http://ccideas.com Ideas. Mon, 14 May 2012 15:30:55 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 http://ccideas.com/chatter/google-analytics-social-reports/ http://ccideas.com/chatter/google-analytics-social-reports/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 15:28:23 +0000 Sarah http://ccideas.com/?p=2046
• Source/Pages–Discover where your social traffic originates: This identifies the networks where people are engaging with your site. For example, if you have a ton of blog posts on Facebook and someone clicks on those it’s going to show you how many page views, visits, etc. It also compares your overall visits with visits via social referral.

• Conversions–Measure the Value of Social: Set up a monthly/weekly social campaign and align them with your goals, conversion, and ecommerce transactions, then measure the success and impact of your campaign. In order for you to see data for the conversions, you must set up and define goals and goal values. Before they define a goal, you need to decide the following:
     – The name of the goal: Use a name that is easy to recognize when you view the goals in your reports. For example: newsletter sign-up.
     – Goal funnel steps (optional): These pages represent steps leading up to the goal. For example, if you have several pages as part of your checkout process, you might want to define these as goal funnel steps. Defining a goal funnel will allow you to see (in the Funnel Visualization report) how far visitors get along the path to conversion and whether they drop out before completing particular steps. Selecting the required step check box next to a step means that visitors must go through that page in order for their conversion to be counted in the Funnel Visualization report. The checkbox does not affect conversions reported in other reports.
     – The value of the goal: For lead-generation or other non-ecommerce goals, use an assigned value. For ecommerce goals, use zero (see Special-Case Goals and Funnels before setting up ecommerce goals).

• Social Plugins–Measure Your On-site Engagement: Track your social plugins. Find out which buttons are being clicked (and for which content), what is being “liked”, shared, AND by which network–really nice for a blog! You can use that information to create more content of whats popular with their visitors.

If you are running social media campaigns, I highly recommend getting into your analytics account and start tracking or if this is information overload, we are certainly here to help guide you through it. Go ahead, give us a call!

]]> http://ccideas.com/chatter/google-analytics-social-reports/feed/ 0 http://ccideas.com/chatter/email-etiquette/ http://ccideas.com/chatter/email-etiquette/#comments Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:37:05 +0000 Michelle http://ccideas.com/?p=2038 http://www.emailreplies.com/, http://www.101emailetiquettetips.com/, http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/12-tips-for-better-e-mail-etiquette-HA001205410.aspx).

1. Be to the point — When creating an email, it is best to get the point across as concisely as possible. A lengthy email can cause the reader to lose focus and interest in the subject. If you have something to let the receiver know that is pretty detailed, it is sometimes best to just pick up the phone and call that person.

2. Don’t be sloppy — Use proper spelling, grammar and punctuation. Although typos do happen, trying to avoid them is very important. Improper spelling, grammar and punctuation are not professional and can alter the meaning of the message. Use spell check!

3. Use a purposeful subject line — If something is important or needs attention, be sure to include that in the subject line.

4. Answer all questions — This can help minimize confusion and really helps communication via email.

5. Be courteous — Emails that are not courteous can seem demanding…thank you and please never hurt!

6. Attachments — If you are sending an email with an attachment make sure it is noted in the email. And if there is more than one attachment let the receiver know how many there are.

7. Reply — Always acknowledge an email with a response. Even if someone does not ask for a response, it is a good idea to let them know you have received their email so they aren’t left wondering if it went through.

8. Spam — The last thing you want to do is spread a virus to someone else’s computer; take action as soon as you realize something is spam. Change your log in information if your email is hacked.

9. Use a signature — So that people know who you are and how to contact you via telephone if they have questions, include your name, company name, email address and company address.

]]> http://ccideas.com/chatter/email-etiquette/feed/ 0 http://ccideas.com/chatter/google-extras/ http://ccideas.com/chatter/google-extras/#comments Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:23:42 +0000 Dennis http://ccideas.com/?p=2015 http://g.co/maps/kbd7w (just a map link)  

Which just reminds me again of other great and whimsical stuff they’ve done over the years…
 
Search for “barrel roll”:
https://www.google.com/search?q=do+a+barrel+roll  

Search for “tilt”:
https://www.google.com/search?q=tilt  

See all of Google’s “Doodles” over the years:
Press the “I’m Feeling Lucky” on Google search page without any text.  

