Fusework Studios Announces Matt Howell as Project Manager

Tuesday, August 17, 2010 by Matt Howell
August 17, 2010 - Fusework Studios, a full-service internet marketing and technology solution provider with offices in Indianapolis and Muncie, Indiana, has recently hired Matt Howell as Project Manager.

Matt joins Fusework Studios as Project Manager bringing with him more than 10 years of professional experience in internet marketing and consultation. Other talents Matt presents in his new capacity at Fusework Studios include experience in web design and development, client relations and account coordination.

Mark Shaffer, Senior Vice President of Fusework Studios declares, “We’re excited to add Matt to our team, and together look forward to many years of creating mutually beneficial relationships with our clients.”

Matt’s professional history includes assignments at Boyden and Youngblutt, as well as LaBov and Beyond in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. A graduate of Ball State University, Matt’s areas of study included Telecommunications, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1997.

“Matt is extremely personable and down-to-Earth, making it very easy to talk to him, even about complex technical issues,” indicates Carla Feagans, Owner, Ignite HR Consulting. “He makes finding the right solution for your issues easy, and goes above and beyond in his customer service and follow-up.”

Mr. Howell resides in Farmland, Indiana, but calls all of East Central Indiana and Indianapolis home. Matt is a devoted father of three and is active in the Boys Scouts of America, the Muncie Young Professionals Group, and the American Advertising Federation of East Central Indiana.

Fusework Studios is a premier creative house specializing in web design & development, internet marketing, film & video production and managed IT support services. Fusework Studios, with offices in Indianapolis and Muncie, has been the recipient of numerous awards for their innovative work. Fusework Studios is a division of Rutter Communications Network, a 20+ year, privately held, multimedia company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana.

For additional information, contact Mark Shaffer, Senior Vice President, Fuseworks Studios (mshaffer@fuseworkstudios.com).

What I Learned from Leroy Stick - The Man Behind @BPGlobalPR

Friday, June 11, 2010 by Jenn Lisak

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past month, you’ve probably heard about the oil spill that had caused a fair amount of damage to the Gulf of Mexico and to British Petroleum’s reputation. In order to “rectify” the situation, BP has released a number of press statements over the past couple of weeks that have not satisfied an overwhelmingly disgruntled public. In response to BP’s lackluster statements, a man, who has dubbed himself as Leroy Stick, decided to take matters into his own hands; he created a Twitter account, cleverly named @BPGlobalPR, which pokes fun at how BP executives are dealing with the current situation. According to Stick, he started @BPGlobalPR because he believed that BP did not offer anything to ease the nation’s concerns. As a result, @BPGlobalPR has already accumulated over 150,000 followers since May 19, and it continues to grow on a daily basis. Leroy also supports the campaign that sells “bp cares” t-shirts to fund the activities of the Gulf Restoration Network, and his team recently made a $10,000 donation to the charity. All in all, he has become a celebrity within the social media community overnight and has molded BP’s brand into the punch line of his own joke.

His popularity or humor, however, is not what has captured my attention; it’s his message. Leroy Stick felt the need to create an entire web based strategy with @BPGlobalPR because BP wasn’t responding to the general public with urgency, sincerity, or solutions. Instead, Leroy argues that BP has been doing whatever it can to maintain a positive image and to keep making money. In other words, the executives are paying Internet marketing and PR representatives to promote a positive brand image that has been destroyed by employees of the company instead of trying to fix the problems at hand!

“So what is the point of all this?” Leroy asks. “The point is, FORGET YOUR BRAND. You don’t own it because it is literally nothing. You can spend all sorts of time and money trying to manufacture public opinion, but ultimately, that’s up to the public, now isn’t it?”

This is exactly what marketers do not want to hear, but it’s the truth. Companies can pay agencies tons of money to create marketing campaigns that represent integrity, quality, service, etc. But at the end of the day, none of this matters unless the client perceives the company (or the point of contact) as such.

