Someone referred me to www.howsociable.com for online “stats.” I was intrigued, but wasn’t quite sure what to make of it when I got in there and was given a number for the Liquis visibility score. We were given a 34, but out of what and what does that mean? Don’t get me wrong, it was totally fun to see those little twinkling circles in anticipation of my result… kind of like that feeling you get when tallying up your results for one of those silly magazine quizzes. But, just like the latter, I was met with disappointment at the realization that it isn’t real.

Or isn’t it? Am I missing something? The scoring guidelines seemed so vague and I’m not sold. Plus, what if you’re focused on niche sites and not the whole gamut they’re scanning? What do you think about this? Do you think it’s the beginning of what could be a REAL social media measurement tool?

Kurt Warner, Retired NFL

Kurt talked a lot about being a competitive person. In fact, he told a story about playing video games with his six-year-old son and dominating the kiddo. Then, his son would get up and get his wife and she’d enter the room with those eyes that said “Do you really have to be so competitive with your six-year-old son?” To her silent query he responds, “Well, he’s going to have to learn about loosing someday and why shouldn’t it be in the comfort of his own home with someone who cares about him?”

That made me grin at the thought of having that same encounter with my husband when my son gets a little older. He also talked about how getting to the super bowl was so important to him and he just couldn’t wait to get his hands on that ring… now that ring resides in his daughter’s purse for playing dress-up. And those trophies, they’re stuck back behind all the kids’ pop warner trophies and filed day ribbons. His point is that it’s important to be the BEST at what you set your mind to, but what you set out to be the best at can change.

I wholeheartedly agree. In business, we’re here to define greatness… not just in design or great Web sites, but all around the board. We want to stand out by gaining the trust and confidence of our clients and the public. This means stellar customer service and client relationships. We are lucky to be a thriving company right now, BUT as true competitors, that’s not good enough yet… We want to GROW!

In real life, I have to remind myself of what’s most important to me… my family. I have to work very hard at being the BEST wife and mom I know how, because I’ll be honest, working hard for goals outside the family can take it’s toll. I think it takes experience to really get this right, but to quote something I heard today, this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure. A lot can be said for being the best you can be in the moment… work, play or whatnot.

Even still, Kurt warns that you will most likely fail along the way. What separates the winners from the losers is that the winners will keep trying, losers accept failure.

Rudy Giuliani, Mayor of NYC 1994-2001

This guy is a champ. I took a few notes on something that I really wanted to look back on and contemplate how to go about this. Basically, it’s about being original, true and informed. Here’s Rudy’s advice for achieving such things:

1. Read. Read ANYTHING. Whatever it is read it and develop your OWN ideas about it.
2. Listen. Ask questions and use the answers you get as a resource for growth.
3. Talk. Talk to people who don’t agree with you. Get other ideas and challenge them to create your own.
4. Write. Write on paper the things you want to accomplish. It creates accountability.
5. Think. Think about the glass as half FULL. It will change your outlook… so will a sense of humor!

I’m really going to do my part in working on these five items. I’ve already started probing for a good book! I’m not a recreational reader… I’m an informative reader. I read with a purpose, but that’s starting to get a little boring and I’m loosing interest. I want to really get into something instead of reading only the beginning paragraphs in my RSS feed.

So what do you think? Are you getting something different out of this that I’m not? Do you think you can be the best at more than on thing such as I’m aspiring to do?  Is there anything you’d add to Rudy’s five tips?

Wanting everything to be in one place, I begin pulling over client information, invoices and contracts from our previously used application. Starting from old to new, I began to chuckle. Looking at the design of our first documents, verbiage, contracts, and even a few pricing errors from the beginning of “Liquis time,” I realized something… We have grown and evolved in this area as well! You can imagine my delight! My chuckle turned into a proud smile. Terminology, contract verbiage, documents, as well as the overall flow of things have all changed! Yes I have been aware of the many changes in our company growth over the course of time, but I never really noticed it in this area. It was like the magazines that show movie stars with their different looks and styles through the years. You look back and can’t even remember when the change happened.

We have never been afraid of change and growth, which is how I think we got here (and how Jen got her new great hairstyle). We are forever learning and evolving. What I’ve learned from this is that it’s a good idea to take a moment to look back at where you started and the progress of how you got where you are today. The records and books are a good place to start. What does your time line look like? Are all areas changing? Did anything stay the same?!

Why us?

