How a Blog Could Help Your Business & Employee's Development

Blogging has grown from what many would consider a hobby to a legitimate source of valuable content. What’s more, a blog can be beneficial to your business and employee’s development.

Blogs are a good source of information

Blogs have been one of my main sources of news and knowledge for a few years. I’ve seen the value first hand. Instead of watching the news, listening to the radio or reading the paper in the morning, I get up to the minute news from my RSS (Really Simple Syndication) reader.

Although writing blogs started out as a hobby for many I consider many blogs at par or above traditional media for many topics. Bloggers are usually engaged in topics at a higher level than traditional media can be. Their posts are timely, accurate and opinionated. Today blogs have gone from side projects and hobbies to legitimate business tools.

What is a Blog?

Technically a blog is just a web page with a few differences.

Personality and opinion
Blog posts are filled with newsworthy information, much like traditional newspapers or magazines. But they adopt a different tone than traditional media. The author has the opportunity to inject personality and opinion without having to worry about presenting just the facts in an unbiased manner.

Content comes to you
With Blogs, the content can arrive via free RSS subscription. With an RSS reader, there’s no need to visit the website each day. The reader can be a web site like Google Reader or a program on your computer, mobile phone or tablet.

More frequency
Blogs are usually updated on regular basis: daily, weekly or monthly. Since the content is often less formal, it can be easier to write than other website content that only talks directly about a company’s products or services.

Engagement
Blogs allow people to gather and have deeper conversations. Readers could agree or disagree, add information that isn’t covered, and share their experience. There’s opportunity for both the author and readers to learn from this conversation. Sometimes the comments on a touchy topic can be more interesting to read than the blog post is.

Why Blog?

For Blogging to be done on behalf of your company there has to be benefits for your business and your employees. Here are a few of them:

Subject matter expertise
As a company, we share what we know to prove our expertise. This helps us build credibility, which hopefully leads to connecting with great new clients that see that there’s a lot of knowledge required to create design that works for business.

From a professional development perspective writing allows us to explore our thoughts in greater depth. With greater depth, comes expanded knowledge on diverse topics. As these thoughts are recorded they become a concrete resource, committed to memory, making it easier for individuals to talk about a subject with confidence.

Build your knowledge base
A blog post can also be drawn on as a resource. Some topics can be difficult and time consuming to explain verbally, or too lengthy to include in a proposal. You might give a high-level overview of a complex topic during a meeting or presentation and refer attendees to a blog post for the nitty-gritty details.

Of course this expertise isn't just beneficial to people outside the company. Posts can also be useful for co-workers to gain knowledge of another’s specialization. That knowledge may help them learn something new and can inspire ideas for their own work.

Make connections with like-minded people
No matter how niche your business it's likely there are others out there who want to engage in conversation about your topic. By sharing and engaging there’s opportunity to learn from each other and make great connections.

Communication is key
Being a good communicator in any profession is important. This is especially true in the world of design. By writing frequently employees become better communicators, this carries into other areas of work from writing proposals and giving presentations, creating documentation, to engaging on social media and correspondence with clients and co-workers.

Good content gets shared
A good web designer knows that content is king. Having great content on your site gives reason for people to come back often, and search engines to link to you. The more content you have with keywords that people type in, the more chance people will land on your site. All this seems obvious, but companies don't make the time to update their website.

With search engines in mind
You may have a page on your site about a particular service, but you can't type every keyword into that page without a) looking spammy and b) making the content less accessible for the user. Search enginge optimized content can be a bad reading experience for the user. Having a number of blog posts or articles written related to the services your company offers is a legit way of providing value to the reader while getting in a variety of keywords that will help rankings.

Would your company benefit from blogging?

If you're a service provider like we are the benefits are pretty clear:

• Build and convey expertise
• Increase communication with customers and employees
• Build a reference library
• Build searchable linkable content and bring more visitors to your website
• Educate co-workers with knowledge related to their work

If your company sells a product:

• Announce new products and features
• Provide a means for customers to engage with your company
• Provide customer support to the most common problems
• Give customers a reason to come back by providing interesting related content
• Increase communication with customers and employees
   

A blog can provide a lot of value for business and employees but may not be right for everyone. Would a blog provide value for your company? If you have a blog already what benefits are you seeing?

