Being interested in the racing world, we decided to begin creation of an interactive infographic for the popular Nürburgring Nordschleife racetrack in Germany. The track has been around since 1927 and has large amounts of data under its belt. Since there is such a vast amount of data, an interactive (opposed to a static image) infographic is most suitable.

The infographic will cover information such as cars and drivers with the top laptimes. When the user selects a part of the track (turns and straights), an image of the selection will be displayed. Following the image will be an in depth description of what a driver should know prior to driving on it – tips, description of the road, elevation, turn degree, etc.

Our goal with this interactive infographic is to not only display track data but to help first-time visitors be better prepared. You can play the track on video games such as Gran Turismo or Forza, which boast track accuracy; however, they cannot properly simulate track specifics such as the feel of the pavement, bumps, elevation, and so forth.

The Nürburgring Nordschleife is 12.9-miles long and one of the world’s most demanding tracks with 154 turns in just the Nordschleife section alone (excluding the GP-Strecke section mainly used for F1) – a driver’s skill, focus, preparation, vitality, and endurance will definitely be put to the test. Being so demanding also makes it more dangerous than the average racetrack. Hopefully our interactive infographic will be able to help people be better prepared and have a better understanding of what to expect when they get there.

We’re excited about this project and will definitely share it with the internet once completed. Stay tuned for updates!

Infographics take data and meshes it with design in hopes of making something easier to understand for the viewer. They’re much more common than you think and most of us see it everyday. When we check the weather, it is usually displayed in a table with clouds, sunshine, rain, snow, etc. — well, that is an infographic representation of data in regards to weather.

When looking at an infographic design, you could ask it a multitude amount of questions with only one visual interpretation of data. For example, when you’re looking at a weather forecast you can get answers to many questions:

• What’s the weather like tomorrow?
• What’s the high? The low?
• What are the chances of rain throughout the week?
• How strong are the winds going to be?
• And so forth…

With web technologies getting more and more advanced, infographics have evolved from static images to interactive web applications. The basic form can be shown in a weather forecast as well. You can set parameters such as: 10 day, 7 day, 3 day, and hourly forecasts.

Interactive infographics are a great innovation because it allows the designer/programmer of the infographic to incorporate more data into a single design; however, it does take much longer to create. Unlike static image infographics, an interactive infographic requires not only design but also programming and a little more brainstorming. It must programmatically work and be designed to be aesthetically appealing — it can’t have any hiccups with loading designs and data.

With dawn of a new information age, Data will only grow larger and difficult to manage. With so much data floating around, using Inforgraphics as the first step will allow data to make sense.

Don’t let your analytical data change the fact that real humans are experiencing your brand online. Numbers are great, but the meaning behind those numbers will set you apart from the rest of the pack. Don’t just throw away more money towards advertising and promotion. Chances are the human beings in your data are telling you something.. you just need to listen. Lastly, don’t be afraid to really experiment. You might be one brilliant idea away from really attracting the people you want.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Put your business goggles on and let’s see why a Blog is a valuable business tool (focusing on B2B sales):

1. Replaces Your Website’s Press Section – Your company blog can be structured as an alternative to your company press section on your website. A blog doesn’t necessarily have to be about your personal activities. It can be about your business activities. I mean at the end of the day, the person reading your company blog is trying to learn more about you and your company professionally and probably not what you just ate for lunch.

2. Becomes Your Speaking Platform – In traditional marketing and pr, the strategy for any company is to be an expert in your field. Having a corporate blog helps you achieve the “expert role” without having to book speaking gigs across the US. Can’t write, then video tape yourself. Don’t like the way you look on camera, then voice record yourself.

3. First Step To Social Media Participation – I believe that having a blog is the easier way to see return on your efforts. Reason why is we all have this notion of when you create a facebook page, the expectation is to have 100’s of fans “liking” your page in a short time period. The reality is that not everyone one is interesting and nothing can deflate you more than seeing 0 fans like your page. With a blog, it really doesn’t matter. Sure comments are great, but what’s better are link backs. Link backs help ensure your worth/creditability. If someone likes a particular article your company wrote, then they are going to share it amongst the people they know. For every website that posts your link, you get you closer to the higher PR (page rank) value your website needs.

