Whiteside Workshops

April 26th, 2010 | Posted in Portfolio, Web

featured9Whiteside Workshops offers workshops and life coaching on the Enneagram, Parenting, and Personal Growth. We produced a more functional site that better reflects the client’s brand image. Also, the client can manage their calendar of workshops using a custom interface we programmed for non-technical people.

Cirra Networks

April 8th, 2010 | Posted in Portfolio, Web

Cirra Networks
Cirra Networks is an Internet Service Provider in Fort Worth, Texas. In addition to re-designing the company website, Trinity River delivered a marketing strategy and marketing communications including a referral program, customer collateral, press release, and advertising.

Social Media Marketing Part 2 - Going Broad or Deep

April 8th, 2010 | Posted in Social Medi Marketing

There is a growing consensus that a company with limited resources for social media marketing should focus on fewer media channels but be deeper in those channels for maximum impact.  This means not trying to have a presence on very audience touch-point but rather cherry-picking the few that will be aligned with your company culture, business model, and desired goals.  The “deep” aspect means taking advantage of the medium, using it to its fullest, and truly interacting with your audience on a regular basis - for the long haul - not a temporary campaign.  When you merely have a Facebook page but do nothing with it, or don’t maintain an active participation, your fans will be turned off by the apparent lack of sincerity to engage and respect their time.  Respect your customers and rely on them for how to improve your business or service. Give them compelling incentives to get on your Twitter or Facebook account - regularly. Have a direct dialog, build a rapport, reward loyal fans and followers, be genuine, reward and thank your fans for spending their time and money on you.

Social Media Marketing Part 1 - It’s Not About Facebook & Twitter

April 2nd, 2010 | Posted in Internet Industry Bits

social-media-marketingWhen people hear “Social Media Marketing”, words that first come to mind are Facebook and Twitter. However, those are only two channels that can be used in a social media marketing (SSM) strategy. Social media marketing is about 1) Engagement and 2) Building Communities. By engaging with your audience you form a tighter relationship that pays off in different ways. You might be considering new product ideas, or new features - want to know what your target market thinks? Engage them in a discussion forum, survey, contest, quiz, poll, email, blog, or coordinate an offline event. Building communities cultivates brand affinity and brand loyalty among your users. How you do that depends on your industry, business, desired results, and corporate culture. Your employees must be empowered - and trusted - to interact directly with customers. Your corporate culture must be aligned with your SMM strategy. You must know what you want to achieve with your SMM strategy. You must not follow a B2C strategy if you are a B2B company. IBM’s conclusion from their SMM learnings is Business Model + Corporate Culture + Desired Values = Social Media Marketing Success. Part 2 will feature case studies of successful SMM strategies.