AGADUGU Marketing and Design - strategies for small businesses and organizations

This blog won't be updated any more!

2010-11-30T11:04:00.001-08:00

Due to only a few visits every now and then, I am no longer updating this blog!

However, you can visit the German version of this blog on agadugu.wordpress.com.

Simple image optimization with Adobe Photoshop – Brighten pictures and change contrast

2010-11-10T07:07:00.000-08:00

Mainly graphic and media designers are using Photoshop for image editing. This is partly due to the high price, but also due to the complexity of the software.

If you have access to Photoshop (no matter which version – an old one is perfectly fine too), you can seize the opportunity to acquire some tricks with the software.

Brighten dark images

If a photo is too dark, you can brighten it easily.

Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast
Image > Adjustments > Levels
Image > Adjustments > Shadow/Highlight (to brighten dark areas)
Image > Adjustments > Curves

Adjust images that seem dull or too bright

Image > Adjustments > Auto Levels
Usually works without problems and is the easiest way for Photoshop beginners.
Image > Adjustments > Levels
Image > Adjustments > Brightness/Contrast

It is probably best for you to just try out these few functions in order for you to understand how each one works.

Color symbolism: Meaning of colors III - The colors orange and brown

2010-11-02T07:04:00.000-07:00

The significance of the colors orange and brown in Western Europe and USA:

The color orange

Orange combines the energy of red with the happiness of yellow. Usually, the color symbolizes joy, sunshine, the tropics, enthusiasm, fascination, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement and inspiration.
For the human eye, orange is a very hot color. Nevertheless, orange is not as aggressive as red.
As a citrus color, orange is associated with healthy food and also stimulates the appetite.
Orange is the color of autumn and harvest and symbolizes strength and endurance.
Design and Advertising
Orange has very high visibility and is therefore used to attract attention and highlight the main elements of a design. The color orange is particularly suitable for the advertising of food and toys.
Color gradiations
Dark orange represents deceit and mistrust.
Red orange is associated with desire, sexual passion, pleasure, dominance, aggression and drive.
Gold is associated with illumination, wisdom, wealth and high quality and evokes the feeling of prestige.

The color brown

Brown represents health, authenticity, down-to-earthness, steadfastness, simplicity, convenience and reliability.
Brown is a warm neutral color that can stimulate the appetite.
Color gradiations
Red brown is associated with autumn and harvest.

Get to know more about the colors red and yellow.

Quote by William Bernbach - what counts is the truth

2010-10-28T06:59:00.000-07:00

“The most powerful element in advertising is the truth.” /William Bernbach, revolutionary American advertising executive, 1911-1982

When working in advertising, sticking to the truth is very important. However, many advertisers do not care about this simple rule.

Great software alternatives that are for free

2010-10-26T06:52:00.000-07:00

Software can be pretty expensive. Especially for small businesses or associations that need a number of different licenses this can be a problem.
However, for many applications you use every day, there are great alternatives that are even for free. Here are some of the main software alternatives for Windows:

Office suite (word processing, spreadsheet, presentations)

OpenOffice
Software package that is comparable to Microsoft Office. Contains a word-processing program (like Word), a spreadsheet program (like Excel), presentation program (such as Power Point) and others.
www.openoffice.org
Google Docs
Similar to Microsoft Office, but it is used online in the browser. A Google account is required. The created files are stored online and can be opened from anywhere (Cloud Computing).
Very useful, but not a real alternative to OpenOffice or Microsoft Office.
https://docs.google.com

Creating and editing PDF files

PDFCreator
Creating PDFs and other files (such as PNG, JPG, BMP, PCX, TIF, PS, EPS). The tool is controlled by the print function.
www.pdfforge.org
www.chip.de/downloads/PDFCreator_13009777.html
FreePDF Ghostscript
Create PDF documents.
Both software packages must be installed. The configuration is done automatically.
http://freepdfxp.de/xpDownload.html
Free PDF to Word Doc Converter
Converts PDF files into Word files.
www.hellopdf.com

Playing DVDs, videos and audio files

VLC media player
Plays almost any audio and video formats.
www.videolan.org
Kantaris Media Player
Plays DVDs, videos and audio files. Version 0.6.6 works with Windows 2000, XP, Vista or 7.
www.kantaris.org

Email (instead of Outlook or Outlook Express)

Thunderbird
Offers great expansion possibilities (with so-called add-ons https://addons.mozilla.org) and therefore offers everything Outlook has to offer.
http://www.mozillamessaging.com/de/thunderbird/
Gmail
Online-mail program with more than 7 GB of memory. Provides labels and grouping of emails into conversations.
www.mail.google.com

