Web Design Maintenance and is it time for Spring Cleaning?

Web Design Maintenance and is it time for Spring Cleaning?

Came the spring with its entire splendor All its birds and all its blossoms, All its flowers, and leaves, and grasses. ~  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The one certainty of Spring Longfellow has conveniently forgotten to mention is the dreaded “Spring Clean-Up” list.  All men know this back breaking, weekend eliminating list that crushes dreams of golf and afternoon naps on the deck! Of course it does allow us to spend quality time with our spouses and whine about blisters and aching muscles, which in my house can last until the 4^th of July!

Now, don’t get ahead of me!  Of course, I am going to draw the analogy between the renewal associated with the arrival of spring and your Website and/or Web Design.

But it is Spring Time in the South.  The Dogwoods starts the renewal of colors brightening the gloomy colorless woodlands of North Carolina.  The splash of color (White and Pink) from the Dogwoods signals the beginning of spring and the explosion of color that will follow; from the Azaleas, the Tulips, the Magnolias, the Red-buds and a host of flora that I am proud not to know.

Once the Azaleas kick-in, its time to get in the car and browse the neighborhoods and enjoy the spectacular views… picking your favorite home with the most eye appealing presentation of color.  I hate to admit it but it is enjoyable and I do look forward to the experience each year almost as much as I enjoy the eye appeal of a well-crafted web design.

OK, it’s time for the comparison!  Now the same can be said of a  web design. Online browsers are riding up and down the information highway (remember that oldie) looking for fresh, new and up-dated web designs.  They do not want to see the same old things on the web designs they frequent!  Remember your web design is the face of your business to the online world.  Your choice; old, tired, out dated, difficulty to muddle through or a fresh, vibrant, relevant web design that will drive your target audience to your site increasing sales!

Any good web designer will always recommend keeping your website looking fresh and functional.

SPRING WEB DESIGN CLEANING TIPS:

• Blogs need to be reviewed for current value

• Eliminate outdated news articles over 90 days, 45 days is optimal

• Search Engines search for relevance and freshness of content

• Remove all outdated: Events, Articles and Announcements etc.

• Ensure all links are functional and that the entity still exists

• Think of adding more color or changing colors

• Create in-bound links

My partner and Creative Director suggested up-dating the copyright date.

 First time and returning Browsers (potential customers) want to see web designs with these elements:

• Web design with the end user in mind
• Well written content
• A web design that is easy to navigate
• Social Media links are a must for any web design
• Photos throughout your web design that show real people; you, your staff, your customers
• Your Blogs…Insight into the essence of your company
• Individuals and their Titles; and how they relate to their duties
• Content written for individuals not crawlers
• A strong call to action on your web design

Now I have pointed out the obvious and my suggestion is to hire someone who can complete your spring web design to-do-list…like what I have done; hired someone to do the spring clean-up at my house.  I do miss the whining!

“It is not only important to do good work…it is important to be seen doing good work.”   I am paraphrasing Ben Franklin but he meant that literally.

American politician, scientist, civic activist but first and foremost Benjamin Franklin was a businessman (one of the original 1%)

Web Design need a spring cleaning too!

Written by John Hoban, Qudeso’s Co-founder and a history buff!

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Email Marketing – AENC Presentation

Email Marketing – AENC Presentation

Qudeso was honored to be asked to speak at the AENC (Association Executives of North Carolina) Technology Showcase, hosted in Raleigh last Friday, April, 20th. Our presentation focused on the importance of email marketing and how, when executed correctly, is still a relevant tool in your marketing strategy. Instead of simply listing the key points of the presentation, we thought we’d share it through video.

We do not believe in putting all your marketing eggs into one basket. Rather, it’s smart to have a balanced approach. Unfortunately, with the introduction of social media over the past few years as well as SEO gaining in popularity, many companies have allowed their email marketing campaigns to become non existent. Unfortunately, their businesses have suffered because of this.

In a Exact Target’s 2012 Channel Preference Survey it showed that

77% of us would rather receive company’s messages via email marketing than any other form.

66% have made a purchase as a result of email marketing.

In the digital age we live in, it’s important to measure as much of your marketing efforts as possibly…including email…especially email.