ROI (Return-on-Investment)?
Here’s a case study of one our clients that added a blog to their corporate website and these are the results (per client’s request, their name has been kept confidential):

Before Blog
Demographic: Upper Small to Medium sized companies
Specific Contact: CTO, CFO, or Office Manager
Sales Activities: 1-2 Phone Calls per year | 5 email inquires per year
Online Exposure:
Google : Page 6 on competitive keywords
Yahoo : Page 10 on competitive keywords
MSN/Bing: Page 2 on competitive keywords
Page Rank: 2

After Blog
Demographic: Upper Small to Medium Sized Companies
Specific Contact: CTO, CFO, or Office Manager
Sales Activities: 1-4 Calls per Month | 20 + email inquiries per year
Online Exposure: Google: Page 1, Yahoo: Page 1, and MSN/Bing: Page 1
Page Rank : 4

Why is company creditability so important? It’s all about trust. Clients need to trust in your ability and dedicating time to really pour all that expertise into an article can really go a long way. Creditability through articles can work with most industries. As an example, one of our clients has a dermatologist practice in Maryland and has a great reputation for being a good doctor. Recently we suggested that he write a couple of articles on skin care related topics to provide information that he would normally provide to his patients, for others to see. Here are the two articles:

——————————-
1. Top 10 Things To Know About Acne – Written By: Dr. Norman Lockshin and Dr. Ben Lockshin
What causes acne?Acne is a hormonally driven condition that results in clogging of the pores causing the formation of open and closed comedones (blackheads and whiteheads). This occlusion causes a backup of sebum, which can lead to inflammatory papules and cysts. [Read More...]

2. Sunscreens – Written By: Dr. Norman Lockshin and Dr. Ben Lockshin
Since the 1970’s, sunscreens have evolved into products that at first were intended to help people avoid painful sunburns and later found to be important in the prevention of skin cancers as well as avoiding premature wrinkling and skin pigmentation. [Read More...]
——————————-

Both examples show the importance of how simple informative articles can really provide value to others who weren’t patients to begin with. As the articles gain more PR value within the search engines, potential patients looking for answers online for any one of those topics above may stumble upon the articles and realize that this doctor is knowledgeable about the specific topic. This helps the doctor earn the potential patients trust and may motivate the patient to choose the doctor for future needs.

Of course specific rules (especially the legal kind) need to be thought through before writing articles about specific topics. Also you never want to provide misleading information because at the end of the day you want to be as transparent as possible. Do it right and you can find yourself in a win-win situation for your business and your clients.

Don’t worry this isn’t a sales pitch, but rather a gentle reminder to rethink your online marketing message. With the social media sonic boom we have all experienced, there was (and still is) a mad rush to get on linkedin, facebook, start a blog, rethink your website content, etc and yet after the dust has settled, the ROI for all your efforts looks sadder than a cat soaked in water.

I believe the main reason for the lack luster return is we effectively took out the human element of our marketing messages. Our main focus has been to develop a message online created based on our assumptions, making it SEO friendly, and published in a automated format, almost slamming it in the face of any poor soul who decided to “content with or friend” you.

So What’s The Solution? It’s simple really. Stop selling and start listening. All of us have been taught that in order to be effective with Social Media, you have to put out content and hope that it sparks dialog and possible business. The problem is because we are really digging for new content, most of it isn’t any good. It’s true that you need to be active with content, but quality of the content is more important. What if for example, instead of posting where you are, what you are doing, or what sort of deal you are running, you decided to just sit back and start to listen to the people in your network talk. By listening we can know what everyone is looking for and how you can position your company’s services via an effective marketing message to grab their attention. The idea is to create content holding true to a specific message that directly brings value to the intended person. Quality of message rather than quantity.

Let’s get more specific. As an example, Linkedin is a great way to connect with others and constantly post all the boring things you are doing along with 90% of the other people posting similar posts. What if you decided to start digging around the “Answers” section and try to help someone out with a problem they are having without heavily promoting your business. Just simply helping without strings attached. What if you joined a group and did the same thing, but all you did was interact with others and got to know them a little more? Sounds like more work, but I can almost promise you that the results will be a lot better than just writing out a meaningless 140 character status.

If we keep to our simple old school ways of building strong relationships by listening to others, trying to help them, and ultimately providing tremendous value like we do outside of the online world, then the rewards are endless. Your company can develop a better marketing message based on what you hear is needed and at the same time, you are building a strong network of business relationships that can last forever.

The title sounds stuffy, but I assure you the article won’t be (crossing fingers).  Okay so where to begin?  By now you’ve Googled your way through some level of knowledge when it comes to online marketing.  As I’m sure you are pretty sick of seeing a “top 10 list” of ways to do things, I figure we would change it up and use bullet points instead of creating a numbered list…. (cue in laughs) So here goes nothing…

Here’s our list of steps to creating an online presence for you business:

Step 1 :: Planning
Any project with a successful completion needs to start with a good plan.