Internet Browsing

Mozilla Firefox
Very popular browser that can be extended easily with a variety of add-ons (https://addons.mozilla.org/en/firefox).
www.mozilla.com
Opera browser
Good performance, but cannot be extended.
www.opera.com
Google Chrome
Very stable and incredibly fast, but sends your data to Google.
www.google.com/chrome
Safari
The Mac browser is also available in a version for Windows. However, the browser offers no advantages over other browsers.
www.apple.com/safari

Programs for burning CDs and DVDs

CDBurnerXP
Burns CDs, DVDs (including double layer and rewritable), Blu-Ray and HD DVDs. Reliable and not overloaded with extra features.
http://cdburnerxp.se
ImgBurn
Burns DVDs, CDs, Blu-Ray and HD DVDs, and supports popular image formats.
www.imgburn.com

Image optimization

GIMP
With this software you can edit photos, create images, convert several files at once, use layers, fonts and effects. GIMP is developed by a large community.
www.gimp.org
Picasa
For organizing and archiving photos, but also for image editing.
http://picasa.google.de

Anti-virus software
The free anti-virus programs protect against viruses and some also against spyware, but they do not protect against phishing attacks nor do they check your emails for viruses.

Avast!
www.avast.com
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
http://free.avg.com
Avira
www.free-av.com

Mind Mapping

Free Mind
Open-source software that is constantly evolving.
http://freemind.sourceforge.net
XMind
Easy to use mind mapping software.
www.xmind.net
Master Mind
If the functions are not sufficient for your needs, you can purchase another version.
www.mindmeister.com

Color symbolism: Meaning of colors II – The color yellow

2010-10-14T02:00:00.000-07:00

In a post about the color red, you will also get to know more about color symbolism in general.

The meaning of the color yellow in Eastern Europe and the U.S.:

Yellow is the color of the sun and is associated with joy, happiness, intellect, energy, honor and loyalty.
The color yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, generates muscle energy and stimulates mental activity.
Pure yellow is an eye catcher, which is the reason that cabs are painted yellow. Often, yellow on a black background is used as a warning.
Design and advertising
With yellow, certain parts of a design can be highlighted.
Yellow is used to produce positive and friendly feelings.
Especially when advertising children's and leisure products, the color yellow is used.
For advertising more prestigious, expensive products for men, yellow should not be used, as men rather see the color yellow as "childish".
Also when advertising products, where safety and stability are important, you should avoid the color yellow, as it is considered unstable and sponatenously.
Color gradiations
Color gradiations of the color yellow do not look very appealing, as the color loses its serenity and starts to look dirty.
Dull yellow stands for warning, jealousy, illness and decline.
Light yellow is associated with freshness, joy and intellect.

Creativity techniques II - How to allow creativity: 16 tips for creative problem solving

2010-10-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

Allow creativity in your daily (working) life by following tips:

Try out different things.
Motivate others (such as your employees) to try new things. Routine kills creativity, because there is no need to be creative when doing routine tasks.
Be curious. Complacency, indifference and disinterest disable creativity.
Take failures and errors into account.
Isolate your creative sessions from your usual work.
Provide a relaxed environment, so that creative ideas can flourish. Avoid bad conditions, such as creative sessions in the office or a meeting just before lunch break.
Avoid bad structures in your company, such as when the right conditions are missing to incorporate creative innovations or when transparency and internal communication are poor or absent.
Sharpen your attention and look at things unbiased. Set thinking blinds you and will keep you from seeing variations.
The problem itself should have priority.
Track your goals persistently and stay tuned for ideas. Having an idea does not mean that it is also useful. Ideas must be developed first, which can take time.
Focus on one idea and work it out.
Put faith in yourself and also in your employees. Lack of confidence prevents creativity, because anyone who does not have confidence in himself does not take a risk and is convinced to fail.
Do not rest on your success. Instead, follow developments and trends.
Turn off competition. Competitive pressures make it difficult to collaborate and communicate and therefore creative work.
Do not offer rewards to your employees. Rewards only raise the interest in the premium instead of solving problems.
Do not work under time pressure. Instead, plan for enough time and take enough breaks. Time pressure can be deadly for creativity, since ideas need time to mature.

Color symbolism: Meaning of colors I - The color red

2010-10-05T06:29:00.000-07:00

Designer have to deal with colors a lot. Most of the time, the clients do not even know. Color can improve a design or it can destroy it.

Colors have different effects. Depending on the country and the cultural background there is a different color symbolism. The color symbolism mentioned here only applies to Western Europe and the U.S. only. Not every color has the same meaning in every culture.