Email Marketing can be used as both a direct and indirect source of revenue when executed properly. Meaning, it can increase the traffic to your website which will increase the value of the advertisement real estate there. Many associations and organization also use email marketing containing sponsorship advertising. Think about it, wouldn’t you rather the “trusted resource” resource of that particular targeted group announce your message for you?

This post was written by Randall Graham, Marketing Strategist for Qudeso and huge Boston Red Sox fan.

Want to “stay in the know’ about email marketing, web design, SEO, marketing, and other branding and marketing services (www.qudeso.com) that will help you grow your business? Be sure to check us out on Facebook.

Marketing and the Unintended Consequences

Marketing and the Unintended Consequences

The best laid plans of men and mice ~ Robert Burns

Once Upon a Time, I held the title of Director of Marketing and Sales. The CEO decided that a Director of Marketing and a Director of Sales would be required for the Company’s growth.  I was offered the choice of which department, marketing or sales, I preferred to manage. I chose Sales.  The CEO was sure I would select Marketing and had to ask why sales and not marketing?

It was a simple choice. No one in that company ever revisited or reassessed our marketing plan!  They would of course read the first rendition offering their input but failed to embrace it as an evergreen product: always evolving and in need of tweaking.  Since the CEO appreciated my marketing skills I maintained control of both marketing and sales allowing me to assemble a team that drove sales from $5.1 million to $35.3 million.  This was not accomplished in a vacuum.  Unilaterally, I made the decisions (much to the CEO’s vexation) based on FEEDBACK, from the marketing department, the sales force, customer service and face to face Q&A with clients, the end users.

Never being innately intuitive, I am thankful every day that I am not responsible for producing a marketing plan for companies with a heavy dependence on petrol, gas, oil or fuel.  They can increase pricing only so much; before their clients learn to either do without or find alternatives!

I know you have heard the axiom have a “PLAN B”.  My marketing advice for the foreseeable future is; to be prepared to use the rest of the alphabet!

When a butterfly flaps its wings in one part of the world it can cause a hurricane in another part of the world. ~ Unknown

CASE IN POINT:  I am aware of a small start-up company here in North Carolina covering Raleigh, Cary, Durham, and Chapel Hill areas that provides (in my opinion) a much needed service.  Safe Ride Home (SRH) saw a need for giving “impaired drivers” rides home with their vehicles in tow.  The unintended consequences of say; having a National Policy allowing gasoline prices to accelerate to a predicated $6.00 per gallon by summer should be causing all companies to reassess their business assumptions for 2012.

CONSEQUENCES:

• The price point will become too onerous for impaired drivers… we all know what great decisions impaired drivers make.
• The pool of drivers will dry up because of $6.00 per gallon for gas.
• The drivers will lose an additional source of revenue.
• Highways will become less safe for us all.

Example: Not far from my home (2 miles) a physician decided to drive home impaired!   Just minutes from his home, he ran a red light at a high rate of speed hitting a car driven by a young aspiring ballerina and killing her.  A decision I am sure he and especially the young woman’s family will regret for the rest of their lives!!

Now I am sure SRH had planned on gasoline prices to gradually increase, a plan B.  But, how does a company defense itself in such a volatile marketplace with skyrocketing costs and not go out of business!  In the past I would have said; simple go your Marketing Plan make the modifications, price adjustments, marketing changes and reevaluate vendor pricing etc. necessary to survive.

My counsel now is to review your marketing plan bi-monthly/monthly, open all channels of marketing and communications.  Do not rely on one (1) or two (2) methods of advertising.  Keep in frequent contact with your customer base.  They are a great source of information and indicators of market conditions; as are your employees.  You must make your company relevant for the times and market conditions.  If that means a makeover for your business, website, company message or just using social media properly, then “just do it”.  Do not spend your days putting out fires one at a time.

DRASTIC MEASURES MAY BE REQUIRED:

• Reduce cost when and wherever possible
• Review all corporate processes and SOPs
• Do more with less
• Streamline delivery systems
• Longer shifts and shorter work-weeks
• Renegotiate all contracts
• Partner with Suppliers, be creative
• Limit travel, Skype when appropriate
• Consider “Virtual Offices”
• Use technology to your advantage
• Rein in Expense (Expense Reports)
• Explore TAX regulations

A man needs to know his limits. ~ Dirty Harry

Will all have expertise in various disciplines but we are not experts in everything.

