Is your business benefiting from Social Media Marketing??

March 29th, 2010

Marketing is essential to any business and is generally referred to as the most important aspect of any business strategy. Large companies spend millions of dollars to hire reputed agencies to handle the marketing of their business whereas smaller companies rely on more creative and cost efficient methods. In the extremely competitive world of today, social media marketing is the new ‘in’ thing and definitely here to stay. In a nutshell, it means using social media such as blogs, community sites, video sharing sites etc. to market a product or a business.

Certain popular websites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and YouTube which have more than five million visitors everyday are considered to be an important hub for marketing. Promoting your business using these sites is a very attractive business proposition since they offer a huge amount of steady traffic everyday. In today’s world, social networking is extremely successful and social media marketing is very important to a business because of the sheer number of people that access these sites regularly.

The reasons why this type of marketing is so important, or rather, essential for a business are many. Firstly it is a low cost investment when compared to the other options available, offering many links to your site for free. Social media is generally free to use but marketing the same thing through conventional methods would cost you thousands of dollars. These sites get a lot of traffic and they in turn generate traffic to your site. Also it acts like a word-of-mouth concept that people tend to believe when compared to commercial advertising.

To make a lasting impact on the user and build a successful business any entrepreneur should be adept in social media marketing. There are a number of factors to keep in mind while promoting your business online so as to maximize its potential and achieve realistic real time sales. Marketing through social media is a potent method that will make your site profitable over time.

Following are a few pointers that an entrepreneur would do well to remember while utilizing the immense scope of this type of marketing. Firstly, one should always try to give a clear account of the company’s product or the contents of the business instead of exaggerating and claiming the impossible because this discourages people from visiting your site whereas a more realistic picture generates slow but steady traffic over time. Secondly, it is important to post as many links as you can wherever there is a provision to do so.

Any business becomes profitable only if the end product promised by the company or the entrepreneur is really as good as advertised and produces customer satisfaction. There is no sure-shot formula for success using marketing since it only gives more visibility to the business and the end sales depend only on the efficiency of the product. However, social media marketing is an important tool that, when properly used is a highly beneficial and promising enterprise.

For more information about setting up Social Media Marketing for your business, please contact STRIKER MEDIA @ {888} 491- 7720 or info@strikermedia.net.

Is your business card smokin’ hot?

February 26th, 2010

A good business card is an essential tool in any business’s arsenal. When you’re at a function networking, meeting new clients, or your work comes up in a conversation, your card is the anchor to make sure the discussion doesn’t come to nothing.

It’s important to think about what your business card says about you, as well as what to put on your business card, and whether it passes the business card trash test. But of course as any business owner knows, the most important thing is to make sure your business card looks smokin’ hot!

So courtesy of our inspiration gallery FaveUp, which has just passed 1000 items of inspiration, here are 14 smokin’ hot business card designs:

The Importance of a Logo and Marketing Materials

February 10th, 2010

The initial lack of customers and cash flow often causes new small business owners to put off designing a logo and marketing materials professionally “until they get a few clients” or “until they get started.” Unfortunately, designing their own marketing materials when they launch their businesses instead of having them professionally created will make getting those initial clients more difficult and may result in a business that will not succeed.

Many entrepreneurs choose to design their own marketing materials when they launch their businesses, especially by creating their first business card. Or sometimes they will have an amateur designer, friend, or relative create the design. There are several reasons why this is not the best idea. An amateur logo design and business card can make your business more likely to fail for a number of reasons.

Your business will not look stable. It will appear to be more likely to fold or to fail. Clients will not have confidence in doing business with you. Would you do business with someone who seems to be on unstable footing and who might not be in business by the end of your project or after you have purchased an item?

You will look like a very small business. Large, successful businesses would never consider doing business without professional, originally designed marketing materials. Using materials that are not professionally designed (i.e., Microsoft or Vistaprint templates) makes your business appear even smaller and can possibly indicate that you cannot perform to or meet the standards required.

You will look unpolished and rough. Not having a professional “look and feel” can make it appear as though your business does not matter to you. Customers may get the impression that you do not care about the way your business presents itself, which might indicate that you would not care about the quality of your work or the way that your work reflects upon their business.