So what does this have to do with me? Well, as a project manager for Fusework Studios, I am charged with providing my clients with the best service possible in order to create a positive brand image for the company. I will be a point of contact for clients, and I have to face the truth that Leroy Stick presents. Despite this challenge, I am excited to take on the responsibility of embodying the brand of Fusework Studios while maintaining my own values. Regardless of whether it is a global, multibillion dollar company or a small Internet Marketing and Website Design Company (with offices in Indianapolis and Muncie, Indiana), the point is to represent your values by making ethical business decisions and providing your clients with the best possible solutions; something that both the public and Leroy Stick feel BP is lacking.

As a result, I am even more motivated to practice what I preach in response to Leroy's skepticism. So, thank you, Leroy Stick, for encouraging me to face this challenge.

Jenn Lisak is a new Project Manager for Fusework Studios, and obviously, we're excited to have her join our team! Look for more posts from Jenn soon.

Fusework Studios Launches Web Site for IU Kokomo

Thursday, January 21, 2010 by Nellie Stout

Original article by Indiana University Kokomo: http://www.iuk.edu/news/?naid=19&ncid=.

Kokomo, Ind. - Indiana University Kokomo has launched a new and improved Web site, www.iuk.edu, featuring easier navigation, online video, vibrant flash images, and socia media integration.

"The new site will allow us to share IU Kokomo in a more engaging and dynamic way. It brings with it a content management system that allows us to better manage updates and changes, as well as the ability to implement analytics that measure site usage and give us the tools to make constant improvements that better serve our users," said Katrina Janes, director of the Office of Communications and Marketing at IU Kokomo. "The redesign and launch of a new university Web site is a huge undertaking, and we are very excited to unveil this new Web presence to the students, campus and community that we serve."

The site, developed by Indianapolis-based Fusework Studios, provides easier navigation for the user, improved search functions, and a consistent look, design, and feel. The first step in the redesign was an audit of the old Web site that included an evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses. This evaluation enforced the need for IU Kokomo to clearly indentify and match target audiences with specific marketing objectives, as well as the need to transform the site from a static information source to a dynamic and engaging marketing tool.

This direction is supported by a recent TeensTALK®survey of high school sophomores which found that 74 percent of the respondents conducted general college research on the Web, and 67 percent visited a specific college Web site. It is clear that higher education institutions are positioning their Web sites as a primary marketing tool and relying more on electronic communication tools. The average Web user today is highly skilled and able to communicate through many technological formats, from text messaging to IM to Twitter. This is particularly true for prospective and current college students.

"This was a huge project and encompassed two years from vendor selection to launch. Every unit on campus participated," said Paul Nowak, vice chancellor for external relations. "A special recognition is due to our marketing and IT departments, and especially Rudy Kizer, our campus Web manager, and Katrina Janes."

Indiana University Kokomo serves a seven county, primary service area in north central Indiana. The campus offers more than 40 academic programs including four graduate degrees.
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Fusework Studios provides service in Business Blogging, IT Services, SEO Indianapolis, Indiana Website Design, Indiana Website Development, Web Based Strategy, Social Media Marketing, Indiana Video Production, Email Marketing Strategy, Corporate Blog, Internet Marketing Indianapolis, and much more.
 

Indiana Video Production is not dead

Tuesday, January 12, 2010 by Laurie Buschmann
Indiana Video Production - Take Action!Indiana video production is alive and well, and there are many production houses in central Indiana that do a fine job at it.

In this age of social media marketing, business blogging and email newsletters, it's important to remember the viability of video in your Internet marketing efforts. 

You've heard it before, "Video tells a story."  But more than that, it's a necessary tool that can impact your bottom line in a variety of ways.  Through visuals and sound, your customers can:
  • Learn more about your business (history, products, process, etc.)
  • Hear testimonials from your customers about how great your product/service is
  • See step-by step how your product works, so customers will buy it themselves
  • Follow how-to instructions for accomplishing a certain task
  • Be inspired and empowered to donate to your cause
  • Be entertained by a different type of advertising
  • Advertise for you by sharing your video across their social media networks
  • And the list goes on....
Doing video is a no-brainer, so let us show you how easy it can be. Just think of all that content that's just waiting to be put out into the world.

