Our Winning Projects:

• Fast Med, Urgent Care – Fast Med Logo
• Fast Med, Urgent Care – Website
• Fast Med, Urgent Care – Brochure
• Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk – Website
• Henkel Search Partners – Website
• Domus – GE Diner Day Invitation

Give Yourself a Business Venture for Mother’s Day, Five Strategic Tips to Get Started

Guest Blogger: Holly Hurd, founder of VentureMom.com, a website that covers moms and their business ideas.

1. Do Something You Love – Figure out what you really enjoy. What do others complement you on? What are you most comfortable doing? What you are passionate about? Kelsey Banfield, one of the moms I’ve written about, is a self-professed “foodie”. With a newborn baby she lost time to cook so she created a plan to prep while the baby napped and finish dinner when her husband got home. Her friends dubbed her the Naptime Chef. She started sharing her recipes with other moms and started a blog, then got picked up by a larger blog and now has her own cookbook and can be seen on several food channels.
2. Get Help from Friends and Family – Tell everyone in your life what you are pursuing and watch the connections and support pour in. Sarina Galu’s son was having nightmares—because she loved to sew, Sarina fashioned a pillow with a pocket for a dream catcher journal to write his fears and dreams and called it TuckaDream. Friends and family loved the idea and were her first customers. As interest grew, a neighbor helped with the creative side of her business along with her husband, who happened to work for a pillow manufacturer. The two families became partners. Sarina says her venture never would have happened if friends and family hadn’t encouraged her and helped her build her business.
3. Do Your Research – Figure out the costs, time, and market associated with your venture. Although, sometimes, you just have to take a leap of faith if you feel strongly about your idea. Leslie Pearlman couldn’t find the ringing phone in her diaper bag, which was attached to her stroller. She wanted a holder for her phone on the stroller handle. Through friends and family Leslie met someone in plastics manufacturing. Leslie figured out the cost of a prototype, filed for a temporary patent, trademarked the name, TextHook, and made a prototype. Taking it around, her first orders came from small stores and she grew from there.
4. Own Your Mistakes – Everyone starting a new venture makes mistakes. Don’t let them slow you down. Learn from them and correct accordingly. Lindsay Cain started designing her own jewelry, but many of her clients wanted to make their own pieces. So she opened a make-it-yourself store called FemmeGems. Hosting women’s parties at night, her clients wanted kid’s birthday parties too. Kid parties in her store proved to be a disaster, but rather than give up on the idea, she opened a new location just for kids called Little Sparklers.
5. Get Organized – Come up with a creative name, create a logo, select brand colors, and print business cards. Give yourself a deadline or you won’t ever move forward. Suzy McCarthy loved making her own granola. When her son urged her to sell it, she got organized with a home kitchen license, packaging, a name, a logo, and colors. Her daughter created a logo based on the company name, ByHand Granola.

Fulfillment is the best gift for this Mother’s Day and what better way to find it than in a new business venture!

341 Studios Roundtable – Creating and Protecting Your Brand

At 341 Studios, we know how everything from body language to the color and shape of an outfit can convey one’s personality, and alter how others perceive you. This week, we asked Scarlett De Bease, Image Consultant and Wardrobe Stylist for Scarlett New York, to share her inside tips and tricks for making sure you act and dress for success!

What Is Your Personal Style Saying About Your Business & Career?

Guest Blogger: Scarlett De Bease

Do you have a good presence? What does your image say about your career and personal success? There is more to having the right image for personal and business success than just wearing a great-fitting pair of pants or handing out an impressive business card. In addition to donning the fit, colors, and style that flatter you the most, remember also that a well-tailored presence is required. Presenting your best image includes many aspects, such as how you dress, smile, shake hands, stand, speak, make eye contact, and even your table manners. In other words, it takes the whole package to get the respect, job, salary, and interest of those you are trying to get to pay attention to you and the message you are sending out.

Your personal and business appearance are affected by, but not limited to:

• The clothes you wear
• Your body language
• The tone and speed of your speech
• Your social media presence
• Your business’s printed materials

All of the above make up the message that you are sending to your clients, superior, co-workers, family, and friends. The way you are perceived is key to how one finds success and happiness in all aspects of life.

Here is the truth:

• Others judge us within 20 seconds of meeting us.
• In a job interview, 90% of the decision whether or not to hire is made within the first three minutes.
• A study by Clairol found that companies projected salaries up to 20% higher based on a job applicant’s appearance.
• How you say something is as important as what you say.
• Power and status are established very early in any relationship.
• People judge us based upon their perception of us.
• Perception of us is based upon the image we project (how we look, act, and sound), which is directly related to our non-verbal behaviors.
• When we are perceived as being highly competent as well as highly likable, we maximize our ability to persuade, influence, and lead.

So how can you be sure that you are putting your best self forward?

Begin by dressing in clothes that work for your personality, lifestyle, and body shape. Notice how when you are dressed in flattering and well-fitting clothes that you start to look and feel more confident. If you want to attract business and personal success, then consider making some needed improvements to your wardrobe, and enjoy the compliments and positive attention you will definitely receive!

