Complete Internet Marketing

Indiana Website Development Spotlight: ProCLAD, Inc.

Friday, March 5, 2010 by Brandon Coppernoll

Indiana website development has been improving year after year as the competition gets thicker and as businesses understand the web's capabilities better. As an Indianapols web development company, we get many projects that really allow us to use the dreaded "think outside the box" cliche. We recently completed a project for ProCLAD, Inc. that challenged our team to be creative and in the end achieved amazing results.

The website design was complicated and built in many layers. There was a need for a rotating image section on the home page and the placement of a flash piece representing the ProCLAD engineering wheel. Additionally, there were many angles incorporated into the design that would make any developer cringe.

One of the immediate challenges we addressed was the ability for ProCLAD to be able to easily update the rotating images on the home page. To save the client trouble from using Photoshop or other photo editing software, a transparent image was placed over the top of the slideshow to create the angled look while the full images are located below the white angle. The photo gallery module was implemented with a JQuery rotation script for smooth transition from image to image, and the client is in full control of the imagery that is implemented.

The site is also tied into a content management system to allow the client to fully customize the content that is entered from page to page and to allow control over search engine optimization properties including page title, keywords, description and web URLs.

Fusework Studios is proud to work with ProCLAD, Inc. on this project, and as a team, we love to be challenged. We hope this is one of many Indiana website development spotlights to come. Check out the new site at www.procladinc.com.

Web Based Strategy for the Indianapolis Prize

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 by Nellie Stout

As the Indiana website development provider for the Indianapolis Zoo, we have had the pleasure of taking on a complete web re-design of the Indianapolis Prize, the visible component of the internationally recognized conservation efforts being undertaken by the Indianapolis Zoo.

The Indianapolis Prize is the largest individual monetary award for animal species conservation in the world and is given as an unrestricted gift to the chosen honoree. The Prize is given every other year to an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to conservation efforts involving a single animal species or multiple species.

For many nonprofits and small businesses in Indianapolis, online marketing is becoming increasingly competitive, so the Indianapolis Prize web based strategy was focused on embracing the social media community, creating a clean and direct design, and engaging users through video production.

Fusework Studios is proud to be a part of this project, both for the impact the Prize has on conservation and for adding to the great examples of Indianapolis web development.

Stay tuned for information on the 2010 Indianapolis Prize Gala that is scheduled for September 25 at the Westin Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. Visit the new site at www.indianapolisprize.org.

Three Easy Steps to Objectively Approach Any Web Based Strategy

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 by Brandon Coppernoll

As Director of Internet Services at Fusework Studios, I have the pleasure of working with many different parties on any given project: project managers, designers, clients, executive staff and other developers. Whenever you have many different intelligent people working on any given project, there are tendencies in which opinions can cloud an objective web based strategy. The goal of any project should be what needs the project addresses and the long-term plan after completion to carry on the goals.

My colleague, Jim Switzer, approached the sometimes difficult task of designing by committee with a great article. Many of the steps are no different.

How can you proceed on a web development project with an objective mind set?

1. Follow the leader.
Much like picking a leader in design, you must be willing to follow the direction and leadership of a project manager or head. They have to make the tough decisions, but their goal should be to ensure all parties are working to the final objective.

2. Know the full web based strategy.
No matter what your role is, you must be aware of what the team is trying to accomplish. Every cog in a clock is working to keep time. Each cog has a specific role, both small and large, to reach success.

3. Communicate.
This can be the most difficult task of any team environment. The left hand must know what the right is doing. Lay out a to-do list for everyone. Set some milestones and make sure everyone is aware. This is similar to creating a site map, but you are creating a map for a successful web based strategy and team.

Each member of the team must be committed. When hiring a company to assist you, be sure they are as completely vested in the project as you are. Contact Fusework Studios for an expert team of web consultants to develop a solid website strategy for your business.

Corporate Video Production Techniques Have Changed

Friday, November 13, 2009 by Laurie Buschmann

Corporate video production techniques have changed. Let's face it. Businesses are no longer hiring production companies to produce the token "Eight to Ten Minute Corporate Video."

In this new digital age of Internet marketing and fast-paced "get in and get out" media delivery, corporate video production is being looked at in a very different way.