Add video production to your web based strategy for 2010, and contact Fusework Studios today to get started.

Indiana Website Development Trends

Friday, November 13, 2009 by Brandon Coppernoll
Since I graduated in 2005, I immediately found a home as a database programmer for a local Indiana website development company. The company's primary focus was to build new websites using their proprietary CMS, and everything had to revolve around this software. The problem with this tactic and approach is that rarely does one piece of software accomplish everything you can dream about. 

We live in an age where SEO, social media communities and Internet marketing reign as kings, and website development becomes only a part of the overall web based strategy. To some, this may seem as a threat to the existence of traditional website development, but I do not feel any personal fear that this is the case. The role has changed, but the need is still very real.

More and more now the "custom development" tag and approach is becoming less prominent. Most ideas have been put to code before. The trick is how do you utilize or critique these tools from several third-parties and create something spectacular. One of the easiest examples of this trend is the inclusion of social media communities with corporate websites and corporate blogging. Unless your need is so specific, you're likely going to be using a third-party application already created for your corporate blogging needs.

Talk to Fusework Studios about website development and about creating a winning web based strategy. We would love to help your business be on the cutting edge of your online web presence.

Corporate Video Production Techniques Have Changed

Friday, November 13, 2009 by Laurie Buschmann

Fusework Studios' Tips for Corporate Video ProductionCorporate 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.
 


Simple Opportunities for Organic Search Engine Optimization

Monday, November 9, 2009 by Derek McClain
Fusework Studios recently held an event for a local chapter of Business Networking International (BNI) at our office in Muncie, Indiana.  The event was designed to be an educational session on organic search engine optimization and business blogging.  The attendees were all local business owners and general managers that are typically not involved in the day-to-day management of their organic search engine optimization strategy.  Understanding this, we did not want to go into technical detail with all of the behind-the-scenes elements that search engines are seeking.  Instead, we focused on simple adjustments that can help make a big difference in organic search.  Often times the simple things are easily overlooked, and by pointing these things out, we were able to raise a few eyebrows and spark interest in our services.organic-search-engine-optimization-graphic

The feedback from our session was great, and it was incredible to see the reaction from the attendees when we uncovered some basic things their website had been missing.  I'd like to share just three pointers from the meeting that are often overlooked.
  • Domain Name - The value of a great keyword domain name is huge.  Consider registering a domain name that includes keywords for the services you provide and putting a microsite behind that domain name.  We recently employed this strategy with one of our microsites which can be found at InternetMarketingIndianapolis.com.

     
  • Title Tags - The page title or title tag absolutely cannot be overlooked.  This is a chance to include keywords relevant to the content on that specific page in one of the areas that search engines are looking at as a top priority.  Using the same title tag for every page or only including one word (such as "About") is not going to help.  Take some time when assigning a title to your new page.  We recently changed our title tag on the Fusework Studios TV website and are now ranking very high for Indiana film and video production.   

     
  • Headings - Pay attention to the headings used at the top of your web pages.  Avoid the standard "Welcome" to our website trap.  Instead, use this heading to include keywords related to your services.  When launching our new Fuseworkstudios.com website, we were able to include Internet marketing within our heading.  This is much better than "Welcome to our new web site."

     

Commitment Is Key to Internet Marketing Success

Friday, October 23, 2009 by Bruce McClain
I had the good fortune this week to attend the 2009 Masters of Business Online conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. This event is hosted by one of our peers in the industry, Evereffect. The President of Evereffect, Jim Brown, did a tremendous job of scheduling outstanding speakers and visionaries from the Indianapolis area to speak. If you haven't attended MBO in the past, make sure to do so next year.

Over the course of the day, I watched a great presentation from the CEO of Brandswag, Kyle Lacy, on the importance of social media. I had the opportunity to hear Jon DiGregory, Founding Partner of Cantaloupe, talk about video production and how it is evolving for the web. Another particularly interesting presentation was from the Founder of Slingshot SEO, Jeremy Dearringer, on how creating inbound links to your site is so important to your search ranking.

While each presentation during the day was about a different area, all of them had one particular theme that stood out time and time again...COMMITMENT.

