PR PIRATE | Navigating The Online World

Client Spotlight | Margaret Graziano, KeenHire, Silicon Valley and Chicago

 Margaret Graziano, president and founder of KeenHire Talent Manangement Firm is up to some very exciting business initiatives right now. NC Marketing and Design has assisted Recruitment firms in the past in their marketing platforms but KeenHire stands out as especially diversified and dynamic while extremely effective. Not only does Keen offer effective metrics on talent management In-sourcing but tracks the return on hiring investment. Keen places experienced, certified Recruitment and Selection hiring professionals at your company for spike hiring projects or long term contracts. Each service provider comes with technology and sourcing resources, behavioral interviewing software and know how, pre-employment and selection assessments and an accountability systems.

NC Marketing and Design helps KeenHire be seen, read, heard - and buzzed! I'm genuinely impressed by Keen. They are a very unique firm who goes the extra mile to ensure that national and international business leaders acquire the talent that grows their market, tightens the organizational gaps and maximizes ROI. 

To learn more, you can read KeenHire's articles here: BLOG  

One of my very favorite articles is in FAST COMPANY Online: THE LIFE OF YOUR COMPANY DEPENDS ON THE PEOPLE INSIDE

But if you are interested in the term In-Sourcing (quite modern I must say) you MUST read this article: What Is RPI-Recruitment Process In-Sourcing. 

The KeenHire blog will lead you to their twitter and Facebook updates. Margaret Graziano is very passionate and knowledgable about her company. She and her team continuously connect people, insight and clarity with sound information, processes and metrics when it comes to hiring. 

Trusted source!

Client Spotlight | Dr. Dan Kaufman, Integral Potential, Vashon Island WA

 Dr. Dan Kaufman is rare gift to a frenzied world. 

The power of his practice, Integral Potential is in the simple, elegant, pivotal turn in how we see our lives, our problems, our stories, our futures. Not that he would put it this way, but I think his work puts into practice James Elkin's insights on the nature of seeing, The Object Stares Back. From Elkin's point of view as we put focus on a thing is participates in a relationship with us. As a painter I have seen an object change many times over in a day as I focus on it. So much I did not see before. 

What I adore about Dr. Dan's work with his clients is that he helps people lead their lives, careers and others by first going inside and working with the filters in which they see their world.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with him on the design of his website. He was willing to explore a bolder design that nicely sets the platform for relaxed reading. I believe the color shifts and the hues being calming earth tones allows the reader to settle more easily into the read of his very interesting text. He has the depth and breadth of experience with that unique 'something' that is very compelling to a potential client. His philosophy is one that is put into practice. Those more subtle elements were important to convey. But you are the real judge. So go and check him out and refer those who dare to be as bold as he was in the expression of his website. ; )

CONTACT Dr. Dan 

 

Client Spotlight | Debra Hickok, Featherstone Coaching, East Coast

Debra Hickok has this air of quality about her in everything she does. As we partnered to create her  Featherstone Coaching website, I always knew I could count on a very thoughtful answer to every open issue we solved. She's conscientious, she cares about her business. And she reminded me that the people who care about their businesses and put that effort into their marketing media have accomplished half the battle of branding. 

Branding ourselves requires a certain level of critical thought to images, words and colors that go out there to be our talking stick, offering the feeling tone of our services. There are many books, including The Object Stares Back that address the 'energy' that is captured in the activity of expression that organically conveys its meaning. As I attend UCLA's screenwriting program, Paul Castro often refers to the energy of an interaction. We are, in a way sculpting that result in the design of our screenplays...and this thought can be taken into brand communications. 

I digress. 

Debra Hickok is a coach who cares about everything she's involved with. She's committed, she's solid, she really shows up. It was an honor to create a small piece of that representation. 

Go to: Featherstone Coaching to view her new website and learn more about her coaching practice.

What Beauty and PR Have To Do with One Another

Have you asked yourself lately what the beauty factors of your business are? I'm certain they are there. Even the most nuts and bolts businesses have them. 

