Things we love: Content Management Systems

February 15, 2012 | Leave a comment

It goes without saying that developing an online presence is essential to the marketing efforts and success of any organization. Most companies in existence today have some sort of web identity, even if it’s just a simple landing page with contact information. While this is a great step in the right direction, the ante must be upped if you want to get the ranking and exposure you want. Enter the Content Management System.

The world of web development may seem like a confusing web of unintelligible code to most people, a perception that will often cause companies to have a site built, then forgotten and left un-maintained. However, with a proper content management system in place, any user, regardless of technical skills, can easily update your site with fresh(!), relevant content – transforming your site into a SEO powerhouse and industry source for news and information. You’ll be able to ensure that all content on your site is up-to-date at all times, without having to worry about how a text edit will work into your web company’s production schedule.

So, now that you know you want a CMS, how do you know what works best for you? Fortunately, our jobs require us to have an in-depth knowledge of your options. Here are a few of our favorite options for content management systems, and what you should know about them. These are definitely not the only options either – there is an ever growing number of enterprise and open-source option to fit every user type and need out there.

Drupal

Type: Open-Source
Platform: PHP
Pros: Very strong and helpful user community, active and frequent maintenance updates, very developer-friendly, lightweight and great performance
Cons: Admin does have a slight learning curve, many modules are required as add-ons for basic functions
Would work well for: Users who place high value on function and have a level of comfort within the web world.

WordPress

Type: Open-Source
Platform: PHP
Pros: Simple to use with easy out-of-the-box themeing, very user-friendly admin interface, very powerful and easy to use blogging aspects, easy to incorporate add-ons
Cons: Not as developer friendly as it could be, buggy upgrades, limited to the level of customization
Would work well for: Users who want a simpler site that is easy to manage.

Ektron CMS400.Net

Type: Enterprise/Proprietary
Platform: ASP.NET
Pros: Easily allows users to define and modify templates, many available widget modules, enterprise support and product development
Cons: Cost, necessity to develop external modules if additional functions are required
Would work well for: Large-scale corporations with many users managing and modifying their site.

Custom CMS

Type: Open-Source/Proprietary
Platform: Any platform you want
Pros: Built entirely for you and your needs, highly customizable, allows you to incorporate and easily manage complex and unique site functions, hands on training and support
Cons: Will require your developers to work on any changes and releases, may take longer to develop than out-of-the-box solutions
Would work well for: Users who want complete control and flexibility over their sites, users who have very custom site functions that need to be easily run.

When choosing what solution works for you, whether it be open-source, enterprise, or proprietary, the best thing to keep in mind (aside from budget), is how you potentially see your site growing and evolving. Laying out a comprehensive, phased out approach usually is a great help in determining what you want your site to do for you and how you see it benefitting and growing your business. If you still are undecided, reach out to us! We love talking web and helping people make the right choices for their businesses!

Posted by
Lindsey Murray

Stop SOPA

January 6, 2012 | Leave a comment

Happy Friday!

Everybody is hard at work here at Fresh, but this may not be the case with SOPA’s decision on the horizon. For those of you who haven’t heard, the House Judiciary Committee is coming to a decision on the “Stop Online Piracy Act”, acronym-ed SOPA, very soon.

Although the name may sound harmless, the passing of SOPA could be detrimental to everyone who uses the internet. You may say “Well it won’t affect me! All I use the internet for is social networking and the occasional silly video” but you would be mistaken. SOPA aims to take down any site that has pirated content, which encapsulates everything from notorious torrent and peer-to-peer sharing sites to seemingly harmless social media sites. Have you,or a friend, ever share a picture or video on Facebook? That content may be copy written! The sharing medium, the source of the shared content, and yourself just committed a crime punishable by fines or even several years in prison! For this reason, many sites, if not forced by SOPA, will voluntarily shut down for liabilities sake. These sites includes all our favorites: Google, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, so forth! Imagine life without these sites!

Funny enough, SOPA actually won’t do much to stop those who are seeking pirated content; with a little know-how, any ordinary person can access sites hosted outside US soil, which many of the sites SOPA is targeting are. What SOPA WILL do is RUIN the web for many everyday users! But don’t panic just yet because you can help! Visit Stop American Censorship to learn more!

Here is an information video on SOPA:

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Posted by
Frank Tran

Yoga for lunch?

November 10, 2011 | Leave a comment

As part of today’s lunch and learn, we did a 30 minute yoga session together in a near by park! I led our team through some breathing exercises and great stretches for the shoulders, neck and back. It was so nice to get out in the fresh air and soak in the sun. Afterwards we all went to a local salad bar and shared lunch. The result? We came back relaxed, focused and productive! Our hour lunch was well spent! Proof that walking away focusing on breath and doing a little stretching goes a long way.

Posted by
Karie Del Solar

Thank you, Steve.