Don't get me wrong, corporate video production is still VERY important to a company's marketing strategy, but now, media can be delivered in a whole new way.

Here are some pointers to remember when looking in to what makes a good corporate video.

1. Cut, cut, cut.
To be a good (aka successful) corporate video, we're looking at no more than three minutes of total running time. And recently, the trend has been even shorter.

2. Conversion is key.
The old standby has always been to have a closing billboard or graphic on your video that includes your business' website address and phone number, but that doesn't help determine how successful your corporate video was for you.

Now, you have got to put in some sort of point of conversion. In other words, the video should end with "Go to our website, and sign up for our seminar, using our VID3O discount code." This is completely measurable and will definitely let you in on how many people saw your video AND then were compelled to do something -- which is the whole point of creating the video in the first place.

3. Take advantage of the medium.
Video is still a viable marketing tool because it does something that print, stills and websites cannot do. It brings images and graphics to life through animation and image movement. Wouldn't you appreciate a client testimonial much more if you saw and heard a person delivering kind words instead of just reading those same words on a page? The impact of Audio/Visual is still very good.

If you're looking for an Indiana video production company to produce a corporate video, make sure this company is discussing these three points with you. This will ensure that your corporate video strategy is "in sync" with the rest of your marketing objectives.

Complete Internet Marketing and the Evolution of Programming

Monday, November 9, 2009 by Derek McClain

Things are changing in the programming world, and it is no longer just about finding the right website design company. Companies are now developing a complete internet marketing strategy and seeking an internet marketing agency to produce a total web presence. Learn more about how social media marketing tools are being used to compliment websites by viewing the video below.

Internet Marketing in Indiana

Friday, October 16, 2009 by Derek McClain

When looking for a company to help with Internet marketing in Indiana, you will likely have a long list from which to choose. Some will tell you it's all about social media optimization, and others will say spend your money on Pay Per Click (PPC) search marketing. Some will stress the importance of an email marketing strategy, while others will say it is all about having a business blogging strategy. At times, it can probably get downright confusing. Well, let me add just a bit more confusion and tell you that all of them are right!

internet-marketing-indiana-business-woman-ejoys-benefits

You see, it is not just ONE of these things that leads to successful Internet marketing in Indiana. It is a combination of all! This is why finding a true Internet marketing agency in Indiana is so important.

An Internet marketing agency can provide stratgies for all of these services. They have either taken the time to develop this part of their business in house, or they have built partnerships with other agencies that specialize in a paticular area. Either way, the ultimate goal is providing YOU (the consumer) with the best solution from the people with the most experience and success. It is only then that you will enjoy ALL of the Internet marketing benefits that will help your company grow.

At Fusework Studios, we stress the importance of developing this complete Internet marketing strategy for you because we know that it's not all about ONE thing. It's all about understanding your business and providing you with a package of Internet marketing services that will allow you to see the best end results.

So the next time you are confused and everyone is telling you all about the latest trend, find a complete Internet marketing company in Indiana and enjoy all of the Internet marketing benefits you deserve!

Complete Internet Marketing and Landing Pages

Monday, October 12, 2009 by Derek McClain

Landing pages are a key ingredient when creating a complete internet marketing strategy. A landing page is developed to be a conversion generating tool for a specific call to action. Whether it be an email marketing campaign, Google AdWords campaign or just a few graphics on your home page, they all must drive the visitor somewhere for conversion. While landing pages play huge role in the success of a complete internet marketing strategy, they are often times overlooked.

Next time you spend all of that time on planning and executing to get the qualified visits to your site, remember to spend that same amount of time on the page in which you are driving the traffic Here are a few tips in creating a conversion friendly landing page:

Make the Landing Page Relevant to Your Campaign - As obvious as this may seem, many times the home page of a web site is used as the landing page. What's worse, more times than not it doesn't even mention the campaign that drove the traffic there!
Make the Call to Action Clear - Now that your visitor is on the page, what do you want them to do? It should be so clear, a monkey could figure it out.
Remove Points of Friction - If your goal is to obtain contact information, make sure you are asking for ONLY the information that you must have. Eliminate unnecessary required fields in your form.
Remove the Navigation Bar - This can be very hard to part with and does not always HAVE to be done, but when doing email marketing or AdWords it can yield the best results. Remember: everything they need to convert should be on that ONE page.
Monitor the Analytics and Adjust - You must have Google Analytics installed on your landing page to get the most out of if. Likely the first try is not going to be your best. Remember to adjust and test new things to increase conversion.