I did some branding work for Umpqua Bank a few years back. I get my best ideas while riding my bike, so I rode to Umpqua to take some photos of their building. I asked what is beautiful about the experience of walking into this bank? Of course the obvious is, it's a great feeling, an exacting feeling of good self-care to make money off of a good interest rate. But what I couldn't have known was that I was about to engage in a surprising and beautiful experience. 

Banks to me have always held the dread of going to the dentist. However, I knew something was different from the minute I rode up to the entrance of Umpqua and saw the poetry written on their window with (eghad!) the words 'love' inscribed. And then as I walked into the lobby and experienced people engaged in conversation--even eating wholesome snacks served from the center table and using computers the bank supplied to customers to explore their online services.

I actually 'wanted' to hang out. 

Guess what happened next?

Yup, I became a mouthpiece for them. I went home and sketched out my brand ideas, questions and stories. I shared the experience with friends. I became very curious. How did they take this risk? Even in fiction writing the word love is not used as much as you would think. And here, a bank; a place we know to be conservative by nature has the word plastered on the front window. And it wasn't  Valentines Day. The bank was showing trust as well by allowing people off the street to use the computers. The audience engagement factor of this brand was off the charts. And there was a financier on the floor talking people through their various programs. And...even more shocking, people were laughing and being polite, even the smelly homeless person checking his email. It was 'all good'. 

It was the kind of experience you have when a business examines what's good about their business (what works) and stages it, elevates it to the beautiful and offers it to be experienced. When businesses show me that kind of thought and quality; the beauty results in the relationship that develops. And who wouldn't become a live action PR machine for such an experience!

So, ask yourself...what is beautiful about your business? What has a level of 'touch' with your audience that you are already getting feedback about. Name it, amplify it in your media-- focus it and let us experience the beauty of it. Perception sharpens when the senses are engaged. Oh and then tell us about it here, okay?

Client Spotlight | Kelly Cannon & Associates, East Bay Ca.

Kelly Cannon supports executives and teams in all aspects of their role in the organization. What impressed me about Kelly's approach is that he has mastered remaining hands-on and very practical while helping organizations handle highly complex and often political issues. Kelly is the type of leader that listens very carefully to the underlying theme of the organization, the dynamics as well as individual needs. I really enjoyed reading the long list of testimonials that he has gathered over his 30 year career. 

NC Marketing and Design helped KCA position his consulting business via discussion, field research and copywriting. The KCA website was a thrill to design, in that Kelly himself is a very dynamic decision maker, he challenged himself to choose colors not in his comfort zone. He took risks. Kelly Cannon has joined with Belinda Gore in a blog forum on leadership called The Merlin Dialogues. A very lively consortium that addresses leadership in current times. 

Any organization that requires a really smart, passionate experienced advisor to help lead change could not do better than Kelly Cannon and Associates. A very solid and trusted source, indeed! 

7 Elements of Professional Looking Blog Design

ANNOUNCEMENT: On August 12, 11a.m. PST, Andy Wibbels and I will discuss the best and worst of design when it comes to blogs. Click Here to Register. It will be fun and free. Andy is a kick. And depending upon the day, I may be too.

I have always thoroughly enjoyed working in the Typepad environment. Their tech support has been the best design instruction I had while creating and building an audience for Niyas Place: Chronicles of Life, Love and Rabbits. 

When it comes to consistent brand elements between a business blog and the media platform, Typepad makes it easy and fun. As commercial as that sounds, its really true. Join us. 

Client Spotlight | Shauri Bunch M.A. LPC Counseling, Portland OR

Shauri Bunch rocks! 

She sees the very best in people; she articulates for people the most solid foundation they have to build their lives, their marriages, their careers. She gets it. And she's fearless. 

Her website: shauribunch.com

I was thrilled to be able to design her a website that stages the beauty she helps people access in their lives. She just said 'go to it.' No design space, scope, or limitations. As an artist the proposition of building someone's virtual house that I respect as much as I do her should have been terrifying. Instead it was like someone gave me a one way ticket to London to hang out in the botanical gardens, shop for a different wardrobe for each season (metaphor for each page could be a work of art with all this freedom) and then come back to the states without repercussion. (metaphor for submitting the design knowing you are unlikely to be rejected). 

