Color is light and light is energy. Scientist have found that actual physiological changes take place in human beings when they are exposed to certain colors. Colors can stimulate, excite, depress, tranquilize, increase appetite and create a feeling of warmth or coolness. This is known as chromo dynamics.

“Colors like features, follow the changes of the emotion”-Pablo Picasso

Some people haven’t even give it a thought how effects us in our lives. For most people, one of the first decisions of the day concerns color harmony. What am I going to wear? This answer is not only by choosing a style and fabric appropriate to the season, but by making the color choices. I don’t know about you, when I wear red I feel excited, and when I wear black I feel elegant. Whether you’re designing a new kitchen, wrapping a present, or creating a bar chart, the colors you choose greatly affect how people feel about the final product.

Let’s explore a few basic colors and their effects:

• Red is a bright, warm color that evokes strong emotions. It is often associated with love, warmth and comfort. It can also create feelings of excitement or intensity. Food labels are often red to stimulate appetite.
• Green is thought to relieve stress and help heal. Green is often used in decorating for its calming effect.
• Blue calls to mind feelings of calmness, serenity, security, and order. Many large corporations who want to represent professionalism and stability use blue in their logos (Think of major banks and Pharmaceutical companies). Some research shows offices decorated in blue make workers more productive.
• Yellow is often described as cheery, bright, and warm. It is associated with happiness, health, and vitality. “How wonderful yellow is. It stands for the sun”-Vincent Van Gogh

When you are designing a new pamphlet, getting a new logo, or even painting your office, keep the above points in mind. Color can have a big effect on your workers and clients. So whatever you are doing, take time to stop and think about the colors around you. They just might explain how you are feeling!

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Twitter has reached critical mass to be useful for a number of things. Unfortunately, that mass means there is a lot of information to wade through to get at the people talking about your stuff. As a business you need to connect and communicate online, but how do you narrow it down and find people talking about your company or event? It is as simple as ‘#’

Filter It Down

In Twitter, a hashtag just means putting a “#” before a key word, to make it clickable and focused. Hashtagging something lets you connect with people chatting about a hyperspecific topic.

As an example, if you want to find out more about South by Southwest (an annual Social Media Conference), you might do a search on twitter Using just the text words could get you information about the Southwest, people talking about cardinal directions, or any number of other things. But the Austin Conference set up a well promoted hashtag of #SXSW of before the event. Anyone wishing to talk about the conference added #SXSW to their tweets, letting them see others chatting about the conference in real time. The best part is because you can tweet from your mobile phone, you can comment and get responses in real time from the event floor. People using this hashtag had a successful time of promoting themselves, getting questions answered, and gauging other’s opinions on a wide variety of topics.

Using it at Your Event- An Example

Before an event, search on twitter to pick a hashtag. Try and find something memorable, short, not in use, and that makes sense for your event. For the upcoming Middlesex County Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Largest Networking party event, we chose the short #LNPnj. Typing out the Chamber’s name and the full event title would take up most of your twitter character limit, and the abbreviation LNP is already in use for other purposes. We decided to take LNP and combine it with our location of NJ, to create a unique hashtag.

What does this mean? By including #LNPnj in your tweets, other people at the Largest Networking Party will be able to see what you are saying about the event in real time. This also means that you can seek out others there on twitter by searching the hashtag, allowing you to better connect and add another layer to your networking.

That covers the basics of Twitter hashtags, and a real world example of how it can be used to power business. Any questions as to hashtags, feel free to hit up the comments section below.

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Consider the tapestry of social media and our online sharing. One can stitch together the patchwork of a single persons existence. Here’s the example.

9am – Send out a Twitter alert – “Great day today, looking forward to going to a night out with friends.” - Now we know what you are going to be doing…
12pm – Facebook post – “Hey girls/guys getting ready for tonight? Check out these pics from last week.” – Tagging friends in a photo. Now we know who you are going out with…
7pm – Foursquare Check In – At Joe’s Restaurant. - Now we know exactly where and when you are and with who.

This information leaves a record reflecting who we are and what we’ve done, to be found and indexed by search engines.

But what if you could search for the Future? Use the internet to find out what might happen or who you might become?
Cutting edge companies are now working on just that. They are proposing that if careful attention is paid to the details, you can now know Who, What, Where, and When of something that probably might happen in the future. Private companies like Google and government organizations such as the CIA are investing millions and millions of dollars in such technologies.

One such company working on “Future Googleing” technology is a company called Recorded Future, out of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Recorded Future tracks the web in real time to “predict” events of the world. Sounds far fetched but is very real.

