CS Creative Employee Blog

In January of this year, Facebook introduced its newest feature – Graph Search. The idea of Graph Search is that you can use information that resides only on Facebook as search data. Graph Search scours the content that users share on their own pages (including likes, photos, and check-ins) to search for people and business pages. Facebook Graph Search is still in the beta phase, slowly being rolled out to select users, but now is the time to get your business page ready to tap into the power of Facebook Graph Search for B2B marketing.

Complete your business page profile. First and foremost, make sure your page is complete and your information is current, as well as categorized correctly. Include your physical address, hours of operation, web URL, and business description. The more information in your profile, the better chance you have to show up in others’ Graph Search results.

Update and optimize. The Facebook business pages which have a lot of activity will come up higher in the Graph Search results than those that do not. Post frequently with relevant and interesting content that is keyword rich. Include images and video along with text whenever possible as visual posts are great for promoting sharing and increasing reach and rank.

Engage fans. Graph Search accounts for the interaction and positive feedback your Facebook page receives. Facebook rewards pages that have more activity by other users with greater reach and higher search rank. Respond to your fans’ comment and questions on your page and encourage conversation.

Target leads. Although Graph Search is still in its early stages, it boasts the ability to search for other users based on location, interests, friend connections, and more. The ability to segment and target leads in this way promises to be a huge benefit for marketing. Start experimenting now to get a leg up on the competition before Graph Search outgrows the beta stage and other businesses begin to see its full potential.

Link to Facebook. Incorporate links to your Facebook business page on your website, blog, and other social media accounts. Social networking is all about getting noticed, so more traffic to your Facebook page means it will rank higher in Graph Search and be more visible to other users.

While Facebook Graph Search is still being tweaked and in limited release to users, the anticipated benefits for B2B marketing strategy are very exciting. Do you have Facebook Graph Search yet? What impressions do you have of its usefulness and potential for B2B marketing?

Remarketing is an advertising strategy we have found effective in targeting the right prospects for some clients.

What is remarketing?

On average, only 2% of shoppers convert on their first website visit. Remarketing targets the remaining 98% of visitors who came to a site, but did not make a purchase – yet! A remarketing campaign will keep track of visitors who have not converted, and display related banner ads as they visit other sites in the Google network.

This allows you to stay engaged with target audiences who are already familiar with, and have shown interest in your brand. This increases their brand awareness, reinforces your messaging and speaks to the shopper who may still be in the process of making that final buying decision.

A few tips:

1. Target your banner ads to the specific product or service originally viewed on your site. For example, if your company specializes in language courses, and a shopper visits the page about Spanish, the ads shown to them as they browse the web should be for Spanish language courses.

2. Be sure your remarketing creative has a clear call-to-action and/or promotional offer – in other words, a reason to click.

3. Set the timing of the ads to fit the shopper and purchase. Someone looking for a product they will use right away should be remarketed to immediately; people shopping for higher-end items which call for longer decision-making cycles should be targeted later.

4. Mix up the calls-to-action to offer a variety of reasons for a viewer to come back. For example, “Come back to our site for this Special Offer”, and “Have a sales representative contact you to answer questions.”

5. Use images in your remarketing ads. A visitor to your site is familiar with your logo, brand, products, etc. Reinforcing your message and brand will be relevant to the viewer since they will recognize your company already.

Results

We have several clients who are currently running remarketing campaigns. One of them has a very specific niche audience, so a remarketing campaign felt like a perfect fit. We could send specific messages directly to their audience without wasting budget speaking to those who may not be interested in their product. The client only pays when the ad is clicked on – which is usually a strong lead.

For the first year of their campaign, the cost per click was~ $4 for over 1,100 click-thrus. Additionally the campaign yielded over 900,000 impressions at no cost to the client. Considering the entire potential audience for this client is only a few thousand, this was a big win for them and great exposure for their brand.

To find out more about remarketing or discuss if this is a good fit for your company’s marketing efforts, please contact us!

In our last post we shared a little about the foundational work done to create a new brand for Texas Instrument’s medical business unit. The research showed the value and equity in the parent company’s reputation and expertise, so it was important to tie back to TI. And it was important to create a name that speaks to their expanding product applications and audiences.

The chosen name was TI HealthTech, and divisions were identified as: Fitness, Health and Imaging. We also created a tagline: Engineering Components for Life. A message map was written as a guideline for the TI HealthTech team when speaking internally, to customers and to prospects.

Now came the part where we were able to bring the brand to life visually! Following are examples of some of the materials we designed. TI HealthTech, and each division, was assigned a color palette, an icon and a lifestyle mosaic image created from hundreds of images of the TI products and applications. This concept drives home their brand vision – providing technologies that help clients create innovative products to transform healthcare worldwide. Clients and prospects can immediately see how TI HealthTech will benefit them and their customers.

Following are the product guidebook covers:

Additional marketing pieces included web page headers…

…online banner ads…

…an eNewsletter header…

…and other marketing materials.

