At long last (and after many sleepless nights), Social Media is finally explained in this one picture.
Enjoy.
Why Wait? Watch the Super Bowl Commercials Now
Why would anyone want to wait until Super Bowl Sunday to watch the actual Super Bowl commercials? That’s nonsense. Most of them (or at least partial versions) are already online.
Matthew’s Day Off (a nod to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) has been making headlines since it was teased last week. So has the Bark Side spot from Volkswagen (with over 10 million views…and growing). Now, the Seinfeld/Leno Acura Transactions commercial has grabbed everyone’s attention.
So, go ahead and watch ‘em before the first touchdown has even been scored. Entertainment Weekly has put together this super handy Superbowl 2012 Commercial Guide.
There’s a New Kid in Town
Account Coordinator Avery McNeely Blogs About Being the New Kid on the Block at G-Force Marketing
The new car smell still lingers as I attempt to capture in writing my first month and a half on the job at G-Force Marketing Solutions.
I arrived at 3300 Battleground Avenue with limited exposure to a traditional agency setting and my only interaction with the automotive industry was the occasional oil and filter change at the local dealership. I wouldn’t claim to be inexperienced, but I’m a creature of habit and I’d grown accustomed to a certain routine. This was my first career move in nearly seven years and it would result in not only a new work environment, but a new home.
My colleagues and I survived those first few weeks with an incredible degree of patience and a high tolerance for pain. In fact, I spent many an evening scouring the inter webs for companies that specialized in delivering fruit baskets and cured meats as a way to give thanks and offer a bribe for future missteps. I might be sensationalizing this a bit, but being the new kid and becoming familiar with new processes is always a bit overwhelming.
In my former life, I belonged to a sensory branding agency in the greater Charlotte area that provided custom music programming for large retail chains and restaurants. We managed our own platforms and our focus was to grow existing services by leveraging our relationships in the music industry to build a solid voice for these brands in the marketplace. I certainly wasn’t familiar with insertion orders or media traffic, let alone the landscape of Central Florida’s automotive dealerships. With expectations abound, it was time to sink or swim.
I’d like to thank everyone at G-Force for making my transition as smooth as possible. It’s a real pleasure to work with each and every one of you.
Noteworthy Perks at G-Force Marketing
- Short Commute
- Spacious Office
- Tight-Knit Staff
- NoShavember (Winner of Best Mustache!)
- Relaxed Environment
- New Technology
- New Media
- Proximity to Giacamo’s Italian Deli
- Proximity to Battleground Park
- Jingles
- Free Soft Drinks
- Being a part of Sealy’s Friends & Family
- Pet Friendly
- In-House Production
- Media Savvy
- Professionalism
Successful Socializing: That’s the Way I Like It
To like or not to like. For anyone that has a Facebook account, that’s a daily option.
Mark West is the Social Media Editor for G-Force Marketing Solutions
As a Social Media Editor, part (OK, a LOT) of my job is research, so I like a gazillion pages. I have co-workers and friends make comments or roll their eyes about how many pages I like (they see it in their FB feed). In all honesty, some of these pages I really do like and some I…well… don’t. Bet you do too, if you think about it.
So, what generates a true like from me on a Fan Page? My interest generally lies in Popular Culture, so most of the celebrities, movies and TV shows I like, I’m truly a fan of. Some more than others; but I’m obsessed with news from Hollyweird. Other pages I’m a fan of usually offer inspiration (speakers, non-profits, causes), benefits/coupons/giveaways (retail/restaurants) or tips (cooking, shopping, home renovations).
For me, the benefits mentioned above, are essential ingredients in making a Facebook (or Twitter or Google+) fan page successful. This is the generation of “what’s in it for me?” and I’m proudly a card carrying member. What’s the benefit of your page? Pages that don’t know how to relate to people (or it’s audience) lose the meaning of what Social Media is all about. Period.
That’s my free tip of the day. And if you’re a business, that’s a very important piece of information to know. Social Networking is not about selling a product; it’s about a building a relationship. What builds a relationship? The right communication. (I figured that one out from all those Rom-Com’s I claim to not watch).
Now, go forth, communicate, and treat your likes wisely.
The Worst Passwords of the Year
Almost every webpage we use needs a password. Let’s face it, we either use the same one over and over or employ an incredibly simple one and hope autofill does it’s job.
I Need a Password for My Password
A recent article has outed the worst passwords of 2011. You’ve probably used one or maybe even quite a few of them. Hackers love these because it makes their job so much easier. And who are we to make their task more daunting, right?
Take a look at the list below and see if yours made the list. By the way, you might want to steer clear of your pet’s name. It looks like Shadow and Bailey are all the rage.
1. password
2. 123456
3.12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passw0rd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football
How to Be a Freelancer in this Tough Economy
Our Freelance Graphic Designer, Betsy Huffine, offers guidance to the self employed creative types of the world.
Betsy Carves a Way For Herself in the World of Freelance Graphic Design
Since my last full-time job was eliminated in 2008, I have been a freelance graphic designer. Once I got over the initial shock of being laid off, I set out to build a freelance client base. Slowly, I developed a system to assure myself a steady flow of work. In my experience, there are a few key factors in achieving self-employed success. The best, without a doubt, is…NETWORKING. After being in this business for 17 years, you meet all kinds of people who can help you when you are trying to make it on your own. Making these connections and keeping them is the best way to build a firm freelance foundation because you never know who will need help and when. All my freelancing jobs have come from knowing someone who knew someone who needed help.