So she got a website that is like a botanical garden. 

This reminds me of a client I had in Colorado. She was struggling with the fine details of her website. She would chase down one line of visual logic to its bitter end, and then ooops, that threw another out of whack. A closet designer if I ever saw one. She really would have been a great designer I think, however misplaced in our process. When the final result was watered down muck, she took some time to look at my portfolio again and found a few designs she really loved (including this one for Shauri). She sighed and got it. She said, I should have just let you do your thing. 

But it's hard to do. It takes such immense trust. I understand how hard it is to unleash your designer on your precious virtual house that proliferates your business virtues, promise and voice. But Shauri has that kind of courage, because as mentioned, she sees the best in people and it's real.

Go see what Shauri is up to. She has a particular talent with couples. Check out her Premarital Therapy website. And if you are in town, make an appt. you'll float out of her office feeling the ample possibilities of life!

Commitment -- a powerful marketing force

I've been fascinated as I've observed patterns of my client's success. If we look just at the past 6 months, as I've partnered with business and individual coaches as well as therapists and have launched 1-2 brands per month. The package is the same. Brand consultation, coaching, positioning, website, blog, copywriting and search optimization. And my clients are at various stages of their business development. From anticipation of their certification and getting ready to hit the market, to having been out there and feeling in a hairball about how to market themselves, what's important, how does it work these days and what do they need to do to bring client's in the door. It's these clients, the ones who are in a bit of pain and fully committed to their business growth who succeed faster with surprising growth spurts after we dive in and get dirty together.

At first they think they need a blog, a Facebook page and twitter. Often they are in a panic that they are not reaching their clients, and feeling helpless about how to do that in the current entrepreneurial frenzy. But over and over upon deeper examination and discussion the simplicity of situation emerges--and is more elegant but hasn't found its voice in the flurry. So we do a few simple things together. We develop the voice and aesthetic of their brand as we process their core strengths and build it into every element of communications -- website, biz card, blog, eNews-- you name it. 

Less is way more when it comes to the expression and clarity in who you are, what you offer and how you offer it. The clients who are in pain begin to calm down as the centrifugal force of what impassions them about their business takes shape. A few simple visual grammar rules in action goes a long way in communicating to their niche audience. The work we do to know their niche audience creates intimacy and it becomes much clearer what to talk about in their blogs because they are talking to that audience specifically. They are not trying to reach everyone or compete. They are coming from their strengths and duplicating the effort in organic patterns that make sense to their lifestyle, to their value add and to their business model. 

I've watched the clients, for whom there is no turning back, for whom, economy or no economy this is who they are and they have families to feed and pride to nurture They are the ones now reporting their clientele doubling every week. Search optimization helped a lot. But to be honest, for a couple of these clients I did less SEO work than others, but they are on fire about their businesses. They are ready. (one of them isn't doing Facebook or Twitter and she reports continued new clients at a rapid rate. Enough to quit her job completely and devote herself full time to her business.)

I thought I was imagining it. I thought these clients were special somehow. That they had adopted some wizard juice from their ancestors. But no, as I look at them, their persistence and passion in their business is clear and loud. They are different alright. They are special alright -- they have simply decided 150 percent this is happening no matter what. No matter what it takes. And surprisingly quickly they are thriving. 

So I would encourage everyone going into business for yourself to consider how much energy you might be investing in marketing 'out there' compared to dirt digging work of brand building, your business model, your belief in yourself, and a reinvigoration of focus to the passion that infuses your business with life. 

The more you care about your business as an entity vs. a commodity the more it cares about you. This is what I'm seeing in many of my amazing clients recently. And I'm blown away by them!