Gmail Paper:
https://mail.google.com/mail/help/paper/more.html  

Google’s Pigeon Rank:
http://www.google.com/onceuponatime/technology/pigeonrank.html  

Google’s Translate for Animals:
http://www.google.co.uk/intl/en/landing/translateforanimals/tour.html  

Playable PacMan (Google Doodle):
http://www.google.com/pacman/  

Google Gravity:
type in “Google Gravity” on search and click “I’m Feeling Lucky” button.
(doesn’t work when “Google Instant” prediction is enabled)  

And then just some other Google maps, but out of this world!:
http://www.google.com/moon/
http://www.google.com/mars/  

]]> http://ccideas.com/chatter/google-extras/feed/ 0 http://ccideas.com/chatter/google-shows-us-how-search-algorithms-are-changed/ http://ccideas.com/chatter/google-shows-us-how-search-algorithms-are-changed/#comments Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:07:10 +0000 Leonard http://ccideas.com/?p=2005
Those of you who follow this blog know that there are literally hundreds of factors in the algorithm that are considered every time you make a search query but this video gets into some nitty gritty details of spell checking on search strings longer than ten words. It’s interesting to see how this process really happens for the first time ever. Watch the annotations especially.

OK, so…interesting, but who really cares about ten word searches, right? Well you should! Internet users are becoming increasingly aware that longer search queries produce better results. A few years ago the average search was only 1.5 words but now the most effective searches contain 6 to 8 words. The average search has recently increased from 3 to 4…searchers understand this gives you better results.



]]> http://ccideas.com/chatter/google-shows-us-how-search-algorithms-are-changed/feed/ 0 http://ccideas.com/chatter/the-price-is-right/ http://ccideas.com/chatter/the-price-is-right/#comments Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:41:32 +0000 Mona http://ccideas.com/?p=2002
But the times they are a-changin’. As people shop on the internet, they want to know price NOW. I know I do. This may be a scary proposition to some business owners, though. Don’t let it be. Even if you have a business that provides a service that can not be purchased online—say, a mechanic shop—giving potential customers a price of some sort can have them calling to set up an appointment.

“But,” you protest, “There are too many variables in my business! I can’t give a firm price like that!” That’s okay. You can give starting points, such as, “My Amazing Widgets Start at $XXX.”

You may have noticed that there are a lot of companies that offer “tiered” package pricing, especially companies that are offer ongoing services of some sort. So, if you want X, you pay $100, if you want X and S, you pay $200; if you want X, S and R, you pay $300…you get the picture. This is a great marketing strategy, because it allows people to decide what they want right up front, and gives them the chance to think about it and contact you… and at that point, they’re ready to buy!

A psychological perk: showing people your pricing up front also conveys confidence in your product and your services, especially if you’re able to specifically delineate exactly what they’re going to get. Another perk: less time having to close the deal.

Let your website and other marketing collateral be your sales shpeal AND your price proposal—it may surprise you and bring you more business!

]]> http://ccideas.com/chatter/the-price-is-right/feed/ 0 http://ccideas.com/chatter/high-resolution-images-vs-low-resolution-images-a-short-primer-for-beginners/ http://ccideas.com/chatter/high-resolution-images-vs-low-resolution-images-a-short-primer-for-beginners/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:06:33 +0000 Michelle http://ccideas.com/?p=1994
You may ask yourself, “Why am I having to do this? My picture is very good quality and very clear!” After all, it looks GREAT on your computer monitor, right? But digital media works completely differently than print media. And one of the big differences is how each medium handles resolution.

Very briefly, the resolution of an image or picture describes the detail (or information) an image holds. The higher the resolution, the more detail the image has, because there is more information. Information translates to “pixels,” which are the different colored “dots” that make up an image. The more pixels there are makes the image more vivid and detailed to the naked eye. If an image has very few pixels the image will appear to be “pixelated”—the pixels look like squares all joined together—but you know exactly what I’m talking about if you’ve ever printed something off the internet (and who hasn’t?).

DPI stands for “dots per square inch.” This is the measurement printing companies use to determine how sharp an image is. Photos or images used for online or web graphics can be at low resolution (72 DPI) and will look FABULOUS on a computer screen. But try to print those same pictures and they’ll look horribly pixelated. For printing purposes images should be 300 DPI or better. See the photos below that I pulled off Google: even though you’re looking at this on a computer screen—and I guarantee this a low resolution graphic—it clearly demonstrates how a printing press will translate a low resolution graphic.



Now don’t get me wrong, if you’ve got a bad image to start with—something grainy, already pixelated, or muddy color—just because it’s high resolution isn’t going to fix it…it will just be a high resolution bad image, and it WILL print that way!

So the next time you want something printed, think high resolution graphics and images—it’ll go a long way in the professionalism and quality of your printing!

Questions, anybody?