You see, when you talk about organic search engine optimization, social media marketing or your overall Internet marketing strategy, one thing is always consistent; you need commitment.

I have blogged about this in the past. We have witnessed this over and over again with our clients. The more they commit, the better success they have. We can create the best Internet marketing plan for you, but if you don't commit to it, you will ultimately limit your own success.

If you think about this scenario, it is the same with so many things in life. Take for instance, weight loss. You can hire the best trainer to create a fantastic workout plan for you, however if you don't commit to the program, you will have little chance for success.

Even though each of my fellow Internet marketers had their own stories and products, each of them continually preached about one ever important thing...commitment.

Before you are ready to dive into your next web project make sure you ask yourself one important question.

Are you ready to commit?


Top 50 Blogs in Indiana - Local Internet Marketing Indiana Case Study

Wednesday, October 21, 2009 by Derek McClain
The Top 50 Blogs in Indiana contest has grown to a new scale this year.  What originally started as a list put together by a local blogger in the Indianapolis area has now become a sought after title and the who's who of bloggers in Indiana. 

The growth of this contest is a great example of Internet marketing in Indiana.  This web site will receive a huge amount of traffic because each blog nominated is going to have a share of followers in the local Internet marketing community.  Each blogger will no doubt reach out to its followers and ask for votes.  Simply put, this is the perfect place to find some of the best content on the web in Indiana.  

If you find the content on our blog to be helpful, please take a moment to head over to http://top50indianablogs.com/ and vote for Fusework Studios. 

We will be back later to follow up with this contest and share the results.  This will no doubt be another local Internet marketing case study!

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!

Internet Marketing Indiana Keyword Phrase Should Be Good for SEO

Friday, October 16, 2009 by Kevin Hood
Internet Marketing IndianaInternet Marketing Indiana has to be one of my favorite keyword phrases ever. We just added it to our corporate blog yesterday, and with zero content, we are already ranking fourth on the first page of Google for "Internet Marketing Indiana." Of course, that high search engine ranking won't last for long without good quality content.

When writing content and blog posts to target a keyword phrase, there are several steps you can take for search engine optimization purposes.
  1. Begin the title of the article with the keyword phrase. The keyword should have a headline tag if the website is set up correctly.
  2. Begin the article with the keyword phrase and use it again in the first paragraph if you can get away with it.
  3. The keyword should also appear as the title of the web page by using the <title> meta tag. Your company name should be listed after the keyword phrase.
  4. Although Yahoo is supposedly the only search engine paying attention, it is still a good idea to use the keyword phrase in your description and keyword meta tags.
  5. Highlighting the keyword in bold can help improve search engine optimization.
  6. Insert an image into the article with a keyword rich file name, alt tag and description.
We'll stop there and keep it simple for now, but these rules apply when writing content for a website, business blogging or even when using social media sites that are indexed by the search engines. So for now, the organic search engine optimization tips end, and the monitoring of the "Internet Marketing Indiana" keyword ranking begins.

Case Study: Internet Marketing Branding

Monday, September 21, 2009 by Derek McClain
We are in the midst of executing an internet marketing branding campaign for one of our long time clients, Jay-Crew Landscape, Inc.  This campaign combines social media advertising, email marketing and other internet marketing efforts to help increase Jay-Crew's online brand awareness.  The campaign also allows Jay-Crew to expand its list of contacts for further internet marketing efforts.   

While social media internet marketing tools can be very effective, there must be a core idea behind the campaign to ensure our clients will enjoy all of the interent marketing benefits they deserve.  As an interactive advertising agency, it is our job to develop these ideas and strategies to help make these online campaigns successful. 

Here is an overview of the Green for Green Sweepstakes promotion we developed for Jay-Crew:

Basic Idea: Entering this sweepstakes will give you a chance at winning a $1,000.00 landscaping upgrade.  You may pick from services that will meet your needs up to $1,000.00 in value. 

Theme: Green (Money) for Green (Landscaping) Sweepstakes

Goal: To increase the internet marketing branding awareness for Jay-Crew Landscape, Inc. while developing a list of contacts interested in landscape services for future follow-up efforts.