Different color combinations can also have different meanings. In addition, there are different shades and hues for every color - whose meaning can also vary a lot.

The color red

Red is the color of blood and also fire. This, it is associated with danger, war, energy, strength, power, passion, love, desire and determination.
The color red is an emotional intense color: It enhances the breathing rate, the human metabolism, as well as the blood pressure.
Red has a high visibility, which is why traffic lights, stop signs and fire extinguishers are painted red. Red is also used to show courage and is found in many national flags.
Design and advertising
Red emphasizes texts and pictures. It is often used as an accent color, in order to inspire people to make a quick decision. Red is the perfect color for "Buy now" or "Click here" buttons on advertising banners on the Internet or on websites.
In advertising, red is often used to evoke erotic feelings, for example with red lips or red nails.
Since red is associated with energy, the color is often found in advertising for sports, cars, games or energy drinks.
Color gradiations
- Light red is associated with sexuality, passion, empathy, love and joy.
- Dark red stands for anger, rage, willpower, spite, courage, desire and leadership.
- Pink is associated with romance, friendship, love and passivity.

For more information on the color red go to SensationalColor or Wikipedia.

Creativity techniques I - Brainstorming

2010-10-01T06:53:00.000-07:00

With creativity techniques and creative problem solving techniques you can boost your creativity. You can promote your ideas and develop new ideas that may help in solving your problems.

There are hundreds of different techniques. Some of them require groups with several people others can be executed alone. There are written exercises, word games or improvisation.

One of the most known creativity techniques is brainstorming. Brainstorming can produce a variety of new and unusual ideas within a short period of time. If you are at the very beginning with your problem solution, but you have a fairly specific question, then brainstorming can prove very useful. You can actually use this technology in all areas. Brainstorming works especially well when experts from different areas have to work together. However, complex problems cannot be solved easily with brainstorming. Also when having tension within the group, brainstorming is not appropriate.

You need four to 20 people and a moderator, who will record every suggestion and idea. You also need a flip chart or a board to list all ideas.

The brainstorming session consists of two phases, the production of ideas and the evaluation phase.

It is important that no criticism is allowed during the phase of idea production! No idea can be evaluated here. All suggestions and ideas are welcome, no matter how wacky they are. Ideas that were already mentioned can and should be recombined. The phase of idea production should not take more than five to 30 minutes. In most cases, however, after five to ten minutes people make less suggestions. Do not stop the production of ideas yet! After a short time, more ideas that might be even more original will come up.

All ideas are written down immediately by the moderator. He/she should not be involved in the brainstorming and under no circumstances should he/she make own suggestions. However, the moderator should make sure there is a pleasant atmosphere. He/she should also encourage the group to participate. The moderator has to ensure that ideas are not actually evaluated during the idea production phase. All ideas have to be recorded by him - without hanging anything and without making comments.

After producing idease, you should take a break. This break can be a few minutes or even an entire day.

During the evaluation phase objective criticism is welcome. All ideas are evaluated and are studied regarding their feasibility. The moderator must ensure that the evaluation stays objective.

You can decide at the beginning, if you want to make a pre-seleciton or if the group will evaluate every single idea. You can also choose an order or choose only a single idea and have it developed by the group.

Variations of brainstorming:

Stop and go brainstorming
Go back and forth between idea production and evaluation (each phase should last five to 10 minutes).
Destructive/constructive brainstorming
Divide the phase of idea production. First, negative (destructive) suggestions are made that prevent a solution. Then, constructive ideas are produced.
Single brainstorming
Here you do the entire brainstorming session alone, without a group. The process remains the same. Do not evaluate your ideas during the first step. Before evaluating, take a break - even one or two days is fine.
Sandwich brainstorming
Change between phases of collective and individual production of ideas.

Book review: Glimmer by Warren Berger - How design could change your life and maybe even the world

2010-09-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

Warren Berger, a journalist, describes in "Glimmer" what and how we can learn form the thinking of designers. He addresses different areas and it becomes clear that design is so much more than just pretty package design or nice posters and flyers.

Berger explains, how designers think, reinvent things and combine them in different ways. Designers have the power to change the world. He shows this with different examples, so the reader can see how to go about it.

The auther presents the history and the future of proactive design with many anecdotes and interviews. He also mentions important international designers, such as Dean Kamen, Yves Béhar, Brian Collins, Paula Scher, Stefan Sagmeister and of course Bruce Mau.

Berger relates the design philosophy of Bruce Mau - for whom everything is a design project, even his own life - with endless possibilities of what design can do in order to improve our lives.

