Rocking Your Tradeshow

Posted on June 17, 2011 by azzia

For many industries, the tradeshow is an opportunity to showcase your company’s offerings, meet new customers, see what your competitors are up to, and ultimately glean new business.  To this end, we’re presenting several strategies you can use to direct your time, energy, and money in directions that will lead to the biggest payoff – customers who need, purchase, and enjoy your services.

Tip #1:

Know your audience. Is this a convention for “techies?”  For antique car collectors?  For organic food vendors?  Before designing your display materials and giveaways, find out who you’ll be talking with.  As much as possible, anticipate their needs and tailor your presentation accordingly.

Tip #2:

Be upbeat, pleasant, and engaging. The highly competent, but low-energy programmer on your team is probably not your ideal front-person.  Preparing for a Tradeshow is a large undertaking, and there may be work for everyone involved.  Assign tasks and duties according to skill set.  Your booth workers should be knowledgeable, friendly, and ready to engage people in a way that is pleasant and pressure-free.
Tip #3

Find a way to collect the contact information of people who visit your booth.  For some industries, this may mean a raffle of a free product or offer for an email newsletter containing special offers.

For another idea, consider the path of Beezwax, a custom web and database company from Oakland, CA.  At Macworld 2009, Beezwax was able to showcase a new product while collecting people’s contact information in a way that was fun for customers.  Clearly, a positive experience at your booth (coupled with appropriate positive follow-up) is the best way to imprint on your customers’ minds.

Customers gave Beezwax representatives their information, which was typed into a computer on the spot.  Instantly, the program generated a full-page introductory letter with the customer’s picture and information, as well as personalized offers based on the customer’s industry.  This customized sheet was printed in color and given to the customer as a take-home reminder of Beezwax’s efficiency, creativity, and the pleasant and inspiring experience of swift technological communication.

Even if your industry is not design or technology, there is a creative equivalent for your company.  Bring in the best creative minds on your team to create a lasting positive impression while harvesting contact information.

Tip #4

Get help with creativity. One of Krak’s core competencies is designing and printing for large format graphics, as well as portable displays for tradeshows that are simple to set up and re-use.  Graphics on displays can be replaced at any time.  Click here to learn more about our tradeshow services.

Your customers – like anyone – want to feel inspired.  Content alone will not impress them; marketing is such a huge industry precisely because packaging (of ideas, services, and products) matters.  Don’t be left behind when there are so many resources available to help you shine.

For more news, tips, and conversation about marketing, design, art, and entertainment – visit us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.  We look forward to speaking with you, online and off.

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Feeding the Beast: Thriving in Social Media

Posted on June 10, 2011 by azzia

Suppose you’ve got the technological savvy to attract consumers to your social media sites.  What now?  As one marketer put it: “You’ve got the beast into your living room.  How do you feed the beast?”

Effective social media marketing takes time and attention.  Every audience is different, and the people attracted to particular campaigns in various industries have their own special desires and sources of inspiration.  It’s important to pay attention to the needs of the group, and evolve accordingly.  Still, there are some universal social media tips to help you get started feeding that beast:

1)      People like variety. Instead of giving link after link, mix it up.  Some marketers suggest a 1/3-1/3-1/3 mix of personal wisdom and tips; links to outside sources of interest; links to your own products and services.

2)      Don’t post just to post. Take the time to find something meaningful or entertaining to talk about.  Become known as a hub for interesting tidbits.

3)      Keep your posts regular. Nothing says “dead zone” like a social media page with weeks or months of no activity.  Appropriate posting frequency varies based on the medium.  Twitter requires frequent posting for an active presence; applications can help you queue up posts in advance to spread them out.  Facebook requires less frequent posting – its members do not want to be over-run by content.  General rule of thumb for Facebook is not more than one post per day.

4)      Pay Attention to Your Followers. What do they like?  Which posts get ignored?  Are they retweeting and sharing your news stories?  A good marketer pays attention to the customer base, and engages in conversation as much as possible.  Cultivate relationships by responding to customer questions and comments.

5)      Be pleasant. No matter which industry you’re posting for, customers value a light touch.  Social media is, after all, fun!  You can be direct and light without becoming trivial.  Simply make your social media sites known as pleasant places to be.

A basic social media presence involves Facebook and Twitter – but the social media universe is large and varied.  Many industries thrive on LinkedIn.  Click here for a list of social networking sites, their membership numbers and page rankings.  Interesting social media fact: Facebook is the second-most visited site online, directly after Google.  Happy posting, everyone.

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Whose Art Is It, Anyway?

Posted on June 4, 2011 by azzia

Recently, Mike Tyson’s tattoo artist sued Warner Brothers for using a mockup of the tattoo in the new movie Hangover II.  Tyson himself had no objection to the likeness, and even appears in the movie (as himself).  The question to be explored and ruled on in court is: Whose art is it?

This is an issue that has been close to the heart – and unfortunately far from the pocketbook – for many artists over the years.  Musicians such as Metallica and Dr. Dre sued Napster in 2000 for copyright infringement and unlawful distribution.  Both suits were settled out of court: a sign that Napster knew it had no legitimate ground to start on.  The issue presented a quandary for many music-lovers.  Supporting bands was important, and so was saving money.  Fans with lower income were torn between a culture of grunge or rap which teaches getting things for free whenever possible and loyalty to the bands they respected.

When a painter sells a piece of work, they have no control over what happens next.  The owner may cut it into pieces, hang it dangerously close to a stove, or paint over it.  Clearly, most art owners take good care of their purchases.  But the power lies with he or she who procures the piece.

