GINGALLEY Web Design and Promotions Blog

Engage The New Year Successfully!

noreply@blogger.com (Jerri Alley) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 21:49:00 +0000

A New Year is always a great time for trying out a "new you", so why not do the same when it come to your business or project?

Just as many of us tend to get a new hairstyle, plan new lifestyle changes, or a new outlook when the New Year arrives; your company’s image and marketing campaign can benefit from the same approach.

Take a look at how your customers have changed. Are they buying more from you or less than before? Are you attracting new customers regularly?

Take a look at how your competition has changed. Have your competitors become more successful than before? What are they doing differently?

This new year, consider revamping your business image with an updated website, marketing campaign, and refreshed logo. Check out the newest colors that are "in" right now, and the newest technologies that are out there.

While the economy is still recovering, budget-conscious consumers have honed in their bargain hunting skills. Since buyers have more price comparison ability now, work to attract them with great deals. Joining in with local coupon publications and apps can help.

Offer happy rewards for your returning customers and their referrals. It is important to be prepared to promote price reductions and discount incentives to keep those price checking shoppers coming back.

The marketing world is adapting to new technologies in 2012. While a marketer’s job is to attract customers, it can also be overwhelming to be the consumers. Think about the things you can offer that can make the consumers life easier, while also strengthening their relationship with your business or brand.

It is okay to announce on your television commercial that your website offers special deals. It is okay to produce text and e-mail campaigns. It is also okay to engage customers with social media and videos.

Focus on gaining trust, loyalty, and repeat business from your customers without overwhelming them too much. Consider a target audience approach with an emphasis on loyalty discounts and offers.

Keep an open mind when considering new options for your marketing campaign. There are more affordable choices now than ever before. Placing locally-targeted ads in national publications can help you this New Year, just be sure to include a message that is relevant to your local area.

Check out your local bloggers and what they are writing about. If they cover topics that relate to your product or service, ask to advertise on their website. Even if a news publication or blog is out of your particular service area, check with the publisher, as they often will display your local advertising to visitors from your general area with tools such as Google AdSense.

Depending on the product or service you offer, you don’t want to miss out on attracting customers from around the world. The New Year opens with an expanded internet accessibility all over the globe. More people are online and using mobile technologies than ever before.

There are numerous website translation tools that can be implemented so that others speaking different languages can browse your site with a click of a button. Language translation tools are also readily available to many mobile device users as well. If you know what countries you are already attracting visitors from, you could design a marketing campaign tailored to their needs.

It’s never wrong to ask, “How may I help you?”

That simple sentence may seem so cliché by now, but say it - and mean it. It helps to prompt your customer to share valuable information with you. Customers who feel like they actually have someone who will listen to them feel empowered. This helps you obtain feedback that can be used to improve your product, service, or how to focus your next marketing campaign. Actively listening and engaging with your customer builds your overall credibility this New Year and for years to come.

Are You SHOUTING or Are You Just Happy to See Me?

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 15:13:00 +0000

If there is one thing that annoys me most when it comes to computer etiquette, it would have be the use of ALL CAPITAL LETTERS in an e-mail message, comment in a blog or website, and even a text message on my phone.

Not only is it considered shouting, but it is also hard to read and simply annoying. It makes me not even want to read the text because I've lost all credibility with the person typing in all caps! It's as though the person lacks intelligence, is immature, or just plain lazy.

One of the first things I like to teach people new to the wonderful world of computers is e-mail etiquette 101. It describes the proper use of e-mail at the utmost basic level. A majority of which is still ignored today as I notice sifting through my morning e-mails. Poorly formed subject lines (if any), the RE: RE: RE: FWD: FWD: FWD: messages (which is a whole other story), mis-spellings and grammatical errors, replying to an old e-mail with old subject line intact and starting a new subject, and of course the use of all capital letters.

Early computer programs actually had problems reading lower case letters, so it was the norm many years ago to use all capital letters in computer code. Not so much anymore. In fact, great Code Writers and Web Programmers pride themselves on writing clean code. That is, the programming code is nicely formatted, coding does not contain clutter or useless code, is nicely spaced and easy to read, and does not typically contain all capital letters.

The majority of businesses and companies these days have e-mail and web policies in place for their employees. They are strictly enforced and are not taken lightly as they are a true reflection of the Company's Image. In my Corporate work experience, I've seen many issues arise from the improper use of e-mail communications. Some of which, I have witnessed first hand and sequestered to Managerial meetings over. Some outcomes did not fare so well, while others, employees were kindly reminded that you just can't do that in an e-mail. According to this article, a woman in New Zealand was fired over the use of all caps in an e-mail. She even took it a step forward and changed the color of her text to red! She may have got her point across, but lost her job in the process.

When it comes to Graphic Design, the use of capital letters becomes a whole other world. It is a conscientious decision made by the Designer. An artistic license if you would. Although, I may sound like I'm contradicting myself from everything I've said above, that can be tossed aside when capital letters are used effectively in a design. The letters of a logo for instance, become a graphical shape and part of an image that signifies a brand. Capital letters are used as a design element rather than to start a shouting match. By using all capital letters in a logo (or other design), there tends to be an innate portrayal of trust and strength with the business.

