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Spring is here, and the portfolios are flowing... Who is Talking About You? Google Places: Features Worth Noting Google Places: Features Worth Notingarchive
Aug 2010 May 2010 Apr 2010 Mar 2010 Feb 2010 Jan 2010 Dec 2009 Nov 2009 Aug 2009 Jul 2009 May 2009 Apr 2009 Mar 2009 Jan 2009 Dec 2008 Nov 2008 Sep 2008 Aug 2008 Jul 2008 May 2008 Apr 2008 Mar 2008 Feb 2008A missing Presence at River City Today
August 23, 2010 - 1:35 PM
“Only by connecting, man to cat, can we all begin to find joy in this warm, sunny windowsill that is all the world.”
– Yoda the Cat, Feb. 2008
For the past 16 years River City Studio has had the very furry—filled privilege of being owned by two office cats. Those who have visited the Studio know that along with being introduced to River City, you are also introduced (sometimes at allergy-free distances) to office kitties, Yoda and Melia. You have undoubtedly seen Yoda sleeping in one of his many favorite spots around the office. Whether it was the furious keyboard clicks of a web developer’s desk, a quiet, warm, sunlit windowsill, or perhaps sprawled out on his back in the middle of the floor, you have surely crossed his path.
It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce our beloved Yoda has passed away. At 17, our friend, source of happiness and family, found himself at the end of his legacy as part of the River City team.
If you didn’t have the honor of meeting Yoda in person, you might have run into him online. After all, he was a web 2.0 cat. Yoda had a myspace, a blog, twitter and even an advice feature on rivercitystudio.com. He also sent email announcements for new River City team members and even starred in a few direct mail campaigns. But Yoda’s business-savvy skills are not the only surviving memories he left us.
Yoda was an incredibly loyal cat and demanded loyalty in return. Yoda knew schedules and could be found waiting for Scott W. or River City's newer edition Travis every morning by either desk or in the hallway where he could get a good visual on the door. He would show up for daily brushings at Lynda’s desk and sometimes Marie’s, but would always find his way back to his favorite spots. Over the years Yoda has had many admirers and friends and touched many lives and hearts.
Today and for times to come River City Studio will miss our dear friend and a family member.
–River City will be making a donation to Wayside Waifs in memory of our Yoda. If you would like to donate in memory of Yoda or another cat who has touched your life, please click here.
–For pictures and personal memories of Yoda please see River City Studio’s Facebook page.
–To read some of Yoda’s older blogs you can click here or here
Thank you, the River City Studio Team and Kitty Committee
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Spring is here, and the portfolios are flowing...
May 07, 2010 - 3:41 PM
Each Spring, the design team at River City welcomes the opportunity to meet, converse and sometimes guide fresh new designers exploring the idea of becoming designers or those just beginning their careers. We find that by visiting with high school and college classes, participating in informal portfolio reviews, attending area design department senior shows and hosting office tours for design seniors, we bring new energy to the design team and into the studio.
Rejuvenation comes in witnessing the excitement of the students as they embark on the next phase of their life's creative journey. It reminds us of our early days as designers, with minds full of new and innovative ideas ready to show the world. . The Kansas City area is surrounded by wonderful design programs producing high quality work.
Our design team jokes about how amazing it is we ever found jobs with the state of our college portfolios and remember the stress before landing that first real job, as well as the achy shoulders from carrying around all of our designs in a giant portfolio. Now it’s all organized on a 4.5 pound laptop or on a website.
We wish all soon-to-be graduates the best of luck as you head out into the great big design world. A few pieces of portfolio advice from the team here at River City:
1. Show off quality, not quantity.
2. We can see HOW you did it, tell us WHY you did it.
3. SPELL CHECK your resume and portfolio. In terms of your portfolio, good craftsmanship is KEY.
4. Don't underestimate the power of a thoughtful, well-written thank you.
5. Tailor your portfolio to the job you want: if you are applying for publication design, make page and type layout the focus of your book.
We hope to see many local design professionals at these upcoming senior shows, encouraging new talent entering our fast-paced, high energy profession:
Avila University Art + Design Senior Exhibit – May 7-14, 2010 @ Avila University Thornhill Gallery
For more information, contact Marci Aylward, 816.501.3659, thornhillgallery@avila.edu
JCCC Graphic Design Senior Show "Creatures of Creation" – May 13, 2010 @ Liberty Memorial from 5-9 p.m.