The next key ingredient in being a busy freelancer is….FLEXIBILITY. You must be flexible and willing to start a job right away even though you have a vacation planned or other projects you are working on. You never know when your work will dry up so you have to take most of the jobs that come your way. You can’t be a “job snob” either. If you intend to keep working, you must let everyone know that you are willing to accept any job that pays the bills.
The last thing in being a successful freelancer is…TRAINING. In this day and age, with technology moving faster than the speed of light, you have to keep up with your skills and make sure you know all about new software programs that are available. It used to be that if you knew InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop you could be very much in demand. However; with the digital age upon us, you have to know Flash, Dreamweaver and HTML in order to stay competitive and keep getting work.
But never fear, my fellow freelancers, there are jobs out there for us! More companies these days are willing to hire freelancers instead of full-time employees. Speaking of which, if you need a dependable freelancer, please don’t hesitate to give me a call. –BH
Send in the Clouds
I’ve loved music as long as I can remember. As a kid, I’d spend all of my weekly allowance at the record store. Since the digital age began, I’ve had problems converting from vinyl and CD’s to virtual music (aka downloads). For me, there’s something about a physical album; browsing through the pictures, reading the liners notes, and touching the disc is part of the overall experience.
This week, Apple introduced iTunes Match as part of it’s iCloud service. For around $25 a year, you can store up to 25,000 songs and play them from basically any location. It’s a great service – and I’ve already subscribed to it. Still, I find myself torn between the two worlds.
On one hand, I have “hard copies” of almost every piece of music I own. If my computer blows up or online services are down, no problem; I have it on the shelf. On the other hand, playing my albums from anywhere has its advantages. Plus, online music storage doesn’t take up nearly as much space as the albums and CD’s in my living space.
Amazon also has a Cloud service and Google is currently developing one. So, it’s getting easier and easier to find places to store your music for a nominal fee, or in some cases, for free. I know people that have never bought a CD. They download everything – music, TV shows, movies, books.
So, what’s my hold-up? I suspect nostalgia. What’s your favorite musician supposed to sign when you meet them, your iPod? What about value? The 1st album of the next generation’s Beatles will essentially be worthless since it’s just mp3 files.
I’ll most likely continue to dabble in both worlds; a few downloads here and a few CD purchases there. That’s the one great thing about all this exciting, new technology; we have more options than ever before. Well, at least for now.
- MWB
Fantasy Football Fever
Graphic Designer Joe Urana Blogs About How His Competitive Spirit Kicks Into High Gear with Fantasy Football
I’ve been playing Fantasy Football for about 4 years now. It took me a while to get into it because I enjoy watching football with no strings attached. In fantasy football, you might find yourself rooting for players and teams you’re not a fan of and/or your favorite team’s division rivals.
I usually play traditional fantasy football, but this year, I’m playing ESPN’s Gridiron Challenge. In the GC, you act as the owner of your team with a $50 million salary cap and score as many points as you can in your league. A player’s salary will go up or down depending on the players performance. Other players in your league can have the same players on their roster as you; your success depends on how you manage your team and the player bye weeks.
So far this season, I’m in first place in my league with a 45pt lead on second place. I drafted Aaron Rodgers in the beginning of the season. Last week he was on a bye week, I HAD to get him back. Well, he was now going to cost me $7.9 million ($6.5 million when I drafted him). He’s a big player who scores a lot of fantasy points. To get him back, I had to replace 1st tier players with 2nd or 3rd tier players. I also had another big decision to make; do I drop Calvin Johnson (the leading receiver in the NFL) and replace him or take the zero points for the week? I know this will cut my lead, or worse, drop me to second place, but in the long run it should pay off. There’d be no way I could afford him later. I kid you not; I accumulated about 15 different post-its with different roster options for the week.
Finally, at 12:36 pm on Sunday (24min to kick off), I made my decision; I’m going take the hit and keep CJ on my roster. Did it work out? Yes and no. I’m still in first place with a 15pt lead, but there is nothing more frustrating than watching the players on my post-its that I didn’t play score a ton of points. I expected more points with some of my other players, but that’s the NFL for you. You can’t predict what is gonna happen from week to week; no matter how many stats you read or how much advice you take from the experts.
Now, let me get my post-its together for the next game. - JU
Design and Branding Worthy of a President
Graphic Designer Amber Allen takes a look at how cohesive marketing can even help in Politics.
When it comes to branding and marketing in political campaigns; you either have it or you don’t. It seems that most candidates running for office, nationally or locally, pay little to no attention to what a well thought out and well branded campaign can actually do for them.
Let’s take the Obama campaign into consideration. His campaign was the first one in history to use a coherent and comprehensive program of fonts, logos, slogans and web design. He is one of the first presidential candidates in history to be treated like a high-end consumer brand that needed to be sold to the public. His design campaign was not only carried through with cohesive colors and fonts, but his brand was also carried over to the digital revolution. This attracted a younger generation through Facebook and Twitter.
Obama’s campaign worked incredibly well, not just because of his message of change, but due to the consistency of his brand. Everything in his campaign was always the same. The font Gotham was almost always used. Even the smallest details were well thought out and executed. And that was important for Obama, because he needed to present a campaign of being well-managed and in control. His branding and marketing campaign reflected how he needed to be treated as a candidate.
It’s obvious how well Obama’s campaign did in 2008. This is largely due to his marketing stance. In actuality, political came secondary. This rarely happens, but if candidates actually paid more attention to the branding and marketing of their candidacy, the supporters that they could gain would increase dramatically. - AA