The book also contains little sketches and drawings that help understanding everything.

Reading "Glimmer" is really worth it: The book presents a hopeful and fascinating view on the area of design and shows us how a "glimmer" can change the world - or at least your life!

More information on the glimmer movement can be found on www.glimmersite.com.

Glimmer: How Design Can Transform Your Life, and Maybe Even the World
by Warren Berger
Penguin Press, Oct 2009, 352 pages
ISBN 1594202338 / ISBN-13 9781594202339

To get a cheap copy of the book, go to www.bookbutler.com, enter the ISBN and press "Compare Prices".

10 steps to your new printer - laser printer vs. inkjet printer

2010-09-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

As an entrepreneur or member of a board, in spite of paperless e-mail communication you still have a lot of communication printed on paper. In order to print your correspondence on paper, you either need an inkjet or a laser printer. Think about what you consider important in a printer and find out in these ten steps, whether you should buy a laser or an inkjet printer.

Your requirements
Before you buy a new printer think about your requirements: How many pages do you print per week/month? How many of them are in color? Do you print many photos (on special paper)?

Speed
Laser printers print faster than inkjet printers. If you often make a lot of prints within a short time, it might make sense to buy a laser printer.
Quality
When printing with laser printer, the print quality is better.inkjet. In addition, the ink of the laser printer is (somewhat) water-resistant and abrasion-proof. Printing with inkjet printers, your prints are neither water-resistant nor abrasion-proof.
! Health !
If you decide to use a laser printer, you should set it in a well ventilated area that is not someone's office. The toner dust is toxic and damages the genetic material of human cells! An inkjet printer on the other hand can be safely put right next to you in your office.
Purchase and printing costs
Inkjet printers are cheaper to buy than laser printers. Since the cartridges of inkjet printers are relatively small, they are much cheaper than the toner cartridges for laser printers.
Size
Inkjet printers are relatively compact and can fit on any desk. For a laser printer, however you need a separate table and of course a seperate room - unless you want to ruin your health.
Media to print on
For inkjet printers you will find an incredible number of different media to print on, such as photo paper and other special papers in all kinds of sizes, labels, t-shirt transfer paper, printable CDs/DVDs). For laser printers, it is more difficult to find different printing material.
Ports for memory cards and cameras
Most new printers (both laser and inkjet printers) have connections for various memory cards or digital cameras. So you can print directly from your memory card or digital camera without having to go the detour via your computer.
Photos
Photos can be printed in very good quality with a sharp image on any type of paper when printing with a laser printer. For an inkjet printer you need special photo paper to ensure that your pictures look good.
Scanning, copying, faxing
If you scan many documents, but do not really have room for a separate scanner, consider a multifunction device. Inkjet printers with integrated scanners are still relatively small. The multi-function devices and laser printers however really take a lot of space.
If you often make copies, but do not want to buy a copy machine, a laser printer with a copy function could be a good solution.
Among both inkjet and laser printers you can find multifunctional devices that also have a fax option.
A multifunction device (whether laser or inkjet printer) does not only save space, but also money, since you only need to buy a device and not several different ones.
Maintenance
With inkjet printers, you have to ensure that the ink does not dry up and the print head does not get clogged. Laser printers require relatively little attention from their owners.

How to improve your Facebook page in 5 steps

2010-09-17T07:01:00.000-07:00

Creating a facebook page for your business or organization is simple. However, your page should look professional. Follow these five tips to improve your facebook page:

Choose an appropriate profile pictures. If you own a business, add a picture of it to your facebook page - preferably with the opening times in the photo. If you operate an online store you should use your logo together with the URL as a profile picture.
Your facebook profile picture can be 200 px wide and 600 px high. It should not have more than 4 MB.
Create a short URL, such as www.facebook.com/agadugu. To make your URL shorter, go to www.facebook.com/username/. Here you can set a username for your own facebook account and/or the facebook page of your association or company.
It is best to use the name of your association or company, if it is not too long or already taken. Try to choose a user name that is easy to remember.
On your facebook page add as much information as possible about your business/organization, such as the opening times, locations and a brief description.
Add the links to your website and blog on your facebook page.
If you sell products, you can upload pictures of them under the tab "Photos". Of course, you can also add pictures of your events etc.

What is creativity? - 4 tips for creative problem solving

2010-09-15T07:32:00.000-07:00

Everyday, you do a lot of different tasks - many of which are routine. However, sometimes all your knowledge and skills do not help you. That's when you have to get creative. If you are not able to solve a problem in a conventional way, you will have to find a new solution by getting creative.