Take our logo for instance. We made the decision to use all capital letters to signify an importance to our name. The type in GING is bolder than ALLEY and is intended to create a visual balance since there are more letters in Alley. The logo also works on a whole by using a variation of the same font and keeping the type uniform and on the same plane. The tagline below is scaled down and although it too uses all upper case, the importance is less significant and does not draw as much attention to the eye.

On the opposite side, the use of lower case type can signify a more whimsical or softer tone. A good choice for some business logos, but not all. Oftentimes ascending and descending type can play against Designers when using lower case, so upper case becomes an advantageous choice.

In conclusion, if you use all caps in a message, please use them sparingly and certainly be conscious of others' feelings towards them.

I guess you could just say that I'm case sensitive.

-Chris

Links:

Samples of our logo designs using both all caps and a mix of lower and upper case.

e-mail etiquette

GINGALLEY Visit WPDE NewsChannel 15 Studios - Delivers The News

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:26:00 +0000

Chris Gingrich & Jerri Alley of GINGALLEY Web Design & Promotions, along with Chris' niece Carlee Andrews and her friend Michaela Dalton, visited the WPDE NewsChannel 15 Studio yesterday evening.

Ed with Michaela and Carlee

It all started with a comment from Carlee on Ed Piotrowski's Facebook wall.

Carlee said, "I'd like to meet you someday [Ed]."

Ed answered back and said, "You should come to the studio sometime for a tour."

Then, Jerri and Chris quickly chimed in on the thread and said that they wanted to come too! That they would tag along with Carlee for the tour – so, the date was set!

Upon moving to South Carolina in 2008, Chris and Jerri quickly became fans of Ed Piotrowski and his work as Chief Meteorologist at WPDE. His delivery of the weather forecast is flawless and his wonderful personality shines through each and every newscast.

"Ed is very knowledgeable and passionate about the weather. You can really tell that he loves what he does.", Chris says.

When Carlee asked Ed if he ever gets nervous on-the-air, Ed said, "not so much anymore. It's like riding a bike."

Well, it surely shows! In fact, Ed doesn't rely on teleprompters when he is live on-the-air. He prepares his forecast and report prior to the newscast. Then he just goes out there in front of all the cameras and delivers it – without a hitch.

Ed has always been a reliable source to watch when severe weather hits our area. As we are currently in "Hurricane Season", we will be sure to tune into WPDE should the weather take a turn for the worse.

Ed has won many prestigious awards and is surely deserving of each and every one.

From Ed's Profile on the WPDE website:

In his 17 years in South Carolina, Ed has been named Best Weathercaster in the state twice by the South Carolina Associated Press, Best of the Beach 11 years in a row, and was nominated for the National Hurricane Center's Media Award for outstanding efforts to educate and inform the public about hurricanes and hurricane preparedness.

Most recently, Ed was voted Best Local Weatherperson by the Weekly Surge Superlatives: Reader's Choice Awards. And, this past week, Ed was busy on his mini-tour of the Grand Strand delivering his informative "Hurricane Preparedness" lectures.

On top of being a great Weathercaster and genuinely a nice guy, Ed is also an astute Photographer and is getting some quality lessons from one of the area's greats, Phil Lanoue. (If you have ever watched Ed's weather report, then you should know who Phil is. If not, you can check out some of his pictures- and Ed's of course- on Ed's Facebook page.)

Upon entering the "Weather Command Center" at the studio, we quickly noticed the walls adorned with framed photos of Phil's work which is nothing less than breathtaking. We spoke briefly about making Ed and Phil websites to display their photography. A conversation that we will need to continue another day.

The tour of the studio will surely be a memorable one!

We would like to thank Ed as well as Allyson Floyd, Tim McGinnis, Mark Haggard, Ryan Naquin, and Victoria Spechko for allowing us to sit in on a live recording of the nightly newscast.

See you all at 5 and 11!

Some more pictures...

Allyson Floyd and Tim McGinnis

Chris Gingrich, Jerri Alley, Michaela Dalton, Carlee Andrews
Ed Piotrowski, Allyson Floyd, Tim McGinnis

This just in...

Links:

WPDE website - Carolina Live
WPDE on Facebook
Ed Piotrowski on Facebook
Tim MiGinnis on Facebook

Is It Time For a Logo Update?

noreply@blogger.com (Jerri Alley) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 14:52:00 +0000

The logo you use sends out a message to all who view it. As an iconic symbol representing your business or organization, your logo needs to work for you. It is true that repetitiveness, consistency, and omnipresence are wonderful characteristics for a brand to have. However, there are several reasons that a logo update may be important to you.

Changes In The Marketplace

Former brick-and-mortar institutions have an ever increasing online presence, or wish to appear as though they do. Your logo must create more accessibility in its usage on the printed medium as well as the virtual world. If the style, line, or font is antiquated in a way that was not intended, it is time to consider a logo redesign.

Changes In Your Organization

Periodically, your company’s or organization’s services, products, mission, or target audience will change. Your logo can reflect the improvements you've made or the milestones you've reached. Has your group or company recently become more eco-friendly? Have you added more products or services? Have you moved to a new location or want to create a new online image with a new domain name?

A physical move of your place of business or organization means you will need to update your address on letterhead, signs, business cards, shirts, or other printed items. This is a perfect time to reflect on the relevance of your logo since you will need to order updated marketing materials.

