Shouldn't the Logo be BIGGER?
This past week I was speaking at a conference in Cleveland, OH and one of the conference attendees asked a question that I hear quite frequently.
"Shouldn't the logo be bigger?"
We were reviewing website branding basics including the topic of how large, or small, your logo should be when it appears on your website. My guidelines are as follows:
- Understand that although you LOVE your logo no one else is likely to get excited about it
- Your logo is an important part of your brand although it is not something that needs to be "larger than life"
- To determine how large your logo should be take a look at the following websites (you may have heard of them) and notice the size of their logo in respect to the rest of the information on the page:
- Amazon.com
- WalMart.com
- CNN.com
- FoxNews.com
- ebay.com
So, how big is your logo?
"On behalf of Robertson Heating Supply I sincerely wish to thank you for your presentation and time yesterday.. I know it was a long trek, but the dealers and I found it extremely worthwhile...
Again, thank you for your time and effort, it was greatly appreciated!"
Geoff Alpert
Robertson Heating Supply
Free Websites for Non-Profits
Each quarter our team at Valorous Circle picks a non-profit organization that needs a website and provides one for free. The non-profit organization selected for the first quarter of 2012 was Zoe Waters. Take a moment to check out their website; their team did an awesome job on the content! Zoe Waters is one of the many amazing non-profits in the area and we are blessed to have had the opportunity to have worked with them and, Lord willing, help them enhance and expand their ministry.
As with any pro-bono project there are some limitations although our team works diligently to ensure that we can meet or exceed the expectations of the chosen non-profit. Here is a letter we just received from Zoe Waters.
I wanted to take a moment to thank you and your staff for all of the great work that you did for us in creating our new Zoe Waters web site.
We are so pleased with the final product, and we have received numerous compliments on the content and layout. As a not-for-profit entity we were obviously very concerned with the amount of time and effort it would take to put together a good, high quality, professional looking web site. After our first meeting, you were able to quickly gain a solid understanding of who we are as an entity and what we are about, and to put together a very good looking site to convey the thoughts and ideas that we shared with you in a way that will draw viewers into the site and make them want to dig deeper and find out more about us and the work that we are trying to do.
You were able to take the content and photos that we gave you and form them into a cohesive site that works well for us. Your expertise in web site design and layout, and what would be most effective from a marketing standpoint was very much appreciated.
We also appreciated your willingness to explore our ideas and then implement them while making any necessary enhancements to make them better. Whenever we offered our review comments and suggestions for changes, your firm was very quick to make the appropriate revisions and get the content back to us.
In summary, we could not be more happy with the end result, and we truly appreciate all that you have done for us in helping us to get Zoe Waters off the ground! I truly believe that the work that you have done will have a positive impact on the lives of the people that we aim to serve in east Africa.
With sincerest thanks from all of us at Zoe Waters,
Ken Watkins
Zoe Waters
That "AHA" moment
The other day I was speaking at a Social Media 101 training seminar. While I was talking about having a goal prior to jumping into social media and online marketing a lady near the front of the room exclaimed "AHA - I get it. Finally!"
Although I speak on the topic of online marketing and social media I'm not accustomed to such great pronouncements; needless to say I was intrigued, and possibly a bit concerned . . .what had I just said? Thankfully, I didn't have to wonder too long as she shared with the class exactly what had happened.
"I've been trying to figure out why we should be using social media and I'm here even though I don't know the answer to that question . . . until now."
At this point I was glad that this AHA moment wasn't a winning video game triumph or an emotionally charged email message. I'd connected the dots for someone in the seminar and helped them reach a new level of understanding. Pretty cool! So, what did I say? Good question.
Here is what caused the AHA moment:
Social media marketing is not about selling your widget or services. It is not about setting an appointment with a prospect. Social media marketing is about creating credibility with your target audience so that they want to engage with you.
What does this mean to you? Stop trying to sell yourself, sell your product or sell your services. Focus on demonstrating your expertise by providing content that is Entertaining, Inspiring, Educational, Informative and a bit Outrageous (EIEIO Marketing).
"Jonathan, thank you very much for your help with the Social Media Work Shop. I’ve gotten some very positive feed back and I was very impressed. "
Brad Ochsankehl
O&O Advertising & Media
Services provided: Online Marketing and Social Media presentation to business owners at a regional HVAC convention in Clevland, OH
Testimonial - Ann Lessard from WestMichiganEmbroidery.com on Valorous Circle's Website Design
Supercharge Your Search Engine Rankings by 50x (5,000%)
You've been working for months on the perfect keywords and key word phrases to use on your website yet you still don't seem to get the search results you want. Sound familiar? Want to SUPERCHARGE your search engine results?
"any given video in the index stands about a 50 times better chance of appearing on the first page of results than any given text page in the index" Forrester
I can't stress the importance of using video to get your website ranked higher by Google (and the other search engines as well). What should you do video of? Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Customer testimonials - nothing speaks more credibly than a client saying great things about you and your organization!
- Timely news items - share relevant news items and some commentary
- How To Tips - show your audience how to do some of the easier and most relevant things related to your products and services.
Video will help you establish credibility and connect with your audience in a way that words simply can not.
Added Tip!
Brand your videos with a short introduction and your logo to ensure that people who see your video know who you are (see this video for an example):
How many people do research online before buying?
![A large crowd gathers [at Madison Square Garden?] during the 1933 New York Dressmakers Strike. A sign in the background reads: "...Makers Union ILGWU."](http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5168/5279081507_a350696480.jpg)
I know you go online to research companies, their staff, their products and services prior to making purchases (after all you're reading this right?). Good news! You're in good company. Ninety Four percent (94%) of people go online to research you, your company and your products and services before making a purchase (Compete.com).
Even more interesting - in my opinion is that 60% of people look at your website.
My question to you . . . if 60% of your potential customers are looking at your website - What are they seeing?
Your website should do a few simple things very well:
- Be findable so people can easily locate you and your website
- Demonstrate/Prove your credibility. You and your company need to be EXPERTS. Use your website to prove this.
- Compell your site visitors to reach out and connect with you.
What are you doing to ensure that your website connects with your audience. They are looking . . .
"The website is fantastic. I don't know what I did without it!"
Don Lam
Don Lam Bees
Jonathan Mast [Internet Strategist, Valorous Circle LLC] is a true compliment to your team and the your brand! He is well known and respected by the community , nice and extremely knowledgeable in his field. All positive attributes [that] lead to a great resource for business.
Christine Morse, Avid Marketing
