Web presence can be measured in the amount of footprints an organization has on the web.  It includes your website, your search engine rankings, your social network profiles, blogs, traffic, flat sites, popularity, and crosslinks.  All of these footprints should be headed in one direction:  Your Web Site.

Web Presence is about where you are on the web, how good that content is and how each piece relates to the other pieces.  It’s about getting the right people to notice and follow you.  It’s akin to a well-run publicity campaign:  A consistent message that is conveyed across multiple media.

Here’s how it’s done: Communications Strategies are agreed upon (and should be the basis of the web site).  Those messages are conveyed over and over again via keyword submissions; in press announcements, your social media campaigns, blogs, flat sites and landing pages etc.  All of these elements feed off of one another.

Let’s use an example from one of our long-standing clients, Delicious Orchards.  DO is a specialty food store celebrating its 100^th anniversary.  It’s famous for fresh produce and fabulous recipes.  During apple season, the site will be filled with related recipes and descriptions of the many varieties.  Emails with popular recipes and featured items are sent out on a weekly basis.  Twitter feeds and Facebook posts promote the recipes and events at the store.  These posts are picked up by the search engines as they are retweeted and forwarded by DO’s thousands of followers and fans.  Every posting includes links to relevant pages on the web site.  Even print and broadcast ads reference the web site.

The popularity of the links and posts improves search engine rankings, which in turn, increase the number of web surfers visiting the site.  The site’s increasing popularity in turn improves organic search results.  Invitations on the site to join the DO mailing list, Facebook page and Twitter following improves the efficacy of social media.

It’s a web presence eco-system.  Each element feeds off and in turn feeds the other elements.  Many web site owners mistakenly view each element independently, often hiring separate web developers, SEO services, social media managers and advertising/PR agencies.  A better approach is to have a single entity manage the entire process. It’s incredibly efficient.  Once appropriate content is developed, it is then disseminated across the various media in the appropriate format.

A strong web presence will increase the number of visitors to your site, while improving the quality of the visits (more page views) and the quality of the visitors themselves.  Moreover, it simplifies your ROI calculations.  If you’re comfortable with the quality and quantity of visitors to your site, you no longer need to worry about how many Twitter followers you have or whether you’re ranked third or fourth in keywords.  If these tasks are coordinated and consistently and properly managed, you WILL get more visitors and you WILL attract more qualified visitors.

Most importantly you WILL get a better return on your web site investment.

NetWave Interactive is experienced in building a strong and effective web presence. Give your website the attention it deserves, contact us today.

Microsoft recently updated their look to a more modern simple design. They redesigned their logo to include a 4-color block symbol reminiscent of their famous Windows logo, in which the different colored squares are intended to express the company’s diverse portfolio of products. The brand overhaul gives them a sleek new look that is represented in all their branding from logo and website to their new Microsoft Stores and advertising.

Redesigning your corporate image can breathe new life into your existing business simply by changing the way people perceive your brand. It helps you stay relevant in a fast moving world. A change could be just the thing to get people to do a double take and spark interest in a brand that people may have forgotten about.

Businesses can grow in different directions as they develop over time. Maybe your company has developed new products or has decided to focus on a wider target audience than when the company started. Redesigning your brand can give your business a chance to target a new audience and change consumer perception.

Netwave Interactive specializes in creating bold brand identities that feature eye catching artwork while maintaining and supporting our clients’ business integrity and focal interests. We focus on getting to know your business and pushing the qualities that make your brand stick out into the spotlight with powerful and creative marketing. Contact Netwave and strengthen your brand image today.

Our client, Chef’s International, came to us with the challenge of creating a brand from the ground up when they decided to open the new 9th Ave Pier, an outdoor bar and restaurant at the heart of the jersey shore.

Our creative team set out to create a brand image that represents the fun and summer attitude that surrounds this new waterfront restaurant. We created everything from the logo and menu design to the website, social media pages, and other marketing materials. The restaurant has quickly become a summer favorite and continues to wow its customers with stylish fun.

]]> http://www.marketingagencynj.com/branding-ground/feed/ 0 http://www.marketingagencynj.com/design-support-grow-brand/ http://www.marketingagencynj.com/design-support-grow-brand/#comments Tue, 11 Sep 2012 17:48:30 +0000 admin http://www.marketingagencynj.com/?p=2089 Here at Netwave Interactive we are all about originality. Our creative minds have a healthy obsession with thinking outside of the box to develop marketing plans that stand out and get noticed. We are a full service advertising agency capable of doing everything in-house including sharp photography, eye-catching designs, motivating words, innovative video production and much more.

Fresh ideas are a must in the advertising world, and our staff is constantly looking for the next big idea to make our clients stand out from their competition. Taking an idea from conception all the way to production, we have developed plenty of unique and fun campaigns for our clients. We continue to support and grow your brand through social media and traditional promotions including ad schedules, PR and an online presence.

When our client, Manasquan Savings Bank, turned to us to develop ideas to promote the banks mobile capabilities we formed a plan to spread the word in an original and fun way. Being a full service agency allowed us to come up with a great concept with sketches and turn them into reality through the use of our talented photographer and designers.