There are different kinds of creativity:

People who make a groundbreaking invention and come up with a brand new product are creative in a different way then people who create a text for a website.
New inventions and new trends require engagement with the topic for years.
Changes of existing things, such as improvements or modifications (great ideas everybody has once in a while)

Here are four tips, that can help you with solving problems in a creative way:

Some people are more creative then others, but everybody can be creative!
Do not make the mistake to press your ideas into a tight system immediately.
If you are not able to move forward with a problem, it may be helpful to involve outsiders. Non-professionals see things in a different light and judge them differently than professionals. In order to really be creative, you need at least a little clue in the area that you want to be creative in.
Younger people are not necessarily more creative than older people. Young people might have more ideas. On the other side, older people are creative in a different way. They have more ideas that are usable and more useful.

Are you a procrastinator? - Tips for stress-free productivity

2010-09-10T06:53:00.000-07:00

Do you often sit on your computer refreshing your facebook page for the nth time, reading the latest news, checking your emails, drinking coffee …? You would like to be more productive, but you are easily distracted? Do you postpone necessary, but unpleasant tasks again and again instead of just doing them?

You can change this habit. Here are a few helpful tips from experts against procrastination:

Merlin Mann suggests the (10+2)*5-rule. Work for 10 minutes – solely concentrating on your task. Once 10 minutes are over, take a two minute break, doing whatever you want to do, such as surfing the web or drinking coffee. Do this for exactly five times – 10 minutes work, two minutes break and so forth.

On his website, John Perry explains how structured procrastination can be useful. Structured procrastination means you structure your tasks in a certain way.
The list of tasks you usually have in your head is sorted by significance. The most urgent tasks appear on top of the list. However, there are other tasks at the bottom of the list that are also worthwile. Doing the tasks from the bottom of the list is a way of not doing the tasks on the top of the list. However, that means even though you are a procrastinator you get things done – but not the ones that are urgent.
Procrastinators often follow the wrong path. They try to minimize their commitments, as they think they will be able to do everything on their list if there are only a few things on it. According to John Perry this does not work, as the tasks left on the list are now the most important ones. So now, the only way to avoid them is not to do them. This will turn the procrastinator into a couch potato.
So change your list and put the right project at the beginning of it.

A great book that can help you with your organization of daily tasks is „Getting Things Done“ from David Allen (ISBN 978-014-200028-1). The author gives helpful advice on time management, stress-free productivity and organisation.

Additionaly information on procrastination can be found on Wikipedia, 43folders.com, or stevepavlina.com.

Quote by Thomas Jefferson - don't stop advertising

2010-09-07T06:30:00.000-07:00

“The man who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops the clock to save time.” / Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, 1801-1809

Do you stop the clock when you are running out of time? Of course not! However, many businesses and organizations stop advertising, as they think they cannot afford it any longer.
How come that many businesses are able to advertise big time when everything goes well and they are in a good financial position? Once business slows down and they make less profit, the budget for marketing and advertising is cut. But shouldn’t you expand the marketing budget at this time?

Once the economy slows down, many businesses – big and small – cut their advertising. That means if you advertise now, you will be recognized much easier, as the advertising landscape is not as crowded. The chance of people actually noticing your advertising efforts increases. Maybe you are lucky being the only business in your industry showing consumers that you are there.
If you hide once your sales go down, your customers will not recognize you anymore and your sales will keep on going down. When your competitors hide is the perfect time for you to advertise and show that you are there for the consumers.

How to differentiate yourself from competitors - why it is important to have a USP

2010-09-01T07:34:00.000-07:00

If customers buy your product or service depends on how you position it on the market and how many alternatives there are. Your customers should actually be able to perceive your product or service. That means, you have to do something outstanding, for example be better than the competition or offer additional services to your customers.

Even if your competition is big, you can carve out one or more features of your product or service in a way that you have a USP (unique selling proposition) over your competition. This means you can set your business apart from other businesses.

For an apartment complex in a U.S. city it can be hard to find a USP. 'Sedgefield Apartment Homes' in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, was successful in doing so. They decided to address Latin American customers ('Se Habla Español' - 'We speak Spanish') and also offer an additional service to families with kids and teenagers ('Free After School Program & Teen Center'). However, with 'Free Rent' you can hardly attract anyone as most apartments offer 'free rent'. Also, this statement is not entirely correct, as only the first month's rent is free.