A man needs to know his limits. ~ Dirty Harry

Seek out professionals that are experts in the field needed.  As best you can, find a company that is: honest, shares your core values, takes time to understand your business, your goals and expectations (by listening).  A company that will and can provide customized, scalable solutions at a fair price that is equitable for both concerns.

Do not hesitate to ask for help! Bill Gates had no problems calling in the experts in when he realized that Facebook ranked too low (5^th or 6^th) on their watch list and caught his company (Microsoft) by surprise!  And if you happen to ask Qudeso for help, we would be most pleased!

Marketing and the Unintended Consequences

Written by John Hoban, Qudeso’s Co-founder and Chicago Blackhawks fan!

Want to “stay in the know’ about web design, SEO, marketing, and other branding and marketing services (www.qudeso.com) that will help you grow your business? Be sure to check us out on Facebook.

Marketing with a Balanced Approach

Marketing with a Balanced Approach

“Putting all your eggs in one basket” if you have never heard or understanding the analogy please stop reading and go back to “twitting” or “facing”.  I will be talking about tried and true marketing techniques from days gone by.

When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced courses of action you should take – choose the bolder. ~ William Slim

Do not rely only on Social Media for your source of growth and revenue; this is a warning I have been seeing a lot of lately.  Its true this chatter comes from other marketing companies offering their marketing solutions, but do not dismiss them too quickly.

Did you ever think you would be referring to traditional (old) forms of marketing as BOLD!  So, unless you are selling to an inmate population, you should consider other alternatives.  Do not bank on (“Putting all your eggs in one basket”) Facebook, Google Plus, LinkedIn, online review sites or Social Media in general to be your only solution to increasing revenue.

Be BOLD! Be creative with your website and other marketing channels.  Not every one of your fans may be a true fan, in the sense a fan that is willing to spend their hard earned money on your product and/or service.  A market plan should be predicated on targeting a select audience.

A company should be contemplating a balanced approach to their marketing:

1. Direct Mail
2. Email Marketing Campaigns
3. Pay Per Clicks Campaigns
4. Print Advertising in Targeted Publications
5. On and Offline focused Campaigns
6. Branding or Re-branding
7. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
8. Methods that Reinforce One and Other

Facebook is absolutely sexy and powerful.  Businesses see Social Media as a quick and seemingly easy way to exponentially grow their contacts.  However, large numbers of contacts/fans do not always equate to sales.

Make no mistake about their intentions; Facebook and Google are at war to control the internet, social medial and all that enters their dominion.  It is all about targeting you and your business so they can deliver a focused audience to their advertisers.

The Post Office, in their last throws of death; suggest that direct mail can increase targeted traffic to your website or Facebook page.  No, I am not endorsing the Post Office for marketing expert; we all know how well they marketed their business!  Qudeso’s experience shows that a well-designed marketing campaign does work better with a direct mail component!  So the next question should be; why would anyone rely solely on Facebook or in essence one method of marketing to control the success of their enterprise?

To quote our Partner and Creative Director “Facebook, Google and any other form of social media should be looked at as an enhancement…extra icing on the cake”!

Do not depend on one weapon in your arsenal of marketing weaponry.  Finding the precise targets and using the precise weaponry whose results can be quantified; that is marketing! Do not become a victim of détente and limit the use of your marketing weapons.

If you find yourself from time to time being a bit overwhelmed by the internet, social media, how it all works or just marketing in general do what I do; seek out an expert. Find a marketing company that believes; that there are times to say no to projects that are not in the best interest of the client, that it is dishonest not to answer questions the client doesn’t know to ask.  Honesty requires advising your client what can and more importantly what cannot be done.

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. ~ Marcus Aurelius

Written by John Hoban, Co-Founder of Qudeso and huge Chicago Bears fan!

Finding the precise targets and using the precise weaponry whose results can be quantified; that is marketing!

To learn more about incorporating various marketing techniques to help your organization, be sure check us out on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

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Facebook for Small Businesses

Facebook for Small Businesses

I recently attended a Facebook Marketing Solutions conference in Greenville, North Carolina.  It was sponsored by the Honorable G. K. Butterfield, Congressman from our 1st District, the local Chamber of Commerce and Facebook.  The purpose of the conference was to introduce small businesses to the power of Facebook and what it could mean for their business when incorporated into their company’s marketing strategy.