Whether it’s building a strong social presence, designing a user friendly website or creating full ad campaigns, Netwave Interactive believes getting to know you and your business is key to helping your business grow. We take the time to learn the ins and outs of your business and work with you to make your business shine in new and exciting ways. Since starting in 1993, Netwave Interactive has developed a strong reputation for bold ideas and effective results, just take a look at our portfolio.

Contact us today to share your business challenges and we’ll brainstorm some ways to add a creative yet powerful spin to your marketing plan.

Even though our client, Delicious Orchards, has been in business for over 100 years it’s important to keep their brand image as fresh as their Jersey Fresh produce. That’s why our creative team is constantly pushing unique ideas and fun into all of their marketing. We utilize mouth-watering imagery and word play to push their unique dedication to great food into all forms of media from billboards and radio commercials to print and online advertising.

When they came to us to promote their annual Apple Fest celebration, we decided a unique and stylish design would be the best way to capture attention for this great event. The design worked perfectly utilizing billboards, print and online advertising to build a buzz around the fun annual event. The design even became a instant viral hit when Delicious Orchards posted a picture of the billboard design on their facebook, achieving over 300 likes, lots of shares and many compliments.

Brief: When Manasquan Savings Bank wanted to grow their brand image by pushing their mobile and online capabilities, they turned to the creative minds at Netwave Interactive. The bank wanted to let their customers know about all the convenient features and excellent customer service they provide their customers.wanted to grow their brand image they turned to the creative minds at Netwave Interactive.

Solution: Our creative team developed a campaign that takes the bank’s convenient mobile services and portrays them in a memorable and unique way. We developed and launched the Bring The Bank With You campaign utilizing everything from billboards and magazine ads to social media and website banners to creatively spread the word about the banks mobile capabilities. The campaign features a banker, representing the whole bank, accompanying a customer anywhere their day might take them – demonstrating the fact that with Manasquan Savings Bank’s mobile and online capabilities, the bank is always with you.

In addition to developing this new campaign, we successfully set up their social media accounts. We manage their social campaign with our Manage.Monitor.Maintain. strategy. Employing an innovative use of QR codes we were able to get the word out with stuffers, tent cards and posters in a fun and interactive way.

Too bad it’s terrible advice. Besides 11 of the stupidest reasons (i.e. You Can’t Control Their Friends) I’ve ever seen, the article is based on faulty logic. Follow author Hollis Thomases’ thinking and you’d skip over the next Mark Zuckerberg (who founded Facebook at 20) or Steve Jobs (who founded Apple at 21).
Okay, Zuckerbergs and Jobs don’t come around every day, but smart, bright and motivated young marketers do. Give them guidance and a little bit of loose reins and you may open up a valuable new communications channel.

Social media marketing is fresh and constantly re-freshing with updates and new social networks frequently popping up. The truth is, it’s a new and evolving sector within the industry. Is your 35-year-old direct marketer better equipped to manage Twitter?  How about your 43-year-old sales manager? After all she has 300 Facebook Friends and organized her 25^th HS reunion.

You need someone with an overall understanding of marketing and advertising and an enhanced ability to interact with people on their terms.

Your new media manager should think outside the box with an open mind. They should be encouraged to try new things. They should be forcing you to push the envelope.

Obviously, you don’t hand over the keys to your social media kingdom, without some form of supervision. You don’t give an intern carte blanche and never look over his/her shoulder. Your new media manager should be a part of your marketing team. If you want a successful new media manager for your business you will need to search for the right candidate, not just hire someone because they are young and know how to Instagram. Potential candidates will be young. They should be driven to succeed, which will bring you success. Still scared? Give your candidates a test.

Ask each candidate to compare the online presence of two other companies (competitors of each other). That’s it; leave the rest up to them. The smart candidate will design a presentation to showcase their evaluation. A good evaluation will include all online media: social media, website, blog, search results, etc.

Don’t confuse age with ability. Who handles your computer networking? Who handles your programming and your web site? Odds are 20-somethings are doing most of the work. Now ask yourself, which of these young people have more destructive capabilities between their fingertips and keyboards? The tech who connects you to the web, or the young lady “who knows how to Instagram?”

We handle social media campaigns for many of our clients and it is actually managed by a 23-year old! He works with our account managers, creative director and copywriter to offer a coordinated marketing program.

Sometimes it is not cost effective to bring someone on full or even part time just to handle your new media campaigns. Consider hiring an agency with new media services. Contact NetWave Interactive for a consultation.

- Dave McIndoe

Attracting new customers is key to business growth. One of the most common methods to attract people to your company is through some kind of sale or promotion.

Sales and promotions can be very successful in boosting revenue – but does that mean long-term growth? Not necessarily.

In order to grow your business you should know your audience and their needs. You want to have your target audience in mind for every business decision you make.

Take bar promotions for example. If you run a killer deal once a week and it attracts a huge crowd, will those people be there when the deal is over? Some people will simply go to a bar that features a deal that night rather than return to you. This means you only boosted your business once and depending on the deal you may not have even gained any profit from it.