Updating your business practices creates an opportune time to consider updating your logo. Maybe you are releasing a new e-commerce website or adding new office locations. How well does your branding and logo translate within the online environment? Is your logo clean and bright on the computer screen? Does your logo project the message and feelings that you wish to portray as your image?

Transition events like these are optimal for enhancing a new marketing strategy and a fresh logo while you announce your new address or new business practices.

Simplification For Easier Recognition

Simple can be beautiful. A simple logo of bold lines and few colors can be easier on the eyes and easier to remember. A logo should be recognizable with one glance. The viewer can perceive the subtle meaning. The next time they see it, they will know it is yours.

The most memorable logo designs are simple in appearance and act as a memorable identifier for the organization or company represented. An average person will normally just take a brief glimpse at a logo so one that is overly complex will decrease the opportunity for it to be remembered.

You may think that a simple logo is harder to market because an obvious meaning may not easily be determined from it. In actuality, it always depends on how good your marketing strategies are. Take a look at the Apple logo. It is simple. But one look at it, you will immediately know that the iPhone, iPad, or laptop was made by Apple because it bears the famous logo.

Retro Can Be Cool: Stale Is Not

An outdated logo is like wearing cargo shorts and flip flops to a job interview – you may surely stand out, but not in a flattering way. Renewed excitement and vibrancy can be brought to your brand with an updated logo. Your refreshed logo can have a reinvigorating effect on customers and employees. A logo redesign keeps your image from feeling stale or out of touch. In most cases, the logo was great when it was initially designed, but now looks outdated. You can still hold true to the history and people represented in your existing logo, but freshen up the colors and expression. How is your logo doing? Is it stuck representing what your company used to do? Is it looking just like every other logo in your industry? When someone sees your logo, do they remember who you are and what you do?

If you decide that it is time to redesign your logo, make sure you have it done professionally. Presently, a logo is not just for business cards and letterhead. Your logo needs to shine on your website, on your signage and marketing materials, on your staff’s shirts or employee’s uniforms, or on your cars and delivery trucks. Maybe you have had someone else design your original logo and they failed to provide you with all of the file versions you need to use it effectively. In this case, you will need to have your logo recreated in all of the file formats necessary for it to look its best online and on printed materials.

GINGALLEY Sponsoring Georgetown, SC's Inaugural 5k Marathon

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:08:00 +0000

GINGALLEY Web Design & Promotions is a proud sponsor of the upcoming Georgetown Marathon!

The City of Georgetown, South Carolina is excited to host the inaugural Bridge 2 Bridge Half Marathon and 5K Run/Walk to be held on Saturday October 1st, 2011. The beautiful, historic, and charming seaport city will offer runners an event that showcases all of the unique features that make Georgetown such an interesting coastal community.

Beautiful and Historic Dowtown Georgetown, South Carolina

Clock Tower

The Half Marathon route will start and finish in the hub of the city on Front Street in Historic Downtown Georgetown. After running past the downtown’s eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, and historic landmarks, including the famous Clock Tower at the Rice Museum, the course quickly transitions into the East Bay Park area where runners will be greeted by lovely views of Winyah Bay. As circling the park, off in the distance they will get their first glimpse of the two bridges that cross the Black and Waccamaw Rivers. Upon leaving East Bay Park the course takes them through a residential area showcasing Georgetown’s signature tree-lined streets and beautiful Lowcountry architecture. The route proceeds onto US Highway 17 where the next immediate focus will be to cross Georgetown’s gateway bridges. This early morning race will surely provide participants with amazing panoramic sunrise views of Winyah Bay, with Hobcaw Barony creating a splendid natural background.

We are exciting to be involved with this Marathon, since it is the first of many to follow. We worked closely with the City of Georgetown's Marathon Committee to develop its Marathon logo which will surely evolve over time. The logo will be used in print collateral, reusable jute bags provided by BagWisely, t-shirts for the Marathon Runners as well as distributed to Media Outlets for promoting the event.

Although we do not have any plans of running the Marathon, we plan to go the distance by helping to make this event a success!

For more information and to Register for the Marathon,please visit their website:

http://www.bridge2bridgerun.com (designed by Methods Development, Inc.)

Want to Start a Revolution or Simply Drive More Business To Your Company?

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 19:10:00 +0000

With Social Media, you can do just that.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, FourSquare and LinkedIn have become the social media powerhouses within the past few years with MySpace losing much ground in the wake.

Beginning in December of last year in Tunisia, a firestorm of protests were posted on Facebook that culminated into a full-scale Revolution against longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. He has since resigned and fled the country with street demonstrations and other unrest continuing to this day.

Shortly thereafter, Egypt and several other Countries in the Arab World followed suit.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer credited Facebook with the success of the Egyptian people's uprising after Wael Ghonim, a Marketing Manager for Google, played a key role in organizing the January 25 protest by reaching out to Egyptian youths on Facebook.

So, is Facebook and other Social Media Networks that powerful? Are they worth the time of day for your business? You bet your bottom dollar!

If you can start a revolution through Social Media, don't you think you can gain new leads and sales for your business?

Social media is gradually changing the paradigm of how people market, promote and care about their customers and potential clients. But what is the correct strategy, tools and approach to achieve those goals?