Remember when the internet was referred to as the “INFORMATION HIGHWAY” and one Congresswoman wanted to know if it would come through her district.  Well, times have certainly changed!

We have moved from browse – search – discover to build(fans) – engage – connect.

Social Marketing (Facebook included) = Real Revenue

Look how far we've come in the farming industry thanks to evolving technology.

“Today, most farms have access to high-speed Internet and smartphones.  Many farmers use social media to connect with other farmers, vendors or customers.  Farmers are on Facebook and frequently use the hash-tag #agchat on Twitter to connect with others in the Ag industry.  Social media allows “collective” social and political movements to gain momentum faster, reach farther, and hopefully have greater impact than ever before.

Farmers use technology to check the markets in real time, to see where they should sell and purchase their products. In fact, more farmers rely on online methods when investing in implement machinery, because there are fewer local dealerships and they need to see what they are purchasing.  A difference of a few pennies from one site to the next can mean several thousand dollars”.

Fortunately our Congressman understands and knows that Social Media is as an important business tool needed to compete in today’s high-speed technical business environment.  The congressman knows his constituency; and that small business must adapt or die.  The congressman knows, the Chamber of Commerce knows, Big Business knows and Internet Marketers such as Qudeso know that likes can be turned into revenue!

At the start of the meeting a question was asked; “How many have Facebook Pages?”  Nearly every one of the 200 + attendees raised their hands.  Their follow up question was; “How many of you use Facebook for your business?”  Only a few hands were lowered.  I felt the operative question was how many of those using Facebook know if your Social Media effort is being used to its true potential?  From the Q&A at the end of the program it would say that a large numbers of attendees need help.

If Bill Gates was caught by surprised, you shouldn’t feel bad!

Gates spoke to students at the University of Washington, 1998:

“Sometimes we do get taken by surprise. For example, when the Internet came along, we had it as a fifth or sixth priority. It wasn’t like somebody told me about it and I said, “I don’t know how to spell that.” I said, “Yeah, I’ve got that on my list, so I’m okay.” But there came a point when we realized it was happening faster and was a much deeper phenomenon than had been recognized in our strategy.”

Do not hesitate to ask for help! Bill Gated needed it! And if you happen to ask Qudeso for help, we would be most pleased!

Written by John Hoban, Qudeso’s Co-founder former Facebook and Social Media hater!

FACEBOOK had over 845 million monthly active users at the end of 2011. I’m sure you’re customers are part of that number.

To learn more about Social Media, Facebook, and and other marketing techniques to help your organization? Be sure check us out on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Web Design Advertised as “FREE” or “CHEAP”…Really?

Web Design Advertised as “FREE” or “CHEAP”…Really?

Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship ~ Benjamin Franklin

We have all seen or hear the advertisements for “Free” or “Cheap” web design.  When I hear this, the phrase “weasel wording” comes to mind.  It is all about what is not being said!

Those individuals knowledgeable in the art of web design and the internet know that you cannot just throw any website up and assume your site will be found! The free web designs are hyped as a do-it-yourself process.

Here’s what they leave out of their ads:

• In order to be found your site must be relevant
• Your site must be optimized – SEO (Search Engine Optimization) will be necessary
• It helps to know HTML
• They will more than likely own your site and domain name(s), not you
• How secure and manageable is their hosting?
• The web design they give you may not be scalable for your business as you grow with the lack of ability for necessary upgrades to be made
• Since they use a template structure, your site will look just like everyone else who uses their service.

When all is said and done, at the end of the day, you may or may not own a web design that will function as little more than an “electronic business card”, producing no leads, few sales, and very little, if any, new clients. With that in mind, how can a free or cheap, web design be considered by some as a bargain!

Have you considered going offshore for your web design needs? To put it delicately, a decision to “Outsource”; YOU ARE STIMULATING THEIR ECONOMY NOT OUR ECONOMY! Every dollar earned, say in India or China, stays there. You’ll also find that there are tons of US web design firms which hide the fact that their design staff is 100% outsourced overseas. I know because I’ve previously worked for one.

