About a week into November, Internet giant Google added a feature to it’s recently developed Google Plus social network—Google Plus Business Pages—that it projects to be one of the most valuable online marketing tools for companies yet. David Amerland described it in his article on Technorati.com as having the intention of allowing “businesses and brands to create the same close, personal connection with their potential customers as individuals who have been using the social network, since it opened, have done with each other.”

This certainly does sound exciting, but just as many were hesitant to invest the time to create a personal profile for yet another social network, many businesses are asking what the unique benefit is to taking advantage of this new service. After some online research, it seems that the majority of the blogosphere is optimistic that the added options for businesses will add value to marketing efforts. But the question remains—how? Here’s what we found:

Google Plus Business Pages is often compared to Facebook Pages, but it seems that their names are the most similar element of these two services. While marketing over Facebook and Twitter have revolutionized online marketing, it falls short in the fact that efforts via these vehicles only reach those to whom they are already connected. In other words, only those who “like” a page for “follow” an account will receive a company’s message disseminated over these networks. Amerland claims that Google Plus Business Pages differs in that it “can shorten the path [to a company’s site] by quite a bit, creating a winning proposition for brands which want to attract more customers, businesses which want to be found locally and marketers who want to help their clients succeed.”

With Google Plus Business Pages, business can be sought out by online consumers and engage in conversation with these potential customers. They can then be directed to the company’s page where they are provided with more information and the option to add a badge and receive updates. Any +1 activity can be extended to positively affect Google search results. Considering Google is the largest, most popular search engine used today, it’s not a bad idea to team up with this winner. Generating excitement for your brand on the Google Plus Business forum is rewarded with improvements in SEO. Not a bad deal.

With Google Plus Business Pages, companies can share breaking news, updates, promotions and more with the different people interested in their products or services. Brands can also promote their business with the +1 service all across the Web. And like everything Google does, the results can be measured with analytics provided by the service to help monitor a page’s progress and effectiveness.

While the true value of Google Plus Business Pages has yet to be seen, under a name like Google, it’s likely that this could just be the next big thing. The marketing landscape has undergone drastic changes in the past five years, but this evolution is far from over. Don’t be left behind as the rest of the world enters the next stage. Check out Google Plus Business Pages and decide for yourself if it could help your company reach the next level.

-Written by Savannah Harper, LB Wordsmith

By now almost everyone has felt the effects of the economic downturn that has taken place over recent years. In the wake of a global recession, numbers have been crunched, companies have become leaner and many independent business owners have been forced to close their doors. This last point is especially unfortunate considering that many economists believe small businesses to be the driving force of our country’s economy. The growth of small businesses generates new capital and offers job opportunities to an increasingly unemployed nation.

November 26 marks the second year that American Express will celebrate an event it’s calling “Small Business Saturday.” On this day, which falls during one of the nation’s busiest shopping weekends of the year, the company encourages the millions of American shoppers who will be out to “Shop Small” and support their “favorite local stores and help fuel the economy.” This noble effort is not only a call to action for consumers but also provides opportunities for small businesses to create offers, initiate Facebook communities and receive e-marketing materials to promote their businesses online.

Lifeblue understands that there are challenges that face any of the hopeful individuals out there who start out with nothing but a dream and a plan. In our five years of operation, LB has not only survived, but thrived, and while much of this success is attributed to providing a quality service, much of it can also be credited to the company’s use of cost-effective marketing tools now available to just about anyone with an Internet connection. Below we have outlined some of the ways that these services can help a small business become a success.

Company Website
As a company that designs and builds websites, we firmly believe in the power of an effective and engaging online experience. In this day and age, much of a business’ consumer traffic is generated by an interest that is sparked long before that person is in the vicinity of your store, but instead miles away in front of his computer. Create a good, user-friendly website that allows consumers to research your company and its products and services. As more and more people turn to mobile for all of their online needs, having a working mobile site is also in your best interest. Just make sure your site is in shape; it’s the window into your store.

Review Sites
Review sites, such as Yelp, and reviews found on Google Maps can also prove important in developing your business. The Digital Age allows for customers to have their say and spread word-of-mouth endorsements—or defamation—to a global audience. While you can’t necessarily control what gets said about your business, you can regulate how you react to it. Respond to negative comments. This can help you discover how to improve and gives you the opportunity to right your wrong and turn an unsatisfied customer into a very happy one. Use review resources to know exactly what’s being said about your company. These comments can provide insight on how to improve and reveal opportunities to capitalize on something that works.

Social Media
The rise of social media platforms like Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter and Foursquare have provided any company with an inexpensive method of customer engagement. These vehicles allow for user interaction and build on consumer relationships by providing a forum that fosters the two-way conversation between company and customer. Create an offer on FourSquare that brings in business, or use a Facebook page to advertise promotions to consumers that will build loyalty. Take advantage of the location features on these programs that allow consumers to publicize their visit to your establishment. One of the best parts about social media is that it can generate something money can’t buy: word-of-mouth endorsements with the potential of worldwide reach.

Online Video
While paid commercials are expensive, publishing videos to your own YouTube channel is not. The video site YouTube gives anyone the opportunity to create and share video worldwide, and as a small business, it could be just what you need to get your message out. Viral videos have been shown to possess great influential power and can even be more effective than a commercial. Create one and post it on your website and social media profiles to gain exposure. The great thing about creating your own online video is that there are no time restrictions, and it allows for more artistic freedom in crafting your message.

SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) can also help get your business out there. Starting out, your business’ site will not be at the forefront of an organic search simply because of its newness. Good SEO practices can help guide consumers to your site when they are searching for a product or service your company provides. Look into using programs like Google AdWords, where you can purchase keywords that will bring up your site in a relevant search. Most of these programs provide analytics to evaluate the effectiveness of your paid placement, and you can then decide whether or not this tactic is working for you and adjust accordingly.