According to The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research, Social Media Marketing amongst Fortune 500 for 2010, 60% are using Twitter and 56% are using Facebook.

And these numbers are growing as the younger Y-Generation creates new start-ups and take over existing companies.

Social Media is a great tool for getting immediate feedback from your customers and gaining new sales if done correctly. The soft sell approach is very effective and creates positive interactions amongst your "likes" and "followers". Gone are the days of high pressure sales and screaming at people to BUY, BUY, BUY!

With a few quality posts and tweets, you will gain significant trust with your customers - and that is ultimately what they are buying. They just don't know that's what your selling. ;) This could apply to any product imaginable! With quick responses and honest answers, even if you have a horrible product, you could possibly have a customer (or friend) for life!

So, is your business on Facebook, Twitter or even YouTube? If not, your missing out on a Revolution of Prosperity!

The brand new ecoTub Solutions website launched today!

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Fri, 27 May 2011 15:24:00 +0000

ecoTub Solutions website

The new ecoTub Solutions website was launched today!

ecoTub Solutions repairs and restores worn surfaces on Bathtubs, in an environmentally friendly manner.

Unlike other companies who use toxic industrial chemicals, ecoTub Solutions uses a patented technique that does not emit volatile odors and is safe for the environment.

Located in Honolulu, Hawaii, ecoTub Solutions will go down as GINGALLEY's first Client in beautiful Hawaii!

Check out their new website and let us know what you think.

You can also join them on their Facebook page and LinkedIn page (coming soon).

New logo design for ecoTub Solutions!

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Wed, 11 May 2011 16:44:00 +0000

Introducing the new logo design for ecoTub Solutions...

...and one of our latest Clients.

Located in beautiful Hawaii, ecoTub Solutions restores bathtubs to their original brilliance or like-new state – all while using eco-friendly methods!

Unlike other companies who use toxic industrial chemicals, ecoTub Solutions uses a patented technique that does not emit volatile odors and is safe for the environment. How cool is that?

ecoTub Solutions will mainly service the Hotel/Motel Industry on all of the islands of Hawaii, but will also restore residential bathtubs upon request.

Owner, Anthony Springer is a long-time friend and we are certainly glad he called us to help with his new business.

The website is in progress, so stay tuned for the launch.

Welcome aboard Tony and ecoTub Solutions! You're in good hands.

Stop by and check out the new Willie's Paving website design by GINGALLEY!

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Wed, 11 May 2011 16:25:00 +0000

Welcome to one of our latest website design Clients – WilliesPaving.com.

Located in Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, Willie's Paving has been in business since 2000 and have been quite the pleasure working with.

Owner, William Stanley is young, but is a seasoned professional when it comes to paving. He really knows his business and stands behind his work 100%!

Willie's Paving specializes in Asphalt Paving, Sealcoating, Resurfacing Pavement, Crack Filling, and Concrete. Their goal is to provide its customers with the highest quality services.

With an experienced staff, they are highly-skilled and offer reliabile service and quality that you can trust!

We look forward to their success and the long road ahead (pun intended) of building up their business online.

Welcome aboard Willie's Paving!

Check out the all new Peninsula Critter Care Website

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 23:11:00 +0000

Check out the all new Peninsula Critter Care Website!

Peninsula Critter Care offers compassionate and dependable house and pet sitting services in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Owner, Cyndi Davis grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and has cared for many animals such as birds, cats, dogs, turtles, and hamsters. She and her sister even had a pet duck! Cyndi now shares her life with her husband, two young boys, and a loving cat. Raising a family and succeeding at several past projects, she is ready for more! Cyndi is Pet CPR and First Aid trained. She is ready to share her experience and compassion in pet care as Peninsula Critter Care!

We hope with the brand-spanking-new website that Cyndi's new business venture will take off and make lots of pets happy (and their owner's too).

Welcome to Our Latest Clients

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 00:02:00 +0000

GINGALLEY would like to welcome our latest Clients: House-Pals (San Francisco, CA), Peninsula Critter Care (San Mateo, CA) & DeZarn Designs (Fox Lake, Wisconsin).

We truly look forward to creating more business for your business.

GINGALLEY Launches New eCommerce Website For All Season Hydroponics!

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 23:56:00 +0000

After several months of vigorous work, planning, and development, GINGALLEY launches the new All Season Hydroponics website for all of the world to see!

The website is a full eCommerce site which offers a large selection of the top-quality Hydroponic products. Visitors can also browse through a multitude of helpful tips and useful information. Shoppers can trust that the website is fast and secure – with its own SSL Certificate with 256 bit encryption provided by GeoTrust.

Compatible on all popular mobile devices, the website is also accessible by mobile users on the go.

All Season Hydroponics currently has physical store locations in Conway and Columbia, South Carolina. In February of 2011, they will open a new store in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Their new website gives customers the opportunity to browse products and shop from home; as well as capture the interest of new hobbyists while generating excitement about hydroponic farming.

Prior to the first store opening in Conway (August of 2010), indoor growers in the area would have to travel hundreds of miles to obtain indoor gardening supplies. Now, they can visit any one of the 3 locations or securely purchase products online with fast shipping.

We encourage you to visit their new website and help to get the word out about the ever-growing (pun intended!) world of hydroponics. It is truly the future of farming and indoor urban gardening.

