First, read write only.  Before you or your copy writer unleash a “final”, make it so.  The print or laser set-up is a last chance for punctuation and the like to be updated, but not the point to alter the flow of the content with an overabundance of edits.  This always leads to more than a few alterations and the main reason for production delays and budget increases.

Second, design for the medium.  Recognize that printing white ink on a black sheet is not the best way to achieve a knock-out design.  Coordinate the design and print team (or better yet – hire a team to manage the process – hmm) to work out the nuts and bolts – before art is released.  You will save money on printing/redesign.

Third, don’t kill the messenger.  When the approval process is mired down in rewrites/redesigns  usually precious time is lost and nerves can grow thin on all sides.  But hesitate before you lose your cool about seeing a fourth set-up because a small edit was made – like italicizing a word.  It happens – but pointing fingers over process is counter-productive.

Having lived all three of these events recently, I have found a revived appreciation for the perfect approval.

Thankfully, I missed the bell bottom jean generation when a kid and just now, barely as an adult.  I have managed to stick to the traditional straight cut jeans despite the best efforts of some nearest and dearest to me.

What is the relationship to a website?  Hopefully you ask.  Well, some sites out there are stuck in generation one – just like my loyalty to “normal” jeans, some by choice or neglect.  The victim of outdated design, fashion and functionality.

The website we own or share sends a message to visitors, an outdated might serve the bill for preschool connect the dot templates – but for a printing firm – it points back to the darkroom days.

So where does your site stand?  If you would like an unbiased opinion on design, fashion and functionality drop us a line and we will share feedback.

BTW, the peg leg style should be back in about 10 years…lookout!

THE CHALLENGE:

During the 10 years since its founding, Every Orphan’s Hope had enjoyed much organic growth and much success in serving children orphaned by the AIDS pandemic in Zambia.  Growth, however, came with increasingly fragmented messages that were putting the organization at a profound disadvantage in differentiating itself from similar groups and engaging donors, volunteers and child sponsors.

THE SOLUTION:

The starting point was using the EchoPoint Messaging System – a consultative process that quickly refreshed, focused, and strengthened the group’s visual and verbal messaging. Using the new messaging platform, Unity Business Solutions^TM created a new outreach program, including a new website that provides easy-to-navigate content and social media integration as it speaks to each of the organization’s different audiences.  This entire process only took six weeks!

THE RESULT:

Instead of just “redoing” the existing website, Every Orphan’s Hope is now at work with an all-new online, social media and outreach platform that brings out the true uniqueness of the organization’s approach and value. The platform continues to guide outreach, giving Every Orphan’s Hope a powerful and consistent presence as both staff and volunteers convey the organization’s messages as they share on social media and speak to local churches and communities in the U.S. and in Zambia. With its dynamic new website as the hub, Every Orphan’s Hope 

View the EOH website

View Website

View Website

Bookkeeping Express had been in existence since 1984, but in 2008, the franchise was purchased by the current visionary ownership team. Needing a marketing kick-start, the owners turned to Unity’s leadership team. The Unity team had over 20 years of experience in the franchising world and knew very well what the franchisees of BKE would need from both a marketing and operations perspective. We started by creating a branding package of collateral materials as well as direct-mail campaigns.While the marketing budget became tighter, both the Unity leadership team and the ownership group at BKE saw the Internet as the most cost-effective target for future marketing dollars.In 2010, Unity completely redeveloped the BKE web presence for prospective customers and franchisees, as well as the private site for current franchisees.  Unity was able to create a platform to design cost-effective micro-sites for each franchisee. Now, BKE is able to supply effective marketing support and a powerful Web presence for each one of their franchisees.

We have had a great experience working with Unity.They are a talented, dedicated group and they brought our ideas to the next level. We are very happy with our new website and we receive compliments on its design and function daily. I would recommend Unity to anyone who is looking for a sharp, innovative, great website from a committed team.

Lauren McKenna - Head of Marketing & Franchise Relations

Mr. Scott talks about the old rules of marketing that were set to meet the requirements of mainstream media, which largely served businesses as a channel to targeted audiences. In this world, you either bought access to the audience through vehicles like advertising or you pitched story ideas to reporters in hopes they would write stories about your company in the press. And you did this trying to control the essence of your message.

But in the new web-based world of media all that has changed. Any company can draw attention and interest to their service or products by thinking of themselves as a content publisher.  By developing a library of e-infromation tools like blogs, podcasts, social media, online video and others, a company can literally publish its way into the path of its audiences and customers.