Client Spotlight and Book Release | Gil Friend, The Truth About Green Business

Gil Friend of Natural Logic Inc has written a really amazing book. And it just came out this month. The Truth About Green Business You Don't Have to Choose Between Making Money and Making Sense dynamically and deliberately lays out 52 green strategies. It is necessary reading for future proofing your business and important reading for all of us who care about being smart about having a generative role on the planet.

I am personally awed by Gil. Not only does he successfully help organizations assess green trends and benchmark performance using his key performance metric software Business Metabolics, but his consulting company Natural Logic is a knowledge factory. It's not dry scientific stuff, it's very real, applicable knowledge currency and change metrics that are scalable in the most complex problem areas of Green Business. 

Natural Logic and Niya Cristine Marketing & Design have worked together on Natural Logic's business and product designs for over a decade. Niya designed version one and two of the Business Metabolics User Interface and recently the Business Metabolics website and data sheets. Niya met Gil Friend at a Bay Area Thought Leader Gathering at the inception of Natural Logic and was inspired by Gil's unrelenting spirit and dynamic voice in environmental change.

Read the book. You won't put it down, there is tremendous personality and passion on every page. It is a tremendous asset not only for green biz leaders, but for all of us!

And for a sneak peak at some of what's inside go to the blog. It currently reveals Lie number 18--We can market this green product anyway we want to Pard'ner, it's the wild, wild West!

On PR Intimacy | I Want Another Date with Mr. NICHE

In the course of my MFA studies in writing, something a professor said to me really hit home: You can never get too close to your reader, you're characters can never be too vulnerable. This is true of our Niche market too.

At various stages of research we learn who our Niche audience is. I've found the most accurate one beyond statistical data (although an incredible tool I use all the time) is the patterns of clients to services that develop over time. If you look at these patterns you'll likely discover there are a few core things you deliver over and over that you are simply stellar at. And the clients who come to you are a particular niche that you are deepening trust with. You deliver, you have integrity in the single minded promise you deliver on and they swoon. 

Now here comes the PR TIp. Get closer. If you want this audience to grow so that your market grows and you can add more offerings, show how close you really are, how much you've listened and develop content around what you know and see. Online PR channels are always scanning for 'new' interesting angles that they haven't covered, the stuff ahead of the trends. When the trends get saturated the velcro that once caused the 'stickiness' melts and gets passed by. 

Whether you publish an essay on a business issue that your target audience grapples with, or you have discovered a new perspective or tool, or a dare or simply a resolve on something in your service area...it will make you stand out as a business who is grounded and cares. Pretty soon everyone will want to date you and you'll need to buy new shoes to keep up. 

Whatever you do, make sure you keep your home page up to date with all current news, blog articles, speaking events (your blog too)...to keep your search engine ratings healthy and climbing.

Client Spotlight | Jane Morgan--Plan.Coach.Succeed, LTD. London UK

Jane Morgan, director of Plan.Coach.Succeed brings tremendous focus and inspiration to the process of creating and delivering on our projects, plans and new business ventures. She helps to instill new awareness and meaning to project planning. By bringing both coaching and consulting to her work, she helps people truly get out of their own way. 

Generally, the idea of project management and planning makes me see the inside of a prison cell full of white boards staring back at me. However, Jane's work appeals to the core human value of true achievement through the process of a plan. She makes the plan itself a thing of beauty. 

Niya Cristine Marketing & Design engaged both the elements of Jane Morgan's personal style (urban and nature) with the power and freedom of 'The Eagle' at her suggestion and created 15 logo designs to choose from and several website design directions. (A little inspired we will say, by the project). The power of the eagle to soar high above the day to day and have the large sky around it... is indeed the perfect metaphor for the work.

The color palette of her logo, website, business cards, stationary all needed to reflect a parallel universe of who Jane Morgan is in her approach to Plan.Coach.Succeed, while also creating a strong foundation for corporate clients to leverage the services of PCS. The combination of desert sage, modern sepia tones, bright persimmon and desert terra cotta grounded in dk gray and tan with images of both city and nature was the perfect combination to frame her the expectation of her brand in the mind of her audience.

