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August 12, 2009

Social Media is Like a Party

I read a good analogy of social media the other day, and I like to use it when I compare social media to traditional advertising. Think of it as if you were walking into a party. Traditional advertising would have you wearing a big sign saying, “I’m really great, you’ll like me, we should hang out,” etc.

Social media, on the other hand, is the more natural way to go about entering the party. You would meet people and engage in conversation, learning about them and telling them about yourself. Hopefully you find common ground and become friends. Then, maybe that person will tell their friends about you, and they’ll come up to you and start talking with you. Or maybe they’ll talk amongst themselves about you.

It all starts by building a relationship with a conversation.

So, don’t be the guy holding the big goofy sign. Act naturally and start the conversations with people.

- Jim Ellis

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August 4, 2009

How to Subscribe Using RSS

So now that we’ve invited a lot of people to our blog, we thought we might share a good how to video on how to subscribe, to make sure you don’t miss anything. Take a look and learn how to subscribe to the Signal Blog using RSS, Really Simple Syndication.

RSS Video

RSS Video

By the way this “In Plain English” video series is a fun and informative series that has segments on social media, blogs, wikis, etc. Enjoy.

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Social Media: Look Before You Jump In

Before you say to yourself, “My company needs to be on Facebook” or “How can I get my organization on Twitter,” you need to ask yourself the more fundamental question of WHY? What do you hope to do with it? This seems obvious, but I see too many companies that just jump in without really figuring out the basic question “What is my objective?” And before figuring that out, you really need to figure out who your audience is, and decide whether or not they will take to what you’re trying to do using social media.

First things first, and when it comes to social media, remember this acronym: P-O-S-T.

  • People
  • Objectives
  • Strategy
  • Technology

This acronym comes from an excellent book on social media entitled Groundswell, and I recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about social media (and you should be interested in it, because it’s not going anywhere). The book shares some very good strategies and case studies, and is a relatively quick read.

You see, just saying you want to be on Facebook or Twitter is jumping straight to the “T” (technology), but knowing your audience, your objectives and strategy to meet the objectives should truly dictate the technology.

So, start with PEOPLE. As in any marketing strategy, you need to have a clear picture of who your audience is. Is your target market even engaged in social media? Are they more likely to “talk” or “listen”? Will they write reviews? Do they even join groups like Facebook?

The book Groundswell is written by people who work for Forrester Research, and market research is their forte. You can view a presentation of how they break down people’s social media behavior.

What’s more, they give you a pretty cool tool that you can use to gauge what your target market is doing within social media.

Forrester Profile Tool

Forrester Profile Tool

Check it out, and know your audience. Next time, we’ll talk about the “O”–Objectives. More to come.

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May 27, 2009

Signal’s Creative Challenge

Back in April, Signalites in both our Wilmington and Raleigh, NC studios were divided into 6 teams and given the challenge of creating an original “Signal Trophy.” Photos and descriptions of each entry were posted to Signal’s fan page on Facebook, giving fans the opportunity to vote for their favorite and decide the winner.

The votes have now been tallied, and Signal is pleased to announce that the winner is Team 3 with their Master’s-inspired Signal Jacket!

The Top Three Entries

The Top Three Entries

Check out the winning entries here:
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place

View all 6 Signal trophies and visit Signal’s Facebook page!

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May 19, 2009

Signal Gets a Little Press in Triangle Business Journal

Rick Haynes, President

“From baseball cards to Internet sites…” Signal was recently featured in Triangle Business Journal. From our beginnings designing trading cards and sports collectibles, to our current  interactive design and web marketing work, the article discusses the evolution and diversification of the agency over the past 17 years. Take a gander!

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April 28, 2009

Signal Celebrates 17th Anniversary

The Signal Gang

The Signal Gang

Starting as a traditional graphic design company, Signal designed its first web site in 1994 for the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau. Over the past 17 years, the agency has evolved to approximately 30 full-time professionals and launched a variety of new service offerings to keep pace with the changing needs of its clients. This includes the rollout of video and multimedia capabilities in 2001, email marketing in 2003, and marketing/brand strategy and a variety of web marketing services (including search engine optimization) in 2004.

“We are proud that our business family has reached this agency milestone. Our diversification of services was essential in enabling Signal to continually grow and evolve into a full-service creative agency that provides clients with integrated design, marketing and technology solutions,” said Rick Haynes, president of Signal.

One key differentiator for Signal is its technology team, which has grown to encompass both traditional web developers and application developers. The technology team is responsible for creating custom web applications for clients. Much of their work focuses on integrating databases with web sites, complex tracking and analytics for marketing campaigns, building intranets/extranets, working with customer relationship management (CRM) systems, surveying tools and mobile applications.

Signal has worked with a broad range of clients and brands throughout the years. The agency got its start designing trading cards and a variety of sports entertainment products for Marvel Comics (“X-Men”), DC Comics, NFL, NBA, Disney (“Toy Story”) and James Bond 007. Signal’s current client roster is diverse and includes industry leaders such as John Deere, GlaxoSmithKline, Bald Head Island, Alma Lasers, Medical Mutual Insurance Group, North Carolina Medical Society, ExperienceOne Homes, Highwoods Properties, Quintiles, McKim & Creed and Syngenta, in association with Gibbs & Soell.