Help Name Our TV Show

Friday, October 2, 2009 by Derek McClain

As part of our own complete internet marketing strategy here at Fusework, we have launched a TV show. We are now a few episodes into this series under the name Fusework TV. We are looking for a new name and turning to our viewers for help. Check out Episode 2 below and submit your ideas for a new name to FuseworkTV (at) Fuseworkstudios.com. If we select your name, you will receive a $50 Scotty's Brewhouse gift card.

Web Build Day 2009

Friday, October 2, 2009 by Bruce McClain

Everyday I look at our site and wish it were more up to date. I want to see examples of our fantastic current work. I want to talk about social media and Internet marketing more. We do a great job of updating our blog and our news sections, but I want our overall web strategy to be a reflection of where we are as a company. But alas, just as the cobbler's child, we never get new shoes.

That is why the whole team is coming in over the weekend and completely revamping our entire web presence. We have spent a few hours this week laying out our Website strategy. We have made sure to come up with keywords for the best search engine optimization. We have prepped all our social network properties, to be ready for this update.

Tomorrow at 8am, we will begin this process. We will be tweeting updates and posting the latest on Facebook, if you would like to follow. We are also shooting a video that will illustrate the process of developing a successful Web business strategy. Once this is complete we will post in in all the usual places.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I know we will here at Fusework Studios.

Search Engine Optimization in Indianapolis

Monday, September 14, 2009 by Kevin Hood

Search Engine Optimization in Indianapolis can be tough to find. Not only is it hard to get help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in Indianapolis, but it can be difficult to find agencies who are experienced and have successful SEO track records. In fact, a quick trip to the source code of some of the large Indianapolis website and internet marketing firms, will result in a suprising summary:

Many Indianapolis website agencies do not use Search Engine Optimization on their own websites or their client websites!

When I first realized this, it was a pretty big shock to my SEO system. These big time Indianapolis companies are selling expensive websites and internet marketing plans, but they completely ignore one of the most important aspects of a website: Search Engine Optimization!

You can have the nicest looking website in Indianapolis, but without proper Search Engine Optimization there is a chance no one will ever see it! It is important to review keywords and phrases that someone outside of your company would use to search for your product or service. Then research those keywords to determine which receive the most searches and what keyword phrases related to your business you may be missing. After going over a detailed report, it's time to plan your content and meta tags around your chosen keywords. That's just for the inside of your website, we could talk for hours about ways to externally improve your search engine ranking.

People search Google for almost everything these days, so don't forget the importance of ranking high in search engine results. You may have just searched the Internet to find a Search Engine Optimization company in Indianapolis. No more searching to find the best Indianapolis Search Engine Optimization firm, you can get proven and experienced Search Engine Optimization in Indianapolis at Fusework Studios.

How to retain customers: Create positive digital experiences

Saturday, September 12, 2009 by Brandon Coppernoll

Every time a customer walks through your doors, comes to your web site or even talks to a representative of your company, you are providing a touch point with that customer. Based on that experience your customer will buy your goods or services or walk away forever and likely tell others to stay away. The traditional methods on how to retain customers have been innovated and recycled time and time again, but in this digital age we must learn how to utilize a complete internet marketing plan to create positive digital experiences.

About ten years ago it used to be all about building a web site. It had to be beautiful, completely branded from stem to stern and had to have some of the neatest functionality anyone has seen in your industry. Businesses were always trying to outthink their competitors to come up with the next big thing that will sway customers their way.

Today it's completely different. It's not enough to build a web site. You must create a social media presence that speaks to your target audience, and once you have their attention you must give incentive to convert.

Where do you have to be to reach customers?

Corporate Web site
Brand or product micro sites
Corporate blogging
Social media communities

How does your company utilize these tools to create positive digital experiences or touch points for your customers? Are you even involved in social media and marketing in your advertising plan? When you search for more information about your company on the Web do you find positive brand reinforcement, or do you find you have a bad Internet reputation? If you're using these tools, are they up-to-date with the latest news and promotions for your customers, or do you find Internet cobwebs are taking over?

