages. The main points of your landing page should be to draw potential clients in, display your knowledge or industry expertise, and provide users with a strong call to action, all with content and images that engage visitors to your site and makes them want to explore further. Let's dig in a bit further: Headlines: As one of the first pages your potential clients see, your headlines should be clear, concise and address a specific point related to the rest of your content. Similar to newspaper or magazine headlines, a landing page headline should catch a reader's attention and make him or her want to keep reading. Links: You certainly want to link visitors to your website, but on a landing page, links should be simplified so as not to overwhelm the page or the viewer. While multiple links make sense on your regular home page, your landing page should be more streamlined. Call to action: This is the most important aspect of a good landing page. You have your potential customers at your door; now tell them what to do next. Invite them in with a “Learn More” button; entice them to purchase your product with a “Buy Now” or “Download Here” link. Make your call to action strong and unambiguous. For instance, when Mozilla Firefox changed their call to action from “Try Firefox” to “Download Now – Free” during a test phase, they received 500 more downloads with the newer, more direct and confident messaging. Additionally, calls to action should stand out, as they are truly the focus of a landing page. Grammar: No matter what product you're selling or what service you provide, poor grammar and spelling on your site will make your company seem unprofessional and will lose the trust of your customers. Hire a pro to get the job done right! Another aspect to consider when developing a perfect landing page is color. The right color will set the mood of your landing page and influence a viewer's actions (in both good and bad ways, so choose wisely). For instance, if you landed on Target's landing page and the primary color there was, say, purple (or anything other than red, really) you'd be totally thrown off balance and likely you'd think you were on the wrong page altogether. If you have an established brand, it's probably best to stick with your brand colors. Here's a breakdown of how certain colors tend to influence people: Red: Makes viewers think of energy and urgency. It's the color often seen with clearance sales and food references. Pink: This color conjures feelings of romance and femininity, and is often used to market to females. Blue: The color of trust and security, blue is often used by banks and businesses. Green: As the color of money, and as the easiest color for the eye to process, green is often used in finance or entertainment sites. Purple: This color has a calming effect and can be seen in many ads for beauty and anti-aging products. Black: The color that is seen as powerful and sleek, black is frequently used to market luxury items. Getting the slickest landing page takes some effort, but the right page can make all the difference in terms of sales and web traffic. Take a look at this page for some awe-inspiring landing pages, and notice their simple yet eye-catching designs, their bold calls to action, and their use of color. Need help creating the perfect landing page? Contact corecubed today! Our expert designers and writers will bring your customers in for a smooth landing. Design, Marketing, Web Development, 2011-12-08T22:18:09+00:00