“Signal has been working with many of its core clients for over a decade. A lot has changed during that time. As new technologies and the Internet transform the way our clients connect with their audience, we will continue to evolve to help deliver their message and reach their business goals,” stated Bryan Kristof, Signal’s director of marketing.

“Signal isn’t just another vendor to us, they are a direct extension of our marketing team. They put serious time and effort into getting to know us and our target audience. Year after year, they consistently produce quality creative solutions and fresh thinking for both our print and web efforts. No other creative firm has delivered results in the way that Signal has,” commented Shawn Scott, associate deputy executive vice president for the North Carolina Medical Society.

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April 9, 2009

Signal Launches New Web Site for Coastal Carolina Pediatric Dentistry

New Dimock & Weinberg Web Site

New Dimock & Weinberg Web Site

Signal announced the launch of a new web site for Dimock & Weinberg, DDS, PA, a pediatric dentistry practice located in Wilmington, NC.

The design of the new web site highlights the fun and child-friendly focus of the practice and features downloadable forms to help simplify new patient registration. The site also features an interactive photo gallery that provides visitors with a virtual office tour, while additional pages provide extensive information on what to expect from a child’s first visit to the dentist.

To view the new Dimock & Weinberg, DDS, PA web site, visit: www.ccpedo.com

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March 19, 2009

Adding Keywords to Your URLs: Does It Help With SEO?

Yes, having keywords in your URLs does help with SEO, but search engines react differently to keywords in the actual domain versus keywords that appear tacked on to the URL string.

Keywords in the URL String
www.fakedomainname.com/widgets/
Say you’re trying to rank for the keyword “widgets.” Having “widgets” in the page URL string (after the .com) may affect rankings slightly. The real benefit is click through rate. Since search engines display the keyword you searched in bold in the search results, more people are likely to click on your listing. The key is that you have to be ranking well in the search engines for people to even see your listing. This is probably not worth rewriting all of your URLs for, but definitely worth considering for a new website.

Keywords in the Domain
www.widgetsrus.com
Choosing a domain that contains one or some of your keywords can have slightly more of an effect on your SEO efforts than just having the keywords in the URL string. In fact, if you don’t already have an established brand or domain, it’s helpful to even work keywords into your brand name and/or any tag lines associated with your brand. Just like people will begin to associate your brand with your keywords, search engines will recognize the relevance of your website to those keywords.

Exact Match Domain
www.bluewidgetsraleigh.com
If you don’t already have an established brand or domain, choosing a domain that is an exact match to a top industry keyphrase can have a major effect on your SEO efforts. Keyword choice and finding a domain that is available is the hard part. We can only speculate why having an exact match domain is worth so much, but it’s likely search engines think someone searching for “blue widgets raleigh” is actually trying to look up the bluewidgetsraleigh.com website.

It’s also possible that having a domain that is an exact match to a top searched keyphrase in your industry means that you were an early presence on the web for this topic and possibly a leader in the eyes of the search engines.

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March 13, 2009

Signal Wins Top Honors at Triangle Ad Club ADDY® Awards

Signal was honored at this year’s Triangle Ad Club ADDY® Awards with one Gold ADDY for self-promotion collateral along with two judge’s choice awards for individual favorite and for copy.  The winning collateral piece was a poster created for Classic Graphics, a Research Triangle printing company, to promote its annual barbecue event. Signal was given full creative carte blanche and chose to spotlight traditional North Carolina barbecue side dishes on this year’s poster.

Award Winning Poster Designed By Signal

Signal's Award Winning Poster

Signal’s Gold-winning entry now moves to the District ADDY Awards competitions by virtue of taking top honors in its category. District winners are then forwarded to the third tier, the national ADDY® Awards competition. The ADDY Awards is the largest creative competition in the country with over 60,000 local entries competing in nearly 200 cities.

Check out Signal’s Facebook page for more photos of the event.

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March 12, 2009

Signal’s Kristof & Dowdy Speak at Annual SMPS Conference

web marketing 101 Raleigh NC

web marketing 101 Raleigh NC

Bryan Kristof and Hollace Dowdy presented at this week’s Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Conference. The seminar, entitled Web Marketing 101: Google, YouTube and Your Web Site, was held at the Raleigh Marriott City Center.

The seminar was a 60-minute no-nonsense crash course in search engine marketing, online videos & web site design, to help attendees achieve the highest impact possible from their web sites. The seminar also featured a case study discussion about the award-winning McKim & Creed web site, created by Signal and recently recognized by ZweigWhite and the Construction Writers Association for outstanding design.

Kristof is the director of marketing at Signal, where he helps clients build powerful brand strategies and integrated marketing programs. He also leads the company’s new media and web marketing initiatives and offers diverse experience with web strategy, search engine marketing, email marketing and web analytics. Dowdy is an account executive at Signal, and is responsible for new business development and managing client accounts throughout the Triangle area. She also serves on the SMPS SERC 2009 Communications committee, where she has been responsible for creating and maintaining the conference website.

You can visit that site, created by Signal, at http://www.smps-seregconf.org/ to learn more about this seminar and other conference highlights.

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