For more information, check out www.CreaturesofCreation2010.com
KCAI Graphic Design Senior Show "Unusual Behavior" – May 6-14, 2010 @ KCAI School of Design
For more information, check out http://design.kcai.edu/unusualbehavior
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April 30, 2010 - 1:27 PM
We regularly tell our clients that they need to listen to the online conversation. It sounds easy enough, but what does it really mean and where do you find these conversations? “People talk. They talk online – and that means customers and clients (and potential customers and clients) are having conversations about your business online. They're blogging, they're tweeting and they're participating in forums. But are you listening?,” The Voice of Small Business
There are multiple tracking tools floating around, but we recommend doing it yourself via the FREE tools available online. As a studio, we listen for our clients on a weekly basis. However, when a client has a launch or big piece of information goes live, we track daily using the following tools:
The easiest way to get started is to sign up for Google Alerts. This free monitoring service searches the Internet for the key phrases or words you determine. Google Alerts sends updates directly to your email at your request – as available, hourly, daily weekly, etc.
Other monitoring sites we like to use include:
- Search.twitter.com: Quickly returns mentions of your company on Twitter in real time
- Social Mention: like Google Alerts but for social media
- Trackur: online reputation tracking and management
- Technorati: online reputation tracking and management
- Twingly: Blog and Microblog search
- Ice Rocket: online real time search
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Google Places: Features Worth Noting
April 23, 2010 - 3:22 PM
Earlier this week, Google released Google Places to replace its Local Business Center. Google Places is where local business owners can go to manage their presence on Google. With the release of Google Places we’d like to make note of a few of the new features:
- Service Areas: The ability to show which geographical areas you serve. For instance we have a client who repairs Mac computers and offers free pick up within 25 miles of Kansas City. This client could benefit from this feature by letting their customers know that they offer pick up service.
- Address Privacy: A way to prevent your address from being shown. This feature is essential for businesses without a storefront or office location. One of our clients at River City Studio is shelter for battered women and children. In the past, we have worked with Google to remove the address from the business listing as this can jeopardize the safety of individuals taking refuge at the shelter. With this feature, we can easily prevent their address from being shown without contacting Google representatives on a regular basis.
- Sponsored Links: For $25 per month, Google now offers a way to tag your business listing with additional information to help it stand out. This information will show up within the search results page showing the local businesses. Currently available only in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, San Jose & Washington, but coming to a city near you soon.
- Business Photos: Google is now offering free photograph of your businesses interior. Kansas City is one of the select cities where this feature is offered. Give your customers a view of what it is like to be inside your location by contacting Google for some insider photos. More info about Google Business Photos. Must apply.
- Customized QR Codes: QR codes are basically bar codes for smart phones. Potential customers can scan the code with their smartphone to get more information about your business via your Google Places listing. Previously, Google mailed these out to select businesses. Now you can download your QR code to use on business cards or marketing materials.
Questions about SEO, SEM, Google marketing or making Google Places work for you? Contact David Hejduk at David@rivercitystudio.com to chat.
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Google Places: Features Worth Noting
April 23, 2010 - 3:22 PM
Earlier this week, Google released Google Places which is replacing its Local Business Center. Google Places is where local business owners can manage their presence on Google. With the release of Google Places we’d like to make note of a few of the new features:
- Service Areas: The ability to show which geographical areas you serve. For instance we have a client who repairs Mac computers and offers free pick up within 25 miles of Kansas City. This client could benefit from this feature by letting their customers know that they offer pick up service.
- Address Privacy: A way to prevent your address from being shown. This feature is essential for businesses without a storefront or office location. One of our clients at River City Studio is shelter for battered women and children. In the past, we have worked with Google to remove the address from the business listing as this can jeopardize the safety of individuals taking refuge at the shelter. With this feature, we can easily prevent their address from being shown without contacting Google representatives on a regular basis.
- Sponsored Links: For $25 per month, Google now offers a way to tag your business listing with additional information to help it stand out. This information will show up within the search results page showing the local businesses. Currently available only in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, San Jose & Washington, but coming to a city near you soon.