Imagine having fresh vegetable, herbs and spices within reach of your kitchen – All Year Long!

Please check out the website and let us know what you think. Or better yet, start your own hydroponic garden and then tell us what you think.

www.AllSeasonHydroponics.com

GINGALLEY Completes Another New Web Design Project!

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 01:21:00 +0000

...Well, almost. There are still some minor tweaks to be made before officially going live. One of our newest Clients (and friends – as most are or become), Professional Aquariums will have to approve the latest draft first.

But, ahhhhhhh... the hard part is over. Now, it's time for the fun part – advertising the website and converting those clicks-to-clients. Wait, I got that backwards! Web Design is supposed to be the fun part right? Although it should be, often times the technical stuff gets in the way. Designing logos and "Photoshopping" images is always fun, but the when it comes to putting all those fancy pictures into a website, it gets tedious and time consuming. But, nonetheless, very rewarding making our Clients happy.

Anyway, we think they'll like the design and simplicity of it. As simple as is it may look, it took some time getting all the elements neatly in place. Navigation, images and copy. All of which were deliberately kept simple and straight-forward from the beginning.

In case you haven't noticed, websites these days are far more simple and to the point. Less is more. Less animation and less flashing graphics (sorry Flash). Especially in this day and age, people are bombarded with a magnitude of information and spend far less time reading minute details online before making a buying decision. Well, for the most part. HTML5 and CSS3 are all heading in this direction though.

With word-of-mouth marketing and tying in social media to a website, a consumer can make a pretty "snap-decision" about sending an e-mail to request a service or picking up the phone and calling to schedule an appointment.

Facebook Messes Up Big Time with "new" Places and Business Page Merge!

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 19:50:00 +0000

WARNING: DO NOT merge your Business Facebook Page and Places Page!

Recently, Facebook decided it would be a swell idea to create pages separate from regular business pages that would show business locations and give business owners the ability to create "deals" to their customers. These deals were meant to be like coupons that customers could obtain through Places pages and other special offers for "checking in" to the business location frequently (ala Foursquare).

Unbenounced to most (if not all) Business Owners who uses Facebook to market their business, these Places Pages started popping up.

"Is this your business", kindly asks Facebook on the sidebar of Places pages. example

"Well, of course it is", exclaims rightful Business Owner. And concludes, "Why did you post this info without my knowledge? I didn't sign-up to list my business. And the map is all wrong. Plus, I have 6 locations. How can I change this info, so it is accurate???"

Click!

Now, Facebook prompts: Claiming this Place will turn it into a Facebook Page, allowing you to post updates to people who like the Page, update your business information, and more.

Sound good right? You're doing the right thing, so you continue on to verify that you are the rightful business owner.

Next, another window asks, "Do you want to merge this pages with one of the pages you administer? Continue without merging or Merge"

Surely, most people wouldn't want to add another area to administer and worry about updating, so merging sounds like the way to go.

Wrong!

After merging your Business page and Places page, you end up with a page that has a big ugly Bing map at the top, all your custom tabs at the top of page are gone, your landing page (FBML) is moved to the side, your wall looks completely different and is completely unmanageable. Not to mention, you lose the simple functionality of your page.

Don't get me wrong, I love change and new technology, but this was a huge step-back for the design and interface for Facebook's business pages.

On top of it all, Facebook never really let's you know the adverse changes your business page will take and does not give you the option to unmerge. In fact, they state that it cannot be undone.

Unmerge Facebook Page

After a week of surfing through Facebook's help section, researching online, venting on Unmerge Places & My Business Page Facebook page and complaining on Mark Zuckergerg's page it became apparent that Facebook could care less about it's users. Mark would rather hang out with Georgie Boy! There are no support e-mails to contact that will respond to you and calling them is completely worthless.

So, the only option is to start over and create a new business page!

As helpless as I felt, the only way to change things is to change it myself. Facebook has become somewhat of a necessity for businesses to have until the next big and better thing comes along. So, take my advise – bite the bullet and start over, because Facebook won't listen to anyone but their own greed.

I Admin several Business Facebook pages and am truly thankful I only merged one. I also pity any other Admin's out there one who has a page with more than 200 Friends, countless posts, photo galleries, reviews and other elements they built up over the years that merged their page.

Here's how I created a new Facebook Business Page:

