The F7 Blog
Figureseven, Inc. has been helping businesses maximize their offline and online marketing efforts for over a decade. This blog provides insight, tips and advice from our experts to help you achieve your marketing goals.
Archives by Date
August 2010 (1)July 2010 (1)
June 2010 (2)
May 2010 (1)
April 2010 (2)
March 2010 (1)
February 2010 (2)
January 2010 (6)
December 2009 (5)
November 2009 (5)
October 2009 (7)
September 2009 (10)
August 2009 (1)
July 2009 (1)
June 2009 (5)
May 2009 (5)
April 2009 (3)
Archives by Category
Branding (21)Email Marketing (3)
Information Architecture (9)
Marketing (25)
Search Engine Optimization (9)
Social Media (17)
Technical Information (6)
Usability (9)
Web Hosting (3)
Web Marketing (23)
Web Site Design (15)
Web Site Management (9)
Figureseven, Inc.
615 South Street
Fitchburg, MA 01420
877-626-2771
Another Quick Observation From the Back Cubicle
By Greg Czarnowski, Principal, Figureseven, Inc.
September 30, 2009 in Web Site Design, Branding, Marketing
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
LinkedIn
Del.icio.usYou have to look no further (or in this case, listen) to understand the influence (and importance) of interactive marketing than by listening to a sponsorship spot on WBUR. With limited time to get their benevolent promotional message across, the emphasis of the sponsor is now on directing listeners to their web site. In the past, precious time (and word count) was used providing the phone number (and remember, phone numbers appear in writing a lot more easily than they are spoken over the air) as the means of generating business from loyal listeners. Now, they are simply directed to the company's web site. No fuss - no wasted syllables. You should think about adding a similar thrust to the marketing of your company. Whatever you send ahead or leave behind, make sure that it has your corporate url on it - otherwise you are missing out on a natural promotional opportunity.
What's your Call to Action?
By Scott Devlin, Director of Business Development, Figureseven, Inc.
September 28, 2009 in Web Site Design, Web Marketing, Information Architecture, Usability, Marketing
Many companies focus only on content and design when developing their website. I agree that those are very important parts of a successful web strategy, but just as important is your site having a Call to Action. A Call to Action is the action you want your visitors to take when they visit your site. Below are a couple of tips to think about to make your Call to Action more effective.
- Make it Easy to Find: Locate it on your Home Page. It doesn’t matter the type of website you have, if you do not have a Call to Action on your homepage you will miss out on potential business. Many ecommerce websites like Amazon.com will allow you to start buying right on the home page.
- Give an Incentive: The most important thing is that your Call to Action is directed towards your target market. If you can give useful information that helps build brand awareness, that may be the greatest incentive you can give. It needs to be something that makes them want to find out more about you.
- Cleary Define the Action: Having a button that reads “Get a Quote” or "Click Here for a Free SEO Analysis" will be more effective than just a button that says "Contact Us."
- Make them Buy the Cow: If you want to give away proprietary information such as whitepapers or webinars, don't just let them download them for free. Protecting intellectual property with a simple gateway form that requires registration with an email address will help to build up your contact list.
Ultimately, you can use your website to increase business. Following these simple web guidelines will help increase your likelihood for success.
What exactly does "Figureseven" mean?
By Jeremy Daly, President, Figureseven, Inc.
September 22, 2009 in Branding, Marketing
When the company was first starting out, we were always being asked the same series of questions by prospective clients. And it was from our answers to these questions that the corporate name evolved.
Eager to take full advantage of the web’s ability to gain one’s business increased exposure, one of the first questions asked was usually “How many days will it take you to develop some initial concepts for our web site for us to review? Since we were eager to win the business and wanted to demonstrate our exceptional responsiveness, the most common response we would provide would be “Figure seven, maybe even less.”
What Does a Chef Cook Himself for Dinner?
By Greg Czarnowski, Principal, Figureseven, Inc.
September 19, 2009 in Web Site Design, Branding, Marketing
I've been sitting here the past week watching as everyone at Figureseven worked tirelessly to relaunch our corporate web site. There were so many details to take care of from perfecting the coding to placing our magnets to tweaking the content. When you're in this business, you need to make sure that your own web site casts you in the best possible light. We'll be fine-tuning it over the weeks ahead, adding links, subtracting images, and adjusting design elements to help us to create the best possible product. But what's there now is terrific – congratulations to every member of our team for a job well done.
I thought you were teaching me how to play baseball?
By Scott Devlin, Director of Business Development, Figureseven, Inc.
September 18, 2009 in Branding, Marketing
For most of us, we hold a special place in our hearts for our first true love. I am no different. My first love was baseball. It was the first thing I remember my dad teaching me about. I learned many things playing baseball in my childhood that I have been able to take with me throughout life and into my career. My dad used to tell me that sports and life mirrored each other. He would drill things into my head that looking back on now, make me realize just how right he was. Please allow me to share a few of these with you.
The value of teamwork: Anyone who was part of a team or group growing up knows that success was often decided by how cohesive that group was. The best and most successful teams I was lucky enough to be a part of had a special way of working together and playing to everyone’s strengths. Work is no different than sports. Getting everyone on board towards a common goal will help your team succeed.
More Observations from the Back Cubicle
By Greg Czarnowski, Principal, Figureseven, Inc.
September 17, 2009 in Social Media, Branding
Good for the President for calling Kanye West a jerk – he was. I actually find the occasional “every man” observations about life that he makes to be refreshing because they haven’t been sanitized and they add a much-needed human element to his persona. I want a person with actual feelings leading my country, not some pre-programmed rhetoric spouter who is simply trying too hard to keep everyone happy.