So check out what we did. We worked very much in partnership and all reports are very positive. We would love your input! You know how it is, baby out in the world now. http://www.plancoachsucceed.com

Enough about me...

It's not that we are all a bunch of raving narcissists (only some). It's a learned thing from early advertising tactics. The script looks something like this: Something hot is on the market. Right now, marketing knowledge assets about social media is a hotbed. Since Obama was elected (especially) I'm seeing a lot social media know how, twitter blitzes, communications geniuses, and even in entertainment. And everyone knows the secret to unlocking the key to filling your bank account. After giving away your email to several lists who have the best information, the least expensive e books, the most compelling webinars you find a way to start working the lines of affiliate marketing. The next day you are fighting off spam. 

After experiences such as these--where everyone is shamelessly promoting to be the best, to get on their list, unlock your success through their secret formula, I find myself dashing off to the bookstore to read Seth Godin and The Harvard Business Review with my iPod attached to my head so that nobody will be trying to sell me anything as I sit there. I find myself turning off the computer for a day, blasting my music, finger painting and calling the one friend I can rely on to make me laugh. To have a day of highly valued assets, good old fashioned values in daily living. Entrepreneurial ideas falling into place from that one 'free' conversation with my friend who required nothing of me but 20 minutes and and open mind.

One of the most successful, wealthiest person I know said, 'you can never give too much away, never!' Let people know what you have for them, give it to them so they can experience your goods. The same rule applies to writing fiction. The character can never be too vulnerable.

Much of what I read, reads more about the person who is selling than what they have to offer. 

Look at your marketing copy. Does it address your audience succinctly? Does it tell them precisely what you have to offer and how what you offer will affect their lives? Is it overly general in terms of 'how to' leaving people to wonder about your concepts? I suggest you challenge yourself to be more forthcoming, more about them and less about your qualifications. We humans figure out the qualifications pretty quickly in the quality of your marketing and your character. Of course a few testimonials never hurt, but what's really fun is generous, consistent, offerings that hold nothing back and are confident in their purpose in people's lives.

Enough about me, what do you think of me? Enough about me, what do you think of what I do for you?

Client Spotlight | Chel Cartmill, Wellness Coach. Florida

Chel Cartmill got it right when she named her business Unique Motivations.

Chel does exactly this for her clients. Her unique approach to wellness is indeed very motivating. Some may think they are working on the body with a personal trainer. But what Chel does goes beyond personal training and a work out plan. Her methods incorporate a wellness vision that synthesizes all areas of life; stress, fitness, nutrition, spiritual, emotional.  

Chel's wellness work goes beyond individuals to the corporate environment. She conducts wellness consulting to develop plans for small to medium size businesses in Central Florida. 

Chel is also a highly charged, delightful person who brings clarity and focus to her client's goals. One of my favorite axiom's from her is: Move from Stuck to Action with Passion! Mostly, I like it because she walks her talk. She is doing this with commitment in her own life. I speak from experience as Chel was highly instrumental in influencing the motivating and energized feeling of her website and blog. She clearly had a vision and was able to communicate it. 

I highly recommend you read her blog, Chels Corner it's insightful and yes, motivating, funny and inspiring. And if you are interested in taking your life and work to a new place that integrates the body, you are in the best care with Chel.

YOU As Commodity...Oh The Joy? For Some, Not!

For many of my clients, Social Media as a serious PR effort can be a confusing proposition. For some, it's pretty exciting to explore new topics in their business on a daily or weekly basis and amend or replace their newsletters. The fast SEO from blogging is a nice jolt of serotonin and to encounter their business in a meaningful way is fulfilling. But for others, about 7 of 10 its daunting. They don't know how to frame it. What's the step by step? What can I expect? By when? 

I take my puny psychic antenna out there to the internet and ask it for the crystal ball answers for their questions. I'm often ignored or laughed at. The internet hair ball changes by every 1/2 second. The inputs are astronomical.

READ ME OVERLOAD

Do you ever feel the internet lately has become one big READ ME file? "Read me, sign up, I'll give you free advice to make you successful if you get on my list and buy my products."