All of these digital experiences are affordable and effective avenues to market to your customers. Do you have a strategic social media and Internet marketing plan to reach your customers and keep them coming back?

Searching for Topics

Thursday, September 3, 2009 by Bruce McClain

As part of Fusework Studios Internet marketing initiative we have been blogging as a team for over a month now, trying to improve our search engine results as well as educate our current or potential partners.

Being the president, of course, I feel I need to set a good example and blog something each and every day. I mean I am "old guy" (at least that is what my staff says) when it comes to Internet marketing with over 15 years of experience in web based strategy. However as I logged in to my blogging software today, my mind went totally blank.

Wow. What am I supposed to do. I am one of the biggest blogging evangelists at our company, I try to offer this service to everyone of our clients. I tell everyone how easy it is to do and how it only takes a few minutes to make a post, but today my mind won't think of anything.

I begin running through the usual topics in my head. Social media, how to retain customers, search engine optimization, or website strategy. I could speak on any of these topics for hours on a normal day, but today I am completely blank.

I decided to just start typing and something would come to me. I would look at my keywords and I am sure the thoughts would just flow, but they still didn't.

Next I went to my usual sites for inspiration, digg.com, slashdot.org, and a bunch of the Internet marketing sites I read on a daily basis. Still nothing.

Finally, just when I had give up hope, I received an email, and BAM there it was, a topic. One of my clients had asked me a question via email. It was a question I get asked a lot. Is also one that is a perfect topic for a CEO blogging about Internet marketing.

So now I have my topic. In my next post you will see what it was, but for now, think about what a valuable tool this could be for you and your blog. Instead of answering a similar question over and over again to multiple people via email, type the answer once in a blog entry. Anytime you get the question you can simply send the link along with a simple, "Check out my blog, it has a lot of great answers to questions like yours." Now you have not only answered the question, but that visitor may subscribe to your blog and you can then interact with them daily.

The Complete Internet Marketing Life Cycle

Wednesday, September 2, 2009 by Brandon Coppernoll

The complete internet marketing life cycle is a lot like instructions on a shampoo bottle. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. From a development standpoint I often get to see how an internet marketing or web based strategy gets formed and the early stages of how we plan to apply the plan to reach the objective.

If I were to place instructions on the back of a shampoo bottle for how to create a solid social media and internet marketing strategy they'd look similar to this:

Plan. Think of all the details of your idea. Think of how you plan on getting them to your business through social media or other means. Then think of how to convert them into your bottom line.
Apply. You now have an interactive strategy to attract customers and to buy your product. It's time to make each step simple but effective to convert.
Measure. Now it's time to look at your conversion rates. Don't be discouraged if the traffic wasn't off the charts. Look at the ROI (Return On Investment). Was your conversion rate what you had hoped for?
Repeat. You now have a picture on what your first plan was able to present to you. It's time to find ways to up the conversion, or if your conversion rate was more than satisfactory it's time to find ways to increase the traffic through.

It is my experience that suggests that almost any idea involving social media internet marketing is worth at least two cycles especially if conversion is occurring. Very rarely have I ever seen a plan that didn't at least deserve a revision and another "college try."

Do not get discouraged if the numbers aren't what you want right away. You could be one click or one form field too many. It's possible that your button isn't in the best location to catch the attention of your customers.

You wouldn't stop washing your hair if you didn't get all the dirt and grime out the first time would you? Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

How To: Retain Customers Through Effective Email Marketing

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 by Derek McClain

Email marketing should be part of any complete internet marketing strategy because of its effectivness in helping to retain customers. Getting started with email marketing, like many other things, can seem overwhelming at first. We have established a set of key elements or guidelines at Fusework Studios that can help make your next email marketing campaign a success. Check it out

The List
This is a HUGE part for your success and you must start here by generating a list of contacts that have opted in to receive your emails via your web site, mailings, in-store, or other types of contact points. A quality internet marketing agency would never recommend buying or renting an email list.

Subject Line
Your customers will ask - why should I open this email? What’s in it for me? The subject line must be attention getting- but to the point to get people to take the next step of actually opening the email.