The same goes for just about every other type of promotion, from retail coupons and sales to hotel deals and restaurant discounts.

Technology is making it even easier for deal seekers to find and follow the best promotions. Websites like Groupon and Living Social can attract new customers willing to try your business. While these sites give people the latest promotions they may motivate them even further towards deal trailing.

Keeping your target audience in mind can lead to smarter, more effective promotions. Offer something that can highlight your business as being better than the rest. Leave your customers wanting more. If you present them with a unique experience they will be more inclined to come back to you rather than move on to the next company with a flashy deal.

Here at Netwave Interactive, we offer expert marketing consulting to help you ensure your company is making the most out of your promotions and effectively reaching the right audience. Our dedicated account team takes the time to get to know you and your business, offering advice that is specially designed for your business.

Contact Netwave Interactive today, and give your promotions the upper hand.

Remember the last time you went to watch a video online and a short advertisement played before it started – that’s pre-roll video advertising.

Visuals are much more informative and engaging than straight text. Video uses movement and sound to reach your audience in a memorable and interactive way – and pre-roll video adds even more to this. Viewers can click imbedded links that lead them directly to your website, a contact form or anywhere else you want them to go to find out more information.

Pre-roll video advertising isn’t just on video sites like YouTube and Vimeo either. They are featured in videos on popular websites from TMZ to New York Times – just to name a few. As more websites feature videos, pre-roll advertising is sure to follow.

Another benefit to using pre-roll is your ability to target specific audiences. Smart placement of your video ads can significantly boost your click through rate and brand recognition. Pre-Roll video can target viewers based on a large number of different options. This includes demographic categories including age, location, marital status, household income, home-ownership and more. Besides demographics you can target geographically, by topic or content and by website.

In addition to reaching a highly targeted audience, your online videos are more likely to be seen than with traditional TV commercials. Devices like DVR’s make it easy for viewers to fast forward or cut out all commercials. Pre-roll ad’s are required to be played through to get to the viewers desired content – making them more likely to be seen.

If you already have a strong TV advertising campaign, combining it with pre-roll advertising can improve your messages impact. Studies have shown that combining the two improves the ad message’s recall by 53% and brand recall by 35%.

Take a look at this 15 sec pre-roll video we made for Manasquan Savings Bank:

Thanks to pre-roll video Manasquan Savings Bank is able to reach their target audience with a message. This 15 second pre-roll accompanies a 30 second TV version for a stronger impact then either would separately.

Thanks to faster internet connections and more advanced mobile devices, people are spending more time online. Developing a strong online marketing plan is key to tapping into this ever-growing market.

For more information on how advertising with pre-roll videos can give your marketing the boost it’s been looking for contact Netwave Marketing today.

The creation of microsites is a very efficient way to improve keyword search rankings without having to make major changes to your preexisting website.

Here are 4 ways using microsites can improve your site performance:

1. More Lines in the Water

The “more lines in the water” you have, the better chance you have of attracting new business.

Creating these mini websites will increase your reach by giving people more independent domain names to find that link back to your main site.

With each new microsite you create, you’re building a stronger web presence.

But beware – carelessly throwing up a bunch of microsites will not instantly increase your traffic or search engine results.

2. Helps the Right People Find You

Properly developed microsites don’t just bring in more traffic – they bring in the right traffic.

The key is to purchase a keyword specific domain.  On this domain, develop a 3 – 4 page content heavy mini website that then points to your main website.

You need to take your time and determine which keywords your customers are using to look for your type of service or product. But if you focus on the proper strong keywords your microsite can significantly increase the amount and quality of traffic to your site.

Make sure your website is keyword specific.  Therefore when developing your microsite, you want to make sure your domain name, title tags, meta tags, meta description, and website content all focus on only one service area or product.

Once this new microsite starts to appear higher in search engines, visitors will be clicking in to find our more information.  Offer enough information to make the visitor interested to find out more.

An effective way to accomplish this is to have the Contact Us and About Us links on the small site link directly into your parent website.

3. Doesn’t Break The Bank

Microsites are one of the more cost effective ways to improve your site performance.

What makes microsites cost effective is the short development time needed to create them. Because they are only made up of a few very focused pages, they are not a huge undertaking.

Since time is money when it comes to web design, and just about everything, the simple structure of these sites make them fairly inexpensive to create.

4. Major Brand Reinforcement

Consistency is a major component of creating a strong brand and your microsites are another tool to reinforce that brand.

Don’t go crazy creating a new elaborate design for each microsite.

A properly designed microsite should have the same look and feel as the parent site. Keep the same colors, logo and design that you use on all your other sites. The navigation on all your sites should have a similar layout.

Keeping everything looking the same ensures that people aren’t getting confused when moving from your microsite to the main site.  You don’t want people being unsure of what site they are on.

With proper planning, these small sites can be the boost your company is looking for. Our experienced and knowledgeable team can create successful microsites for your company using the most effective keywords for your market. Contact Netwave Interactive and improve your sites performance today.