If you’re considering outsourcing your web design project overseas, I strongly urge you to reconsider for reasons that could negatively impact you and your company.  I have worked with outsourcing contractors and personally found the staff to be hard working and usually highly educated (some literate in three (3) to five (5) languages). However, they lacked the understanding of our culture, or how business is conducted in the United States. If it is imperative to cut cost; do what is best for your company.

These are my opinions and my observations in dealing with outsourcing.

Some barriers to having your web design outsourced:

The obvious would be Linguistics; difficulties with our colloquialisms, the double meanings for some of our words, and lastly being able to articulate concepts clearly.  The language barrier works both ways.

Social Barrier; it is as simple as not understanding how we conduct business. They defiantly do not prescribe to Deming’s concept of “Total Quality” management; where individuals take personal responsibility for their work product.  In fact, they can be punished (financially) for pointing out and/or correcting mistakes or problems.  And how can they be criticized for glossing over potential problems when their employment and financial well being is in harms way.  This in turn makes it much easier for their employer to take your money and move on to the next web design project.

Culture; I have often heard the term used to describe off shore web design companies, as not being forward thinking (the ability to think out of the box) web designers.  Since they still operate in a quasi-cast system they are less likely to step forward and share or recommend.  They must look at your project as “one and done” not a collaboration or suffer the wrath of a manager.  You may at times feel like you are dealing with “Peggy.” But you’re not. It’s the system. Especially for web design.

Being frugal does not mean being cheap! It means being economical and avoiding waste. ~ Catherine Pulsifer

As my partners will tell you, this is my mantra when it comes to running a business.  In my personal life my wife will tell you my mantra is you cannot take it ($) with you.

The reason we started Qudeso was to help this segment of the market; those living with the regret of going cheap with their web design which in turn tarnished their brand.

Your Web design speaks to your professionalism and the quality of your product!

Written by John Hoban, Qudeso’s Co-founder big time Chicago anything fan!

To learn more about web design and marketing techniques  to help your organization? Be sure check us out on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Web Design – Thinking of Traveling Abroad for Your Design?

Web Design – Thinking of Traveling Abroad for Your Design?

Written by Qudeso co-founder Chris Hearn - a Cleveland Indians fan and avid Fantasy Football player

At Qudeso, we listen to business owners and association executives as they relate their fascination regarding the mysteries of the East with the Siren’s song of “low price web design”, combined with “fast service” and “quality customer support”.

We believe there are key considerations you should be comfortable with before deciding on the company you hire to serve your web design needs at a (total) cost you can afford.

At Qudeso, our blog posts have discussed the merits of Domestic Insourcing and our “Who We Are” section includes a short explanation of “Our View” in regard to our commitment to that policy.

Before deciding to outsource your web design project overseas, make note of these factors which should be included in making your decision:

1. Will we ever own it?:  The work you put into making  your website relevant, up to date and keeping your customers and others informed is considerable. Making changes to your web design, transferring content and being able to upgrade technology and features will be important. If you own neither the domain nor the source codes, you may face having to start your web design all over again when your needs require something new.
2. Who will ever see it?:  While some low priced web designed sites appeal to the eye, the truth is that it takes a considerable amount of knowledge, hard work and talent to create a product that works properly, is built securely, and functions in a way that brings more buyers and customers to your door.  These qualities are usually missing in many bargain priced web design projects resulting in your site going unseen by many searches or rankings.
3. What if I need help?: We all have wasted more time than we care to remember with customer “support” that was less than supportive. What are your prospects considering language barriers, hours of operation in distant time zones, and the very disturbing realization that foreign suppliers have no responsibility or liability to U.S. laws?
4. Remember these two important items:  You are stimulating a foreign economy and not ours at a time when American companies can compete by giving you a competitive price combined with a quality product and service…including your web design project.

Qudeso urges you to get the products and services best suited for your web design project by partnering with a company you trust with people who understand your business.

We launched our business in May of 2009 and made the critical mistake of placing a cheap website online thinking it would not affect our bottom line. To-date, this has been our deepest regret. After looking at the data of web traffic via Google Analytics on our old website, we realized just how many customers viewed our site and didn’t pick up the phone to call us. Our ratio of site visits to phone calls was severely lopsided.