Communication, etiquette, wardrobe planning, budgeting, fitness and nutrition are all important aspects of a successful life. Cabochon teaches people how to develop these personal skills they'll need to succeed.

Cabochon approached Eyelight to develop their branding and website. Eyelight delivered a sophisticated, professional image with an attention grabbing colour scheme. The image is carried through their marketing material from logo, to business cards, to the website.

A content management system that facilitiates editing content within the design (instead of a backend admin area) makes the website truly easy to update while maintaining a polished design aesthetic.

50 Teens 4 Christmas

Did you know that an average of 50 homeless teens are sleeping on the streets every night in Kitchener-Waterloo? When we learned about the 50 Teens 4 Christmas project, we decided we had to get involved, stat!

Our participation with the 50 Teens project sprang from the #140Characters conference, which was about how our lives are being changed by social media. Among the amazing people we met was Melissa Yarascavitch, owner of NOURISH, chef and pastry artist (also known on Twitter as @bourbonbaker).

Melissa opened our eyes and our hearts to the plight of homeless teenagers in our own community of Kitchener Waterloo. How can it be that there are an average of 50 teens sleeping on the streets every night in our city? While we recognize that young people all over the world need our help, we really feel that we should do something about the situation in our own back yard.

Melissa and the good people of ROOF walk the streets, talking to the kids, making sure they’re ok. They bring food, blankets, and a dry pair of socks - whatever the kids need. Regardless of how they got there, we think one teen on the street is one too many.

This year, Christmas will come early. Eyelight is helping ROOF, Foodlove and The $5 dollar project raise money to buy winter jackets and other cold weather necessities for these teens.  On December 14, a party is planned for the teens where each will be given a Christmas they will remember.  Along with dinner and music, each teen will be given a knapsack with some essentials and a new warm winter coat.

We hope you will help us make it a great Christmas for homeless teens in Kitchener.

A winter coat that will provide warmth for a homeless teen this winter costs $100.

Please donate, any amount will help!

It all started when Anne Herbert scrawled the words, "practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty," on a place-mat in 1982. Since then, we’ve seen bumper stickers, a book of stories (Random Acts of Kindness) and of course the movie, ‘Pay It Forward’.

Here in Waterloo Region, Deb Ritchie of The Kitchener and Waterloo Community Foundation (KWCF) experienced an epiphany when, out of the blue one day, she was approached by a stranger, who offered her a full day parking pass. She vowed she would pay the ‘random’ act of kindness forward to someone else.  With The KWCF’s focus on creating a more empathetic and connected community, Random Act of Kindness Day® was born. The Kitchener-Waterloo community rallied behind Random Act of Kindness Day®:  Schools, businesses, religious sects, retailers, membership organizations, and individuals have created unique and innovative ways in which to connect with their fellow citizens. 

The KWCF has high hopes that Random Act of Kindness Day® will grow to become an annual, national event. After its first year in Kitchener-Waterloo and area, other communities have started Random Act of Kindness Day® in their hometowns. 

What can you do? It can be as simple as buying a coffee for the next person in line at Timmy’s, or holding open a door. The fun is in the randomness of the act. The look on the receiver’s face is priceless and will warm your heart.

Here’s what Eyelight did: Friday: our whole team ran out into the street and handed out newspapers to commuters as they passed by our office on Bridgeport Road. It felt great to put a smile on a few faces on this cold November morning.

Stumped for something you can do?

• Check out 101 Random Acts of Kindness that won’t cost you a penny.
• Download the 2011 Card
• Download the 2011 Poster

Have you experienced a Random Act of Kindness? We’d love to hear about it!

Your customers are tweeting about you. Are you ready?

It’s no secret that social media has changed the landscape. Consumers have a direct line to businesses in a way they never had before. Social media platforms are providing a public place for people to connect, share ideas, link to fun and thought-provoking stories and visuals. They are also sharing their customer experiences, good and bad, on all platforms, but with the most immediacy on Twitter. If you’re not already monitoring your brand on Twitter, you are missing out on a great opportunity to connect and engage with your customers.

