Posts from: 8/2008

• Improving Saranac Beer's Website and Moving Them to a Content Management System

  Aug 29, 2008 by Clay Schossow | Filed in: Clients, Content Management | Comments (0)

  I wanted to take the time to write about one of our recent projects that we're really proud of. We recently implemented a new site for Saranac, a nationally distributed and absolutely delicious beer company based in Utica, NY. The site was designed by Romanelli Communications, one of many firms across the country that use NMC as a strategic web partner for advertising agencies.
  
  Sarnac's previous site was cumbersome to navigate and nearly impossible to edit content. They knew that they wanted a streamlined navigation structure and the ability to constantly refresh content. After seeing a demonstration of our content management software, Saranac management instantly knew that this would be the best way to frequently update their web content.
  
  Romanelli provided us with a beautiful design and we set about putting it onto our Content Management System. Every area of the site is completely controlled by the system, allowing Saranac to highlight new contests, popular brews, and breaking news on their homepage. Also, by incorporating some web 2.0 tools to enhance their site, Saranac has been able to start a conversation with their consumers. Whether it's the ability to comment on interior pages or sign up for the latest events, Saranac visitors are able to use the site to easily communicate and interact with the brand.
  
  So far, the site has been a success. They've been able to use the Content Management System completely independent of assistance from us, have registered numerous visitors for different contests, and received dozens of comments on the interior pages of the site.
  
  We're really proud of Romanelli Communications' design, our team's implementation, and Saranac's embrace of content management and web 2.0 tools. Let us know your thoughts on the site.
  

• Three Third-Party Tools We Use to Build Better Websites

  Aug 21, 2008 by Clay Schossow | Filed in: Content Management, Tools | Comments (1)

  At NMC, we pride ourselves on providing our clients with powerful websites...I think our homepage headline makes that pretty clear. In building powerful websites, we recognize that it's not always necessary for us to "reinvent the wheel."
  
  By being willing to plug in other applications to our sites, we avoid having to custom develop certain complex elements of the site, thus saving us time and saving our clients money. It's not necessary for us to spend time and our client's budget trying to reinvent something that another vendor has already focused on and poured resources into.
  
  We understand that work it takes to make a really powerful and compelling application, as we've dedicated our team and resources into building a powerful Content Management System that is one of the best around. So, we're not hesitant to recognize the strengths of different companies in other niches and we frequently leverage their technology to make our websites more powerful.
  
  Here are three of our favorite vendors to incorporate into our sites:

  • Wufoo form builder - Wufoo's tagline is "making forms easy + fast + fun." We couldn't agree more. Wufoo is a simple to use tool, with robust capabilities. We have dozens of clients that use Wufoo as their primary form tool, allowing them to easily create new forms, start petitions, process contributions, and more. Much thanks to the Wufoo team for making such a powerful tool so easy and fun to use.
  • Campaign Monitor Email Marketing Software - Campaign Monitor is our email marketing tool of choice. Seems like from an ad agency or design firm's perspective, Campaign Monitor has done just about everything right with this product. Unlike their competitors, they give you complete control over the look of your email template in a very easy-to-use manner. Also, their CreateSend system makes it easy to give our clients a personal login to manage their email campaigns from start to finish, on their own.
  • Disqus comments system - We haven't used Disqus extensively, but plan on using them more frequently after recent successes. We recently used them to create a web 2.0 atmosphere around the Saranac Beer website, allowing visitors to comment on just about any page and start a discussion about the company's products. Disqus was easy to plug in to the site and added some really cool functionality that the client has been very excited about.

  
  All three of these companies save our clients money by allowing us to easily and affordably plug their powerful software into our client sites. If you know of any other cool tools we should be using more regularly, let us know.

• 5 Things Your Company Could Learn From Web Celebs

  Aug 18, 2008 by Clay Schossow | Filed in: Blogging, Web Marketing | Comments (0)

  A recent Wired article details the rise of Julia Allison, one of a long list of people who have managed to become Web Celebs without really doing anything worthy of fame.  Whether it's making a viral YouTube video about your new haircut or crying about Britney's VMA performance, there have now been dozens of people and companies that have become Web Celebs and built their own online brand.
  
  Allison's claim to fame is blogging and tweeting just about everything she does...not to mention having a string of famous boyfriends.  While it's easy for many organizations to write off her online success as annoying and pandering - there are still several things that organizations can learn from her to help build their brand online.
  