The quantitative results of my client's efforts live in audience appeal. Statistics of visitors—where they come from, what search string they enter is all available information on their blogs and sites. They know that the more activity the better the ratings. However the pull to engage can be overwhelming. My clients often don't want to be yet another author of that pull. They want to be more creative. GOOD!

But if I had to pick 4 businesses I'm really engaged in. Four businesses that like a good book I can't wait to see what they are up to next...what would cause me to do this? Generally an experience that adds something to my life, to my day, an engagement that is beyond information and sign ups and purely inspirational until its under my skin.

YOU ARE THE COMMODITY

These days its all about YOU being the commodity you are selling. There was a time when commodities were simply fungible materials that made up goods. Now we are the commodity and the goods happen in between—it's the interaction. Compelling offerings are not just general info. on a topic repeated amongst many because its the trend (like FB, Twitter, etc) -- it's making that info. into an experience for the audience that tells them who you are in the experience. Words are getting cheaper on the internet as they pollinate like the air in a thick spring. And when the air turns this way, we become allergic, quickly.

SENSE ENGAGEMENT

My favorite brand right now where I experience all the right elements that imbue trust is The Common Craft Show. Their product is educational videos that demonstrate the context of social media tools in a delightful way. They speak to the heart of the child and to our humanity, providing positive cues the whole time and not a glitch of condescending tone. Our eyes are engaged in the visual appeal, our ears in the sound of the voice of the videos and emotionally people can't help but smile. This company really did it right. They went right to the heart of confusion and provided a solution. But not just any solution, one that allows us to escape and be inspired. 

Consider what you give away for free. How do you go beyond information and inspire emotional connection? 

Don't worry about the free part. If you've engaged your audience from the essence of why you are in the business you are in in the first place, the money comes easily. In a way, we are all the consumers, we are all the audience, the sellers and we are all the authors of our entrepreneurial innovations today. 

So what are you writing from the heart of your business that makes us not want to put down the book?

ps: If you aren't a writer. I highly recommend you hire one to communicate your business across many media channels. Good PR has empathy and creativity. Which makes your voice an experience. And that's a great thing in my book.

Client Spotlight | Raphael Cushnir, Author, Speaker, Coach. PDX

Raphael Cushnir is the Author of four fabulous books, amongst other inspired achievements. His latest book, The One Thing Holding You Back: Unleash the power of emotional connection is an inventive and practical book that coaches us in applying emotional intelligence to potential roadblocks and how to meet our desires. 

Raphael has written not just books and articles (two featured in O, The Oprah Magazine) but he made a film that aired on Showtime and coaches executives to the clearest possible vision and skillful decision making. 

His coaching business Inner Management for organizations needed a logo to communicate successful change through powerful means if inner skill building. Inner Management, It's the heart of your business is about coming home first to the calm knowing inside that allows powerful focus and creativity to emerge organically. Niya Cristine created the logo from the concept of the counter clockwise spiral which throughout history in many cultures means 'coming home'. The spiral spills out into the tag line: It's the heart of your business as a gesture of closure, a suggestion of unsurpassed flow. Take a look at Inner Management to see for yourself. While you are there, be sure to visit Cushnir.com to see what Raphael is up to. He's always up to something. And he's a pleasure to listen to, so if you can view the video talk show clips.

The 'BOX' has been recycled!

We've all heard the axiom 'Think outside the box'. The 'Box' being a metaphor for the re-use of old rules applied to an the initiation of something new that wants to emerge—from general activities to new markets. 

That box is now busted up; the old rules recycled into concepts, ideas, facts, voice atoms and data peppered all over the internet. 

The box like everything else that has needed to be ground into mulch, has been. We are all parts of that box now cycling about in connection patterns that actually do ultimately mean something to our social and business lives. And for this article, do actually matter to the PR connections that make connective tissue our brands. 

It's compelling to see how data as a driving force on the internet affects perception. Suddenly the breadcrumbs we leave online is forming sensory experiences in our audiences, the client, the consumer. With the consumer as part of the conversation forming new orders of meaning, it can be both confusing and exciting. 

