Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category

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Tips to Take Your Website Mobile

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

Staying in front of clients and customers means delivering relevant  information to them when and where they need it.

In today’s go-go world this is often not at a desk but through a growing list of mobile devices. This list starts with smart phones and tablets such as the iPad and the Motorola Xoom Android, the blackberry Playbook and the list is growing.

A recent website overhaul for CBRE’s Oakland City Center by the Placemaking Group included a bright new mobile version of key parts of the website among them available office and retail space, events, news and Oakland City Center retail and dining.

Screen Shot of the Oakland City Center Mobile website.

The new website also includes a totally rebranded design to reflect new ownership, a new leasing update system, new image galleries and a user-friendly PHP-based content management system.

We had a few simple goals for the mobile version of Oakland City Center site:

  1. Create the Product Our Client Needed: We worked closely with our CBRE client before production to nail down exactly what they needed to make available to commercial real estate brokers, tenants and visitors. We could have spent a good deal more money building what the client originally asked for – totally separate mobile application – but there was no need.
  2. Specific Content  for Mobile Users: We queried commercial real estate brokers and office tenants to determine which parts of the site they would use most on the go and included these pages in the mobile version. These pages include an available office and retail space listing, upcoming events, shopping and dining, contact and directions.
  3. No Redundant Data Entry: All information that was entered for the website pages through the CMS is also delivered to mobile devices.
  4. Big Buttons, Simple Branded Layout: Fingers need lots of room to roam on a smart phone and the real estate for text is small  All mobile page layouts include oversized buttons, are easy to read and navigate.
  5. iPad /Tablet friendly: The website provides multiple paths to get to the same information in the event drop-down menus. These are an issue for an iPad user.  It also uses Java script rather than Adobe Flash to power a rotating home page screen.

From text to images to video, delivering content  to customers through mobile devices is here to stay.

To view more web design and development samples.

 

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Posted in Marketing, Mobile Digital Strategy, Web sites | No Comments »

Next Stop: Fame. Learn More at Oakland Lunch & Learn

Monday, February 13th, 2012

Next stop for my Get Famous with Social Media presentation is at Oakland City Center’s 5-Star Worldwide Center, on Wednesday, February 15, from Noon to 1 p.m. The event is free and open to Oakland City Center tenants and others interested in learning how to get famous and build brand recognition. I’ll explain how to determine which social media tools are the best choice for your business and take a look at blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and others.  Read more here.

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Posted in Branding, Marketing | No Comments »

Twitter App for Mac

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

Our creative director, Jannah Lyon, told me about a great app if you are  trying to keep track of multiple twitter accounts.

You’ll want to check out this free handy mac app that will make your tweet following and posting a breeze. You can create multiple accounts to track, and the sweetest part is you can tweet to any of them right from within the application in seconds. It doesn’t have all the scheduling bells and whistles other apps or online twitter account management systems have (ie HootSuite), but for fast following and easy tweets this is your guy!

Features: Find & follow friends, Tweet, Retweet, Favorite, Direct Message privately with your followers, share web pages, real-time search, and view trends.

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Entrepreneurship Advice: Keiretsu Forum

Monday, January 30th, 2012

I had a great talk recently with a video producer who has come up with an innovative idea for music fans around the world. Now, I can’t tell you his idea yet, even though it’s actually really exciting, but I can tell you about some advice I was able to offer him. (Also, when the video producer is able to make his business public, I’ll write about it in this blog).

To get up and running, the producer needs to find a place or a way to raise some money to buy all the cameras that are needed for his business to be successful. He needs less than a million dollars, which means that no Venture Capitalist will be interested, because they are looking for much higher numbers to invest. (more…)

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Build Brand Loyalty Through Community Outreach

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

Building a brand involves connecting with a community that will become loyal to you. That’s especially true when you are a local business relying on consumers in your city or town to uphold your reputation and keep traffic coming through the door.