How to Register: We set up GreenForGreenSweepstakes.com to redirect to a page on Jay-Crew's site asking for basic contact information via a web form.  This form was designed to be as straight forward as possible, promoting the ease of registration.  We also ask that all registrants give a brief, creative explanation on why they deserve the $1,000.00.  This is a key element in capturing all of the internet marketing benefits from this campaign.  Now Jay-Crew has background information to add to their contact list for further follow up.

Getting the Word Out: Email marketing allowed us to jump start this campaign.  We have worked with Jay-Crew over the past year or so to develop a high quality, opt-in, email list.  This helped get the word out immediately and encouraged existing contacts to tell others. 

We have also used social media marketing tools such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIN to share word about this promotion.  Several employees at Fusework and Jay-Crew have posted the GreenForGreenSweepstakes.com link on their personal profiles in addition to posting on our company profiles.  This allows everyone involved to share the word with our personal and business network as anyone within 60 miles of Muncie, Indiana can enter this sweepstakes.

Blogging has also played a role in driving people to the site to register.  Several employees here are Fusework Studios maintain personal blogs.  Some have taken it upon themselves to do a blog entry there as well.  A blog post was also added to SmallerIndiana, the niche social network for Indiana  And of course, we have posted on the company blog which you are reading right now.

Covering the Basics:  Updating the Web site itself has also played into our web based strategy.   Creating a new graphic for this campaign has given us the ability to use and repurpose it across all of the online outlets above, including the main page of the web site.  This graphic has also been a key part to the success of this campaign and increasing the internet marketing branding awareness. 

Check out the graphic below and click on it to register!

Jay-Crew-Landscaping-Green-for-Green-Sweepstakes


Web Business Strategy Case Study - Muncie Children's Museum

Thursday, September 10, 2009 by Derek McClain
Prior to revamping an existing web site it is important to take a step back and reflect upon the web business strategy.  What are you trying to accomplish with the new website layout?  What is your Website strategy moving forward?  At Fusework Studios we are faced with these questions every day.  The Muncie Children's Museum website is a great example on executing a Website strategy to hit 4 unique target markets effectively. 

Let's take a look at the web business strategy that went down behind the scenes of this website:

The Muncie Children's Museum approached Fusework Studios with an outdated website that was difficult to update and was not accomplishing their internet marketing objectives.  After doing an in depth discovery meeting with the client, we were able to determine that the museum really has 4 target markets: Parents, Children, Teachers and Members.  Each of these groups has a specfic set of needs, but there are also certain areas that apply to all groups.  We were able to work collectively in designing a home page that acts as a portal for each of the target markets to access information that is important to them.  The end result are 4 mini sections to a web site, each with it's own feel that address the needs of a particular user while still maintaining the Muncie Children's Museum overall brand.

In doing this redesign we have seen a dramatic increase in the quality of traffic coming to the site.  Let's take a look at the stats:
  • An average of 1,500 visits per month
  • Visitors are going to roughly 6 pages per visits
  • Bounce rates are right around 25% or less in some months
  • Average time spent on the site consistently hovers around 3 minutes
Parents, Children, Teachers and Members are now finding the site when Googling search terms like:   
  • Muncie Indiana attractions
  • children's activities in Indiana
  • Indiana children's museum
  • places to hold parties in Muncie
  • field trips indiana
  • field trips for schools
This redesign in combination with the client keeping the website updated on a regular basis with fresh content has resulted in field trips and birthday parties being scheduled online.  We have also been able to provide them with an effective tool to communicate to prospective members and existing members online.

Now it is time to move onto the next part of ther web based strategy and begin email marketing.  As web consultants it can sometimes be challenging to accomplish all of the objectives within a web business strategy.  It is always great to see all of the hard work pay off!

Below is a screen shot of the Muncie Children's Museum home page.  You may click on the image to visit the website. 
Muncie-Childrens-Museum-Web-Site

Fusework Studios - Who are we?