My clients want a tried a true formula from me for ROI. Who could blame them. Post brand launch, don't we all want the secret ingredients, the quantitative formula that PR's that new brand up the eschalon's -- from awareness, to accurate perception, to I love you, you are exactly what I need (emotional connection) and then a bit of viral magic? Yes, yes. But with the Box scattered all over the universe, it takes a channel scientist, a data sensoralist, an e-Media scatologist, a person with the instincts of a mother and the iron patience of an aspiring Buddhist to sniff out the patterns that match the values of each and every brand. 

The Box is not only recycled into a gazillion bits of micro meaning, but creativity as a commodity has exploded. This is the era of 'voice' -- the voice of each and every individual. And that's a lot to hear, read, and listen too. It's not just about finding those values that make the voice of your business but coming in out of the data storm and realizing that while the box has been recycled, like ant societies we amazingly put the past to good use (most of the time). 

Recycled means taking the best of the old rules and re-using them in a diversified fashion. 

I'm thinking of changing my job title to data scatologist. 

'She carries a doggie bag everywhere she goes and sniffs out the patterns that stacks up well for her clients PR' --(i like it!).

Client Spotlight | Nancy Wolf and Associates LLC, Metro New York

Nancy Wolf and Associates LLC recently launched a new website designed by Niya Cristine that is specifically aimed to inform and educate potential customers about NWA's sales effectiveness approach to teams and individuals.

Nancy Wolf has an impressive background as a top performing sales practitioner. She has combined her broad technical background in the capital markets industry and her passion for sales to executives and teams nationwide. As a direct result of her efforts net sales have increased an average of 20%. 

Niya Cristine Design wanted to create a marketing platform for NWA that articulates their ability to powerfully work with sales teams in a highly competitive market but also communicates NWA's class, taste and sophistication. The color palette is bold but minimal, and the page experience direct, simple and concise. Nancy Wolf has a sharp eye for words, and exacting mind and was a pleasure to work with in this regard, and many others. Check out NWA today, in my humble (or not so) opinion, any company in need of a boost in sales would be fortunate to enroll the help of Nancy Wolf and Associates LLC.

Where have you put your online boots?

Do you list your location on your website, blog, general communications? 

I strongly urge my clients to do so. I've seen google ratings increase 4 times in just a few days when my clients are willing to list their location on the title bar of their homepage and their contact info. 

When they list it on Google Ad Words as part of the ad title they get on the first page of google along with local listings immediately. Maybe our virtual-osity (made up word, sorry) goes too far when entrepreneurs go location unspecific. 

I understand the need to go beyond local, state and global to the godly status of universal. There are business benefits to that strategy.  

However, as the online space gets more and more busy by the minute, consider the competitive edge of the psychological comfort to people who simply like to be grounded in the basics (esp. with so many scams going on): Who are you? What do you offer Me? Where do you operate from? How do I get a hold of you?

Location, Location, Location on the web could be the deal maker or breaker these days both for Google optimization and the psychological edge. 

Client Spotlight | Lisha Song Counseling, Tacoma WA

LISHA SONG COUNSELING

Lisha Song's new website and online marketing campaign just launched. Lisha discovered Niya Cristine Design through the design of another therapist website, Shauri Bunch in the Pacific Northwest. She liked it better than the template she was working on. It's been wonderful designing for Lisha. She is very enthusiastic about marketing her new practice. We were able to get her a nice online marketing starter kit. It just launched a few days ago but she already has 2 client referrals from it. 

In Lisha's words, here is the summary of her practice.

In a supportive environment I offer a very personalized approach tailored to individual needs. My services range from treating depression, anxiety, PTSD, stress management, as well as couples counseling and conflict resolution.

Check her out and leave comments here about her new website. She would love to hear from you, and so would I. Lisha is also running a generous special for May. Go to her website and print out the coupon.