Start by creating a new Facebook page.
If you want, create a temporary folder on your computer for all the miscellaneous content from your merged FB page.
Copy and paste all the info from your merged FB page to your new one. (basic info, information, hours, etc.)
Create all new photo galleries and upload pictures you want to include in new page.
Create a new profile picture that has text that reads something like: Please "Like" our NEW Facebook Page and save to your computer!
Recreate your landing page (if you have one) and change your settings for default page for new visitors.
Add any custom tabs you want to include (with some, if not most, you will lose data here).
Copy and paste wall posts that you made from your merged page to your new page that you would like to retain. This could be the most time consuming thing to do, but this is ultimately the underlying content of your page. If you can afford to skip some or can live with starting over, then that's your choice. You will of course lose all the comments from your friends and the date you originally posted. (Thanks again Facebook!)
Goto edit page of your merged page and click on Manage Permissions.
Uncheck: Users can write or post content on the wall, Users can add photos and Users can add video. This will disallow anyone from making any more comments on your wall. Once they determine what's going on, they will surely like your new page once again.
Here's where the frustration and sadness kicks in... start deleting ALL of your wall posts. If you have more than 300 wall posts, you might as well forget this step as it's quite the redundant time waster. I'm sure we all have better things to do. (Thanks again Facebook!!)
Make a new wall post that reads something like: "Like" us at our new Facebook page and enter the link to your new Facebook page. If you actually took the time to delete all your wall posts before doing this step then there should only be one post on your page and it will stand out as much as possible.
Change your landing page on your merged page (if you had one) that says, "Our Official Facebook Page has moved!" Please join us by following us by clicking here. And create a link to your new FB page or just post it.
Upload your new profile picture.
Now, it's time to get back your friends. Start sharing your new page as usual and post your new page to your top friend's walls. You can send out individual messages to each of your friends if you have extra time, but your most dedicated friends will see that your page has moved and will continue to follow you if they are truly loyal. And for those that don't, consider this fact... were they ever loyal friends in the first place? So, you can take a positive spin on this step to have more solid and genuine leads (aka friends). NOTE: you can't really go too fast with sending out individual messages to your all of your friends or Facebook will send you a little pop-up message that says they will delete your account because they see it as spamming!
Be sure to update all other links outside of Facebook to include: your website, LinkedIn, your e-mail signature, etc..

Page After Merging

New Page

I am truly not sure what will happen to my shortened username, but am thinking I will give it a week or so before I completely delete merged page and then try to submit new page for username. Probably go through another loop with FB on that one!

But, all-in-all after next week, I will feel a lot better about our Facebook Page again.

Now... back to working on the real All Season Hydroponics website!

Web Design with a Click of a Button!

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 18:44:00 +0000

Yeah right! We wish it was that easy.

It would be interesting though to count the amount of mouse clicks and keystrokes that go into designing a website. My guess would be in the 10's of thousands.

We are fortunate however, in this day and age with the advancement of technology, dynamic software programs, new codes and scripts and our ever-growing knowledge that helps things go a bit faster when designing a website. But, there is still a lot of work that goes into putting together a great website.

Completely understanding our Client's business and their target market is key to developing an online presence. It will ensure a long-lasting relationship with their existing customers and in turn instills their confidence to return as a buyer of the goods presented.

With every new website that we create, we seek out the newest and most advanced methods of getting our Client's message across. Not only that, at the same time, we try to be competitive with other forms of marketing methods by keeping our client's costs low. Comparatively speaking, having a website for your company or special project can crush any other form of advertising if done properly – at a lower price and the ability to track your ROI. Along with a clear message, we are able to help a business gain new customers and leads through their website and grow their business.

So, getting back to the amount of work involved... it's not always so "cut and dry" building a website from scratch. There is a lot of planning, research, graphics and back-end development that must take place before the very first html or CSS code can be created.

We work closely with each of our Clients to ensure that we hear their message loud and clear before we start anything. We learn our Client's business so, not only can we speak the same language, we can communicate effectively to their customers. And, if our Client is "soft spoken" and cannot provide the vital elements that go into their website marketing efforts, we will help push them along to make the message stand out in the crowd.

At GINGALLEY, we have developed our own set of procedures and steps that help us and our Client through the design process. On our website, you will also find a bundle of information to explain the various terms of web design, graphics and printing. We have also provided templates for our Print Customers for setting up files and a brand new Video Tutorial Section for our Hosting Customers.

Most of this information can be found under the Resources tab on our website. But, as usual, don't hesitate to contact us if you have a question or need help with your next web, print or graphic design project!

Helpful Links:

Our Process

GINGALLEY Glossary of Terms - Web | Graphics | Printing

Video Tutorials for our Web Hosting Clients

Say it with a shirt!

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 22:22:00 +0000

Face it, we all wear clothes, and almost all of us wear a t-shirt now and then.

You have a business, project, or event. You may already have your logo, your website, your business cards, your stickers, etc., but there is another affordable advertising method to think about. One that gives the most bang for the buck, the most power for the dollar. T-Shirts!

Custom silkscreened t-shirts are one of the best ways to advertise and promote a business, group, event, or idea. As people wear your business name or logo, they are advertising for you everywhere they go! It is a cost-effective way to get noticed.

A printed promotional t-shirt can be used as a staff uniform, a sale item, a free gift to new customers, or as a fund-raising product.

The higher the quality and more attractive the design, the better. Eye-catching graphics are essential to getting noticed and remembered, especially with so many businesses competing in the market. Other more costly advertising options like radio spots and newspaper ads can make it tough to see a return on your marketing expenses.

GINGALLEY can help you get noticed with custom silkscreened t-shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, and tank tops. We will design custom graphics and assist you in choosing the right apparel for your project.

Identify Your Staff. Brand Your Team.

Show off your staff or team with a custom screenprinted shirt that distinguishes your brand or project apart from the rest. Custom t-shirts effectively convey a professional image for a whole group.

Promotional Giveaways

Everyone loves to get a little extra something. Give your customers a positive feeling by offering a custom printed shirt as a gift with their purchase. It lets them know they are appreciated, and will get your business more exposure each time they wear it.