Unique selling propositions (USPs) can be the following:

An innovative concept, such as the combination of a product with a service
Innovative product features that were not existent before
Extraordinary quality
A long lifetime
Extremely low price
Extraordinary price-performance ratio
An accelerated process (for example with services)
Extensive service that goes beyond what competitors offer
Special size
The usage of environmentally sustainable material or the usage of environmentally sustainable processes

Facebook marketing: Why small businesses and organizations should have a presence in facebook

2010-08-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

Currently, facebook has around 509,422,080 users worldwide. About 132,810,940 people in the U.S. are using facebook – that means facebook is being used by more than 43 percent of the U.S. population and about 58 percent of U.S. Internet users.
The rate of female and male facebook users in the U.S. is about 44 percent male to 56 percent female facebook users.
24 percent of facebook users in the U.S. are between 25 and 34 years old, another 24 percent are between 18 and 24, 17 percent between 35 and 44, 13 percent between 45 and 54, only seven percent between 55 and 64 and about six percent between 16 and 17 years old.

The brand with the most users in the U.S. currently is Taco Bell, with more than 2.3 million fans. Followed by Playfish, with about 2.2 million fans, Walmart with 1.6 million fans, Best Buy with almost 1.2 milllion fans, JCPenney with 945.00 fans, Verizon Wireless (925.000 fans), Southwest Airlines (913.000 fans), Six Flags (618.000 fans), AT&T (586.000 fans), and Macy’s (almost 500.000 fans)

(sources: checkfacebook.com, facebakers.com)

But what does all that mean for you as a small business, freelancer or organization?

Through facebook you get the possibility, to distribute news of your organization or company fast and easy. New products can be presented and tested. You can also share interesting news, links or videos with your “fans”. Your fans can also get in contact easily with you. And all this you can get for free. You can also create a facebook page easily.

On facebook, you can also run ads (with costs), to promote your facebook page, website or your online shop.

Also check, what your competitors are doing on facebook. If your competitors have facebook pages already, this could be a reason for you to get such a page as well.

Update your facebook page is much easier and faster than keeping your company’s or organization’s website up-to-date. However, you should make sure to keep your facebook page as up-to-date and relevant as possible. Of course, this can be a lot of work, as you will have to think about contents to post and what to answer to your fans’ questions.

Facebook (and other social networks as well) offers a lot of possibilities for small businesses and organizations.
However, it is also possible for people to damage your name and reputation.

In future, facebook will probably continue to grow and also gain relevance in advertising and communication.
As business or organization with a small budget, you have the opportunity to reach out and connect to more (potential) customers or members world wide.
There will also be new possibilities every now and then, since facebook is developing over time.

Does it really make sense for you as a busy business man/woman or director of an organization to jump into facebook marketing?
I can’t give you an anwer to this question ... you will have to find your for yourself.

If you should decide to start a facebook page for your organization/business, here are a few tips to make your facebook presence succesful:

Post relevant contents. Contents that do not have any benefit (information, additional knowledge, entertainment ...) for users or your fans are useless.
Encourage interactivity – through involving your fans in decisions. You can also test new products with the help of your facebook fans.
Take your fans’ feedback seriously and act appropriate.
Keep your facebook page up-to-date.
Add new content to your page on a regular basis.
Look at what your competitors are doing. Knowing this can be very helpful – it might give you new ideas.

16 steps to your new computer – what you need to know when you buy a computer for your organization/company

2010-08-18T04:26:00.000-07:00

In order to do your best in communication as a business owner, you will need a computer. If you are an entrepreneur, you might not have one yet – or you want to buy a new computer for yourself, your office or your organization?
There are some things that you should consider, when you go out to buy a new machine:

First, think about what you actually need the computer for: Do you just need it to look good in your office? Are you doing office stuff with it? Do you want to use it to work while you are travelling? Do you want to watch movies on it? Do you just need it to read emails and surf the web? Do you need it to do image editing on it? Do you want to listen to music on it?
Which software do you need? To make it easy to choose the right hardware, decide first, which software you will need to be able to work.
Buy a new computer. Otherwise you will be stuck with a computer that is old before you even use it. Technology changes fast.
Make sure the computer is compatible with all devices you use (in future). Does it have enough USB connections? Will you be able to connect your PDA/mobile phone?
Your computer should have sufficient memory. Of course, you can always add more memory later. However, it is advisable to buy a PC that has more memory than the most basic model.
When buying a computer, get a model that saves energy.
Do not fall for advertising campaigns and forget everything you have ever heard about brand names. Choose the computer that fits your needs.
See your new computer as an investment for your business/organization. With enough memory, a good processor, the possibility extend the machine and a warranty, you can have your computer two years or more.
A desktop computer can be extended any time. That means you can use it for much longer than two years, which will reduce your costs for computer equipment.
Before getting help from a computer specialist, you should try to familiarize yourself with the terminology (e.g. on www.techterms.com).
Remember that you will also need a keyboard, mouse and screen, if you buy a desktop PC. These are additional expenses that you should factor in your overall calculations..
Also when using a laptop computer, you should use an external mouse. This will make working much easier for you and also faster and more effective.
When looking at offers of different stores and comparing prices, you should remember that you also need an operating system, such as Windows 7. This should be included in the price.
Do not forget the expenses for software. Software can be pretty expensive – often, software can cost more than the computer itself.
When buying a computer, you often get a one-year-warranty. However, the sales clerk will try to sell you an extended warranty – often the price is really high and you end up paying too much. It is better to look for a computer expert among your friends. It will be a hassle to ship it to the manufacturer to have it repaired.
Buy your computer in a well-known store – online or in the store. Only buy it, if you are certain the dealer will still be there next week. Remember that you (often) have to rely on the dealer if you want to have the computer repaired during the warranty period.