First of all, our price is in sync with our level of quality and service in comparison to similar boutique agency types. Our clients get that what we offer is an investment and we make it our priority to exceed their expectations. Persons who call and are interested in a one-size-fits-all quote over the phone, will soon realize we’re not a match for what they’re looking for, unless they let us teach them. Our current clients see the value of our services and feel the pricing is well worth the product they received.

Secondly, we have gained our clients’ trust. Genuine relationships are a very important value at Liquis and as a result, our referrals have increased dramatically. Now we are being referred by respected sources and resources in the community. However, I think the trust factor also has to do with our own level of confidence as business people which in itself builds more trust with our prospective clients.

Here’s my view of our scenario:

We work in an industry that is confusing to our clients. They don’t necessarily know what they need, or really understand how it all works… they just want to create a solid identity in order to be taken seriously and in most cases, build a platform for their marketing efforts. They understand the “Web” in general but they don’t understand what we really do or what we are charging for in most cases. For example, they understand they are paying for a 6 page Web site with a flash element and a contact form, but they really have no idea what that means in regards to  the work involved or what we do to create that for them.

So with that being said, I feel in general there is a certain level of trust that the client must have with us to feel comfortable enough to do business with us. Basically, they want to make sure they’re not getting screwed. The best example I can think of is taking your car to a mechanic. You don’t know what’s wrong with your car, you just know something is not right and it needs fixed. You take your car to a random place for the first time and they tell you parts X, Y, and Z are toast and its going to cost this much to fix it. You don’t understand what the parts do or how they work together, or even the terminology. So now what do you do? You look at the guy and think to yourself, “Can I trust this person? Is he going to take advantage of me? Or is he legit?” Now think about if you went to a well referred mechanic… It changes everything.

Why now?

I think it’s a combination of exposure and accessibility.

It’s only been 1 year and 6 months since we’ve started putting ourselves out there. Since then, we have attended luncheons, networking events, dove into social media, have done quality pro bono work for non-profits which totally dazzled them into referral blitzes, continually develop our SEO strategy, developed quality newsletters, blogged, evaluated our marketing strategy monthly, participated with Design Week, entered designs into competitions, and much much more. I really feel that all of these things play a large role in our success. It’s these small and large actions that continuously give us exposure and put us on the map. It creates a perception that we are here and we are not going away, rightfully so. Also, that we are creative, helpful, growing.

As far as accessibility, our SEO efforts, social media activity and directory listings has provided us with great online accessibility. We make it as easy as humanly possible to find us. It’s hard to forget our name and easy to find us online. Plus, our referral and word of mouth communities are solid and growing.

I really do think it takes time to develop a true identity, get word out and start competing with others. Although it is very hard to measure the ROI of our marketing efforts in this short amount of time, just look at us compared to even 1 year ago. There is no comparison, we are getting work from several different sources now that we didn’t’t even know about then, and that list continues to grow each and every month. In my opinion we are really at our first peak right now and climbing.

The beginning of our first year was tough, the middle of the year got a little better and the end of the year seemed promising… until the beginning of our second year when things got scary. Still, we weathered the storm and were rewarded handsomely with many new projects and partnerships.

I have no doubt that the “why now” is due to past client satisfaction coupled with a persevering marketing and networking strategy, even this early in our career. We made it through our first storm and will be better prepared anytime we have to do it again. We’re in it for the long haul, we love what we do and we care about our clients as much as we care about their missions.  With any company growth there are ups and downs along the way, it’s just a matter of taking a moment to study the ups and figuring out how you got there so the downs are few and far between.

I want to know, what is your business experiencing right now? Do you speculate that anything you’re currently doing is giving your business a boost? What have you learned from your ups and downs that has made your business stronger?

Social Media Trends for 2010

Presented by: @cedwardbrice

1. Word of Mouth is where it’s at.That’s why Social Media is so huge. Take into consideration when using social media to abide the rules of Word of Mouth, making sure your message is concise and to the point, but edgy enough for people to want to spread the word. I happen to know a fantastic Word of Mouth expert, Ann Vidian, who can fill you in on all this.
2. It’s not about technology; it’s about relationships.Research what your customers want to know so you know how to relate and connect with them, but remember, relationships take time before you can extract value. And, there is no value until someone engages. You might THINK you have a fantastic Facebook fan page, but if no one is talking back, you should think twice about the content you’re putting out there. Remember, it takes real people and a valid effort to make social media marketing pay off.
3. Take note of these four social media drivers:Awareness, Engagement, Listening, and Innovation. How can you better take advantage of thiese key drivers?
4. Don’t forget the niche social media communities.Maybe instead of competing with the millions of others on Twitter and Facebook, you should think more about where you customers are. Do you sell wine? Join a Wino community.
5. Mobile phones are rivaliving computers. Not only in Web usage, but have you heard of augmented reality? It’s freaky, real freaky. Ponder it, don’t let it catch you off guard and think of ways you can get in on it.
6. Social gaming is going mainstream. Now, marketers can use social gaming to foster relationships. One cool example of this is Foursquare. It’s a virtual reality, but better. Your real business can even sponsor giveaways to members.
7. Times are changing! These days, 80 percent of customers find YOU. The Web and social meda have really made a difference from the days when we needed salespeople. Now, we need browsers and our online communities. Also, with all the options out there, try giving potential customers what they want up front to stand apart. What do they want, you ask? Pricing and comparisons. Yikes! I know, but I’m told it works.