Thank You Gifts

Give your current clients or volunteers a free t-shirt to show your gratitude. It is a small token that can encourage others to spread positive comments about you. They will happily wear their free t-shirt and promote your business or project at the same time.

Earn & Get Recognized

Make money by selling silkscreened shirts with eye-catching graphics and designs. Advertise your band or project while earning! Custom designs screenprinted on t-shirts can create sales. Period.

Welcome to Our Latest Clients

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 23:54:00 +0000

GINGALLEY would like to welcome 4 new clients to its roster this week! Mama Mia's Pizzeria (Myrtle Beach, SC), Bonafide Bros. (Petaluma, CA), Lewisberry Barber Shop (Lewisberry, PA) and The Greenville, SC Chapter of The National Association of Woman in Construction (welcome back).

We look forward to helping your business with great success to follow!

Know Your Glossary of Terms When Speaking to a Designer

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 13:13:00 +0000

What is the difference between CMYK and RGB you ask? Visit the glossary of terms on our website to find out about some of the most common terms used in web design and graphics. Although, you may not be quizzed on these terms, it's a good thing to know some of the basics when talking to your designer.

Your Professional e-mail Account

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 16:50:00 +0000

Are you still using your personal AOL or Yahoo! account for sending and receiving e-mail messages, yet you own a domain name for your business?

If so, stop and think about it. How professional do you think it appears?

Sending emails to your clients with your "oh-so-cool" vanity e-mail, tiger_eyes1969@hotmail.com does not convey a professional vibe. Most likely, the only reason that became your e-mail address was because someone else has the same name as you. That’s right, they snagged bobsmith@yahoo.com before you even registered at Yahoo! for the first time back in the late 1990's. After typing in a countless amount of address combinations, you finally arrived at one that no one else in the world has. Gee... I wonder why?

Think about how you used that ridiculous e-mail address for the past 10 years - sending out resumes, corresponding with potential clients, and writing to existing customers. It's time to get more professional!

Let’s say you own a domain name or two. It may be for your small business, jazz band, or start-up. Maybe you purchased your "own name".com. (I think a lot of people are guilty of doing that, including me.)

Now is the time to utilize the domain name you own and use it for your new e-mail address.

Pretend that your domain name is widget-central.com and your name is Fred. Your new e-mail address can be fred@widget-central.com. Now, when you send out an e-mail, it will come from fred@widget-central.com instead of tiger_eyes1969@yahoo.com!

In order to set-up an e-mail account through your domain, there are several approaches to take. Simply ask your hosting service or Webmaster to help. You may pay a fee to get an e-mail address from most Registrars (the place you registered your domain), but I don’t recommend it.

Where will you be checking your e-mail most often? At the office, home, school, library- or on the road via your laptop or phone?

Basically, your e-mail will either be "online" or "local". Online e-mail is an internet program included with your hosting account or a service such as Gmail. A local, or offline e-mail program is one that resides on your Mac or PC like Outlook Express or Apple Mail.

Let's begin with online e-mail. I prefer to use Gmail since it allows the user to login anywhere in the world and still have control of your local e-mail program.

Create a Gmail account if you don't already have one. In my opinion, it's the best thing since cable television! The spam filters of Gmail are far superior to other e-mail programs (online or local) and it includes several great features. Best yet, it's free! Ensure that your new Gmail account is as professional as possible. Choosing an address like widget-central.fred@gmail.com will suffice.

Once you have your Gmail account, you will need to set up your new domain name e-mail account through your hosting account. If you hired a Web Master or website company to take care of your hosting, they can take it from there. Essentially, you would need to access your fred@widget-central.com through your hosting control panel and then have it forward to your new Gmail account. Then, all e-mails to fred@widget-central.com will be routed to your Gmail account.

You will be able to make all of your outgoing e-mail default to showing recipients your address as fred@widget-central.com instead of your Gmail address. You can also update your settings to always reply from the default address. If you have multiple domains and/or e-mail address aliases, you can interchange them,

For setting up your local e-mail program, you must go into your program's settings to configure for POP3 access. This will vary from program to program and depends on where your e-mail account is hosted. I think it is beneficial to forward all e-mail from the host to Gmail and then to the local program. This method allows Gmail to filter out any spam before it reaches the local e-mail program. By using Gmail first, you can actually filter spam twice before it reaches your inbox!

So yes, it is more professional to use an e-mail address showing your domain name rather than a Yahoo!, AOL, local ISP, or even Gmail suffix. It can help you, and your business, stand out in your customer’s inbox.

New Video Tutorials Added for Web Hosting Clients

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:01:00 +0000

Do you have a question about your Web Hosting Account or just can't figure something out in cPanel? With our new video tutorial section, it will make something that may seem so complicated a breeze.

Of course we're always here to help you, but now you can visit our tutorial section to find the answers you need that much faster.

Plus, with the organized menu, you can discover answers to questions you didn't even know you had. Or simply learn something new to incorporate into your existing website!

It's easy, fast and fun (well, most of the time)!

New tutorial videos will be added on a regular basis, so be sure to check back often.

To locate the tutorials, please point your browser to http://tutorials.gingalley.com/ or navigate from the "resources" tab on our website.

Great Logos Stand Out!

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:47:00 +0000

The most important design aspect for your company is your Logo.

