1) Spend as much time listening as you do sharing. Leave comments and answer questions on others’ posts, pages and blogs. The more you comment and share, the more visible you are.

2) Fill out every section asked for on social sites. These places are searchable by the search engines.

3) Don’t be afraid to show your personal side. People connect with people. Real people.

4) People have increasingly shorter attention spans so they need your message to be short and relevant!

5) Use social media to start a conversation, drive traffic to your website and increase your brand recognition and loyalty.

6) Not engaging in a conversation is like answering the phone and not speaking.

7) Ask questions! Use social media to find out what your customers want.

Use social media to help your customers. It will come back to you!

9) Use social media to monitor what your competition is doing and DO IT BETTER!

10) Let everyone know you are online by posting icons and addresses on everything from email signatures to stationary to pens to signs to business cards to…you get the point.

by: Bradley Joseph

1. Upload to Social Media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter etc. This will increase your Google Analytics significantly. The cross-marketing will result in exponential results.

2. Include (embed) in your monthly electronic newsletters – most newsletters easily allow formatting for links to your videos. We recommend Constant Contact – for best practices.

3. Embed video on the home page of your website – this will allow for your story to be told digitally without viewers scrolling through endless content.

4. Include in an all your electronic campaigns i.e. Living Social, Groupon etc. Too frequently these campaigns are impersonal and you can secure a clear message to targeted consumers. Using HD video is a unique way to tell your story. Adverting is expensive and sometimes does not produce the targeted results we like to achieve. You control the message – execute your brand to desired audiences.

Lastly, dedicate a significant budget to create a high quality video. Too often there are low-end production resources and you’ll be disappointed with the results.

Here’s a little checklist for you before you start the process of a new logo identity for your business:

1.  Name of the service/product:
2. Any slogans to use?:
3. Any specific color schemes in mind?:
4. What are you trying to convey through the logo?:
5. Any other specifics:

To DO’s on existing or while logo is being designed:

1. Make it a vector file…NOT A JPEG!
2. Make it readable…don’t use some trendy scipty-bleeding-font
3. Make it current…don’t use some techno-trendy image of something that looks “so 2008”
4. Make sure it has a strong, balanced image with no little extras that clutter its look
5. Does it have a distinctive, bold design, making it easy to see at a glance?
6 Does it have graphic imagery that looks appropriate for your business?
7. Does it work well with your company name?
8. Does looks good in black and white, as well as in color?

If you would like us to help you with your new mark or even want pick our brains, that’s what we are here for, please be in touch!

- Jill Hodges

Despite what people say about the waning economy, at Silver Spur Productions we see a lot of growth and potential in this market.
New businesses are popping up everywhere, and with that come new…LOGOS!
Here’s quick but critical look at some do’s and don’ts:

NAMING:
The name of your business is ridiculously important. Make sure you aren’t’ competing with another business that has something similar, i.e….your great grand mother’s maiden name was Quizmo…um, no. Everyone on earth will thing you are copying a sandwich shop. Look for something relevant to your product. Do research, look on the Secretary of the State’s website for competitors.

KNOW WHO YOU ARE:
Before you meet with your design team, take some time to really think about who your business is. It’s surprising how often new businesses have an identity crisis even before they begin.
Are you female-centric? technology? Playful?
Luckily, Silver Spur has a fantastic questionnaire that can help you with this stuff.
It’s best to get your head around your new business first; pretend like you are filling out a dating application for your business and see where that takes you.

LOGO:
Usually a person or company has a general “idea” of what they are looking for in a logo.
Color, shape, illustrated, typographic, classic, contemporary etc…
Coming to a meeting with an esoteric notion of an idea like a phoenix being birthed out of an agave plant in the middle of a desert (this is a real example..ahem…Bradley)…that is often hard for a designer to get their head around. But seriously. It’s often best to do some research on your own. Look online at logos you like, tear ads out of magazines, find colors at Sherwin Williams.
We are artists and have great imaginations, but we are creating and interpreting an extension of YOU!

TAG LINE:

This is dependent. Sometime they are useful, sometimes they take up space. Think about your product, and if people aren’t going to know right away what you do we can help you come up with something clever. However; your tag line can change through the years as your company evolves.

-Jill Hodges

Have questions? Leave us a comment!

1. The primary focus of your social media efforts should be sharing not selling. If you don’t read anything else in this post – that’s ok. This is the most important.

2. Social Media is just as much about listening and sharing as it is posting. Don’t assume you know what your audience wants! Use the tools to listen to find out what’s going on with your customers. They are sharing. Are you listening?

3. Only start using social media if you plan to use it. Customers translate lack of use into how you do business.

4. Only participate on sites you plan to manage and manage well.

5. One of the goals of social media is to create conversations and spend time maintaining those relationships.It’s better to maintain and engage in social conversations than it is to over post.

6. Always remember that you don’t have to pitch or sell to keep yourself present in peoples’ minds. This means you can ask questions and give free helpful advice. The less “look at me – look at me” the better.

7. Goal: set yourself apart as the authority in what you do.

8. Social media is different from traditional media because once the information is out there; it’s out there forever; therefore, always allowing customers to find it when they are ready to find it.

9. Determine your goals — what are you looking for? More traffic to your website? A large online community base? More customer interactions?

10. Keep it Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic/Relevant and Timely (a/k/a be SMART!)

We hope this helps!

What Makes Us Different
• You will work exclusively and directly with Silver Spur Principals.
• We pride ourselves in provide the most creative team to enhance your marketing presence and being focus on the latest trends and technologies.
• We are able to integrate with your team, operating as adjunct staff as cost-effective way of filling out your marketing team. This gives you on-demand access to additional expertise graphic design, strategic marketing support and public relations, video production and web resources.
Think of us when you are ready to kick into high gear!
Bradley Joseph, Founder/President – Silver Spur Productions