Wednesday, September 9, 2009 by Bruce McClain
What is a Social Media Marketing Company? What is an Internet marketing agency? Who is Fusework Studios? I get these questions all the time, when I tell people what I do for a living. 

I would like to take a few minutes to tell you who and what we are. First of all let me tell you what we do. We are Digital Marketing Agency with offices in Indianapolis and Muncie Indiana and clients all around the globe. What does that mean? Think about your traditional marketing agency and all the things they did for you. Now translate that to the digital world. That is where we come in.

We can help you anywhere from Web development to buying ad space on Google. Above all Fusework Studios wants to become your trusted partner and help you plan every aspect of your digital marketing efforts.

Now let me tell you about the most important part of the Fusework formula. That would be our staff. I have the opportunity to manage the greatest group of employees in the industry. Not only are my employees knowledgeable about Social Media Advertising, Web based strategy, and Internet marketing, they also know how to work with our clients.

Fusework employees care. They not only care about our clients as people, they also adopt our client's businesses as their own. My staff routinely stays late into the night to help a client write some copy, or get the just the right shot on a video shoot. My staff instantly is on the case if your server goes down no matter what time of day it is. I am honored and truly blessed to have such a great staff and I know that has been a huge key to our success.

So now you know a little bit about Fusework Studios. Hopefully when you see our sign as you head down I-69 you will know exactly what we do. If you have any other questions about our services please let me know. I would love to help.






Don't forget Conversion.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009 by Bruce McClain
Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Advertising, Blogging, Pay Per Click, Interactive Strategy, Email Marketing, the list can go on and on. These days it seems everyone has a new area of expertise for generating traffic to your site, or your social networks.

While I believe in almost all of these Internet Marketing Strategies, I often wonder when do we talk about your Corporate Internet Marketing, or you Social Media Strategy, why do so many Internet Marketing companies fail to talk about the most important piece to the puzzle, CONVERSION.

Sure I can drive thousands of visitors to your site. I have used Google's pay per click service with great success. I have seen companies drive a 100,000 visitors a month to their site using this service. I worked with one company in particular who would spend over $40,000 per month, just to generate traffic. Believe me, it does work.

However, when I asked this company the percentage of visitors they converted on their marketing objective they had no idea. After further review, we discovered it was less than 1%. I may not be a rocket scientist, but that seems like a waste of money. What about CONVERSION?

I now see all these companies who claim they are a Social Media Agency. I even saw a proposal that promised to increase the number of fans a company had on Facebook, and to increase their Twitter followers. Again, this is not a bad thing, but what about CONVERSION?

You need to have a Web Business Strategy for how you are going to convert your traffic to be customers or clients. You need to give them multiple opportunities to execute your objective, and you need to make it so straightforward your visitors have no doubt what you want them to do on your site.

As you make your plan, think about the typical grocery store. Where do they put all of everyday items like milk, eggs, meat, etc? Yep, you are correct in the back of the store. Do you think they have a strategy behind that. Absolutely. They are trying to convert their business objective, and to get you to purchase, look at, smell, and sample, other items on your way to the things you really need. They are all about CONVERSION.

As you look at this blog post you may notice small buttons, or self promotional ads all over the page. Do you thing that we just put them there for design purposes? Absolutely not, we have an objective in mind. We blog to get you to our site. We want to get you to our site to tell you more about Internet marketing and what we do as a Internet Marketing Agency in Indianapolis Indiana. We hope you find the information helpful and also candidly we want you to talk to us more and ultimately become your trusted business partner.

So before you spend next years advertising budget with Google, take a few moments to think about what you will do when you drive traffic to your site. Google may be great at driving traffic, but what about CONVERSION?

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?

social-media-indianapolis-smaller-indiana-us-senior-open-giveaway

Social Media Indianapolis - It's Pouring with Results!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009 by Kevin Hood

Social Media in Indianapolis has just taken off in the past three months. The local marketers and Internet geeks have been at it for a while, but the other guys have caught on. I first heard local weathermen, radio DJs, and even Bob & Tom talking about starting a Twitter account a couple of months ago. 