You will look unfocused. Unprofessional, uncoordinated marketing materials can make your business look “jumbled” or confused. If you have a business card with one look and feel and a Web site with another, this creates a confused — and confusing — look and feel for your business. This can also cause an identity crisis for a small business. When looking at your differently designed materials, potential clients may be fooled into thinking that they are looking at materials that represent different companies.

About half of all businesses fail within their first few years. One source of failure that is commonly cited by experts is sloppy or ineffective marketing. If your marketing materials do not stand out from those of your competitors, your sales will suffer.When you start a business, you need to create the quickest possible route to business success. A logo helps to create this by contributing to your business’s visibility, credibility, and memorability — three factors that will help your business to grow and achieve success. So, while putting off your logo development may seem like a prudent idea from a cash-flow point of view, it could result in your business never getting off the ground. It can also lead to your business folding when it would otherwise succeed.

If you think that you can’t afford to design a logo when starting your business, consider the outcomes — how can you afford not to?

What is ‘GREEN’ website hosting??

January 29th, 2010

Many times we advertise STRIKER MEDIA’s ‘Green’ Website Hosting and are asked, “What IS green hosting? How is it different from regular hosting?”

We’re here to tell you..

Websites are stored on a large computer that is called a ‘Server’. Companies, like GoDaddy and HostMonster, offer site hosting for countless numbers of websites on several servers that they have purchased. STRIKER MEDIA has essentially done the same thing!

When we were first broached with the concept of hosting our client’s websites, we were excited about the potential of having a dedicated server strictly for the company. With our own server, we would be able to offer our clients more space for their websites and emails while offering them the same level of customer service and support they’ve become accustomed to while working with us on their projects. We would also alleviate the need for our customers to have to deal with an outside source to host their website, instead we could do it all from one place!

Enter “Green” Hosting..

After much extensive research, we found a server we felt would meet our company needs, but more importantly our client’s needs. An ample amount of space and versatility to keep our clients businesses growing, it was perfect! AND wind powered? Sweet!

Did you know that the average website server produces the same emissions as a 15mpg SUV?
It’s true! However, the server used by STRIKER MEDIA is 36% more energy efficient than it’s counterparts!

Sustainability is good for the environment, but it makes good business sense too. In life and business, we focus on saving resources such as electricity and water and, more often than not, we find that these actions lead to reduced operating costs. Being “green” is essential to keeping our business competitive. It is this economic advantage that makes our efforts truly sustainable.

A 130% wind powered server!
We have purchased certified Renewable Energy Credits representing 130% of the electricity used to both power and cool our server. As much as we would like to sit next to our Dedicated Wind Powered Server every day, there isn’t much wind in Seattle. Our programmer extraordinaire, Adam, could keep it in Chicago.. but then we’d be calling on him more than we already do. So our server is housed in the windy city of Houston, Texas! In Houston, the wind keeps our server soaring and our client’s websites charging ahead, full speed on the Internet.

Click HERE to read more about Renewable Energy Credits (RECs)

If you have more questions regarding “Green” website hosting, please let us know!

Welcome to the new STRIKER MEDIA Blog!

January 28th, 2010

The gang at STRIKER MEDIA is excited to finally launch themselves into the world of Blogging. We’ve created all different sorts of blogs.. why not one about our invigorating adventures?! We look forward  to wielding this media to showcase some of our incredible clients and their businesses, design “do’s” and “don’ts” to expand your business, and special promotional offers throughout the year.

For those of you who are new to STRIKER MEDIA, let us say “Welcome!” and briefly introduce ourselves..

We’re a full service Graphic and Web Design Firm specializing in increasing business for small to corporate size companies. We ventured into this exciting profession through Web Design and Development, quickly launching into the realm of Print Media. We provide companies with everything from top-notch business cards and letterhead to unique websites and online store fronts. We invite you to carouse through our website, viewing some of our most recent clients and the works we’ve created for them.

Thank you for taking time to visit the STRIKER MEDIA Blog.. we look forward to providing you with more information regarding Web & Graphic Design!

The Team @ STRIKER MEDIA
www.StrikerMedia.net
(888) 491.7720