Building your brand on Twitter starts with being real

Consumers expect to interact with brands on social media. In order to develop loyalty, it is imperative to create a personality for your brand that is human, credible, likeable, and approachable. It needs to be real, and it needs to be felt consistently across every touch-point.

Knowing that your customers are sharing their opinions about your product on Twitter, how can you be proactive? What is your relationship like with your customer? What are you doing to engage with your customers to encourage them to tweet positively about your brand?

Brands that do well on social media are those that build strategies that will get them noticed and remembered. Not every customer experience is going to be great, but finding ways to use Twitter and Facebook creatively will make you memorable.

Some brands have it right. My friend Karl hates being on the road, but since his work requires it he reasons that he may as well enjoy it, so he drives a Mercedes.  Karl is known for his positive attitude and when he loves something, he tweets about it. He sent some positive vibes toward Mercedes Benz recently and they responded promptly with a personal message and a custom banner, designed just for him. You can bet Karl told all his friends about it.

How are you reaching your customers through social media? What are they saying about you?

A passing fad or lasting innovation?

Beautifully designed and responsive devices such as the iPhone have popularized touchscreen technology and placed it in our hands. But touchscreens have been around for nearly a half-century and reaching into our lives in a myriad of ways.

Are touchscreens a fad though? With an ever-growing market and a past that is peppered with dreams for better input devices (think of the movie Minority Report, or Star Trek), I feel it’s safe to say no.

Just looking at technology forecasts answers the question. Projected sales state that 80% of mobile devices in North America and Western Europe will be touchscreen based by 2013.

Touchscreen technology is an evolution

There are many advantages to a touchscreen over other input devices, such as a mouse or stylus. Websites and applications take on new life when someone can use their hand to directly interact with them. Tip a paint bucket to colour a pair of shoes in an online store or place an order for a pizza by dragging on your favourite toppings.

The possibilities are literally endless.

Technology is constantly advancing, and as touchscreens are being refined they are becoming even more immersive. As the telephone has evolved from its clunky corded predecessor to the slim mobile devices we carry today, the touchscreen has a bright future of its own.

The keys are the keys to success

Keyboards are a large factor in determining the staying power of the touchscreen. There’s an element to physical keyboards that’s inviting. On a tactile keyboard you can learn to type without looking at it, which frees your eyes to look at something else. With my old LG Chocolate phone I could type without looking at the screen, which in turn freed me to simultaneously commandeer a spoonful of chicken soup.

With touchscreen only devices however, looking at the screen is essential to hitting the right key, as there is no physical response from tapping a virtual key.

Depending on the device you don’t always have to choose between a touchscreen and physical keyboard. Many devices such as the BlackBerry have both, and some have physical keyboards you can tuck away.

Coming soon…

Most mobile devices already have some type of simple vibration mode to tell you when you have mail or a message, but far more interesting interaction is around the corner. Using state of the art technology, you’ll actually be able to feel different textures when you touch your screen’s surface. 

When you touch a picture of sand for example, you’ll feel the grainy texture on your device. These types of tactile technologies will draw people deeper into their devices, as they will offer a familiar sense of touch to different interactions.

If you had the super power to create a touchscreen, where would you begin? What problem would you solve with a touchscreen? Before you answer that question, hop over to YouTube and watch Corning’s “A Day Made of Glass” video… It’s brilliant.

Too many businesses take a "launch it and forget it" approach to their website, which leads to out of date content, inaccessible pages, missing images and files. Not only can this create a bad experience for customers, it's also bad for business. To create a great experience, keep on top of your web content, regularly checking pages and links.

A small piece of forgotten content

I recently purchased a new mountain bike and was frustrated by the registration process. Using the printed registration card I typed in the warranty address only to find the page broken with a directory listing. Annoyed, I visited the main site and scaned the navigation for warranty or registration menu items. No luck. Up next, the onsite search box. I tried typing in both 'warranty' and 'registration'. Zero results.

Frustrated at this point, I gave up and emailed support (the last resort). After a few days I received a response that filling out the warranty isn’t required – as long as I have my receipt. But, if I felt better registering, I’d find a link in the footer of the website.

Knowing that there’s no real reason to register, why would I?