- Business Photos: Google is now offering free photograph of your businesses interior. Kansas City is one of the select cities where this feature is offered. Give your customers a view of what it is like to be inside your location by contacting Google for some insider photos. More info at about Google Business Photos. Must apply.
- Customized QR Codes: QR codes are basically bar codes for smart phones. Potential customers can scan the code with their smartphone to get more information about your business via your Google Places listing. Previously, Google mailed these out to select businesses. Now you can download your QR code to use on business cards or marketing materials.
Questions about SEO, SEM, Google marketing or making Google Places work for you? Contact David Hejduk at David@rivercitystudio.com to chat.
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Google Places: Features Worth Noting
April 23, 2010 - 3:22 PM
Earlier this week, Google released Google Places which is replacing its Local Business Center. Google Places is where local business owners can manage their presence on Google. With the release of Google Places we’d like to make note of a few of the new features:
- Service Areas: The ability to show which geographical areas you serve. For instance we have a client who repairs Mac computers and offers free pick up within 25 miles of Kansas City. This client could benefit from this feature by letting their customers know that they offer pick up service.
- Address Privacy: A way to prevent your address from being shown. This feature is essential for businesses without a storefront or office location. One of our clients at River City Studio is shelter for battered women and children. In the past, we have worked with Google to remove the address from the business listing as this can jeopardize the safety of individuals taking refuge at the shelter. With this feature, we can easily prevent their address from being shown without contacting Google representatives on a regular basis.
- Sponsored Links: For $25 per month, Google now offers a way to tag your business listing with additional information to help it stand out. This information will show up within the search results page showing the local businesses. Currently available only in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, San Jose & Washington, but coming to a city near you soon.
- Business Photos: Google is now offering free photograph of your businesses interior. Kansas City is one of the select cities where this feature is offered. Give your customers a view of what it is like to be inside your location by contacting Google for some insider photos. More info at about Google Business Photos. Must apply.
- Customized QR Codes: QR codes are basically bar codes for smart phones. Potential customers can scan the code with their smartphone to get more information about your business via your Google Places listing. Previously, Google mailed these out to select businesses. Now you can download your QR code to use on business cards or marketing materials.
Questions about SEO, SEM, Google marketing or making Google Places work for you? Contact David Hejduk at David@rivercitystudio.com to chat.
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Google Places: Features Worth Noting
April 23, 2010 - 3:22 PM
Earlier this week, Google released Google Places which is replacing its Local Business Center. Google Places is where local business owners can manage their presence on Google. With the release of Google Places we’d like to make note of a few of the new features:
- Service Areas: The ability to show which geographical areas you serve. For instance we have a client who repairs Mac computers and offers free pick up within 25 miles of Kansas City. This client could benefit from this feature by letting their customers know that they offer pick up service.
- Address Privacy: A way to prevent your address from being shown. This feature is essential for businesses without a storefront or office location. One of our clients at River City Studio is shelter for battered women and children. In the past, we have worked with Google to remove the address from the business listing as this can jeopardize the safety of individuals taking refuge at the shelter. With this feature, we can easily prevent their address from being shown without contacting Google representatives on a regular basis.
- Sponsored Links: For $25 per month, Google now offers a way to tag your business listing with additional information to help it stand out. This information will show up within the search results page showing the local businesses. Currently available only in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, San Jose & Washington, but coming to a city near you soon.
- Business Photos: Google is now offering free photograph of your businesses interior. Kansas City is one of the select cities where this feature is offered. Give your customers a view of what it is like to be inside your location by contacting Google for some insider photos. More info at about Google Business Photos. Must apply.
- Customized QR Codes: QR codes are basically bar codes for smart phones. Potential customers can scan the code with their smartphone to get more information about your business via your Google Places listing. Previously, Google mailed these out to select businesses. Now you can download your QR code to use on business cards or marketing materials.
Questions about SEO, SEM, Google marketing or making Google Places work for you? Contact David Hejduk at David@rivercitystudio.com to chat.
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April 16, 2010 - 8:34 AM
One of our favorite clients, UnionStationKC has been keeping us very busy this week. We've been fortunate to offer a behind the scenes look at the Station's latest exhibit, Dinosaurs Unearthed. Dinosaurs Unearthed rolled into Kansas City the day after Easter, and the (local) crew has been working around the clock to get the exhibit put together.