Copyright is a different story.  With items such as paintings, songs or photographs, rights are more straightforward.  Music and tattoo pieces are more complex.  Cover songs are common, and while artists are legally required to obtain permission from and pay a percentage of royalties to the original band, some do and some do not.  Tattoo legislation is a brand new – current era – field.  Because the art becomes a part of the customer’s body, does it make any sense for someone else to maintain the rights?  Regardless of the outcome of the Tyson tattoo case, we are certainly in interesting territory.

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Free Tips! Growing the Small Business

Posted on May 28, 2011 by azzia

Today’s post is dedicated to you small-business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs preparing to launch – or re-vamp – your business.  In today’s economy, with so much competition, standing above the crowd is paramount.  But how does one get there?  These tips and strategy are our contribution to your success.  Start implementing today.

Qualities of a Successful Small Business:

  1. Decent Website. It doesn’t need whirlycues that jump out and scratch the head of the viewer, or get them coffee.  The site does need to be clean and easy to navigate, with a design and branding appropriate for your industry and product or service.
  2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Marketing used to mean getting a listing in the Yellow Pages and waiting for the phone to ring.  Now, the immense Internet is the marketing playing field, and the opportunities for networking and building reputation are endless.  This can be overwhelming – but not to fear.  First, you can hire an SEO professional to do this work for you.  Second, basic SEO is accessible to anyone with medium tech skills.

These are top aspects that you can implement on your own:

  1. Internal Linking. Have parts of your site link up to other parts.  This makes your site more appealing to search engines (increases your rating, and therefore your placement in searches).
  2. Fresh Content. Update your site regularly to keep the search engine “trolls” coming back for an update.  Keeping an active blog on your site is an easy way to ensure fresh content on an ongoing basis.
  3. Substantial First Paragraphs. Search engines operate on the assumption that the first paragraph of any page is a summary – so, put there the keywords you expect people to search for you under.

Your local programmer can help with the finer points of SEO – these are the basics, that people with minimal technical knowledge can implement right away.

  1. Register for Local Directories. Whether you provide massage services, Internet Technology support, sell organic wine or occupy virtually any other legitimate industry, there are directories for you to register with.  Check out Google Places and Yelp for starters.
  2. Flyer the Town! A special promotion or event is a great excuse to paper the town with postcards or flyers.  Local bulletin boards can be found at cafés, restaurants and community centers.  Get your name out there, especially if your services or product pertain to the local area.  Even if your business is national or global, offer a discount to your community.  Local relationships – and your sales – will be the better for it.
  3. Social Media. This part is a no-brainer.  With millions of people on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other sites, a presence on at least a few is essential.  People expect to see Twitter and Facebook buttons on a website, and to be able to stay abreast of current news online without visiting your site directly.  Social media marketing means visiting your consumers where they already “hang out” – and given that you can reach millions of them at once, there is no reason not to.
  4. Collect Testimonials. People trust online reviews by strangers.  Companies like Netflix, Amazon and Yelp know this quite well.  Ask your clients to review you on LinkedIn or Yelp, and copy the best reviews onto your website.  Of course, do so within the constraints of any governing institutions (for example, therapists may not solicit or post reviews from past or present clients).

The important part of marketing in the 21st century marketing is not to stick your head in the sand. If this list was intimidating, pick a few items to start with.  We strongly recommend getting help (from us, a friend or other agency) with online marketing.  A small investment can lead to a big payoff.  Don’t be left in the dust.

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Wine and Cheese

Posted on May 24, 2011 by admin

The California Wine Festival is coming to Santa Barbara July 14-16! And all around the state of California, dozens of other festivals are percolating. Wine festivals are a great place for growers to showcase their wines and gain new customers, and the public at large to enjoy community, free samples and music. There’s everything to gain, and nothing to lose, with a strong showing at the California Wine Festival (the so-titled and archetype).

Vendors can make use of social media to promote their booths – including giveaways, raffles and other promotions. A proper display sign or portable banner can enhance the experience for customers and make clear the offerings. Best of all, these displays can be used – graphics replaceable – year after year.

The experience of visiting a booth should be fun, easy and (ideally) result in a sale. Successful booth representatives are friendly, trustworthy and full of life. Customers want an experience that leaves them happy – good products and a quality connection do just that.

Chances are, you’ve got a fantastic product to showcase. Talk with us about your festival needs – we can provide consultation for first-timers or those wishing to spruce up their booth presentation; website re-vamping before the big day; social media promotion of your booth presence; and so much more. Even the best products need a liaison between the bottle and the public – and Krak is in your corner. Good luck, and have fun!

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Social Media and the Circle of Life

Posted on May 20, 2011 by admin

For anyone still unsure whether social media has an impact, check out this story about two children named after Facebook lingo. One child of Israeli parents is named Like, after the Like button. A child of Egyptian parents is named Facebook, in honor of the role of social media in the recent government overthrow.

Proponents of Internet Addiction theories from a decade ago cite 15 hours a day online as a symptom of severe addiction. But between social media, research and work, many of us are online that much, and perfectly healthy about it.

What does this mean for you? If you’re looking to make money, or gain publicity, and are not currently on social media, you’re missing out. 100 million members are on LinkedIn, 200 million on Twitter, 500 million on Facebook. These are streams of traffic waiting to see and hear what you’re up to.

While this may sound intimidating, for many people it’s quite fun. Social media is not everyone’s game – but this is why we work in teams. Simply find a willing digital native (we keep several on staff) who finds that sort of thing gratifying and easy. Then, your message can go out to the public, your customers and (if you’re lucky) you may see your brand name on someone’s birth certificate some time soon.

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