Archive for July, 2009
Be a part of the Barcelona Creative Group “Extreme Makeover”
A few weeks ago I posted a blog entry about how a company’s website can no longer be just an online brochure. (Click here to read.) Today’s fast paced and demanding world is challenging businesses to become part of the consumer’s community of reliable resources. Static websites must evolve to provide solutions and offer content that is relevant.
After writing this post, I started thinking about the BCG company website. Not only does our site need to be more engaging and solution-oriented, but we fail to provide our clients and prospects with the information they really should have. We need to practice what we preach – our website is static and it’s time for a makeover!!
I am calling on you – our clients, colleagues and friends – to be a part of the “BCG Extreme Website Makeover”.
We want to know what you like or don’t like about our current website and what information or features you would like to see become part of our makeover.
Now, because of social media tools, we have a number of ways you can communicate with BCG. I invite you to choose the method that works best for you. The best part is that for taking time out of your day to tell us how we can better serve you, we would like to reward you.
BCG will be giving away a $5 Starbuck’s gift card to the first person to either:
- Become a fan of BCG’s Facebook page and post a comment or suggestion on our wall.
- Communicate your recommendation to me in a direct message on Twitter. – We Have A Winner!
- Submit your likes, dislikes, and requests by commenting on this blog post. – We Have A Winner!
- Send me your request or feedback via LinkedIn.
After we have awarded our winners, I will write a follow-up post detailing the feedback I have received. More importantly, it is my hope that we will be able to incorporate our winner’s suggestions into our new website and have a much better end product.
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Can Saying “Thank You” Make You Unique?
Today’s world is so fast paced and forward moving that it’s often easy to forget to stop and actually say “Thank You” in a meaningful way. In fact, remembering this small, but important, gesture may now actually make you unique in this world!
Just last week I was invited to have lunch with a colleague to discuss membership in a professional organization. I left that lunch feeling great and really excited about this new opportunity presented to Barcelona Creative Group to not only join this organization, but to also have a chance to help a great professional organization take some steps to improve their marketing, and hopefully continue to increase their membership.
Very late the next day, it dawned on me that I had forgotten to write my thank you note. It was the end of the workday, and also the end of the workweek, so I opted to write a thank you email instead of taking a few minutes to write a note and mail it. Even though I was still able to say thank you in that email, I felt bad the rest of the evening because I knew I would have preferred to take the time to hand write it.
My siblings and I were always taught to write thank you notes when we were growing up. Whether it was for a gift, a special phone call or being taken out to dinner (by someone other than our parents!), we knew that thank you note or card needed to be written and mailed.
It’s a simple task, saying “Thank You” to someone, but it is too often forgotten. Some people may view it as a woeful obligation, others may not know what to say or lack the ability to identify the moments when one should be written. But remember this – a thank you note is a small, inexpensive tribute to a person you respect, to whom you are grateful, or simply, whose company you enjoy – it is not a burden! Even if it’s not something you learned from your parents, it’s never too late to learn on your own.
I love this quote from the book A Gentleman Pens A Note by John Bridges and Bryan Curtis, “A gentleman knows that note-writing is almost a lost art. Even by sending the simplest thank you, he knows that he has separated himself from the non note-writing throng.”
It’s so simple, but so true. Anyone who has ever won business from a new client, been chosen over someone else for a job, or even received a phone call or note in response to their thank you note can tell you how powerful a personal note can be. I know this first hand – I was chosen for an internship in college because unlike the “runner-ups”, I hand wrote my thank you letter, instead of emailing. Sadly, that was before all of these social networks even existed, when sending thank you letters by email was beginning to become popular.
With all the technology and time-saving methods available these days, don’t forget that it can still pay off to take some extra time to do something that may not only make someone else feel good, but also make you unique and unforgettable.
Back to Branding Basics…What’s in your Logo?
Over the last 6 months, Barcelona Creative has developed quite a few logos for clients. Some have been created to commemorate milestones, such as 50th anniversaries or 20 years in business, while others are the first building block of new brands. Regardless of the message, creating logos is very exciting for us because we get involved in one of the most important parts of building brand awareness – the brand identity.
Your company logo represents everything your company stands for. It can make a positive first impression, build loyalty between you and your customers, and provide that professional look. More importantly, your company logo will establish your brand identity.