This is an exciting time to be taking the plunge and investing in your own business. With a variety of tools available online, it has never been easier to reach millions with your message. Advertising can be expensive, but online marketing costs very little and can be just as effective.

Today you have the chance to build personal relationships with consumers around the world and engage them with media that is interactive and dynamic.

Small businesses are extremely important to the American economy. When you think about it, every large, successful business today started out as a small business itself. Use these tools to find the mix that works for your company, and let the business start booming.

-Savannah Harper, LB Wordsmith

Today I was inspired by a recent article on Forbes online…called “Are You Making the Right Connections?”. It got me thinking about how we strategize internally at LB and some of the things we discuss on a regular basis about ensuring we remain creative and inspired so that we deliver amazing experiences for our clients.

Holly Green is the contributing author and I found her angle interesting: “What do Velcro, barbed wire, and chainsaws have in common? They were all patterned after structures found in nature.”

I would also argue these ideas were developed out of constraints and the need to solve a problem. Looking at something familiar and applying in a different way.

Here are her three great examples of innovation inspired by nature:

1. “Velcro was invented in 1941 by Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral. After returning home from a hunting trip, he noticed a large amount of cockleburs stuck to his clothes and his dog’s fur. Out of curiosity, he stuck a few under a microscope and saw that each bur consisted of hundreds of little hooks that caught on anything with a loop, such as clothing or animal fur. He surmised that if he could duplicate the hooks and loops with other materials, he could bind them together in a similar fashion.”

2. “When ranchers first began raising cattle on the wide-open plains, they used the Osage orange as fencing material. But the thorny bush took a lot of time and effort to transplant and grow. Eventually, someone hit on the idea of fashioning wire fences patterned after the Osage’s sharp thorns. This innovation made it affordable to fence vast areas of land, and led to the practice of animal husbandry on a much larger scale.”

3. “Nature also provided the inspiration for the modern chainsaw. In 1946, a man chopping wood in Oregon noticed several timber beetle larvae chewing through the logs around him. A short while later, he developed a chain with interlocking links that mimicked the chewing action of their teeth. This led to the development of the first chainsaw that could cut with, or against, the grain of the wood.”

As Green points out, “Original ideas come from recognizing new connections between familiar things and transforming them into something new. So the next time you see a pattern — whether it comes from a beetle grub chewing through a log, or the pile of junk mail sitting on your countertop — pause for a moment and ask yourself, “How can I relate this to something I already know well?” You’ll be amazed at what you can come up with!

We believe in balancing innovation and experience as we embark on this journey with our clients. We are often inspired by physical offline objects that might lead to design inspiration for an interactive engagement and ultimately create an amazing user experience in the online world. We like to believe the greatest creativity sometimes comes from constraints that are bookended with limitless possibility.

Look around you. You never know what might become your muse for creative inspiration.

Photo courtesy of swurl.com.au

As competitors multiply and communication channels continue to be oversaturated with message clutter, the need for effective branding has become more important than ever and will only become increasingly critical in the future. Your company isn’t like every other. It’s unique and special, and your consumers should be aware of this. As stated by David Brier in a recent article in Fast Company, 9 Steps To Building A Brand That Breaks Through The Noise, “every business owner and CEO has the right to a superior brand. One that’s meaningful. Powerful. Long-lasting. Inspiring. And effective.”

At the same time though, effective branding has come to be more of a challenge in the wake of the Digital Revolution, which has created new channels of communication and is constantly cranking out new ones. The challenges posed by evolving technology also give life to opportunities that marketers of the past could have never dreamed of. Brands now have the ability to interact with consumers and build connections through engaging social promotion and online communities.

The real challenge in branding lies in using available resources in a way that makes sense but even more importantly, inspires and interests your audience. While it’s up to you how you do it, Brier offers some useful insight into some things to keep in mind when attempting to bring your brand through the clutter and give it the recognition it deserves.

So what’s rule number one? Break the rules. Brier points out that no one ever rises above the status quo without pushing the boundaries. “By breaking those rules with insight, intelligent and innovation, [brands] get heard in a world that’s simply too busy to listen.”

Again, the focus should be on effective branding. Brier warns that focusing on what’s most efficient often provides results that aren’t effective, and efforts are wasted on a half-baked attempt. Be thorough. Be effective.

“Social media isn’t a brand strategy.” And it never will be. Social media outlets are channels that if used correctly, can be an effective way to get your brand’s message out and connect with your consumers. Be engaging. This is your chance to create an experience for your consumers that can be instantly shared via digital word-of-mouth. But when creating your social content, keep in mind that “while it’s important for a brand to develop something to say, it’s more important to create something that will be heard.”

Branding sets up a certain expectation of quality. Be sure to deliver on the promises you make with your brand messages. While branding can distinguish two otherwise identical products, real brand loyalty derives from consumers feeling that the brand meets their high expectations.

In regard to this, remember that people aren’t passionate about the ordinary, so be extraordinary, both in who your brand is and what it stands for. Be creative and different in your branding, and don’t limit this mindset to the creation of your brand message. Apply it to the way you present your message as well, including the channels you choose and how you engage your audience. A recent survey by Adweek reveals that 73% of the subscribers who responded believe that inspiration and engagement take precedence over consistency when it comes to brand message developement (Data Point: Making the Brand Inforgraphic).

Brands hold amazing power. They evoke feelings and memories and give a personality to your company to which your consumers can relate. Develop your brand to be one that represents the quality you believe to be behind it, and effectively convey that message to the public.

Make a plan, and then make a stand for your brand.

Written by Savannah Harper – LB Wordsmith
Photo courtesy of Delevante Creative.