Social Media for Small Business

Pannel discussion by: @jaybaer  @joemanna  @socialmediaDIY

1. Discover your goals. Sounds simple, right? So do it!
2. Add social media to the things you’re already doing. For example, if you have an e-newsletter, utilize share this buttons and connect your articles to your blog.
3. Social media isn’t 9-5. Your followers are never on at the same time, neither should you if you’re serious about reaching them.
4. Utilize your low hanging fruit! If you do have an e-mail database of your customers, check out Flowtown to find out what social media sites are linked to your customers’ E-mail addresses. This information can be super helpful in discovering where you can best reach your customers.
5. Be present. If you’re not out there every week finding people who could be potential customers or benefit from you, you’re not realizing your potential. For Twitter, utilize the search tools and Mr. Tweet.
6. Post something new on Facebook at least three times a day. Don’t let your posts get lost in the feed. I’d recommend, however, that each time you post, make sure that your verbiage is different, relevant, genuine, conversational and bring something to the table.
7. Get stats on your Twitter pushes. Get real data with ObjectiveMarketer. It’s not free, but it could be worth the investment.
8. Optimized content is KING.If you blog, optimize your content within your blog, blog titles and page titles. If you use Wordpress, I recommend the All in One SEO Pack to help.
9. Put a Fanbox and/or other social media buttons on your Web site.  This will make it 10X easier for others to connect with you.
10. Use Facebook ads to gain fans or promote yourself. They are SUPER targeted and cheap.
11. Promote your blog posts more than once.Makes sense since we know not everyone will see the first post, but be careful… you don’t want to look spammy. If it every feels a little slimy, it is. Change up the pitch and title every time you post. Also, try using a different bit.ly link to your blog each time to find out when you got the most clicks and use that info to help you in the future. Also, it’s rumored that Friday afternoons have the most clickthroughs.

Blogging Tips for the Serious Blogger

Presented by: @jaybaer

1. Your blog is a process. Just try to get a little better every day.
2. Better understand your blog so you can better formulate your strategy. Ask yourself, “Who is my audience, really?” “What is your my about?” “What similar blogs exist?” “What does success look like to me?” Also, find out which posts you write get the most traffic and comments as it could help you develop a more strategic direction for your blog.
3. Be consistent. Blog at least once a week. Blogging in advance will help you stay on track. Also, consecutive posts build traction so if you can, a schedule like Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday might help keep traffic flowing.
4. Think about your blog like it’s a magazine. Have some variety, but consider your readers and stay on topic.
5. Mix it up. Feature and short lengths, timely and timeless, text and video, positive and negative, personal with professional. Just don’t over think it.
6. Don’t steal photos on Google. Here’s a better option: http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/by-2.0
7. Be helpful, create tools and give your ideas handles. Easier said than done, but at least give it a fair, imaginative thought.
8. Develop an anchor. A series can not only help you with writer’s block, but can be “that one thing” that people come back to your blog for.
9. Use your personality. Take what you know and turn it into a story in your own words. Talk about your experienced too, real life is interesting.
10. Develop a community within your blog.Welcome new posters with a friendly E-mail and discuss their comment, facilitate conversation by starting and ending with a question, Answer questions in blog comments, Connect your subscribers with each other when possible to become a resource, and finally, thank your subscribers and commenters for their input.
11. Leave your blog posts unfinished. Basically, after you write your blog, delete the last paragraph. Your audience will want to finish it. Thus, the comments.
12. Get out more! From your own blog that is. Go venture off to visit some other relevant blogs and get in the discussion. That’s just one more way people can find YOUR blog. Just don’t get spammy. Leave honest to goodness contributions. If you leave a good enough comment, people will want to find out more about you and click through to your blog. Also, comment early on new blog posts so more people can see your comment. A good habit would be to check your RSS feeds each morning before work.
13. Think about syndicating your blog or becoming a guest blogger on aggregate blogs. If there isn’t one out there in your industry, become it!
14. Turn your blog into a business model. Jay’s is: TWITTER —>BLOG —>SPEAKING ENGAGMENTS—>$—> NEW CLIENTS. What’s yours?
15. Using numbers in blog titles gets more readers… for some reason.