August 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” -Steve Jobs [Stanford commencement speech, June 2005]

Posted by
Lindsey Murray

Playing with Google+

August 19, 2011 | Leave a comment
The social media landscape just got a WHOLE lot more interesting. Just not quite sure if for better, or for worse. Seems intuitive for the early adopters, but only time will tell if everyone jumps on board.
Posted by
Stacey Lee

Lead By Example

July 27, 2010 | Leave a comment

I was recently asked to give a presentation on the “Power of Social Media” to a mid-sized, National Homebuilder based out of Orange County, California.

While gathering my thoughts and compiling data, I came to the realization that I was in fact becoming a huge hypocrite. How could I present the benefits of a robust social media campaign to a large company, while I in fact don’t use social media to its full potential. Yes, we are an interactive based Ad Agency and Yes, we are experts in the latest trends in social media and we do have experience running very large campaigns for our clients. But where is OUR campaign? Where is OUR social media presence?

Is one Facebook post and one tweet every two weeks enough to be effective? Absolutely not. So why do we even bother?
I have a feeling that a lot of business owners and marketing directors are running into this same problem.

“If social media is the trend for businesses, we need to be involved. We can’t be left behind!” It’s easy enough to set up a Twitter account, isn’t it?

No one wants to be left at the back of the pack. But it’s the steps that follow account set up and the initial post that will make or break your campaign. A good overall strategy and plan starts at the beginning.
Most small business owners and marketing staff don’t have time to constantly update social media feeds with relevant information. At least interesting information that will attract a recurring audience and potentially convert to leads/sales in the future. Often times that task gets left to the intern to “just post something”. #FAIL.

As my father always said, “if you’re going to take the time to do something, do it right.” As general as that advice is, it always seems to apply.

With my recent revelations, we’ve decided that we need to man up and turn the ship around internally. We need to be utilizing some of the same concepts we apply to all of our clients campaigns.

Here are some of those concepts and my thoughts on building and maintaining a successful social media campaign.

1. Find a voice that reflects your brand and evolve it over time.

This is the single most important piece of advice I can give. It should be the cornerstone of any successful campaign. Most businesses think that random posts, messages and videos that don’t relate to one another, posted on a daily/weekly/monthly basis will “work”. This white noise will be ignored and never gain traction. You need a consistent voice. Something that people can learn to know and love. Something that people value and trust. Be as transparent as possible and become the source of information within your industry.

2. Figure out what story you want to tell your customers and prospects about your business. Make sure your social media campaign follows that.

This also relates to my first point. Make sure that you stay consistent with your companies story throughout your entire campaign. Become the absolute trusted source of information about your business, that people can consistently rely on. Make sure that there isn’t a disconnect between your website messaging, any print advertisements and/or collateral pieces. Keep your campaign holistic with consistent messaging across the board. Your social media messaging should really be complimentary to all other ongoing campaigns outside of the web. Or vice versa.

3. Employ the use of a widget/tool that allows you to post your updates across multiple sites/accounts.

There are many of these tools available such as TweetDeck. These are HUGE time savers. They also ensure that your messaging stays consistent through all channels. Obviously we would recommend creating separate posts every now and again to break up the monotony. We also know that not all social media sites and social media users are created equally and it’s sometimes best to address them each differently. But if you can utilize these tools as often as needed and to their full potential, they will help you continue to deliver your messaging and stay connected with much less effort and time invested. Which we know is one of the major hurdles with most of our clients.

4. Keep your content interesting

Simple enough, right? Some businesses have a hard time with this one. If all you use social media for is regurgitating news/articles or posting other unoriginal content, social media will not be nearly as effective as it could be for your business. Every social media campaign doesn’t need to be on par with the most recent Old Spice campaign, but you do need to provide value to the user in one of many forms. Entertainment value, economic/monetary value or becoming a trusted educational source about a particular industry or product. The user needs some incentive to come back and/or share with their friends.

Try to utilize these four guidelines while setting up or rekindling the fire for your social media campaign. And remember, it’s never too late to get started or make a significant change in your companies social media strategy. Sometimes all it takes is a simple new concept or basic framework to really give you the online boost that your company has needed.

Hopefully by utilizing some of these basic concepts, your business can take the next steps in starting to generate a solid buzz online. They’ve certainly helped us.

Posted by
Ben May

What Does Your Brand Say About You?

March 5, 2010 | Leave a comment

There comes a time in every business’s life, where it simply needs an extra boost. A kick-start, if you will. One of the best ways to accomplish that kick-start is with rebranding. All the big brands do it- Pepsi, AT&T, etc. But what about the small to mid-size businesses? Why would they go through the trouble of completely changing a logo or company colors that have worked for them for so long? As time goes by you remain trusted and recognizable, but how do you continue to grow and stay relevant with the times, especially when there is constant competition coming into the game on a weekly/monthly/annual basis?

The answer can be as simple as a new logo. As minute as it might seem, you can easily adapt and reposition your business as “new” and “thriving” with a revived color scheme and brand mark.

We’ve had the opportunity to help rebrand a few businesses as of late and have received a tremendous response from not only the business owners but, almost more importantly, the entire staff. So you’re not only giving the company a new look and rebirth, you’re also motivating the entire team. Keeping them excited in turn helps boost morale and leads to increased productivity.

See? It’s a win win.

Posted by
Ben May