Every experience a customer has with your site informs their opinion

This experience left me with two impressions:

1. The manufacturer’s warranty form is really just a method to get my contact info for marketing. This is disingenuous, but since I'm a fan of a company and they’re upfront about how they plan to use the info, I’m ok with this answer.
2. A company website is a reflection of the quality of their products and services. The smallest details can cause frustration, which leads to a bad impression of the brand. A similar problem during the research phase of a purchase may have caused me to select a different brand.

What caused the problem?

Most likely the company’s warranty cards were printed before the latest redesign of their site. When the site was redesigned, the link to the warranty page was broken.

This is bad news for an established website. Not only was I unable to register, but other pages they had indexed in search engines may have stopped working as well.

The manufacturer launched the site and forgot to take small details into account. Instead of treating a website as an evolving business tool many companies simply launch it and forget it, leading to bad customer experience and lost revenue.

A strategy for avoiding “Launch It and Forget It”

To avoid "launch it and forget it," use a strategy that designates one person in your organization responsible for making the site the best it can be. This probably won't be their primary job, so add the task to their schedule. Assign a page or section once per week – even 10 minutes will improve customer experience.

With a large site this work can be split amongst departments with one person co-coordinating the review process. Some things to consider:

1. Organize
   Create a list of all pages on your site in a spreadsheet. Add a column for the page name, the address, who’s responsible for content and the last review date. Consider adding a column to keep track of suggestions and opportunities. This document helps coordinate where and by whom the website needs attention.

2. Audit offline materials
   Review all marketing and service materials (brochure, flyers, manuals, commercials) that have been released to the public. Do they contain website addresses? If so, test each address to ensure it works. Don't forget to check documents for each language your company operates in.

3. Avoid broken links
   Use a site-scanning tool to scan for missing files. On Mac, there's a great tool called Integrity, for other platforms there’s LinkChecker. A quick Google search will reveal many other tools.
   
   Some tools will export a spreadsheet, which can be used as a base for your site quality checklist. Google also has a free tool called WebMaster Tools that supplies a list of broken links and other useful info. Your developer can help you install this free tool.

4. Provide a 404 page that helps not hinders
   404 is the name for a page that is shown when you hit a broken link on a website. Most of these pages simply say the page is not found. Not the most helpful message ever written.
   
   Take this opportunity to help your visitors get where they want to go. Include a search box and a site map with links to your most important content. Want to take it to another level? Add your phone number. Broken links will get fixed quickly and your customer (or potential customer) will be impressed.

5. Review content not just links
   Take the time to read content. Does it still make sense? Does it reference an out of date feature or document? Is it customer-focused or does it use internal dialect? Was the content written in the same style as other pages on the site? If not, make a note and have someone review it.

6. Review Functionality
   If a fallen tree blocked your business entrance you'd notice right way and deal with it. Non-functioning forms and processes are just as bad for your business but not as easy to spot.
   
   The best way to ensure key processes work is by testing them yourself. Go through order processes and registration forms regularly. If they’re important to your bottom line, schedule frequent testing.

7. Email is still important
   Spam filtering helps get rid of the junk but can prevent you from seeing a great business opportunity or service request. Ensure your contact form is working and is being received by the appropriate people. If you’re able to, have a backup copy of every message stored in a database that can be scanned by a human for legitimacy.

8. Ensure every page still works
   Websites can be finicky things. Often a change made to one file can impact an entirely different area of your site. A server upgrade or configuration change can break a process that once worked. New versions of web browsers can make a once useable form impossible to fill out. These types of problems are hard to avoid with the constant change in tools, technology and features. Test often.

9. Test internal search forms
   When a visitor can't find what they're looking for in the navigation they head for the search box. A quick look at your stats should tell you what terms customers are typing in. Take the time to type in those terms to see if results meet user expectations.
   
   Remember my bike? When trying to register there were no results for the terms that I use to describe what I was looking for.

10. Review raw log files
    Yes they still exist in the Google Analytics era. These raw server logs can be provided or reviewed by your developer. They contain all of the pages and files that people are trying to get to that aren't there. If people are still hitting a missing registration form from another site, search engine or by typing you'll be able to put in a redirect or take other measures. Just think of all the marketing the bike manufacturer could have done if their registration form worked.