Recorded Future – You need to watch this short video.

Analysis Intelligence Blog Post – You need to see how it’s being applied. This WILL wake you up.

This data search technology is both exciting and scary, as it can be used for good and evil, you be the judge. This is just some of the things that we here at Captivate track to stay on the cutting edge of Search Engine Marketing, so we can help you business come out on top now… and in the Future.

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First off, let’s define what social media is. Social media represents low-cost tools that are used to combine technology and social interaction with the use of words. These tools are typically internet or mobile based. A few that you have probably heard of include Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin.

So what is the difference between these sites? LinkedIn is where you’ve worked… Twitter is what you’re doing… and FaceBook is who you are.

Social media gives marketers an influence and a way to communicate with peers, customers and prospective consumers. It personalizes the “brand” and helps you to spread your message in a relaxed and conversational way.

Social media must be a part of your everyday life in order to keep the energy and attention you need for it to be successful.

If you think that social media is only for the small business owners that are trying out an experiment, you could not be further from the truth
Specifically, the study of 500 million e-mails sent using the service found that e-mails that included options like share on Facebook and Twitter have generated a 30% higher click-through rate than emails without them. Moreover, when e-mails included at least three different sharing options, publishers experienced a 55% higher CTR on average.
So herein lies the question, how do you get on these sites and make them work for your business? Constantly keeping up the everyday changes and through trial and error will help you understand these sites such as Facebook. Installing Facebook’s new like button will get you 50% more traffic from Facebook.

Utilizing the new like button is the first step. This button is covering the Internet on behalf of Facebook. Whether you like it or not, (no pun intended!) it seems to be reshaping the traffic patterns on the Web. 

The new social plugins featured on FB offer your website a rich feature set very similar to that of your Facebook Fan Page. But hundreds of millions of people continue to log-in to Facebook every single day. You still need to maintain a strong presence within the site’s walls. Your Fan Pages will remain important to your social media marketing efforts, and linking them to your websites will be a viable option moving forward.

FB Community Pages have the ability to organically group people together based on what they like. Whether you clicked “like” on the Yankees.com web page, or you have them listed in your interests, you will be connected to their Community Page and everyone else who has done the same.

Let’s move on to Twitter. Using Twitter can drive thousands of people to your website if you do it correctly.  It’s not important to follow many people, but it is important to “tweet” about what’s relevant to your business.  People can “follow” you based on keywords you use in your tweets.
Check to see what the trending words are in Twitter throughout the day, and tweet about it if it’s relevant.  This will get people to follow you, and when you do suggest they visit your site, can be a very powerful tool in driving that traffic.
Finally, let’s discuss LinkedIn. Being apart of LinkedIn enables you to learn more about your competition and your prospects. You can get market, company and industry information through this website.  You can also connect with peers, strengthen individual relationships and strengthen your brand.

All three of these websites have something to offer a business owner. If you aren’t involved already taking the first step is crucial! Staying connected via social media will take your business to a whole new level. You can’t afford to NOT jump on board!

Subscribe here, for a step by step guide to help maximize your connectivity via social media, and we will send you our Social Media memo today. Enjoy!

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It is no secret that the internet has become the number one resource for information. Research indicates that nearly 91 percent of all Internet users resort to a search engine to find information, making it vital to place your website in a way that helps users to easily find you.

The rapidly advancing online environment presents us with new challenges that require tremendous amount of attention to marketing strategies and boosting online visibility with keywords for purposes of search engine optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

Today, you need much more than search engine optimization in order to stand out; You need SEM (search engine marketing) as well. Your ability to compete relies heavily on your ability to network. Inbound links are imperative to generate traffic, and get top 10 results in search engines.

The process starts with SEO. You get your spankin’ new website, and now you have to make sure it is 100% optimized and ready to be indexed by search engine spiders/robots. This involves page naming, meta tags, alt tags, video content, web 2.0 link navigation, landing page content, etc. Without this, you can’t even say that you have done the basics. Once you are optimized, you have to become proactive because waiting for results is futile.

In order to track your efforts, it is important to use tools like Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tools, and other various web based tracking tools. Using statistics tools is vital to knowing how effective your Search Engine Marketing is.

No SEM campaign is complete without SEO. Moreover, since the purpose of SEO is to make the site better for both search engines and users, you may not find that it will suffice on its own. In any case, it is clear, if you are going to spend additional money on advertising and paid placement (SEM), SEO must be your first step in promoting your site

Because the internet is so readily accessible on your cell phone, lap top, IPad it doesn’t matter where your next customer will come from when they are hungry to obtain information, a service or a product they want, they want results immediately. The information has to be at their fingertips and proper SEO and SEM execution will make this happen.  Put yourself in your ideal customers position what “key words” would drive them your web pages?

