For those unfamiliar with the web, (the short-timers) here are some secondary cues that can be helpful to sift through the silt of spam and find those tiny gold nuggets of truth:

Trustworthy

• Citations from other trustworthy sources
• Social media signals (people have liked it, tweeted it or +1’d it)
• High-quality domain name
• Clear indications of who the author and publisher are
• A professional logo
• Proper grammar
• A modern, well-designed site
• People are commenting on and discussing the information in the comments section

Untrustworthy

• Misspelled words
• Clip art and stock photography
• No one is commenting on or sharing this page
• Little or no information about the publisher and author
• Content has no indication of when it was published or updated
• Page links to unrelated, commercial content
• An over-abundance of advertisements
• No author indicated, no one wants to take credit

Whether you are a publisher or a reader, understanding these signals is important to productively operate in the online space. If you have a website, before spending thousands on getting people to your website with SEO and advertising, don’t forget the site itself! If people can’t trust it, they won’t use it, and you better believe that most Internet users are already well practiced at judging the trustworthiness of a website.

And I am not the only one impressed by this talent!

Our very own graphic designer, Robin Fight, is being recognized by Women in the Arts, Inc. in the “Celebrating the Genius of Women” exhibit at the Orlando Public Library. Robin is passionate about sketching and illustrating and it clearly shows through in her personal artwork. Women in the Arts, Inc. is a non-profit organization in Orlando dedicated to promoting and raising public awareness of women’s contributions to the arts, including performing, visual, written and fine arts. Each year the organization sponsors a juried visual arts competition open to local professional female artists. Five finalists are chosen to have their work displayed at the Orlando Public Library and to compete for Best of Show and People’s Choice awards.

Robin has been chosen as one of the finalists for this year’s competition. Her artwork has been on display in the “Celebrating the Genius of Women” exhibit at the Orlando Public Library for the last month and a presentation of the Best of Show and the People’s Choice awards will be held on Saturday, April 27. (Pictured above is the illustration entitled ”Kissing Rabbits” –  one of Robin’s pieces on display at the Orlando Public Library.)

For more information, visit http://www.womenintheartsinc.org/artcompetition.htm

Install Google Webmaster Tools

Google provides a suite of very effective tools that allow you to diagnose problems on a website and communicate that website’s disposition to Google. Resolve any HTML errors, and follow any suggestions that it provides. These tools also allow you to submit a sitemap to Google, compose a robots.txt file and set your geographic target. Want to rank better in Google? Makes sense to do everything this tool is asking you to do, within reason.

Write a Blog

Think about it: why would a website rank well for “pool tables” and pool table accessories if it doesn’t continually provide information about pool tables. No matter how awesome the copy on your page about pool tables is, chances are it’s getting stale, may be even a few years old. Instead of constantly refreshing that content, which can get to be very challenging, use your blog to talk about pool and pool tables. If you sell and service pool tables, then you should be an expert on the subject, with many stories to tell. Tell them, and make sure to include your target keywords whenever appropriate.

Take a Good Long Look at Your Home Page

• Are at least three of your target keywords or keyword phrases on this page?
• Are they in actual text and not images?
• Do you have a meta title and meta description that includes what you do and where you do it?
• Are H1 and H2 tags being used for your target keywords or for generic website text like “Welcome” and “Contact Us Today?”
• Are there links to vital site content prominently displayed?
• Is there body text that discusses what the website is about and the locations associated with it?
• Is there a blog feed or something else that regularly updates/changes on this page?

Claim and Standardize Your Directory Listings

As Google relies more on co-occurrence and lexical co-citation analysis to determine the popularity of domains (if you didn’t understand me on the first part of this sentence, just trust me on this next thing), it’s very important that your organization is broadly and consistently represented in relevant and trusted directory websites. This means you need to claim and in many cases correct/update your organizations’s name, address and phone number (NAP).

Search engines can’t just rely on the name of a business to identify it. A lot of businesses share names with other businesses or are just named the very thing they do (shout out to our valued client Commercial Warehousing, Inc.). However, two businesses with the same name aren’t going to share an address or phone number, which is why consistency in your NAP is vital. Even if your business has several points of contact, you’ll want to focus your SEO efforts on your primary phone number and address.

The measures discussed above may not be a good fit for every site out there, but for most, following these steps can go a long way to getting your website listed on the first page of search engine results. If you are in a more competitive field,  you might need the help of an SEO expert to compete. If it comes to that, find an agency that’s a good fit for your organization’s needs. There is no such thing as a “one size fits all” SEO strategy.

1. Beatle-mania

Even though I wasn’t a “pull-out-your-hair, scream-at-the-top-of-your-lungs” Beatle-maniac, the disorder was part of my DNA growing up in the 60s. At one time or another, each of the four lads were my heartthrobs.

2. Family bonding

My favorite cousins shared my passion for the Beatles. I remembering spending many hours glued to the stereo speakers listening to Sgt. Pepper, the music swirling magically into our heads. My kids grew up on the Beatles, too. “Drive My Car” “Here Comes The Sun” and yes, “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!” blared from the car speakers on numerous trips to the mall or soccer games.