While it may result in sales, the most valuable result might be the collective information a company gets about customer needs and interests over time and not necessarily the customers themselves, A company can then take this knowledge of customer needs and apply it toward creating future company offerings, and product or service features and benefits.

The result is a triple threat:

• Inbound Marketing can become a tool for cost savings by efficiently and continuously generating internal awareness of customer interests.
• At the same time, it can build credibility for the company as an authoritative expert on a subject matter related to the company and its products or services, and
• It can also generate sales and build communities of followers, who themselves become a new channel for the company.

All this is accomplished by simply thinking and acting like a publisher of information about your company, its strategies, offerings and markets.

A good branding guide has more than colors and logo uses.  It will include proper messaging techniques from your organization’s value propositions to elevator speeches.  These guides should not be too long and cumbersome, but should be concise and to the point.  They should also be dynamic and reviewed often (at least once a year).  Certain standards will always stay the same, but promotional techniques and campaigns will change.  All vendors that work with the brand should have a guide and certainly, every team member should not only own one, but should really understand it.  Regular team reviews of a dynamic branding guide is pivotal to engage all team members to buy-in to your corporate brand.  Making your team members aware of these dynamic changes in your marketing and outreach efforts also keeps the excitement at a high level.  A good branding guide also becomes a tool for human-resources.  This guide ultimately captures the culture of your organization and in essence should be followed for all facets of operations.

Remember, your product or service is not your organization’s brand and neither is your logo or your business card.  These pieces are all part of the puzzle that Unity Business Solutions strives to pull together to build a strong foundation for you to grow, but your brand is the genuine “personality” of your organization.  The bottom-line is that your brand is what people say about your organization when you’re not in the room.  What are people saying about your organization? Is your organization positioned to move ahead?  Do you need help putting these pieces together to move YOUR organization in the right direction?

Call Unity Business Solutions today and we can help! 

Facebook offers a new and exciting way to communicate between marketers and consumers.  If you have a business you can create a Facebook Page that is an interactive portal to your desired consumers.  It is important to come up with a strategy to gain fans, influence people, and build a presence on Facebook.

Here are some recent Facebook Facts: Revenue of $2 billion and a valuation of approximately $50 billion.  It has over 750 million active users who have returned to the site in the last 30 days.  People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook.

There are many different ways to engage your consumer through your Facebook Page.  Here are just a few:

1. Posting Updates:  When a page administrator posts an update, it gets pushed to the fan’s Home News Feed.  The best practice is to place an update whenever there is any new content on your website, like a blog post or a new offering.
2. Posting Events: A great way to get consumer interaction is to hold an event at your place of business.  When you already have a selected audience who likes your business, it is easier to get involvement.  Once a consumer accepts an invitation, they can also share that activity.
3. Keeping Your Page Updated:  It is important to at least make two changes a week on your page.  Even if no one is viewing it, if you continue the good practice of posting relevant information, it will gain traction and take off.
4. Personalizing Your Page: If you add an album of your workplace or even your team, this creates a sense of personalization that consumers can relate to.  They will more likely react and engage if they feel a sense of being able to connect.

Have you created a Facebook Page for your business?  If not, let us get you up and running.  A key element is keeping your brand in mind, while creating an atmosphere that will be loved by your potential consumers.  At Unity we make branding our first priority, across all measures of marketing, including Facebook.

HISNetWORKS.net is a Christ centered social platform that helps you stay connected to interests, activities, ministries, events, and people that you care about most. In this era of unprecedented social connectivity, it is almost overwhelming the number of ways for us to communicate with one another.  We created HISNetWORKS.net to be used as a tool that would allow for rich, meaningful relationships to be formed in the context of a Christian community.  We see the church as the first social network, and created HISNetWORKS.net as an online extension of the church, that overcomes geographical, denominational, and cultural barriers.

Sadly, Molly Mizerak went home to be with the Lord on June 1, 2011 before our vision came to pass.  I felt a strong call of God to make this dream a reality in Molly’s memory and to serve God and the community.  Molly shared her vision to a group of pastors in Leesburg in 2010 and this video has become the catalyst for HISNetWORKS.net. See Video Below.

“Unity begins with us and our repentance. We have to start with ourselves, asking God to search our own hearts & see where we have offended our brother or sister. We must submit ourselves one to another that Christ may be glorified and honored. If we keep our hearts right – God can move.” – Molly Mizerak  

 Please try it out and be blessed!