Over the past week, we've enjoyed inviting many of our neighbors down to the Station to take a peek at the set up process. Take your own look behind the scenes by looking at the photos and videos posted at www.Facebook.com/UnionStationKCMO and www.YouTube.com/UnionStationKCMO. Follow our pages to stay up-to-date on give aways, announcements and freebies.
- Union Station exhibit unearths Dinosaurs - NBC Action News
- Dinosaurs’ temporary home in Union Station is a tight fit for such big creatures - The Kansas City Star
- Dinosaurs Unearthed at Union Station - The Pitch
- A Sneak Peek at Dinosaurs Unearthed at Kansas City’s Union Station - KC Kids Fun
- Dinosaurs Unearthed Behind the Scenes - KC Parent
Union Station's Bank of America Gallery opens the dino doors to the public May 1 at 10:00 a.m. Tickets are on sale now - be one of the first to secure your spot in line at Dinosaurs Unearthed.
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Social Technologies, Measurement and Fun Time
April 02, 2010 - 10:39 AM
With all of the tweets, status updates and video uploads floating around the Internet superhighway, it’s easy to negate social media efforts and consider your time spent online as “fun time.” The truth is, when done correctly, social media interaction has actual benefits, and - gasp: social media can deliver positive ROI.
It may require a change in mindset, but it will serve you best to treat social media like any other marketing effort. Instead of thinking of social media as a fad or trend, consider the fact that business and communications efforts have evolved over the years and have become increasingly more social through Web 2.0 Internet technologies and applications. Check out our blog on the State of the Internet for some hard stats on global Internet statistics for 2009.
With this in mind, make a conscious effort to focus on the fact that the way we do business has changed. More than 300,000 businesses had a professional Fan Page on Facebook in 2009 according to Socialnomics. We are a part of the social media revolution.
*Socialnomics
While no one has mastered the art of measuring social media ROI just yet, there are steps you can take to ensure your social media involvement has a return on your time and effort spent.
The most important thing you need to do when measuring social media ROI and efforts is to outline your goals and set a benchmark against which you can measure your success.
- i.e.: increase inbound sales calls OR increase Web site traffic
If you want to talk quantitative results, the best way to measure the impact of a social media campaign is through analytics. Start off by reviewing the following:
- Incoming Traffic – track page views and incoming traffic from search engines, RSS subscribers, links and trackbacks/linkbacks
- Engagement – track internal searches and time on site; how often and long viewers engage
- Recommendations – track retweets and share statistics as well as comments on posts
- Connections - track number of connections; number of people in social media groups, fan pages, etc
- Awareness –track increased sales and general inquiries
*Socialnomics
By analyzing these numbers and tracking the number of visitor who click through to your site by way of your social networks, you can start to get some hard data to prove that your social media efforts are paying off.
Along with your quantitative results, you’ll also want to be able to demonstrate the quality of your social media activities. For this, I like to use a term I picked up from FastForward the Blog ROI: Return on Investment in Interaction. Here are some things to consider when measuring your ROI:
- Is it easier to connect with existing and potential customers or business associates?
- Are you participating in conversations you couldn’t take part in before?
- Are the conversations surrounding your business and your products positive?
- Have these conversations been valuable to you in evaluating the way you do business?
- Are you better able to manage your online reputation?
- Is your social media presence helping you with branding?
Answers to these questions, along with the hard data from your quantitative measurements, should help you get a clearer idea of how your social media campaign is impacting the success of your business or organization.
Want to read up on social media ROI, visit some of the following links:
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KC Social Media Club Happy Hour
March 26, 2010 - 12:47 PM
The Social Media Club KC, Two West and Vitamin Water are hosting a Kansas City Social Media Happy Hour on April 1.
Join the SMCKC group at Two West for drinks and snacks at 5:30. Discussion lead by the CEO and senior VP of Two West, Ethan White Hall and Lou Thurmon, will start at 6:30 and feature the history and evolution of their podcast, “The Brand Show.”
This certainly isn’t one to miss. We hope to see you there!
More info on the upcoming SMCKC Social Media Happy Hour.
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