3. I love printmaking

What could be cooler than an historic poster painstakingly recreated with wood engraving and letterpress? My giddiness can be explained: I was a printmaking major in undergraduate school at the University of Massachusetts and took graduate courses at the University of Florida. I still go into an instant “Scooby Doo biscuit high” when I smell fresh ink being mixed on the ink slab or see a museum exhibit of fine prints.

4. Poster art via the Web

It’s a pleasure to easily see and share Internet stories paying homage to past communications methods that keep the “old crafts” alive. I loved the inking process and pulling prints off the press – the final reward after all the hard work.

5. Inspiration

The psychedelic design of Yellow Submarine inspired one of my early poster contest winners. Many years later, I stumbled on a school assignment in my daughter Sarah’s Rhode Island School of Design portfolio that emulated the whimsical animation for the Yellow Submarine movie and album art. The inspiration didn’t fall far from the tree!

Our best ideas are built on the personal experiences, passions and influences the world presents to us. We can also learn a lot by observing the geniuses that came before us – like John, Paul, George and Ringo. Applying our storehouse of creative “fodder” to client problems is something we strive to do every day, through smart design, color, illustration, word crafting and web development.

Of course, each of us has our own creative triggers. Today, this video was one of mine. I hope you enjoy it, too!

Footnote: Peter Dean, the artist who headed the team that recreated the poster in the video, graciously fulfilled my request to have my very own copy! That would be yours truly in the photo, of course, doing my best John impersonation. 

An ad typically appears in paid media. That means it has to compete with other ads to get noticed by hyper-short attention spans. But A.I.D.A. applies to other communication contexts, too. Brochures, social media posts, postcards, even executive presentations all have to compete in one way or another to get noticed and succeed. For simplicity, I’ll use the word “ad” as a placeholder for all of these forms.

STEP 1: ATTRACT ATTENTION 

The first order of business – always. Sadly, the vast majority of ads don’t attract attention. Because of this, they fail. Why? Because they’re overstuffed with content, poorly designed, littered with clichés or irrelevant (or all of the above at once). Readers have a built-in radar and can instantly detect any of these sins. Consequently, those ads blend in and/or are ignored and never have a fighting chance to reach Step 2.

STEP 2: AROUSE INTEREST

Elaborate on or “pay off” whatever approach you used to attract the reader’s attention in Step 1 while saying something beneficial or “sticky.” Their state of mind is simple: “What’s in it for me?” If you don’t quickly answer that question, there won’t be a fair trade – their precious time for your ad – and you’ll lose them. Quickly convert the reader’s interest to desire in Step 3.

STEP 3: STIMULATE DESIRE

The reader should now see something in your ad that might fulfill a need or want, solve one of their problems or help them become more successful – something that appeals to their emotional or rational nature. That reader may then begin to “long” for what you have to offer. Once the ad has stimulated desire, give them an easy way to act on it in Step 4.

STEP 4: MOVE TO ACTION

Tell them what you want them to do with precise words and/or images. Click? Call? Buy? Learn? Share? Join? Refer? Your web address and phone number should always appear in Step 4 – especially if they serve as mechanisms to help the reader respond accordingly.

EPILOGUE

A.I.D.A. can be applied to virtually every form of communication – sermons, documentaries, editorials, sales presentations, even love songs. Speaking of love, if this formula reminds you of the steps in the biological mating process, you’re not alone. Consider the peacock.

How do you make sure your ad or message satisfies the formula? I’ll cover this in a follow-up post detailing the crucial difference between creativity and agency creativity.

In an integrated campaign, it’s possible to “assign” these steps to various media designed to work in tandem to orchestrate a behavior. For example, Step 1 might be achieved with an attention-grabbing web ad designed to “tease” a reader into clicking or calling. A website, sales rep or phone center would then fulfill Steps 2, 3 and 4. 

Photo Credit: Madison Berndt 

The theme of the ADDY Awards this year was “Design a Brighter Tomorrow” and with my creative family here at CNP, I know that’s what we’ll be doing for some time to come! Each project is a labor of love and we are grateful for the opportunity our clients give us to work on these amazing projects.

Here is a recap of a few of the evening’s highlights:

Benny Awards (Best in Category) & Gold ADDY Awards:

We also took home one other Benny for advertising industry self-promotion integrated campaign. This year, we received Gold & Silver ADDY Awards for the following projects:

Other Gold ADDY Awards

• LRMC Areas of Excellence Microsite (visit site)
• Polk State College Foundation Wine for Wisdom Event Invite
  
• CNP 21st Anniversary Celebration
• LRMC Areas of Excellence Campaign Photography

Silver ADDY Awards

• Harrell’s Fertilizer T&L Maxx Line Product Brochure
• Harrell’s Fertilizer Partnership Alliance Brochure
• LRMC Pearl Organized Around You Ad
• Silver Moon Drive-In Addy Winners Book Ad
• Saunders Law Group Addy Winners Book Ad
• Central Florida Development Council Website
• Commercial Warehousing Website
• Family Worship Center Website
• Lakeland Regional Medical Center Responsive Website (visit site)
• MIDFLORIDA Power Play :60 Sec. Radio Ad
• MIDFLORIDA Power Play Campaign
• Josh Giles Foundation Logo Family
• Global Produce Sales Moore Farms Logo
• Women’s Resource Center Gingerbread Events Illustrations