This is what we did. It is as simple as that.

Marketing: Out of 313,000 Results - We were first in organic search.

Graphic Design: Out of 53,400 Results - We were first in organic search

Research shows that customers only click on the first 5 to 10 results. It is crucial to implement primary words on your website. You must ask yourself “What are my customers looking for?” You must be specific and pick important keyword phrases.

These keywords should be placed on your page title, or near the start of your page title. You may want to use your keywords, related phrases, and popular keyword modifiers in your page content a few times. Make sure your content is easily understood and contains keywords that the customer will remember. Think buzz words. These keywords can also pull up your company’s Twitter accounts, which will allow others to keep current on the happenings of your business daily.

Making sure that SEO/SEM is done correctly is an ongoing process and will not happen overnight. In order to be executed properly, there must be someone specifically dedicated to handling your SEO/SEM on a daily basis.

Next, you must know your competition. You hear this time and time again, but if they are truly your competition their business is growing to keep up with yours. This means you must take an invested interest in their business just as you would your own, because lets face it, knowing there business is your business.

Finally, make a commitment and follow through. In time, you will achieve high ranking and relevance if you continue to refine keywords and keep that traffic coming back to your website.

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Everything starts with inspiration. You wouldn’t write a recipe or shop for ingredients without an idea of what you’re baking! Well, you can’t write a marketing plan or implement components without one either. If you are even thinking about marketing your brand, product or service, you must have a goal in mind.  Picture that goal in your head, whether it is a chocolate cake or an ROI of 250%, visualize the final product and manifest success.  You know what you want that cake to look like, how it should taste, the compliments you expect to receive on it.  So, how will your marketing piece appear, what is the flavor of the campaign and what kind of response rate are you looking for?

You’ve set your goals and have firm idea to work off of so now it’s time to figure out your ingredients and recipe.  Every marketing campaign needs the right components and plan of attack to produce results.  Baking is a science, just like developing a precise marketing mix and strategy.  Obviously, you can’t make a chocolate cake without chocolate, but; what kind of chocolate?  Well, this depends who you are feeding it to. Know your audience.  How much chocolate? Identify the scope of your plan.  Are you making an intensely flavored recipe for a small target audience or a classic one for more of a mass appeal?   Don’t forget the eggs, sugar and salt! The other ingredients in a recipe or marketing plan all interact and must work together to achieve the desired outcome.  A qualified list, relevant graphics and persuasive language are examples of components that must be taken into consideration, added in the right quantity and at the precise moment in order for your campaign to be effective.  Lastly, how long do we bake this cake? What is the time frame for your campaign? You don’t want your campaign to fall apart in the middle or get burnt out.  Set some deadlines.

If the recipe was designed correctly and all the ingredients came together, now it’s time to decorate.  A perfectly delicious chocolate cake should not be overshadowed by showy embellishment.   Accentuate the details and beautify the presentation, but there is no need to over-do it.  Incorporate and highlight the flavor of your brand, but don’t get lost in the details.

The process doesn’t stop at the execution of your plan.  Once you serve that cake, you want to hear feedback and, hopefully, compliments.  However, there will be people who don’t like it, or those need more of a push to try it out.   Evaluate the responses and use them to make your cake better next time.  Marketing plans and campaigns are flexible, just like recipes.  You can increase the quantity, use substitute ingredients or redecorate.  Swap the components in and out until you reach and exceed your goals.  Successful marketing requires consistent tracking, analysis and adjustments.

Marketing is no cake walk, but simplifying the phases and relating them to a task such as baking can be your recipe for success.  And success tastes good.

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It is imperative that business websites are optimized for functionality and appearance as more and more consumers are using the internet for shopping, researching and reviewing products.  You may use your website for any number of reasons – to sell products, generate leads, provide information; but the number one goal of every website is to perform.   If your site isn’t up to par, especially with the basics, nothing else matters. Striking graphics, intricate design and persuasive content become obsolete on a website that does not function properly.  Similarly, you won’t see results from a highly functional website with a sloppy layout and boring subject matter.

Expectations are high when it comes to web performance.  The average consumer doesn’t care about peak traffic times or server issues and gets easily frustrated when your website isn’t fast enough or has glitches.  Everyone has competition, especially now that e-commerce has broken local, national and even international barriers.  Those frustrated customers can easily switch to a competitor’s site and may not ever return to yours.  Poor functionality leaves them with a negative perception of your business, regardless of how stunning the site looked.