With Earth Day just over the horizon (April 22^nd to be precise), here are some key tips for naturally growing your website traffic using organic SEO:

1. Keyword Selection: We can’t stress enough how important keywords are. It’s crucial to have a mix of broad search terms and long tail phrases. Some broad search terms can be very competitive, and unless you are willing to invest in paid ads, you stand little chance of having your company get first-page search listing; e.g., red wine. Long tail phrases even the field a bit since they are more specific. For instance, if your business is tied to a certain location, add a geo-modifier; e.g., New York State Merlot.
2. Site Architecture: The quickest way to deter engagement is to have an unorganized website. We recommend that you organize your site pages by tiers. Tier 1 is the home page because it is the first page browsers see and will garner the most link-flow and link-equity naturally. Tier 2 pages are the category landing pages, such as About, Products, Support. You can try to label a couple of these pages according to key phrases—instead of Products, you could have three distinct navigation buttons/pages: Red Wines, White Wines, Sparkling Wines, etc. Tier 3 are sub-pages that drill down into more specifics, so keeping with our wine theme, under Red Wines would be Merlot, Burgundy, and Chianti.
3. Timing: Don’t expect your site traffic to increase overnight. Depending on your key words, you could see improvement in Google rankings within a few weeks. More competitive terms can take more time and may require more tactical investment such as paid ads, blogging, and social media.
4. Content Development: Consistency is key. Try to update your site frequently. Again, the more competitive the category, the more frequently you need to add fresh content. Updating projects, testimonials, case studies, white papers, photos and videos, news, and blog postings all help to show search engines that you are active. Remember to also weave in key words in the new content and labels.
5. Analytics: Google Analytics is a great tool to see where visitors are coming from, what pages they are going to, and how long they are hanging around. Make sure your site is set up with Google Analytics and make it part of your routine to check it a minimum of every 1-2 weeks. Also, make it part of your routine to visit your competitors’ websites—it’s a great way to stay current on market intelligence.

1. Make sure your website is set up with Google analytics.
2. Have an email signature in all your email correspondences.
3. Make sure branding is compelling—your organization should be easy to read and match your image.
4. Embrace social media and make sure you are updating at least one platform consistently.
5. Use LinkedIn effectively—invite 5 people to connect with you…TODAY.
6. Pay it forward—highlight a client’s achievements or vendors’ services on you media platforms.
7. Have a list of key words and phrases and make sure they are integrated into your web copy, blog postings, and Facebook description.
8. Make sure your website is mobile compatible. This is especially important if people need to schedule appointments, get directions, check hours of operation, etc.
9. Take advantage of networking opportunities; whether it is through the local chamber or BNI, or allied trade associations.
10. Explore co-marketing opportunities with compatible companies.
11. Look into PR opportunities with local community organizations.
12. If you are B2C, and draw from the local area, sponsor community sports teams.
13. Be kind.

New York Times – Instagram Article

Mobile Web Page Tips:

• Optimize for Search (e.g. CMS Plug-ins, Alt-Text, Web Structure)
• Stay Away from Plug-ins (e.g. No Flash, No Players, No Intro Screens)
• Leverage Hardware (Click to Call, GPS, Click to Email)
• Integrate Social (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn)
• Optimize for Screen (Button Sizes, Easy Copy/Paste)

Mobile App Tips:

• Leverage Developement Environment (Embrace the framework)
• Keep Fresh (If content based, should pull from website)
• Leverage Hardware (Click to Call, GPS, Click to Email, Sensors, Media, Push Notification)
• Integrate Social (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Game Mechanics)
• Localize (Embrace global reach by adding language support)

Click here to download the full presentation.

This week we’re welcoming our guest blogger, Rhonda Hurwitz, a marketing professional with more than twenty years experience working in B2B and B2C environments to help business owners identify strategic opportunities and achieve their goals through a variety of means, including social media marketing.

Guide To New Facebook Timeline for Business Pages

It’s March 30th, and Timeline is officially part of everyone’s Facebook page, and we’re excited about the changes!

Here’s a guide to Facebook’s new Timeline:

1. Create a dramatic cover photo to welcome new visitors to your page:

The cover photo replaces the welcome landing tabs, which you may have used in the past. You’ll want to use this expanded area to convey the essence of your brand. (Note: Facebook outlines specific rules about prohibited content on the header, so be sure to stay within the guidelines.)

2. Choose three tab apps to be featured prominently, and customize the graphics:

Apps are now featured across the top instead of the tabs down the side. We like featuring apps for email sign up, videos, and fan-gated promotions over the “number of fans” or location tab. Reposition using the pencil icon, as desired.

3. Rewrite your “About” section:

The “About” section is more prominent now, so create a short keyword-oriented sound bite that describes how you help. Feature a hyperlink to your website.

4. Use “Milestones” to tell your company’s story:

Tell your story—the beginning of your business, your first location, etc. Use photos and videos if available. Check out brands like Coke or Walmart for inspiration.

5. Highlight important content, by “pinning” and “highlighting” posts:

“Star” (i.e., “highlight”) important status updates for a “widescreen” look within your timeline, and “pin” important updates to keep them at the top of your timeline for an entire week.

6. Check out Facebook’s new targeted ad units:

Facebook added several new ad units, including mobile ads, new “offers” (deals), and reach generator ads.  These are highly effective to reach a target, and certainly worth testing.

7. Create engagement with your updates, and track with new “insights”:

Most interactions still happen in the news feed, so engagement is more important than ever! Remember, Facebook isn’t about broadcasting. Spark conversations, respond to comments, and connect with your fans.

8. Explore Facebook’s new Timeline Admin Panel for other new features:

New Timeline has expanded “insights” metrics, fan-to-company messaging, the ability to hide old posts, etc. Lots of special features to “like”!

9.  Continue to build your following outside of Facebook:

Make sure you are taking advantage of Facebook’s Open Graph, to fully integrate Facebook sign up on your website.  Also integrate in emails and elsewhere.

10.  Stay calm, and work your plan:

This is a great time to review your Facebook objectives, and make sure you are making steady progress towards achieving your social marketing goals.

A few tools have changed, but you’ll be used to them in no time. If you have a plan, work it. If you are flying by the seat of your pants, we are here to help!

Check out Rhonda’s past blogs – LinkedIn: What’s in it for You (Part 1) (Part 2)