March 3rd, 2010
Classes
Owner, Heather Brown, has been teaching classes for economic development departments, real estate companies and other businesses. Customized classes are available, but here are the most popular classes.
- Marketing I – Learn how to grow your business. Learn about the importance of branding, logos vs. branding and marketing tips.
- Marketing II – learn how to strategically create marketing plans, leads, farms, postcards, overview of social media. Students will create a 6 month marketing plan.
- Do-it-yourself Marketing – Learn marketing tips and tricks you can do yourself on a budget, learn what directories get the best results, how to get free leads and more!
- Cold Calling Class – In this market, we all need to do everything possible to get business. In this class you will overcome the obstacles of the infamous “cold call.” Practice making “fake” calls in class and learn some pointers –
- Publisher beginner class – learn the basic foundation of publisher and how to make flyers and postcards, comes with a cd of templates
- Publisher intermediate class – learn how to make publications and some short cuts, comes with a cd of templates
- Publisher advance class – learn about html email newsletters, style sheets and publication design, comes with a cd of templates
- Twitter Basics – Learn what Twitter is and the basics. Students will learn how to set up an account and twitter lingo.
- Twitter for Realtors – learn how to strategically use twitter to connect with clients and list homes. Learn common mistakes that Realtors make while tweeting.
- Twitter Professional Tips – What the big marketing companies don’t tell you. Learn how to find genuine followers, track results, get more followers quickly and more secrets!
Contact us to book a class or to learn more!
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February 17th, 2010
Here are some interesting twitter statistics according to worldwide comScore who releases figures today.
- 73.5 million unique individuals visited Twitter in January 2010, up 8 percent from December
- Twitter has an amazing growth rate of 1,105 percent!
- 2009 was Twitter’s best year ever!
- It is estimated 1 billion tweets were tweeted in December and 1.2 billion tweets in January! (information provided by Crunchbase)
Keep in mind that comScore configures these number from twitters own site. These numbers do not record usage from mobile phones and other applications like the popular hootsuite and twillow tools. Numbers from those apps may be twice as large.
With almost 75 million users tweeting over a billion tweets a month, it makes sense for you to use twitter strategically to grow your business! Read more about strategic tweets and how to make twitter work for you!
Cultural Sponge develops strategic twitter campaigns to help businesses brand, create a buzz and grow. Contact us today for a free consultation!
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February 15th, 2010
Getting a lot of friend requests from people you don’t know, but are friends of friends? I always accept those requests (if the person does not seem like they are spammers.) Recently, I tested out a reply message to this type of friend request. Here’s my reply message:
Hi,
Thanks for the friend request! I see that we have some friends in common and thought I would tell you a little more about myself. I own a business called Cultural Sponge specializing in graphic design, websites, marketing and strategic twitter accounts. I am the official graphic design company for Phoenix Pride and other local organizations. You can check out my work at www.culturalsponge.com
I would love to know more about you and your company!
Have a great day!
Heather
This is a non intrusive way to say- Hi, since we are now friends, let me tell you what I do and how I can help you! I received several positive reactions and learn that my new friends are either business owners or know business owners that I can help and I even got a few appointments.
So, next time you get a friend request from a friend of a friend, don’t ignore it, use it to your advantage!
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February 11th, 2010
These tips may seem like no brainers, but it’s always to good to review your business marketing efforts.
- Make it easy for people to do business with you -For example: if a client wants to pay with a credit card and you don’t accept credit cards, find a way to make it work.
- Constant Contact, Follow-Up and Follow Through with all Customers – Once is never enough! Be in front of your clients through emails, phone calls and networking events. Always follow up after meeting a new potential client. Try to arrange a meeting or coffee.
- Always Grab the Attention of Your Target Audience – Go out on a limb and be unique! This will set you apart from your competitors.
- Always Ask for the Sale – seems simple right? After every phone call or meeting simply ask, “Is there anything I can help you with today?
- Great Brands are CONSISTANT - Customers won’t remember your logo if they only see it once or if it looks different each time. Your logo needs to look the same each time it is reproduced. It also needs to look good and be the right resolution for the appropriate project. (print, web, embroidered on clothing, on a billboard, a vehicle wrap, a pen…)
- Appreciate Your Customers – Giving referrals is the best way to appreciate your customers! You can also send handwritten thank you notes, drop off small gives or simply say, “I appreciate your business!”
- Don’t Waste Your Adverting Dollars by only placing one ad- REPETITION = RESULTS
- Get behind a Local Charity – This may get you press, but more importantly makes you feel good!
- Collect email/mailing addresses and send out newsletters
- Build Strategic Alliances for Referrals – Join Chambers, Meetup www.meetup.com and Networking groups
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February 11th, 2010
What is Brand Equity?
Equity is defined as the value built up in an inanimate or animate object. Just like a house, a brand can also lose or gain equity.
Equity Building Tips
- Product Performance – If you’re product performs well, others will recommend you. Recommendations will begin to build your brand equity and credibility.
- Packaging of Product – Ever notice how computer software is package in large, fancy designed boxes more then twice the size of the actual disks? The packaging justifies not only the high price of software, but also helps to build the brand equity through professional design and packaging.
- Logo/look and feel of entire package - Let’s imagine that you need to get your brakes repaired and you received postcards for two brake shops within a mile of your house. Brake Shop A’s postcard is printed on a heavy glossy paper and is rich with sharp colored graphics, a noticeable logo and a clear message – “We do quality work for less money.” Brake Shop B’s postcard is printed on less heavier cardstock, the graphics are blurry and fonts are slightly hard to read and there is no identifying logo. Which brake shop would you choose? Most would say Brake Shop A. Not only does a quality logo improve a company’s equity in branding, but the consistent clean look and feel increases the equity as well.
- The Tag line – It is important to include a clear description with every appearance of your business name so an accurate awareness of the company is built directly and quickly, allowing instant recognition of what the company is trying to sell, to whom and in what market. The tagline fills this role: it can add more than just an industry reference; it can claim dominance, speed it’s equity in a given market.
- Repetition - Repetition plays a crucial role in brand equity. Ever wonder why some commercials play twice in a row? Ever see a commercial so many times you think, “Not this commercial again….?”
The more you see the message, product and logo, the more equity is built. As equity is built, the consumer will relate more value and better quality to a particular product or service.
Losing Equity
Along with increasing brand equity, your brand can also lose its equity very quickly.
The most common reason for loss of brand equity is unprofessional marketing material.
New business owners may try to cut corners and design their own flyers and postcards. They are often doing more harm then good. It is better to hire a professional to build your brand equity through print. Poor logo design that does not target your specific market also adversely affects your brand equity. If your logo is not attracting your target market, it is time to redesign. Lastly, if you do not market on a consistent basis, your built up equity will decline.
Don’t loss equity within your brand! Contact us toady!
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