8 Tips for a relaxing sleep – accomplish more for your organization by being fit

2010-08-13T04:26:00.000-07:00

In order to bring your company or association forward successfully, you need to be fit. In order to be fit, relaxing sleep is essential. Scientists confirm that people, who do not sleep enough are better protected against infections, are less likely to be obese and have a higher life expectancy.

Follow these 8 tips for a relaxing sleep:

Listen to your biological clock, but make sure it ticks right: Stay outside in the sunlight during the day as long as possible and do not go to sleep too late.
Engage in sports in order to get your circulation going. Additionally, your body becomes tired, which will extend your deep sleep phase.
Take the time to sleep according to your sleeping needs. If necessary, go to bed earlier or take a nap in the afternoon.
Your nap should not be too long – not more than 30 minutes. Otherwise you will fall in deep sleep, which will make it hard for you to wake up.
In order to be awake after your nap, you should drink a cup of coffee or black tea before your nap. The caffeine will start kicking in after 30 minutes – just after you wake up from your nap.
Falling asleep at night will be easier for you, if you do not eat anything two hours before and do not drink coffee or black tea.
Right before going to bed, you should take a short walk or read a few pages in a good book, instead of watching TV.
Your bedroom should exclusively be your bedroom. Take out your office (computer, printer) out of your bedroom and also remove your phone and TV.

Keyword research – find out, what your customers are really looking for

2010-08-10T04:19:00.000-07:00

In order to be able to target your customers through the Internet, you need to know, which keywords they use to look for certain information.
When people want to buy something, they often look online first. Especially buyers of computers and consumer electronics rather rely on search engine results before buying, than on social media. This is shown in a stuy by comScore ('The Value of Retail Search and Position') that asked more than 1000 buyers. 30 percent of people asked in the study said, they would use search engines as a first or second step when looking for information.

In order to find out, which keywords are used by your potential clients, use the following tools online:

Google AdWords Keyword Tool
Enter a search term here and the tool will give you other search terms related to it. You can also see the popularity of keywords over time here.
Google Trends
Here you can see trends of keywords you entered.
adCenter Labs Keyword Forecast
Shows the popularity of keywords entered.

Use your newly acquired knowledge and revise your website so that you will be found in search engines with your chosen keywords.

More time for important things – learn how to type

2010-08-06T04:57:00.000-07:00

As a freelancer or small business owner you often are under a lot of time pressure. But also when you volunteer in an organization time is precious.

Typing letters or texts can be very time consuming – especially when you type with one or two fingers. The easiest thing would be to hire a secretary. However, this is unrealistic for most freelancers, small business owners or organizations – due to various reasons, such as lack of space or lack of money. Therefore, you should learn how to type yourself - learn the system of touch typing - and improve your way of communicating.

There are various possibilities for you to learn how to type: You can take typing classes. Many times, such classes are offered for free by communities.
There is also software on DVD or CD or as a download that can help you learning to type fast with ten fingers.
You can also find various possibilities to practice online, such as a speed test, various typing trainers (just google ‘learn typing online free’ or play typing games. You can also practice touch typing online for free.
A very good possibility people often forget are books. These might be useful if you do not want to install software or do not have internet access. Just remember, sometimes the most simple things are the most effective ones.
In order for you to be able to learn quick, you need to practice a lot. Just follow the different units in the given order – again and again.

Guerrilla Marketing idea: Make future customers happy with some good music

2010-08-04T07:24:00.000-07:00

The other day I saw a nice example of Guerrilla Marketing at the airport of McAllen, Texas: a country singer.