]]> http://ccideas.com/chatter/high-resolution-images-vs-low-resolution-images-a-short-primer-for-beginners/feed/ 0 http://ccideas.com/chatter/super-bowl-ads-2012-edition/ http://ccideas.com/chatter/super-bowl-ads-2012-edition/#comments Fri, 10 Feb 2012 23:08:31 +0000 Nicole http://ccideas.com/?p=1992
This year proved to be the year of the dog and LMFAO. Volkswagon hit it big with their Star Wars inspired commercial “The Bark Side” featuring a canine choir. Doritos, Bud Light, and Sketchers also went with man’s best friend—a wise choice as these were also some of the most popular of the night with viewers. Bud Light and M&M’s featured the “Sexy and I Know It” singers and halftime performers. However, my personal favorite was promo for Season Two of The Voice featuring everybody’s favorite funny lady, Betty White.

http://www.hulu.com/adzone/2012/watch/326503/adzone-nbc-the-voice-season-2

If you missed the commercials or just want to re-watch your favorites, Hulu has ranked the top commercials of 2012 Super Bowl based on views and Facebook likes and can be viewed here. http://www.hulu.com/adzone/2012

So let me ask you, which was your favorite?

]]> http://ccideas.com/chatter/super-bowl-ads-2012-edition/feed/ 0 http://ccideas.com/chatter/sopa-box/ http://ccideas.com/chatter/sopa-box/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:20:10 +0000 Dennis http://ccideas.com/?p=1955
In protest to the pending SOPA legislation within Congress, many major Web sites went offline (sort of) for one day. SOPA (or Stop Online Piracy Act) in general would give power to the U.S. attorney general’s office to block U.S. based Internet access to offending Web sites. This would supposedly be put into action by serving court orders to the primary/main Internet service providers.

According to the legislation, the SOPA act is intended to prevent, or at least disrupt, the copyright infringement business that may occur on offshore target businesses, where U.S. courts would have little or no litigation options. According to a comment by executive VP for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, these offshore “rogue” Web businesses steal away some 19 million American jobs via their criminally-operated businesses.

So why all the fuss? Why would major Internet names like Google, Yahoo, AOL, WikiPedia, WordPress (and many others) all use their considerable influence to make so much noise against such an obviously good cause? Perhaps because they feel this is all just a little too close to actual censorship of the Internet…government controlled censorship.

The biggest fear of course is that the whole court-ordered blocking process could become abused, or taken out of context in certain cases. There could be scenarios where competing online businesses could flail each other with copyright infringement claims to gain an advantage, and then quite possibly offending sites could fall into a quagmire of “guilty until proven innocent”, etc.

How can any one country, or any one government, protect their own interests in a space which they cannot control? One thing’s for sure, the Internet continues to change (and shrink) the world like nothing ever has before.

]]> http://ccideas.com/chatter/sopa-box/feed/ 0 http://ccideas.com/chatter/help-stop-sopapipa/ http://ccideas.com/chatter/help-stop-sopapipa/#comments Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:11:17 +0000 Sarah http://ccideas.com/?p=1953 our basic internet freedoms are being threatened and we want to alert our clients and friends.



For even more information on these issues:
http://americancensorship.org/ ]]> http://ccideas.com/chatter/help-stop-sopapipa/feed/ 0 http://ccideas.com/chatter/you-can-always-get-what-you-want-and-need/ http://ccideas.com/chatter/you-can-always-get-what-you-want-and-need/#comments Tue, 27 Dec 2011 22:09:02 +0000 Mona http://ccideas.com/?p=1943
But it’s so important to know what you can and cannot do when it comes to promoting your company. Maybe saving money and being efficient does NOT include managing your website, or blogging, or taking care of the monthly ins-and-outs of marketing your business. And maybe the advertising/marketing aspect of your business does not warrant a full-time employee (and all that THAT entails). If that’s where you are, it may behoove you to consider hiring a company on a monthly retainer basis to take care of those things for you. Think about it: a full marketing department that is at your beck and call for a designated period of time every month. Need an ad designed and placed in that industry pub next month? Need your website updated with your latest blog…or need the blog written? Need a postcard designed and mailed out to promote a special? One email or phone call, and you’re done. The onus is on the company to produce for you.

Our goal is to be your single source when it comes to marketing and advertising your business. Whether it’s putting together a website and teaching you how to use it and be effective, or handling EVERYTHING for you, we work within your budget to create and maintain your branded message with measurable results.

]]> http://ccideas.com/chatter/you-can-always-get-what-you-want-and-need/feed/ 0