Think about Sony, the Nike swoosh, Oscar Meyer’s “b-o-l-o-g-n-a”, Disney (Mickey’s ears) and McDonald’s golden arches. Everyone recognizes these logos as symbols of everything these companies stand for.
So, I must ask this question, “Why would any business want to skimp on developing something so important?”
Whether your company logo ends up being font-based, an illustration or an abstract graphic, it should become a permanent link to your brand. It’s meaning and association to what you do should be clearly and consistently communicated to your customers.
While brainstorming ideas on your own is crucial, trying to create a logo on your own to save costs can be a big mistake. Various factors need to be considered – such as, does the design transfer easily into print, is it unique and does it really represent who you are.
When we create logos for clients, we ask a lot of questions because we want to have a clear understanding of our client’s goals – what they value most, how they do business and the message they want to convey. That logo will become a foundation for all other promotional materials. It should be professional, clean, functional and meaningful.
Need help, a second opinion or an idea that could add new life to a tired look? Call or email us!
“Tools” of Engagement
As a user of social media tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, I’m a firm believer that these tools provide effective and affordable ways for community organizations to communicate with residents and local area businesses. They offer the ability to announce upcoming programs or events, traffic jams, law enforcement updates, employment opportunities, information on local Chambers, businesses and other news about the community quickly and often. Social media tools provide tremendous opportunity for community engagement – building relationships with members of your community who will ultimately work with you as ongoing partners in an effort to make the community a better place to live and work.
I am constantly searching for organizations in our communities on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. Since I like to support these communities, I follow along, not only to see how they are using these tools to communicate, but also, whether or not they are really taking advantage of their potential.
Palos Heights Channel 4 TV (@PHTV4), Palos Heights Public Library (@PalosHtsLibrary), Tinley Park (@Tinley_Park), Palos Heights Police Department (@PalosHeightsPD) are just a few examples of local community organizations who have recently joined Twitter. Some users are more active than others.
I think fear of technology and the unknown prevent many organizations from getting involved in social media. Either they don’t understand the tools and cannot see the tremendous value they offer, or they simply don’t know what to say. I hope this will change because this form of communication is not going away, and those who embrace these tools and learn to make them work for them will have an extreme advantage over those who do not.
I’ve talked to Elaine Savage, Administrative Librarian for the Palos Heights Public Library, about Facebook and Twitter many times, as Barcelona Creative is helping the Library initiate these tools to reach out to patrons and members of the community. Elaine will be the first to admit she didn’t know what to expect from Twitter, because it was an unknown to her. But Elaine is always trying to stay on top of technology for the Library, so she set up a personal Twitter account (@savagee09) to “test the waters”. So far Elaine has considered herself more of an observer than a participant. But she claims she has had two AHA! moments which helped her finally realize the potential Twitter holds for the Library.
Elaine recalls one evening when Mari Luangrath (@foiledcupcakes) and I (@julibarcelona) were talking about foreign films.
“Mari asked Juli if the public library carries foreign films. I responded that many libraries do have a selection of foreign films. In response, Moraine Valley CC (@morainevalley) soon inquired about the most popular foreign film titles at the Library. And so the dialogue continued!
My second “aha” moment was when someone recently tweeted me a link about “10 Tips For Managing Twitter As Your Usage Increases.” The article talked about Twitter as a resource to better serve your customers and I thought, that’s what the Library is always trying to do – better serve our patrons. No. 7 said that 70% of your tweets should share resources. Again, that is our business – sharing resources. That got me to thinking… Should I be tweeting the link for the NY Times Best Seller list every week? Should I list our top 5 books with reserves on them? Should I link to our next event as a reminder? Should I list some new books or databases? The possibilities for things to say were endless, and at that moment I knew there was a place for the Library on Twitter!”
Elaine and the Library staff will learn about Twitter and Facebook during their Library In-Service Day on August 14th. BCG will be there to help guide them along the way and get their Facebook and Library Twitter pages launched. Now the Library will have additional tools for communicating with their patrons and their community at their fingertips. While each organization will have different goals for communicating and engaging the public, I have no doubt that every one of them can find value in social media tools if they just let go of the fear, think about the potential and dive right in!