The new brand was to be revealed at the industry’s largest exhibit, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Come back next week to read about how the launch was received and hear about the results TI HealthTech achieved as a result of the new branding and marketing materials.

What do you think? We’d love your feedback! If you missed our first post describing the initial stages of preparing for this project, click here. And be sure to check back next week for the final post in the series that details the results following the rebranding.

UPDATE: If you missed the conclusion post in this series, please click here to find out the process by which we analyzed the medical business unit’s greatest marketing need and then gathered all the stakeholders together to develop an understanding of how a new brand might look like.

The economy is tough right now, but that doesn’t mean your marketing efforts should suffer. In fact, now may be the best time to beef up your marketing campaigns. Why? Well, the simplest answer is that now is the time to stand out.

Without continued marketing efforts, your business may cease to exist. You certainly don’t want customers to forget about you, and that is just what happens without frequent promotion. Disappear from advertising and your business no longer exists in the minds of your customers.

Your competitors are cutting back on marketing. This gives you a great advantage. Without all the marketing noise, your efforts are more likely to be heard and form a connection with customers. Consumers and businesses are shopping harder, which means they are more receptive to your marketing message, especially if it’s a new message.

Customer confidence is recovering. Economic indicators show that, slowly but surely, customer confidence is beginning to rebound. Those businesses that aggressively promote and market themselves now will be the ones customers remember as spending increases. Similarly, continued marketing efforts send the message that your business is dependable and capable even during difficult economic times.

Marketing is an investment, and one that can pay off greatly over time if done properly. Now is the time to rev up your marketing efforts so your business comes out on top. Here are a few ideas to promote your business and remain visible now:

• Update your website: Include current contact info, promotions, and news, and make sure it’s mobile-friendly.
• Identify your target markets: Focus your efforts on your intended audience and keep your message simple and clear.
• Update your brand logo: Now is the perfect time to re-evaluate your brand position and launch a new or refreshed brand identity.
• Create a business blog: Stand out as an industry leader to  your customers by offering them useful and helpful information.
• Stay social: Continue to promote your business on social networks like Facebook and Twitter and encourage your followers to engage and share your content.
• Update your marketing materials: Send direct mailers and emails to stay in touch with your current customers; update brochures and print ads to reach new ones.

Right now, your business has a great opportunity to stand out with the right marketing efforts. As the economy recovers, you may even find your business leading the pack! We’d love to know, are you going to ramp up your marketing efforts or scale back for the time being?

Photo via Flickr.com

The most physically demanding part of our job here at CS Creative may be rearranging chairs in the conference room, but that doesn’t mean that we’re not inspired by all the amazing athletes currently competing in London. (Go, USA!)

We did a quick in-house poll recently and found that we actually have quite a few jocks among us. So, in the spirit of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, we’ve decided to share with you how our team stays in shape and decompresses after a long day at work.

Over the next few weeks, as we cheer on the athletes sweating it out in London, we’ll be running profiles about our own A-Team staff and their favorite sporting activities. So sit back, grab some popcorn and pop open a beer. Let the Games begin!

First up is Maryjane Stuckey, Office Manager and Production Artist.

What sport or physical activity do you participate in and enjoy most on a regular basis?

Treadmill dancing.

How did you get started?

I got flabby, and walking/jogging are boring. Plus, I love to dance.

Have you ever competed?

Only against my laziness.

Why did you choose this sport/activity?

The treadmill is downstairs.

How often do you engage in this activity?

1-2 times per week.

Are you planning on watching any part of the Olympics?

Maybe.

If you could participate in any Olympic sport at the Olympics or at the professional level, what would it be?

If I could do figure skating without permanently injuring myself (I’ve already broken one wrist while ice skating), I’d love that.

Well, there you have it, folks! Let’s see if we can make treadmill dancing an Olympic sport. Since it’s already a YouTube sensation and pop-culture phenomenon, we see no reason why it can’t be.

Stay tuned for the next Olympic profiles!

Ah, summer advertising. Filled with sun, sand and skin (aka, reminders that we have to get back to the gym!). Now that it’s half way into June, and things are beginning to heat up, we wanted to share some fun, summer-themed commercials. And we’d love to see ones you like as well!

http://youtu.be/ZXyMB7BKPqo

It’s hot outside, so of course we have to include a drink commercial. Here, two fine specimens are united by their love of “droppin’ it.”

Who knew you could make time stand still, just by opening a Pepsi? This is quite the elaborate commercial set!

http://youtu.be/YKtobjAcP74

Although this commercial has been around since October, road trips are definitely a summer event. This extended version of Honda’s commercial features more of their a cappella version of Crazy Train. I love when dad contributes at the 50-second mark.

We’d love for you to post links of fun summer commercials we haven’t included yet to help us all enjoy the heat!

Whenever I attend association meetings for project managers, I’m surrounded by professionals from many fields—logistics, pharmaceuticals, technology, construction—but rarely is there another PMP from a creative agency! Although many designers don’t typically use Gantt charts and other standard project management tools, the basics of project management are hugely important to what we do everyday. Here are just three of the reasons why.