With only five gates, the McAllen airport is relatively small. However, many people pass and stop here daily - to welcome friends and family or say goodbye to them. Instead of the usual background music through speakers, visitors got to hear live music now. In one corner of the airport there was a country singer with his guitar. He played songs from country through pop to rock music. Next to him there was a board with the name of the main sponsor – a local car dealership. Additionally, in the short breaks between songs, the singer mentioned the other sponsors – the local chamber of commerce, a local restaurant and the airport.

If you are planning a similar event, you should consider the following:

Choose a place, where a lot of people pass by and also stop.
Look for a singer that can actually sing. Even though he/she might be a little bit pricier than one that cannot really sing. Nobody will be happy about a bad singer – not you and certainly not the listeners.
Depending on which place you choose, you can hire a complete band or orchestra.
Choose a music style depending on the chosen place and your target group (customers).
Cooperate with other local businesses. Form partnerships – this way you can share costs and the organization of the event.
Think about how you could show or tell listeners who are the sponsors. How do you want to advertise your company? You can put up boards, posters or have the singer name or sing the sponsors.
You can have a small event (such as the one in McAllen airport) or you can have a bigger event (for example with a band, a stage, free food) – depending on the size of your budget and the place.

Pricing strategies – step-by-step increase in prices brings more revenue than immediate price increase

2010-07-29T06:49:00.000-07:00

So far, retailers had two possibilities when reducing prices: Either the products are offered cheaper for a short amount of time, in order to increase the price again to the (normal) price before. Or the products are advertised with “everyday low prices”.

Studies (Michael Tsoiros, University of Miami, ALBA Graduate Business School and David M. Hardesty, University of Kentucky in the Journal of Marketing) show that there is a third possibility that is even more effective.

A store can create more revenue with a price promotion, by increasing the prices step-by-step after a price reduction – instead of offering the product for the original price again.

Customers expect a higher price in future and therefore buy (inaction regret).

You should therefore think twice about setting your prices and also work out a good pricing strategy. However, this strategy should also fit into your marketing or business plan.

More time for important things – data protection is important

2010-07-27T07:37:00.000-07:00

Do not waste your time to look for your data and hundreds of files, just because the hard drive of your computer stopped working. Save your data on a regular basis to prevent a bigger catastrophe.

Make backups from all important (and unimportant) files regularly.

Especially when you mainly work with portable devices you should save your data more often. External hard drives and laptop computers have a shorter life span than hard drives in desktop computers.

Get yourself an external hard drive so you can save a copy of all relevant data on it. If you keep updating the files on it you will have access to all important files in case of an emergency.
Additionally, you can save backups on the hard drive – with the help of the backup function on your computer.

If you are still worried about your files, you can burn them to DVDs. However, you need to make sure you use DVDs of high quality. Also, you should not burn your DVDs with the fastest speed available, as this might cause a loss of data. Files are not as safe on DVDs (or CDs) as you might think. When using cheap DVDs/CDs files can be lost a few months after burning them and pictures might only be shown half way. A good alternative to regular DVDs are so called archival DVDs that have a golden layer (and are also more expensive).

You should keep your different media in different places. So in case your office burns down and you only have your files saved to your desktop computer and the data DVDs are next door, you will loose everything. This can also happen after a break-in or when a pipe bursts.

PR for your organization: How to make it into the media with your company or organization

2010-07-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

You will make it into the media (newspapers, radio, television, ...) with interesting events, such as an anniversary, a product launch, major investments, changes in personnel.

If there are no events present, you will have to create some. Organize an open house or hold lectures. You can make proposals to certain media (e.g. magazines) for journal articles on a specific subject, appear as an expert or write a journal article yourself. You can also offer your customers/clients something really special, such as an expert hotline, a free book or a raffle.

It is important that the event or occasion is interesting and arouses the attention among readers/viewers. So if you want to open a bakery in a city where there are already hundreds of them, neither the media nor the newspaper readers will be interested. But if you open an organic bakery, where people can also bake their own bread, it would be something very unusual and the media will certainly take it up. Organize events in cooperation with other companies or organizations. This way, you can create unusual events.

Always remember to make sure that your PR campaigns fit your company/association.

Do not make the mistake of underestimating local media, such as daily newspapers. Many people are subscribers to local newspapers - because of the local section. Let the local press know, what you do as a company/association.

Possible content for your news release could be the following:

News about the development of innovative products
News about the development of products for a special occasion, such as World Cup sausage
Messages that have serious consequences
Unusual news
Opinions or information about a current topic that affects/interests many people
News about record attempts (e.g. the Bavarian Red Cross set a record with getting 400 new blood donors within two days)
The parties are members of the public
Study results, test results, market surveys
Messages that have a benefit, such as events