11. Listen and adjust
    When a customer takes the time to write to you with a complaint, it’s an opportunity to fix a problem and improve your brand experience for everyone. Make notes and adjust easy to fix problems right away.

12. When re-launching a site
    When undergoing a redesign it's important to audit all pages on the existing website. If files are being renamed during the process, they should be redirected with 301 redirects. These will help visitors with the old link get where they want to go, while not loosing valuable search engine page rank.

As a customer, my experience with your brand doesn't end with my purchase. I'm really happy with my new bike, but preventable errors and an unnecessary registration process caused me frustration that continues to cloud my opinion of the brand.

Every interaction with your company has to be great.

To avoid "Launch It and Forget It", it's key to have someone responsible for your website constantly making improvements. Even the smallest thing, like a broken link can leave a customer with a bad experience. How do you ensure customers have a great experience with your website?

The Hidden Power of Social Networking

LinkedIn is new territory for me. I dipped my toes in the waters a couple of years ago, adding connections but not mining them because, from my Canadian perspective, it’s rude to poke into other people’s business. Checking out my connections’ connections felt like digging into their personal stuff.

I thought LinkedIn was nothing more than a job search site until I read Keith Ferrazi’s book, Never Eat Alone. It’s all about making friends and building stronger business relationships. No longer do we separate our business relationships from our personal relationships. Both work together for the simple reason that we prefer to work with people that we know and like.

Think about it. Would you rather work with a stranger, or a friend? Wouldn’t you want to meet someone your friend recommends?

Making our big world smaller

With social media tools like LinkedIn and Twitter, suddenly it’s easier to connect. I can make the big world smaller, reduce the degrees of separation. My network touches other networks.

LinkedIn allows me to reach people more quickly. More importantly, by linking through others, I’m no longer a stranger. I have a level of credibility that I would not have had without the introduction.

Here’s a real-life example. I identified a company that I would like to do business with. I Googled the president, then looked at his profile on LinkedIn. I didn’t have a direct connection, but I had several third-degree links. One of my connections happens to know someone who sits on the board of directors. I sent a request for an introduction to my friend, who promptly responded. And when I say promptly, I mean in two minutes or less.

The very next day, I had coffee with my new connection. We talked about their business and mine, discussed how I could meet my target company president. This meeting could have taken months to schedule. It might never have happened at all if I hadn’t taken the leap and asked my friend to connect me to their friend.

It’s okay to ask a favour from your friend because friendship is about give and take. Now I admire my friend even more because she gets it and was happy to connect me. It has strengthened our relationship. And, of course, she knows she can count on me in future. How great is that?

The co-existence of creative right-brain and analytical left-brain

In the beginning…

When Eyelight opened its doors in 1986, I never imagined we’d someday celebrate 25 years of service in the marketing world of Waterloo Region. We began as a group of talented, eager freelancers, coming together to be stronger as a united force. Our team, made up of a designer, videographer, copywriter, sign maker and new to the world ‘Desk Top’ publisher, came to the end of our first year with only two of us still connected. So Ron and I, the survivors, incorporated Eyelight and forged ahead on our own.

Doing what you love – excited and scared to death

I was the ‘creative’ brain. I was the details person. Give me a project and I could visualize what needed to be done in an instant. I sketched in front of my clients, understanding quickly what they needed. We worked crazy hours – all day, every night and weekends. But it was our baby and we thrived because we loved what we were doing.

Risk taking and the entrepreneur

As a designer, preparing budgets, tracking costs – not to mention all the administration tasks – was foreign to me. The left-brain, analytical stuff belonged to Ron, my partner. He’s a gifted filmmaker, but he’s also an entrepreneur. He’s the guy that plans the big picture and thinks into the future, the visionary, the risk-taker.

When we started down this path, Ron handled the business end, brilliantly and efficiently. We crossed paths, as all business partners do, but we respect each other’s knowledge and strengths. I’ll never forget one meeting where we were asked to do something we’d never done. Ron jumped in said we could do it – and we did. Taking calculated risks is always worth it.