The best logo design communicates your message and sets you apart from the rest. It sets the tone for all of the other designs and graphics used on your website and marketing materials.

There are several important details to consider during the logo creation process:

• Unique and Distinctive – Make your business stand out from the rest. Clean, crisp, and bold logos are easily recognizable.  

• Size and Aspect Ratio – This determines the overall size and layout – horizontal, vertical, or rounded. A logo that is too long may not fit well on all of your marketing materials or letterhead in a pleasing way.  

• Icons – Avoiding the use of "clip art", you may be able to capitalize on an icon that is relevant to your business.  

• Target Audience Appeal – Think about what would appeal to your client and what colors would enhance their feeling towards your brand.

• Impact – A logo can make an effect on the viewer’s mood or appeal to a perceived want or need, much like the smell of bacon makes one hungry.  

• Repetition and Consistency – Show off your logo as much as possible on business cards, website ads, signage, and other advertising. The more it is seen by the public the better.

• Tag Line Relevance – A catchy tag line can enhance the value of your business name if it adds to the impact.  

• 3 Types of Logos: Text, Symbol, and Combined – Some logos can be just a single word, while others may add an icon and a tag line.  

• File Format and Vectors – You will want to have your logo created as a hi-res file of 300dpi or more, and a black & white version as well. It is important for your logo to be able to appear crisp and clean on your website and printed materials as RGB (web) and CMYK (print).

• Avoid Photographs – Photographs are often too detailed to be incorporated into a sharp logo. A vector graphic is best to portray an intended image as this format enables it to be scaled up or down and not lose resolution.

• Trust in a designer who has experience in Printing – Avoid future headaches with a logo that is print ready. This will lessen added costs when it comes time to use your logo on a letterhead or web banner ad. An experienced designer will be able to supply you with the best file formats to fit your needs.  

Find your experienced designer at www.GINGALLEY.com.  GINGALLEY offers the 3 most important marketing aspects for your business or project: Web. Design. Print.  

Best Wishes for Much Success! 
-Jerri Alley 
GING|ALLEY Web Design & Promotions

Our brand new website is up and running!

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Mon, 10 May 2010 22:37:00 +0000

Yeah! After several months (or should I say years?) our brand-spanking-new website is up and running! Whooooo-hoooo!!! In between taking care of all our wonderful customers, we managed to find the time to work on our own website for once. Well, at least for the first time in a few years. We never actually made a "real" website for ourselves until now. We've always concentrated on our client projects first.

There are a few new things that we included such as our price-list and an expanded portfolio section. We've also added a "resources" section that includes some helpful tips and this here Blog so we can share terms, tips, downloads and other ideas to all of our current and future clients!

So, please check it out and let us know what you think – good or eh, bad!

Thanks!

-Chris & Jerri
GING|ALLEY Web Design & Promotions

New Collateral for Coastal Music Fest 2010

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Tue, 04 May 2010 13:33:00 +0000

We just finished up on a series of designs for print, promotion and advertising collateral for the first annual Coastal Music Fest to be held in beautiful Half Moon Bay, CA in which GINGALLEY is a proud sponsor.

The event will take place on Memorial Day weekend (Saturday May, 29th) at "Princeton-by-the-Sea" Pillar Point Harbor and is FREE to the public.

Musical acts (and clients as well) will take the stage rain or shine at 11am and will rock the Marina until 7pm. There will be vendors, arts & crafts, a petting zoo, pony riders and other activities to be announced as well as plenty of good food & drink.

We truly wish that we could attend, but have a lot of things going on right now. There have already been talks about flying out next year!

The Coast Music Fest will be one great show with the ultimate backdrop – The Pacific Ocean which cannot be denied!

Check out the "one page" website with links to all the great entertainment with more info as it becomes available.

We hope the event has great success so that there are many more to follow!

Coastal Music Fest

Post 474 - Half Moon Bay, CA

Bands:

Gator Alley Band

HOT FOR TEACHER

Caravanserai

Rockin' Randy's Flying Circus

Charles Sedlak

Saboteur

Terry Lauderdale Band

Sponsored by:

Spider Ranch Productions

GINGALLEY

We Need Merch

Sfarzo

GINGALLEY now proud members of the Surfrider Foundation

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 01:03:00 +0000

GINGALLEY is now proud members of the Surfrider Foundation. We look forward to working with our local chapter on clean-up projects and starting our own awareness programs with local businesses.

We love the beach and ocean and would like to keep it around for awhile!

As much as we miss living in California, one of the main reasons we relocated to Myrtle Beach was to be even closer to the ocean and its beautiful beaches. Now that we've settled in and learned our way around these parts, we want to start helping in a cause we strongly believe in.

We look forward to doing our part and hope to make a difference.

-Chris & Jerri

Surfrider Foundation

Surfrider Foundation (Grand Strand Chapter)

Our new blog...

noreply@blogger.com (GINGALLEY) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:46:00 +0000

Welcome to our latest and newest blog. We are currently working on our new website and wanted to continue with our blog – but with a more professional look and focus.

We plan to update our blog regularly to share and discuss all things relevant to web and graphic design, our process and our thoughts on the subject of course.

Please bear with us as we move in and start to generate new content. We look forward to some interesting topics here.

Thanks!

-Chris & Jerri
GING|ALLEY Web Design & Promotions