And that’s the bulk of it! Did you learn anything new? What else should have been included to cover these topics even better?

Apparently it’s true, but I like to keep an open mind about these things. I can’t help but think sometimes that generation descriptions are more like horiscopes… if you think it’s about you, you can relate. When I read my horoscope, I’m like, “Yes! That’s so true! I totally need to start wearing brighter colors and let loose for a girls night out.” Yeah, me and everyone else. I think generation labels can be the same way. I’m a Gen Y and very much agree with most of what I read and hear, but then I think to myself, if I was a Baby Boomer, could I relate to that too? The answer is yes, I could.

Baby Boomers are loyal and hard workers, Gen Xers want their MTV and Gen Yers are all techie and apparently we’re  all supposed to fall into only one of those categories. So what do you make of generational profiling? Is it legit, or just part of some conspiracy to satisfy our human need to be a part of something meaningful? How do you think your marketing strategies should change with each generation?

Not long ago public relations efforts were solely gauged by press clippings from good old fashioned mags and rags and then calculations involving the publication’s circulation stats gave you  numbers of impressions. Now, with a large part of publicity efforts being focused on social media, how the heck can you gauge results at all? Well, like any clipping report, it’s not going to be 100 percent accurate, but I think someone is going to think of something to get it pretty darn close… According to David Berkowitz, we’re already there.

Indeed, his list is a great starting point, but a number of tools and methods must be in place for any of the measurement points to be effective. For example, how do you measure buzz?

Here at Liquis, I simply gauge effectiveness by evaluating the analytics reports and monitoring Web reports like Google Analytics, Social Mention, TweetBeep and BackTweets for phrases or links that pertain to a particular push. I do realize there’s many more considerations that need to be made to develop a well rounded report, but who has that kind of time? How can we make such a lengthy list of considerations, like Mr. Berkowitz’s, as easy to report as a book of clips? How can you focus on actually participating with social media if you’re too busy analyzing it?

If anyone has any secrets, do share! Until then, I’m waiting until there’s an ap for that… a true tested, PR approved app.

I by no means am a CPA but I do ready the books and reports for our Liquis CPA. The end of the year is a good time to assess your financial status and future goals.

Run your reports and check them over with a fine tooth comb. Make any necessary adjustments in your portfolio to help maximize your tax savings this year. Check your expenses such as donations, new equipment purchases, upgrades, and if you conduct business out of your home don’t forget that a portion of your utilities and rent count as deductions. (And speaking of your home, here’s a quick tip about all the new tax credits for your household.)

As you gather all your receipts for the year and other paper trails start your new files for the coming year. This will help insure a smooth transition and keep the work flow going.

The Liquis Team

I have recently installed the Dropbox file sharing tool and it has continues to blow me away. Dropbox is easy to set up and very easy to use, and too good not to share! So let’s get into it…

Dropbox in a nutshell

1. Allows you to securely share files between multiple computers, on or off your network by simply accessing a folder on your computer.

2. Lets you securely share files publicly via a simple link.

3. Lets you create photo galleries and share them with whomever you want (wither they have a Dropbox account or not)

4. Allows you to access your files from any computer with an internet connection

5. No ftp required

6. No login required (unless you are accessing your files from a different computer)

How Dropbox works

Once you download Dropbox and create an account, a folder is installed on your computer called My Dropbox. By default the My Dropbox folder is placed in your Documents folder. You can place the folder anywhere you would like by simply specifying a location during the simple install.

Now that you install is complete you can copy and paste or simply drag the files you would like to share into your My Dropbox folder. When a file is placed into a My Dropbox folder it is instantly and securely uploaded to the Dropbox server under your account.

To share files between multiple computers, simply install Dropbox on any computer that you would like to share files between. During the install it will ask you if you already have an account, select this option and enter you login information and continue with the install. Once the install is complete the same thing will happen, a My Dropbox folder will be placed on the computer. Now when you add or remove files to the My Dropbox folder it will automatically update the My Dropbox folders that you have installed on any other computers! It’s that simple!

To access your files from any public computer, go to www.getdropbox.com and login. Now you will have access to all your uploaded files and have the ability to upload more.