How Ben the Ladybug Learns some Social Media Lessons

Excerpt: When a male ladybug decides ‘enough is enough’ and gender miscalculations are not okay–he gets busy changing public perception and changes the life of a picked on child at the same time.
. . .

Ben the ladybug was an ambitious bug. He didn’t have a self esteem problem until, one day he discovered people saw him as a ladybug not manbug. —Positioning—

Ben liked being a manbug. When he thought of his sister and her friends painting one another’s spots, he cringed.  And when he visited the children playing at the school playground they didn’t notice that Ben had no spots. No spots means male. But they didn’t see it. This was a problem.
—Brand audit—

They called him a ‘ladybug’ and cooed ‘how pretty’ – Ick!

Ben decided to get all his buddies together and take the kids by storm. If the bugs released their raunchy smell they would be noticed. —Mass media blast—

But this didn’t work.

They were determined to show them just how virile, masculine and useful they could be. But the kids were annoyed by the mob of smelly bugs and Huey, G’noosh and Myles were severely injured when the playground kids swatted at them in the air.

Ben decided to get to the bottom of how things got this way in the first place. He had a meeting with all the ladybugs in the village and asked why manbugs were labeled ‘lady’?
—Journalism—

Ben asked the hard questions while wearing his smart reading glasses on his face to gain credibility.
—Linked In questions, Facebook—

But the ladybugs shook their heads and wondered when he would get over his temporary insanity. They thought it would be better for Ben to get back to work and not think too much about such things. —In the box—

But Ben couldn’t stop thinking about it.

He knew that as a man he was different from the ladies. He had special talents ladies didn’t have. For example, he could make many ladybugs pregnant and they didn’t eat him afterwards like spiders do. In fact, he was somewhat of a pioneer at covering a large amount of ground and populating his village. 
—Brand assets—

And, he was an artist too. He could chomp patterns into a leaf that trumped all others.—Unique differentiator—

Ben would not let this go. No way!

The next day, Ben flew down to the playground and found his favorite kid.  He watched him. —Ethnography—

The kid seemed to need to say something. So Ben listened hard. Ben got closer to him. He stepped up onto his finger. The kid was sad. He was being picked on. Ben showed him he was listening by fluttering a wing. The kid saw it and said ‘hey, it’s you again’ – this made Ben feel great!

The kid remembered him. —Memory, brand equity—

Then the kid got sad again. “But you can’t help me…” he murmured. Ben slowly folded his wing to his side and started to agree, but didn’t want to. 

Ben thought. Well, maybe not…—Out of the box—

He flew back to his village. He told everyone about the sad boy. —PR—

Some people thought it was interesting. Some thought it wasn’t and stopped following his story.
—Twitter, losing and gaining followers—

Others followed him around and wondered what he would do next.
—Twitter, Facebook —

It didn’t take Ben long to gather up a small army of man bugs. He had gently asked the ladies to sit this one out. They giggled flirtatiously. The manbugs buzzed down to the playground with him. They lined up in front of the sad kid. The kid thought they were hunting or something. He got up to leave. They followed. Everywhere he went all day they followed and lined up like they were saluting the kid. Soon the other kids took notice. 
—Social media networking—

The other boys tried to get the man bugs to follow them, like it was a game. But, the man bugs ignored them. They had a mission and they stuck with the sad kid–like glue.
—Loyalty— 

Soon the other kids thought the sad kid had magical powers. The kids gathered around and watched. The sad kid would raise a finger and the bugs would raise up in unison. He would spread his arms wide and they would disperse in the same pattern. He laughed hard. They were playing a game with him. Suddenly he said. “Wait a minute. You can’t be ladybugs, you have no spots.” Hey Leroy…do you think these might be the male ladybugs?

Leroy laughed. Man bugs…how funny. —Buzz—

Ben was elated.—Accomplishment, yay!—

From this day forward the sad kid was well regarded. He could attract a troop of manbugs and hold their attention all day. —Brand value, the ultimate goal—

And the manbugs earned their name from a giant species of bugs called humans.
—Brand recognition—

I’m impressed, you?