Keep the Client Happy

As the primary contact with the client, I want to keep our clients happy. Timelines are kept current so that we’re all working toward the same goal. I proactively provide them with consistent updates so they always know the status of their projects. These updates include bad news, too. In case of an issue, it always works out best when it’s discussed early so that a little bump doesn’t become a roadblock.

Keep the Designers Happy 

I love working with designers. Their creativity is inspiring, and their enthusiasm for their work is contagious. Usually, I’m their biggest cheerleader. However, their enthusiasm can turn, especially when a design they love is critiqued by the client. I help translate client-speak into design-speak, as sometimes what the client actually says isn’t what a designer hears (and vice versa), so that the next version is even better than they both expected.

Keep It All Organized

Creatives are exactly that: creative. So their time is better spent developing brilliant concepts rather than keep up with the minutia of project details and trafficking. That’s where a project manager comes in. I play a role from start to finish on any project. By creating some simple processes, projects can kick-off consistently every time. You’ll never hunt for files on the media server again, as your project manager will likely create an easy filing system.

At the end of the project, I usually hold a wrap-up meeting to discuss how the project went and what could be done better next time. You’ll be able to easily look back on old projects because your organizational wizard meticulously archived it.

And this is just the start. Project managers are trained to keep projects on time and on budget; imagine how much they could help out with both your projects and your day-to-day operations!

As a member of the Women’s Business Council – Southwest (WBCS), I have the honor of serving on the committee that coordinates and hosts our CEO Roundtable series. These luncheons cover topics like communications, cash-flow management, social media and negotiations in an intimate setting, with discussions led by subject matter experts (SMEs) at each table. What better way to learn and network than at a table for five!

Last week’s luncheon topic was mobilization. In our increasingly mobile society, every company has to adjust – and adjust quickly. This movement affects everything from websites to e-commerce to customer communications. In the last year, mobile searches have quadrupled. And according to eMarketer Online, 66% of Americans ages 25 to 34 own a smartphone.

We were joined by an impressive panel of SMEs. Our experts included Kirk Ballou of Flash Widgets; Will Bralick of Paladin Logic; Bear Cahill of Brainwash, Inc.; Michael Christopher of Elemental Methods; Bryan Schneider of AT&T; and Craig Thompson of Global Web HQ. These guys weren’t shy about sharing knowledge and best practices. (I’m sure that sitting at a table full of women helped.)

Most importantly for the food-lovers in the group, lunch was held at Ocean Prime, a fabulous restaurant here in Dallas. Roundtable attendees had the choice between a ginger crusted salmon or filet mignon. I chose the filet, or course. Yum!

I was surprised by how much I learned in such a short time. Did you know that when browsing on their phones, 40% of smartphone users will immediately leave a site if it’s not mobile optimized? They’ll bounce over to the first competitor that has a user-friendly site on their device. With one-in-seven searches coming from smartphones, it is a sound and strategic move to be optimized for mobile.

If you’d like to learn more about the WBCS and our CEO Roundtable series, feel free to contact me. Who knows? You might be a SME at our next event!

Because some members of the CS Creative team work onsite for our clients, we make sure to get together occasionally so we can stay connected. We always end up laughing and having a great time.

Jonathan (left) and Chase (right) are our newest employees, working as User Interface Designers onsite at TI. Dan and Cindy (middle) are happy to be catching up with all the employees.

Because the happy hour was held right before Easter, we had two holiday-themed activities. One was an egg decorating contest; our waitress chose the winner (so that judging wouldn’t be biased). The other was a guessing contest, where entrants had to guess the number of Reese’s peanut butter eggs in a huge Easter egg; the person closest to the actual number won the candy-filled egg!

Our egg-cellent assortment of entries for the decorating contest. Which two eggs do you think were chosen as the winners?

Tanya presents Jorge the intern with one of this prizes. He tied with Cindy for best design in the egg decorating contest, and he also guessed closest on the number of Reese’s. Winning!

 Ted and Koree, smiling for the camera.

As usual, a great time was had by all. To see all of the pictures from our happy hour, visit our Facebook page.

One of the marketing services that we provide for our clients is onsite placement. We recruit for and fill marketing and design roles for several of our clients including Texas Instruments and Nokia. After all, who better to find great creatives than a creative agency?

Onsite placement is mutually beneficial for all parties involved. The client doesn’t have to deal with recruiting, sorting through multitudes of applicants and performing due-diligence on candidates’ backgrounds. Instead, we search our database and connect with our long-established networks for quality candidates. After evaluating applicants on requirements, in-person interviews and calls to references, we present several qualified options for each role and take care of all of the paperwork to bring him/her on board. Our new employee receives the security of a long-term client contract as well as the benefits of being a full-time employee, such as insurance and professional development. And CS Creative is able to stay closely connected with our client’s marketing department to help with creative projects and work overflow, as well as human resources issues. It’s a win-win-win!

If you’d like to know more about using onsite placement for your company, feel free to contact me, and I’ll tell you all about it.