On the other hand, your site may have world-class functionality but it gets lost in careless design and content.  If someone is left searching for an “Add to Cart” feature or a “Contact Us Now” link, you may have just lost a potential customer.  A company homepage overloaded with irrelevant or distracting information can be a serious letdown for consumers looking for specific things.  Sites filled with flash design, videos and excess images may make your copy hard to read, potentially discouraging visitors from staying on the page.  If they can’t find what they’re looking for or understand how to take action, people won’t think twice about ditching your website.

Your website doesn’t have to be groundbreaking in order to be effective.  It just has to be attractive and it has to work.  Visit your own site from a consumer point of view and make sure it doesn’t leave you feeling aggravated, confused or overwhelmed.  In this age of digital dependency, it is crucial that your website delivers.  Does yours?

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Break through the time wasters and gate-keepers and get your marketing piece in the hands of the decision maker. You may think “easier said than done,” but with lead generating tools that give you qualified respondents, real time insight and automatic follow-up, it is a manageable and reachable goal.

Few businesses take advantage of the depth of consumer information and use it to create targeted, relevant marketing campaigns. The key is to connect all of your marketing efforts in a meaningful way to boost customer engagement. Turn a passive campaign into a dynamic and personalized experience. Break out of the confines of outdated marketing routines that are returning limited results.

Captivate has state of the art technology and a team of creative marketing specialists to give your business this competitive advantage with our Convergence toolset. We put together integrated campaigns based on attracting your target audience, interacting with your potential customers and reacting to their specific needs . Convergence can help you see clear results and start meeting your goals.

Interested? See our Convergence toolset in action at one of our free, monthly seminars featuring a live demo of how this unparalleled marketing technology will work for you.

Get information and upcoming dates: Click Here

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A clear message, characteristic to your brand, which is cut straight to the point to a high caliber audience will always shine.

Clarity: Clear diamonds always have a higher price tag.  No one wants to show off a spotty stone.  The same goes for your campaign’s call to action.   Make sure your message is clear so your audience knows exactly what you are promoting and how to respond.  An offer that is too wordy won’t catch anyone’s eye.  Don’t put a poor quality message on top of a beautifully crafted piece.

Cut: Most diamonds today are laser cut to precise dimensions to ensure maximum brilliance and “fire”.  You want to use this exact formula in your marketing collateral.  Cut directly to the point and dazzle your audience with creativity, wit and relevance.

Carat Weight: The value of a diamond is largely determined by its weight, the same way the effectiveness of your marketing campaign is directly related to a substantial offer.   Wow your audience with a striking promotion that they can’t pass up.  Don’t go for broke, but priceless deal is what carries the most weight.

Color: Colored diamonds can be exceptionally beautiful, rare – and hard to imitate.  You want to consider how a diamond’s color plays a role in the beauty of the whole piece.  In terms of marketing, let your taste be your guide in the character and language of your promotional materials.  Give your brand some personality and showcase why your business stands out from the others.

Marketing styles, just like diamonds, have changed throughout the decades; but these four basic characteristics are everlasting.  Keep the 4 C’s in mind and don’t settle for anything less than flawless.

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As far as being brief in your initial contact with your audience, this is not a new concept. Get their attention and get to the point – the goal is a conversion: a visit to your website, a phone call, a click through, an appointment, etc. Stay relevant to your readers by incorporating key information into your piece, but don’t be redundant. Beginning every paragraph with the person’s first name won’t keep them engaged or excited. Mixing several data points throughout the piece is a better strategy, but keep it simple. Don’t bore your readers with too much information on the up front – leave them hungry for more.

Be sensitive to how much personal data you use in your campaigns. It is probably never necessary to include specifics on a person’s age, income, or medical conditions on a marketing campaign, for example. It is more important to speak about the product or service offered than to give an information overload on each respondent. A headline of “Emily, your local YMCA now offers free personal training sessions“ will generate a better response rate than something like “Emily, join other 28 year old women struggling to control their weight at your YMCA.”

In the latter version above, the YMCA Marketing Director may very well receive a call from Emily, but it probably won’t be to praise the individual attention of the campaign and sign up. An abundance of information about your customers and prospects is a great resource to segment target markets and define clearer marketing strategies. But don’t scare your recipients away by revealing too much of what you know. Be sure to make the call to action clear and not buried in paragraphs of self promotion. Pairing these two strategies – brevity and sensitivity – will lead to interested respondents and increased conversions.

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