Today, I would like to inform the Qudeso team that our site is receiving increased traffic and the phones are ringing. I can’t thank Qudeso enough for the work they performed. In a tough economy, it has made all the difference.

Everett Greenstreet III – President, Senate Storage

Branding – Marketing – Web Design – SEO – Email Marketing – and more…

Web Design Optimized to Attract Your Target Market

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web design

Branding, Your Image to Your Market

Branding, Your Image to Your Market

John Hoban circa 1979

How we want the world to perceive us is our personal branding, and it is no different than the branding of one’s business.

How important do you think branding is to the small and medium size businesses?  To a small business, branding speaks to their honesty and integrity, the quality of services or goods, what the business thinks of itself and their position in the market.   In other words the branding is the perception from the community they serve.  So if your image, or the perception of your enterprise, is not important…then branding is not important. Far too often, it seems that most small businesses don’t quite get this point, nor prioritize it appropriately.

Honesty, I learned early in life, could be a valuable tool. Lessening the suavity of childhood punishments, corporal punishment was still in vogue in the first half of the last century for anyone educated by Nuns, or in my case BVMs, as we lovingly called them “BLACK VEILED MONSTERS”.  And then let’s not forget the Christian Brothers, who literally beat Honesty, Integrity and Latin into our heads.  As I learned later; basic training was a walk in the park compared to my Christian Brother Education.  If anyone ever brags that they survived a parochial education, demand to see their knuckles!

In the military just saying no, when faced with orders that I felt were counter intuitive or possibly detrimental to my well-being, could not have been pulled off unless I had properly branded myself.  My representation to my market at the time, the Military had to be a person of: integrity, principle, performance, dedicated to duty and it goes without saying ability to fake sincerity all help with my military branding. Honesty was definitely disarming in the military but without the correct branding; I would have spent my career in the “house of blue lights” (jail).  But, as we all know, there is always a “but”!  My “but” was Colonel Carson, a true WWII hero (Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze and Silver Stars with clusters) my answer to any of his requests was always, “YES, SIR!” My branding had not impact on that man!

The most important persuasion tool you have in your entire arsenal is integrity. ~ Zig Ziglar

The point of Branding and Marketing is to entice customers to utilize the Ecommerce component of your website or visit your Brick and Mortar location.  Branding is the most critical element contributing to your bottom-line.

In the 70’s I was involved in the branding, marketing, and sales of an $80,000.00 medical device. The competition sold a product (Urine Analyst Strip) that did a portion of our test for $0.90 and also required a second subjective microscopic look at the sample.  And yes, that is me in the picture with “The Yellow IRIS”.  Again, yes that is an enormous disk drive! IT WAS THE SEVENTIES!

As you can imagine the name our founder cleverly selected for our product had its own challenges. We tried desperately to convince him, to no avail that a name change would help us be taken more seriously in the marketplace.

Honesty is the cornerstone of all success, without which confidence and ability to perform shall cease to exist.  ~ Mary Kay Ash

Thanks to our branding and the quality of the marketing tools, our image became one of being; professional, knowledgeable, and honest. Yes, a company with integrity. Maybe the name has some impact…sympathy. As a sales team we never misrepresented the product through word, deed or not providing answers to questions unasked.

From the look of your: logo, message, business cards, Letterhead, website, social media, etc. branding helps customers decide if they want to do business with you.

Written by John Hoban, Qudeso’s Co-founder big time Cub’s fan!
To learn more about branding and marketing techniques  to help your organization? Be sure check us out on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

Social Media for Associations – Why it’s so important.

Social Media for Associations – Why it’s so important.

From the moment Qudeso was formed, we have primarily marketed ourselves in and through Associations. Being as we believe the best form of marketing one’s business is through the reference and endorsement of others, it just made since for us to approach specific associational groups with which we had an interest in and understood their industry, assist them with their online/offline marketing needs (web design, email marketing, social media marketing, etc.) and promote the successful results in and through the memberships they carry.

What we found with the associations we support is how much the power of social media marketing can mean to not only the survival of that association, but to its growth as well. What we’ve noticed while trying to identify addition associations within specific industries for us to approach in 2012 is that many do not even have a simple Facebook page.

7 Reasons why is Social Media Marketing relevant to associations?

This could apply to most any organization.