Several Indianapolis celebrities are using Twitter to its full potential. The always trying to be funny meteorologist @PaulPoteet, from the Indianapolis ABC affiliate RTV6, caught on a little earlier than most and really gets how to use social media in Indianapolis. He posts Indianapolis weather updates, funny thoughts, personal videos, and RT's (retweets) other Twitter weather updates from around the State of Indiana. I sent a message (tweet) on Twitter to Paul Poteet about hail in Fishers and he sent a message back saying, "thanks for the tip Kevin...I used it in TV Land this morning." My weather update was used on the news broadcast?!? How cool is that? This little bit of social media effort has changed my viewing habits when watching the Indianapolis news.

So who do you think my favorite weatherman in Indianapolis is? The social media Indianapolis weatherman king . . . Paul Poteet.

Let's translate this to social media for Indianapolis business:

  • Who do you want your customers favorite Twitter supplier to be? The other guy or you?
  • Who do you want your potential customers to begin conversations with? The competitor using social media in Indianapolis?
Nope, you want to be like the social media Indianapolis guru, resident and weatherman Paul Poteet. Make them turn the dial to your business.

Social Media Internet Marketing - The Successful Client

Friday, May 1, 2009 by Derek McClain
Social Media Internet Marketing can be very intimidating.  Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Smaller Indiana...and they just keep coming.  Deciding where you want to build your social media community takes time and research. 

At Fusework Studios we have been doing social media advertising and internet marketing for quite some time now.  Recently in preparation for our annual meeting, we took a look back at what makes our client's successful with this "new media" we are all so involved in.  We tried to make it simple and determined that a successful social media marketing client has three traits that help determine their success.  The common characteristics or traits we came up with are:
  • Client is convinced to take the leap into social media and internet marketing
     
  • Client is willing to let their Internet marketing agency take control
     
  • Client has pledged to make a commitment to stick with it 
Watch the video below to see these points illustrated!



 

Internet Marketing - Ideal Clients from Fusework Studios on Vimeo.

Internet Marketing Indianapolis

Tuesday, April 28, 2009 by Chip McComb
Indianapolis is a hotbed of Internet marketing activity.  Consider the following.
  • Exact Target, one of the world's leading email marketing firms is headquartered in downtown Indianapolis.
  • Compendium Blogware, business blogging SaaS provider also has it's HQ downtown.
  • The Indianapolis Chamber of commerce is leading the way among other chambers by diving into social media through the creation of indylink.com an exclusive niche social community for it's members.
  • Niche social media community, Smaller Indiana is a thriving hotbed of Indianapolis based Internet marketing experts.

I say this in response to a question posed to me recently by a client.   She said... "Do you think that going with a social media agency, or search engine optimization firm on the east/west coast would be a wise choice?"

My response: Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to hire a New York, Boston, LA or Seattle based marketing house to see solid Internet marketing results.  Don't go with a firm just because they have an address on the coast.  Sure, there are a lot of great thought leaders who have made the NYC or the Emerald City their HQ, but the vast majority of firms are on exactly the same footing as the rest of us. 

They have access to the same information and tools that the internet marketers in Indianapolis do.  When you're searching for an Internet marketing agency, social media marketing company, or search engine optimization firm, hire based upon a solid history of results and excellent client service.


JBlogging

Tuesday, April 7, 2009 by Jason Brown
Alright...so I'm trying to come up with a blog post and I thought what is the most relavent thing I could blog about. As Director of Photography for an internet marketing company, my posts will be directed towards video/film production and their use in social media. I'll make sure to do some vlogging as well!

We keep talking about social media. I love it, I consume it. But sometimes I feel very overwhelmed with it.

Right now I'm using Smaller Indiana, Linked in, Facebook, IndyLink, work email, twitter, YouTube and home email. It's like I'm talking to people at the front door...back door...yelling at people out of the second story window while talking on the phone!

How do we deal with it? What's next in social media? Are we going to get more options or streamline the several that are available? What techniques are you using to simplify the social media landscape? These are just some of the things that I'll discuss and issues I'll address as I traverse the social media landscape.

Any ideas / suggestions are welcome!

My link of the day: I know it's old, but it is one my favorite creative videos online.