A community that speaks highly of your business or organization serves to get the word out and convey your key messages. So give them something to talk and tell others about that means something to them. Keep your brand in front of them by telling your story — in a relevant way – through a combination of traditional media and social media. (more…)

Posted in Branding, Marketing, Publicity, Social Media | No Comments »

Using Social Gaming as Incentives for Employees

Friday, December 9th, 2011

Did you think you had a good understanding of gamification and that it wasn’t right for your company? Well, I attended Converge Cup Silicon Valley, the most recent event put on by ISSMM, the Institute for Social, Search and Mobile Marketing last Thursday. I got a whole new view. 

Kris Duggan, the CEO of Badgeville (http://www.badgeville.com/), gave an really interesting talk on another aspect of social gaming. His talk was on helping to instill Behavior Management. Or as they call it, Behavior Lifecycle Management. In other words, using gamification to incentivize employees to fulfill goals in their strategic plan. (more…)

Posted in Issues Management, Marketing, Social Media | 1 Comment »

Beyonce Asks: Fix My Website!

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

This is perfect timing. Right after our last post on this blog where we talk about what is the important rule when designing a website, Beyonce shows that she understands! She wants a website that tells her story in images and words– her brand! The website she has now is basically a blog, and it doesn’t represent her brand. That’s what we make sure our clients understand– our goal is to tell your story -your brand- effectively to your core audience, the people you want to influence!

Here’s some of her story…

“Beyonce herself hates the website because she doesn’t think that it looks like who she is as an artist, someone who likes fashion and art and photography and travel,” said one executive familiar with Ms. Knowles’ plans. “She has all sorts of interests and wants to communicate that,” said the person, adding that the star wants the new site to be “daring and forward-thinking.” Click here to read the whole article in AdAge.

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Posted in Marketing, Web sites | 1 Comment »

Four New Websites from The Placemaking Group

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

Here are four of our newest websites designed and developed by our team here at Placemaking Group. We built these for our clients with one important rule. This rule is a key to making a successful website. The rule is to understand who you need to talk to and being able to communicate the story that you want your target audiences to know about. It’s not good enough to just have functionality in a website. It has to talk to the people that you are trying to influence. So, click on any of the website images, and read the stories that reflect our clients’ brands. You’ll see how we’ve incorporated website content and functionality to match the unique needs of each client’s customers.


Interior Designer Website
Real Estate Development Website

Mortgage Company Website
Real Estate Community Website

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Posted in Marketing, SEO, Web sites | No Comments »

Social Media is Perfect for Event Marketing

Sunday, November 6th, 2011

Social media is perfect for event marketing because, if done well, it can convey a real sense of the event. And that creates a sense of excitement and increases attendance. Done well is the key.

Hard work is more important than a large budget. The most successful promotions look easy. That’s because behind them is a lot of thought, preparation, planning, hard work, attention to details and more hard work.  Here are some tips to make it work.

Photo of the Astounding Electric Magic Elixir Medicine Show captures a glimpse of the silliness and fun of the Gold Rush Days event in Old Sacramento.

(more…)

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Posted in Event Marketing, Marketing, Social Media, Video | No Comments »

With Social Media, Focus on your Story.

Sunday, October 30th, 2011

When you’re thinking about how you use Social Media, doesn’t it seem like a huge question as to what to talk about?

This is one of the concerns often reported to us. People aren’t sure what they should be posting, blogging and tweeting.

At Placemaking Group our advice is to stick to your message! Your brand message is the key to your social media. Your job as a marketing professional is to keep the brand message clear and consistent. In the many social media avenues (LinkedIn, Facebook, blogs, YouTube, etc.)  it’s easy to get distracted. And, of course, when a question comes up, you have to field it. But, when you are posting and blogging make sure you are telling your company’s story.

Mike Ogden, Digital/Senior Writer, Marketing Communications Specialist at PlattForm Advertising, keeps it to 3 points… (more…)

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Posted in Marketing, SEO, Social Media | No Comments »

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