Design
This will be the first thing the recepient will see when opening the email. Must look good, but not be overwhelming with design elements. Remember the person receiving the email will likely have to click "display images" so it is important to have something come through prior to that.

Message
I opened the email. What is the core message? Keep it short and to the point. We have seen the best results when limiting it to ONE topic per email.

Clear Conversion Point
What do you want me to do? What is the point in this email? If there is not a call to action from the email, then why send it? Take some time to think about how this will play in with your website strategy, social media and marketing strategies.

Incentive
Why should I take the time to respond or take the next step? What are you offering me for my time? Time = money. If you want to retain customers through email marketing you should be offering incentives for repeat purchases.

Landing Page
An effective email marketing message will drive the recipient to a customized landing page for that specific message. If you are talking about a particular promotion, do not take me to the home page of your site which mentions nothing about that promo.

Follow-Up
Establish a regular schedule for sending emails and stick to it. Don’t be annoying, be relevant.

A Wedding Is Just Like a Video Shoot

Wednesday, August 19, 2009 by Laurie Buschmann

My wedding is in two days, and all I can think of right now is how much stuff there is to do. Am I stressed? No, because I've been through all of this before.

I know what you're thinking...this is her second marriage. Nope; it's my first. It's just that I have orchestrated huge video production shoots and have had to coordinate logistics out the ying-yang for my job as a Project Manager/Producer at Fusework Studios in Indianapolis. And for some strange reason, even though this is my wedding and not a video shoot (although there will be a videographer there, of course), I know everything will fall in to place.

That being said, I thought it might be helpful for me to blog about the type of stuff that goes in to the preproduction and production of a wedding because the similarities to producing a video shoot are uncanny.

Preproduction (This is all the work you do before the actual wedding day.)

Research: Doing research about the client or a potential wedding vendor is always key to a successful shoot/wedding day.

Script Writing: If you want to write your own vows, go for it!

Full-Service Coordination: You can hire a wedding planner, or you can do it all yourself.

Client Meeting Facilitation: This goes hand in hand with full-service coordination. It's nice to have someone else doing all of your scheduling for you.

Location Scouting: Doing due diligence on location scouting will ensure you pick just the right place (the one that's best suited) for your big day.

Studio Rental Facilitation: Once you've found the perfect location (aka church and/or reception venue), you've got to book it.

Additional Gear Acquisition: This job can be applied to buying flowers, additional lighting, extra decorations, etc.

Extra Crew Hiring: You're more than likely going to need a caterer, florist, photographer, videographer, makeup artist, and DJ/Band, and the list can get big with all the extra "crew" you need to hire.

Talent Search and Auditioning: You may choose to hire some entertainment during the ceremony or reception, and that requires searching and/or auditioning.

Wardrobe Selection and Fitting: This is obvious. Hello, wedding dress.

Production (This is all the stuff that happens on the big day.)

Expert Directing: This is where a wedding coordinator is so important on the day of your wedding. You give up the details to someone who knows your vision and who will make sure it's orchestrated.

On-Location Producing: Sure, a good wedding coordinator is important, but so is a good banquet captain.

Shooting: You have to have a photographer and a videographer capturing the day's events. Period.

Lighting Direction: Some people may not realize it, but the lighting at a wedding or shoot is crucial. It sets the mood and creates a tone for the event. Besides, people are more likely to dance their butts off if the lights have been dimmed.

Audio Engineering: This is my baby. Sound is oh so important to any event. I went to a wedding once when the pastor's wireless mic keep cutting out and giving loud bursts of static. It was horrible. And, don't underestimate the power of a DJ to make or break your reception.

Gripping Assistance: A grip in the video industry is someone who, quite simply, moves gear around but is also completely in the know about what needs to go where and when. This person, on your wedding day, is the person who makes sure all of your gifts go to the right place after the reception, for example. A grip is very important.

Makeup Application: This is obvious, too. Good makeup makes everyone feel fabulous.

Craft Services: What's a wedding without good food and drink?

Additional Technical Offerings: In video production, this could mean the addition of a dolly, steadicam or jib, however, for a wedding, this could mean, your monogram shining down on the dance floor.