Processes – the best of both worlds

Ron is about process development. Putting measures in place that document the details of the business. As a creative thinker, following procedures was a struggle for me. But 25 years has taught me that design is more than making pretty pictures. Developing a creative strategy requires a process. Following procedures provides consistency of work. Details are taken care of while creativity flourishes. The devil really is in the details – but that’s where success lives too.

What lies ahead?

Looking back to what we’ve experienced and lessons learned, it’s amazing to dream what the future holds for marketing. Social media influences us in ways we could never have imagined. We’re no longer passive observers, but active participants.

Where will Eyelight be in 25 years from today? I’m not sure, but I’m eager be a part of it as we venture forth into the next 25 years.

25 lessons I’ve learned along the way….

1. Empower and trust others. You can’t do it alone.
2. Recognize your strengths and do them really well.
3. Great design is everything. But nothing kills it faster than a typo.
4. Get involved personally – business relationships create lasting friendships.
5. Shut up and Listen. Understanding is the key to the solution.
6. Be yourself. Trying to be someone you aren't is a tough and tiring act.
7. Don’t burn bridges. Respect others and take the high road – it’s always the best path.
8. If you don't have the answer, admit it and then find the answer.
9. Speak your mind and share your opinion. Saying 'yes' all the time is not what clients pay you for. They want our input.
10. Learn from your mistakes. We learn far more from risks and errors than accomplishments.
11. Be in the moment. Distractions come far too easily. Be engaged with what you are doing or who you are talking to.
12. I love the ‘AH HA’ moment. Developing the right logo, the right slogan, or the right plan.
13. Learn to put things in perspective.
14. Balance your life. Creativity needs time to refuel.
15. Ditch the diva routine. This is a group effort. We all share in the failures and the glory.
16. Follow your gut.
17. Computers didn’t give me more free time as promised. But they did take away the need to do marker layouts.
18. Do things in life that excite, motivate and inspire you.
19. Don't wear white shoes to a meat slaughter house … enough said.
20. Get involved with your community. Give back.
21. Don't take anything for granted. Life is full of twists and turns.
22. Surround yourself with smart people. They teach you a lot.
23. It’s not the mistake – it’s how you fix it that defines your character.
24. Watch Mad-Men! Don’s ‘pitch’ never gets old.
25. Deliver more than expected. Always.

We'd love to hear some of the lessons you've learned during your career. Leave a comment below or join us on Facebook or Twitter and let's talk.

What about the consumer that is not plugged in?

Do we still need ink on paper? Are the various forms of electronic technology honestly and truly making print obsolete?

Several months ago, I attended the Digital Print Forum in Toronto. It was exciting – and a little bit frustrating.

Many of the areas discussed were how to combine new technology such as smart phones, iPads, iPhones, BlackBerrys and playbooks with traditional print. There are also many various electronic applications which include QR codes, personal url’s. It’s more than a little mind bending.

But what about the customer who chooses not to use these devices.

I happen to be one of those consumers who owns a basic cell phone. I resisted a phone for a long time, but eventually purchased one for emergencies only. Statistically, I’m not alone. More than 25% of Canadians don’t have access to or own any type of wireless phone.

Often, when I go into stores I see QR codes on displays, which invite me to a website to check out a recipe. That’s great, but do they have the actual printed recipe cards? There’s something to be said about holding a piece of pape, that’s not glowing. You feel a different kind of energy in your hands. How do we engage customers who prefer paper over technology?

The non-tech consumer

Most often they’re older and probably have a dislike or distrust of anything electronic. They’re still consumers and most often have better purchasing power then those who are using many of these technologies.

How many consumers are we missing? 

In the end, we really have to understand who our customer is. Just because technology is available doesn’t mean that it’s the right way to talk to that particular group of consumers. Can we solve this puzzle? Yes. But we need to be more creative in engaging our customers, keeping in mind the many ways they want to communicate.

One of our clients, Piller’s, gives consumers a healthy selection of ways to engage with the brand. Check out work with Piller’s on Eyelight and let us know what you think – we love feedback!

How do you feel about paper vs electronic communication? Does a part of you still enjoy holding something solid and not glowing in your hands – or are you all about the bells and whistles of the latest apps?

Leave a comment below or shout out to us on Facebook or Twitter and let us know what you think.