1. Your members are using it! Facebook alone has over 845 million “active” users…I’m sure your members are in there.
2. It is the most non-intrusive way to tell your story. – “Fans” and “Followers” sign up to receive your news – in effect, they are asking you to stay in touch with them!
3. It allows you the ability to have 2 way conversations and truly engage your membership. 57% of people talk more ONLINE through social media than they do in REAL LIFE!
4. Social Media will allow your members to share your content to their friends – this goes back to our belief that the best from of marketing is through the reference and endorsement of others
5. Your efforts can be messaged! – since everything is digital, most social media sites allow you to message the effectiveness of your efforts…100 times more detailed in data than your typical trade show surveys
6. Social Media Marketing allows you to share your message through images, videos, content, etc. on a daily basis instead of waiting for the next conference to roll around or hope someone reads your hard copy newsletter.
7. Helps promote upcoming events and conferences in a much more cost efficient way. And let’s face it, most associations don’t have infinite budgets.

So here’s my plea, to not only associations, but any organization out there who has a message that people need to hear (there’s a difference between what you WANT to tell them, versus what they NEED to hear)…jump on board the social media train and invest a little time and energy into setting up and promoting yourself on Facebook at the very least. If you don’t have the time, find a marketing firm (whether it’s Qudeso or some other group) to do this for you. Do it before you’re no longer relevant!

Social Media Marketing – 57% of people talk more ONELINE than they do in REAL LIFE!

Written by Randall Graham, Qudeso’s Marketing Strategist and big time Red Sox fan!

To learn more about social media marketing and how it might help your organization be sure check us out on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+.

The Importance of an Association

The Importance of Associations

John's staff - "the pack"

We, that being Melanie, Bella, Papi and I were holding our weekly staff meeting which by the way I believe some only come for the treats. Motivation aside, two (2) significant conclusions were agreed upon;

1. That three of the four of us are squirrel intolerant
2. A small to medium size company must belong to Associations in today’s world

Now through therapy I am starting to look at squirrels more as furry fauna rather than rodents, but that’s another blog.

But in regards to associations, its lifeblood is its members.  To survive, Associations must be relevant.  It is, quite frankly, their duty to be relevant for their members AND to attract new members…again, it’s their lifeblood.  To quote Francis Bacon, “Knowledge is Power” and should always be touted when recruiting or maintaining members.  Like me, the rest of the Qudeso staff feels most associations are not sure how to use, or poorly use, their most important asset; KNOWLEDGE.

Note: I try to limit my blogs to 375 words or less, but since I feel this is an important issue, I may run a little over my self-imposed limit. The question as my staff and I (I like to refer to them as my pack… it’s more edgy) see it is; how does a company, or individual, benefit from membership in an association?

Here is our opinion on the importance of Associations:

Associations provide access to relevant information such as: updates impacting business, case studies from other businesses or industries, industry relevant articles, business journals, white papers, newsletters, and the tools like pertinent forms required to conduct business.  They can provide direct links, from their website, RSS feeds on relevant issues, and they engage lobbyists at the Local, State and Federal levels who monitor new and proposed regulations that impacting your industry.  They can make available experts in your field and/or area(s) of interest. They will assemble experts that provide needed services, for instance; legal, marketing, insurance, financial, website development and/or rehabilitation, branding or re-branding using their members’ numbers to obtain preferred pricing.  Another good reason for joining an association is that they expend the time and energy furnishing that competitive edge that can keep your company ahead of the curve and relevant to the market you serve!

Some associations will provide scholarships, links to educational publications, training, continuing education as well as seminars related to their industry. Associations will help you stay on top important issues freeing the member to do what they really care about most, which is running their business.

Experience comes with its own brand of knowledge…Associations along with their members’ years of experience are a wealth of unrestricted knowledge i.e. power. All this is part of your membership privileges.

Written by John Hoban, Co-Founder of Qudeso and avid Fantasy Football manager and Vietnam Veteran.

Qudeso has earned my trust and respect as a result of their quality work, attention to detail and their ability to listen and creatively deliver on my needs and vision.

John Brown – Executive Director, Carolina Independent Automobile Dealers Association

Associations deliver the knowledge that can be converted to real Business Power!

Associations are critical to your business!

How many Associations have you joined?

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