I saw repeated commercials for ”Yaz” over the weekend (an ad flight perhaps recommended by the FDA) explaining the misrepresentations that apparently occurred in their previous television ads – if you weren’t confused before, you are now. As a lifelong Red Sox fan, I wonder how the original ”Yaz” feels about having this product be his namesake?
Yikes! Your web site doesn't matter?
By Scott Devlin, Director of Business Development, Figureseven, Inc.
September 15, 2009 in Web Site Design, Web Site Management, Branding, Marketing
Can you imagine not having your television? How about your computer? Your cell phone? Your stereo? Food? Water? Air? Some of these things we need to live and some we could live without. I was recently speaking with a Director of Sales and Marketing, and in the course of that conversation she was telling me that business was still slow and that hopefully things would be picking up. I asked about what they were doing to drive business in this economy. She said that they had their sales people selling really aggressively and with some complementary advertising, they believed they would find success. It sounded pretty good.
The following day, I was thinking about our conversation and decided to check out her company’s website. For lack of a better term, it was “awful!” I called her up and asked her about it. She knew it was terrible and did not care. Huh? I couldn’t understand her apathy. I told her that her company’s website was more than likely the primary vehicle that potential clients used to gather information to learn more about her company. It was, at that moment, that she said the unthinkable, “We only have a website because we have to.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. We are in the middle of a recession and a Director of Sales and Marketing for a sizeable company was telling me that the look of and the content on her web site did not matter to her. This wasn’t her saying they had no budget to do something about it – rather, she was saying it didn’t matter. I asked her how her sales people felt about the website. She stated they were not happy with it, but, that it was just an excuse for them as to why they weren’t selling. I knew there was little I could tell her to change her mind that day and I believe that she will realize sooner than later something will need to be done.
Why you should run your business with Glee!
By Jeremy Daly, President, Figureseven, Inc.
September 8, 2009 in Web Marketing, Social Media, Branding, Marketing
At the end of an extremely busy week, I finally found a little time to sit down, relax and watch some TV. Since the Sox were getting pounded by the other Sox, I decided to play some much-needed catch up on my DVR. After clearing off a vintage episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (thanks SyFy), I watched the new FOX show, Glee, that I recorded earlier in the week. The episode focused on a small group of unpopular, yet extremely talented students, that all signed up for the Glee club. The underlying theme stressed the importance of being part of something bigger than yourself and the shared “glee” you experience after achieving something great. While I thoroughly enjoyed the show, it actually had a much more meaningful and deeper effect on me personally. It got me thinking back to high school and the impact music had on me!
I didn’t have the chops for Glee Club when I was in high school, frankly I’m surprised my three-year-old daughter even lets me sing to her now, but I did play trumpet in the concert band and trombone in the jazz band. Even though we weren’t the Boston Pops, my little high school band still had its moments. But what made those experiences so rewarding, was the overwhelming sense of pride and excitement I felt when the conductor waived his baton and this massive group of people coordinated in perfect harmony. Now that I think about it, it kind of makes me wonder why more businesses don’t run their marketing campaigns like a maestro conducts his orchestra.
Another Observation From the Back Cubicle...
By Greg Czarnowski, Principal, Figureseven, Inc.
September 4, 2009 in Branding, Marketing
When I review most companies' promotional materials, I am consistently amazed by their lack of understanding of both visual and verbal consistency when it comes to proper branding. I am holding a company’s presentation folder that has one logo treatment (and I am including the positioning statement beneath the corporate name/symbol as part of the logo) on the front of the piece and an entirely different one on the back. What were they thinking? I think the same thing every time I watch a “Caveman” ad from Geico on one station and then switch channels and watch a “Gecko” Geico ad on another. Wish I had their budget to waste....
If your company business card doesn’t have the same logo treatment on it that appears on the company sign on the building you’re in or on your corporate web site, then your company is “dropping the ball” on branding. With so much competition out there, offering the exact same look and message every time you get the opportunity for exposure is a critical component in any marketing effort. If you need help carrying that branding ball, give Figueseven a call.
Observations From the Back Cubicle...
By Greg Czarnowski, Principal, Figureseven, Inc.
September 1, 2009
Figureseven is ready to build your business – it’s our common sense approach to marketing that enables us drive customers to our clients. That same common sense drove me to the following observations:
- September 1st is upon us – and even though Labor Day has yet to arrive, I’m old school - when school starts, the summer is over. And if you’re like me (and I’m thinking that a lot of you out there were), the struggling economy meant that there was no time (nor funding) for “a real vacation” this year – maybe next year.
- Did the swine flu take a summer vacation? It was with us last spring, it is expected to come roaring back this fall, so what’s it been doing for the past 3 months? You mean to tell me that classrooms are flu incubators, but summer camp programs aren’t? Let’s just hope that it won’t be as bad as everyone is predicting.
- I volunteer to fill Ted Kennedy’s vacant Senate seat for the remainder of his term, and I promise not to run for office ever again.
- Was there ever a better visual for requiring term limits for politicians than the image of Senator Byrd, slumped in a wheelchair at the base of the Capitol steps as Ted’s hearse arrived? Certainly didn’t inspire me to see one of the 102 most powerful politicians in this country in such a sorry state – how’s his decision-making acumen right now?
- From a Ted to a Tedy - Tedy Bruschi’s eloquence at his retirement ceremony was a marvel. His enthusiasm for his job while on the field is matched perfectly by his comfort with his decision to leave it. And his boundless energy always contributed to why it was appropriate that he was always “Tedy” and not “Ted.”
- Finally, I hope that Josh Beckett starts pitching well again or it will be a long, agonizing month...