  1. Be Innovative - The Web Celeb clique have each been innovative in their own way.  Whether it was a new style of humor or being unprecedentedly open about personal secrets, most web celebs have done something innovative to call attention to themselves.  Organizations don't necessarily need to do something as risky as these tactics, but they should still keep up with the technology curve, which will usually make them seem innovative compared to their peers.  Whether it's linking to Twitter and Facebook, Embracing Flash Video, Blogging, or allowing consumers to discuss your product on the site (we did something like this for the Saranac Beer website), it's important to not let your site fall behind the times.
  2. Keep Generating Good Content - Each of the aforementioned celebs constantly generates content.  While it's not as important for a normal business or non-profit to post content on their site by the hour, they should refresh their news, blog, and other elements each week.  One easy way to do this is to manage your website with a Content Management System - the system will make it easy and painless to frequently update your site's content.
  3. Start a Conversation - It's important to prompt your audience for feedback and give them the opportunity to get in contact with you.  This includes writing open ended blog posts that prompt responses or just simply giving people an easy way to reach out to you.  This conversation will make the experience at your site that much more relevant to the visitor, and when they hear back from you, it will encourage them to come back and visit again.
  4. Know Your Audience - Julia Allison knows that visitors to her website want to read about her dates and details about her social life - so, she gives people what they want and they continue to visit and refer other visitors.  By tailoring your content to your specific audience, you'll build a better connection with visitors to your site and encourage them to return.  This can be difficult at times - we recently completed building a new website for a national non-profit, and it was tough to balance addressing potential donors, applicants, and others, as each comes from a different demographic.  However, after some work, we were able to find ways to make it very intuitive for stakeholders to quickly access the information that mattered most to them. 
  5. Don't Give Up Easily - Many of the web celebs had blogged for years or posted dozens of videos before they found their celebrity.  If you're site doesn't instantly receive the traffic you were hoping for, don't get discouraged.  Keep generating good content and working to improve your site, and someone will take notice.  Once you start to build a following, it will grow exponentially, so it's important to keep at it and don't get discouraged.

  These tips will help turn your static site into a more heavily trafficked online brand.  It doesn't happen over night, and for some, it may never happen.  However, by following the examples of people who have successfully built their own online brands, you can greatly improve your site, traffic, and reputation.
  

• Another Free Google Tool To Compliment Your Online Campaign Strategy

  Aug 7, 2008 by Clay Schossow | Filed in: Tools, Politics | Comments (0)

  Google released a new tool today to help voters scour through the thousands of hours of political footage on YouTube. The feature is called the Elections Video Search. A user can type in a phrase and then see what candidates across the nation have said about that specific issue.
  
  The screen shot below shows the results returned for a search on "nuclear energy." When you play an individual video, yellow marks on the timeline delineate where the topic is mentioned in the speech. By mousing over one of those marks, you can read the direct quote.
  
  
  
  It's a pretty neat technology and will be really helpful to voters wanting to learn where candidates stand on specific issues. Currently, it seems that the tool is aimed mainly at the Presidential candidates - it actually allows you to filter the results to show just McCain or Obama quotes.
  
  This is just another example of a free tool to help support your online campaign strategy. Looking forward to watching how it continues to develop, scale, and be used.
  
  

• New Media Campaigns Web Design Listed on CSS Divine

  Aug 6, 2008 by Joel Sutherland | Filed in: Design, New Media Campaigns | Comments (0)

  As you may have noticed, newmediacampaigns.com has a new look.  Last week we launched a design refresh that focused on improving our homepage.  Our main addition was the slideshow on the homepage that features some of the recent work we have done for clients. We have also improved other areas of the site and updated our cool sliding web design portfolio.

  Using Google Alerts, we noticed today that CSS Divine had selected our new site design to list on their homepage. CSS Divine is a website devoted to beautiful web design that has been implemented using CSS.

  It is an honor to have our work recognized for its beautiful design as well as its technical features. If you have any feedback on the refresh, let us know.

   

• How Google Alerts Can Support Your Online Campaign

  Aug 5, 2008 by Clay Schossow | Filed in: Politics, Tools | Comments (0)

  You've designed and launched your campaign website, sent out an email blast driving people to the site, and even written a blog post.  Great.  However, your online campaign doesn't just stop there!   It's important to continually keep working on improving your campaign website and Internet strategy.  One particular tool that can help inform your online campaign strategy is Google Alerts.  
  
  First, you enter the terms you want to keep tabs on.  Then, Google Alerts will email you anytime a Googlebot comes across one of your listed terms.  This feature allows you to easily and passively keep up to date on your campaign's online brand.
  
  We've setup Google Alerts for a few of our clients, and it has proved an invaluable tool.  Frequently, the Alert will be about a YouTube video that our candidate had no idea existed, because someone was taping it from the back of the audience.  Also, they are really helpful to see what the Blogosphere is saying about your campaign.
  
  Google Alerts is a powerful tool that is underused by too many campaigns.  I recommend setting up an alert for the candidate's name, your opponent(s), key donors and staffers, and important issues in the area.
  
  This is one of the easiest ways to track your online brand, improve your online strategy, and  harness the power of the most innovative company in the world.