Bottom line, there is a lot of work that goes in to a video shoot, and there certainly is a lot of work that goes in to a wedding. A wedding is a "production" after all, and there will still be, despite the best preproduction in the world, things that go wrong.

But when it's all said and done, what you'll have "in the can" (video speak for "on tape") is unforgettable memories from the day you became husband and wife. And that's a wrap.

Make routine maintenance a part of your Web business strategy

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 by Brandon Coppernoll

This week I was almost literally banging my head against the wall of my office trying to come up with a great topic to discuss. Usually I have a few ideas on my plate, but the words and topic just wouldn't come to me. The idea suddenly came to me as I visited a site I frequent, and the site was experiencing some major programmatical and server issues. Coincidentally this site was a social media community for gamers such as myself.

I know what you're thinking, "Nerd alert!" Hear me out before you pass judgment.

Generally the social community serves its purpose to bring gamers from around the world to enjoy and talk about one common topic which is "gaming." However this week has seen the site prone to many errors which is driving the community mad.

Here's a quick timeline of some of the things that have happened:

In May and June the community received word the site was migrating to new servers which would be complete by July to better serve the growing community;
It is now mid-August and the same server issues exist;
Features such as choosing top friends now has JavaScript errors which prevents you from updating this area;
Sometimes you could hit refresh on your browser up to five times before finally viewing the page you want to see.

On an average site, who would have the patience for this? Twitter experienced a major meltdown due to an attack less than a week which sent everyone packing to Facebook for the time being. Then Facebook experienced several issues as well which had everyone talking about it - not in a positive light.

Setting social media and marketing aside this message really is about your website. While you should never ignore the internet marketing benefits for your website, do not forget to take care of the issues that hinders your customer's experience. A new brand or product could be lost in the vast Internet maze without a shot to make it. A weak brand or service could crumble on an unstable foundation as well.

Social Media Optimization - Commit to One and Make a Big Impact

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 by Laurie Buschmann

For those of you who have created a Twitter acccount, but you have only tweeted once...
For those of you who have a Facebook page, but you have 20 pending friend requests from March...
For those of you who have a blog set up, but you have only posted one article about setting up your blog...

THIS POST IS FOR YOU.

Social media marketing can be time consuming, frustrating and down right hard. I completely understand. I used to feel that way too until I started making it the priority that it needs to be in this day and age of social media internet marketing.

If you're the type of person who I described above, I have the best Web business strategy for you, and it's based on Seth Godin's recent blog post titled, "The Law of the Little Shovel."

The basic premise is this: Pick one social media community and focus on it (aka make a big hole) rather than starting several social networking platforms (aka little holes) and never doing anything with any one of them.

I've seen too many businesses try to tackle too much too soon when it come to social media advertising, and in the end, you don't really do yourself any service by setting up accounts that end up being inactive.

So if Facebook is your choice, try to devote at least 20 minutes a day to marketing, advertising or networking for you or your business. And....keep in mind that this doesn't have to be (and shouldn't be) overt.

Here are just a few suggestions for how to spend your 20 minutes:

Locate and send a friend request to the people with whom you currently do business. Keeping up to speed on your clients' personal lives and commenting from time to time can help keep you top of mind when they need work done.
Post positive news about your clients and the work that they are doing. When you promote your clients, it goes without saying that they appreciate that and will continue to do business with you.
Along the same lines, you should look for opportunities to become a fan of certain friends' or clients' businesses. That's easy and quick networking from the comfort of your office or home.
Look at the friends of friends. It might give you an idea of people to contact about doing business.
Update your status. I admit that I am still in the school of thought that "no one wants to hear about what's on my mind," but I have been floored to see how certain status updates can foster new and interesting touch points between people.

Focusing on one social media community will get you used to this whole new world of internet marketing, and I promise you that you will reep the benefits and see a tremendous return on your time investment.

Before you know it, you will have dug a big hole (and made a big impact) using your little shovel.