Pricing

2GB of sharing space – Free

50GB of sharing space – $9.99 a month

100GB of sharing space – $19.99 a month

*Note – For every referral you get to join Dropbox, they will give you both 250 MB of bonus space (up to a limit of 3 GB)!

Where to get started…

To sign up now click the following here.

To take a tour of Dropbox click here.

Liquis did it

 Around our first birthday, the Liquis team sat down and brainstormed individual lists of what the Liquis brand meant to us and where we saw the future of this company. Then we got online and pulled a bunch of pics that matched our ideas. When we got together again with our lists and images, we were amazed to find that they all meshed pretty well, with the exception of a few that we had to decide on which fit best.

Deciding on a common goal

It’s important that at some point in the process you determine a main, common goal to be the focus of the vision board. This will help you define the other components which will ultimately serve as baby steps toward that goal.

When we first started Liquis, we all had very unique ideas on how we wanted to do business and where we would focus our efforts. Within that first year, we rehashed those ideas and came to an agreement that someday we would like to consider partnering with a complimenting company in which both entities could expand the services they offer and ultimately benefit the needs our clients.

With that current main goal in mind, we made it the center of our vision board so it was the most prominent. Then, as we organized our lists, the images were placed to move outward from our internal visions and ideals to what we want our public brand perception to look like.

Making it work for you

This exercise is meant to help your company visually depict a common, solid ground as you look toward the future, but you don’t have to be on the same page as the rest of your team or management to do this. In fact, if you all have different ideas, that could get you even closer to a specific common ground as you work to agree upon values and goals and what that looks like.  

The purpose of a company vision board is to help you get in tune with who you are and where you’re going. It’s a good idea to reevaluate your vision board every year as your common goal could change, like ours did, or maybe you want to focus on different company values or branding initiatives. Keep in mind that every vision board is different from the next and there are absolutely no rules. So dive in, get down to the basics and grow!

Our clients help us push the limits, become better and expand our creativity. We wouldn’t be here without them! 

So happy Thanksgiving to our big fat Liquis family!   Thanks for helping us get off the ground, grow and look toward the future.

There are some really neat tools out there that can help you find out what cyberspace is saying about you, your business, your product or anything else that pertains to your work. Utilizing these tools are a great way to discover public opinion as well as give you the opportunity to respond to conversations that involve you.

I recommend Google Alerts, Social Mention and Tweet Beep. Just type in key words such as your business or personal name and these services will e-mail you when you’re mentioned.

Another great tool is BackTweets. Here you can find out if anyone on Twitter has posted a link to your site, who they are and what they said. Pretty cool!

Now that you’re in the loop, give it a try! You may be surprised to find out who’s saying what. Or, if you already use other tools than the ones listed above, what are they and why do you prefer them?

Forms and Functionality

Submit a form without having to refreshing the page

http://net.tutsplus.com/javascript-ajax/submit-a-form-without-page-refresh-using-jquery/

Login form with cool slider effect

http://net.tutsplus.com/javascript-ajax/build-a-top-panel-with-jquery/

AJAX file upload

http://valums.com/ajax-upload/

jQuery IE6 png transparency fix

http://www.emposha.com/javascript/jquery-ie6-png-transperency-fix.html

Photo tools and Manipulation

Cool jQuery thumbnail photo gallery

http://css-tricks.com/examples/RevealingPhotoSlider2/

Fancy thumbnail hover-over effect using jQuery

http://www.sohtanaka.com/web-design/fancy-thumbnail-hover-effect-w-jquery/

Hover Image magnifier

http://www.mind-projects.it/projects/jqzoom/

Using jQuery to scroll through images with a fade transition

http://medienfreunde.com/lab/innerfade/

Cool jQuery sliders

http://cssglobe.com/post/5780/easy-slider-17-numeric-navigation-jquery-slider

http://css-tricks.com/anythingslider-jquery-plugin/

http://www.dreamcss.com/2009/04/create-beautiful-jquery-sliders.html

Sliding boxes

http://buildinternet.com/2009/03/sliding-boxes-and-captions-with-jquery/

jQuery upload and crop

http://www.webmotionuk.co.uk/php-jquery-image-upload-and-crop/

http://deepliquid.com/content/Jcrop.html

jQuery virtual tour

http://www.openstudio.fr/jQuery-virtual-tour.html?lang=en

In light of Phoenix Design Week, we’ve not only put together this fun video as part of the event’s 12 Seconds promo, but we also gave our own Web site a revamp so we can put our best face forward and represent!

Stay tuned, we look forward to sharing some take aways from the event in upcoming posts.