Social Media in Indianapolis: Smaller Indiana U. S. Senior Open Tix Giveaway

Thursday, July 16, 2009 by Derek McClain

We are very fortunate in indianapolis to have such leaders in social media marketing so close in proximity. Many of them hang out on a social media community, Smaller Indiana. I am continually impressed by the level of interaction on this niche social site. The ideas, people and creativity are what make this a bright spot for internet marketing in Indianapolis. Most recently, Smaller Indiana creator, Pat Coyle, is giving away U. S. Senior Open tickets on the site to 7 lucky people. Here are the criteria from Pat:

"If you're interested in winning the tix, please post a reply to this thread and let us know how you intend to use them. We'll pick seven winners - one winner for each day of the event - for seven completely different reasons... the seven most original, sincere, funny, heart wrenching, practical, surprising, ridiculous posts could win...so tell us why you want to go."

There have been a great deal of responses to this with most people writing that they would take a client, grandfather, or even a fiance. One person even posted his bank account balance to prove this would be great for his financial status to have free entertainment!

This is another great idea from Pat that has allowed the Smaller Indiana site to grow in the social media internet marketing community of Indianapolis.

What is your next big idea? How can you offer an incentive on your site or internet presence, tie it in with a great idea to grow your social media community?

Complete Internet Marketing One-Stop Shop

Wednesday, July 15, 2009 by Laurie Buschmann

There is something to be said about having a "one-stop shop" for all of your needs. The proverbial shopping mall is a good example of this.  Under one roof, you have all the shops you need to get nearly everything you want. This is also the reason why superstores like Wal-Mart and Meijer are so successful.

Besides buying groceries, clothes and other consumer items, I wish the "one-stop shop" concept existed in other industries.

For example, right now, I'm in the final stages of wedding planning. I'm getting married in about five weeks, and I'm making all of the final arrangments.  Specifically, I'm calling all of my vendors (photographer, videographer, florist, caterer, DJ, cake maker, etc.) and finalizing the schedule and details of the big day with each of them.

Wouldn't it be nice to only have to go to one place....or better yet, have one person to contact for all of these meetings and decisions? That would be a huge time and cost saver, AND I would have peace of mind knowing that I had one person handling all of the details, effectively making sure that everything would run smoothly and that my wedding would be a success.

Well, I may not have a "one-stop shop" for wedding planning, but I can recommend a great one for anyone looking for complete Internet marketing services. That's, of course, Fusework Studios.

Because I'm a Project Manager here at FWS, I have the opportunity of getting feedback directly from our clients in regards to our services, and one of the things I hear time and again is, "It's so nice to only have one person to talk to for all of my Internet marketing branding needs."

At Fusework Studios, we're web marketers, and we specialize in:

Creating/Redesigning websites using our unique approach to web strategy consulting - Ever heard us talk about the Billion dollar marketing banana?
Developing a social media and marketing plan with real, results-driven advertising calls to action
Producing video and flash content using an award-winning story-telling interactive strategy
Designing print and other supplemental materials to optimize brand awareness
Managing IT infrastructures so our Indianapolis and Muncie clients are safe and secure

In this day and age when time is truly money and when budgets are getting slashed, it just makes good business sense to find "one-stop shops" like Fusework Studios to partner with for fulfilling your needs.

In the end, you'll have extra time and money, and in turn, you could spend this extra time and money elsewhere...like at your local shopping mall.

Is your web strategy shaped by continual learning?

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 by Brandon Coppernoll

Today I had a discussion with a fellow co-worker about what I should write about as I was drawing a complete blank. He had a suggestion that really struck me about how you have to have an attitude of continual learning in our industry. You have to have an open mind to learning each and every day in our field whether it's internet marketing, social media or website strategy.

Primarily my background comes from the development of applications to be used in social media and websites, but I have forced myself to come out of my comfort zone to learn more about social media and internet marketing to understand the value and impact of what I build has on the complete internet marketing picture.

There is so much to learn about, and I hope this quick list gives you insight as to why continual education is so important:

Search engine marketing - How do you optimize your content for search engines? Why is it important?
Internet brand management - How does the world perceive your brand? What are things you can do to improve or enhance brand recognition in a postiive light? Is this just for corporate use, or can the same practices be used for personal use?
Social media optimization - With so many communities and tools how do you know where to target your efforts? What tools are best? How do you encourage interaction with your brand?
Websites and business strategy - Which is more important: design, content or functionality? How do you optimize conversion? What is your conversion? How do you retain customers while still impacting new customers?