• Ideal Client – This is important as a basis for anything you do.  Knowing who your target client is and how they find a company like yours online will help you determine if a web presence is even needed.  If your ideal client uses the web to find a company like yours, then understanding how they search and what your website needs to say is critical.
• Market Research – Look at how your competitors are handling the online landscape and determine if they are being successful at it.  If you don’t have competitors, look at websites that closely relate to your company’s services to see what they do.  This will not only help you plan the layout of your website, but it can also help you understand what works and what doesn’t when it comes to strategy.
• Website Layout – Think of your website as a brick and mortar establishment that can be seen by everyone, anywhere, at anytime.  Just like office space, how do you want to design your website, what sort of information do you want to include, and what sort of image do you want to represent (branding).
• Goals – This is important because everything needs to have an outcome to determine ROI (return on investment).  Success measuring is the best way to describe it.  What sort of outcome are you looking for?  This will help determine the right online marketing strategy.

Step 2 :: Creating

• Online Marketing Strategy – Depending on your goals, this strategy should include the specific online marketing channel(s) needed to get the job done.  Options available are:

1. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – Having a good SEO program will help your website be found locally or worldwide.  SEO is generally considered a foundational marketing avenue and usually requires a longer time period to gain traffic/exposure (using whitehat methods).  The key to a good SEO program is keyword/search term research.  Knowing the best search term to use can help you optimize each page on your website and not only help build creditability, but be easily found online.  Of course other factors such as link building, website structure, and other variables play a part, but it always comes back down to knowing the right keywords.
2. Social Media – Social Media is a large subject on its own, mainly because there isn’t a clear-cut method to gaining specific results.  It’s a dynamic area of online marketing and requires constant attention. Choosing the right social media outlet is key to not wasting time and money.  Many default to Facebook as the answer, but depending on the business, it may not be very effective. For anyone just starting out, our recommendation is to begin with a blog and talk about all the subjects that a potential client would be interested when it comes to your services.  Then publish your blog content on different social media websites such as twitter, linkedin, facebook, digg, etc.  This will hone your writing skills and expose your company’s capabilities to all potential clients.
3. Online Advertising – Web Advertising usually consists of participating in the Google Ad network or Overture Ad network.  There are ton of other networks you could use to advertise, but these two are the largest.   One thing with Online Advertising is that it can yield immediate results, but at a price.  At a minimum companies can spend close to $1,500 per month on advertising online depending on the competition intensity.   Having the right combination of ad copy, landing page design, and keyword/search terms is vital for success.  If you don’t get it right, than you could be pouring money into an advertising program that doesn’t yield anything.
4. Word of Mouth – Sometimes an effective online marketing strategy doesn’t necessarily have to be online.  Networking at events with business cards that point potential leads to your website can be very effective.

• Website Design and Development – With your plan ready to go, it’s time to start creating your website.

1. Design – The design of your website will help potential clients get a feel of your company’s personality.  Having a website that is easy to navigate, easy to read, and fun to be on can mean the difference between more business than not.  Just like having the potential client visit your office and read your brochures, you want to make sure the same materials and theme are represented via design on the company’s website.  In order to get design ideas, think about websites you like and try to understand why you like them.  Based on that you can either find a template online to purchase or work with a designer to help create what you are looking for.
2. Web Development – With great design comes great efficient technology to get things accomplished.  Having a website designed is great for the look and feel, but at one point, functionality needs to be implemented to help improve the overall experience.  An example would be having a Blog integrated into your existing website design and allow yourself and your staff to continuously update the blog with information your client would want to know about.  Having the right technology can also help potential clients access the website across many platforms, such as: mobile devices, pc’s, and macs. Not to mention the countless capabilities with social media applications to encourage conversation online.  Having a website developed the correct way can boost user experience and help improve search engine ranking.

Step 3 :: Execution, Monitoring, and Maintaining

• This step is essentially the “let’s get it done” step.   Executing the online marketing plan, making constant content edits, and watching your website analytics are really the keys to maintaining a traffic build momentum.  Not to mention constant social media posting on specific websites or within your company blog.  Watching everything and being consistent can make your total plan be a successful one.

That’s it! Now for some this is super redundant and too elementary, but for others who are new to this online game, I hope the article really helped you towards the right direction.  If you have specific questions, please feel free to post them up here.



If it’s not clear by now, we really love this group. These guys are not only great musicians but designers, performance artists, and web marketers. Their viral videos have swept the internet for a while now. Their latest creation, “End Love” shows the rock band performing choreography in a park where they dance through the evening, over night, and into the morning. We’ve seen OK GO invite the viewer into the behind-the-scenes work before, and this video is no exception. They celebrate the production process by showing shadows from the crew, and performing the video experiment through the night, where the band members jump in sleeping bags and sleep in fast motion. The other ingredient to their web success has been their uncompromising push for allowing access to their videos. They fired their old production company over legal rights to their work, and they’ve enabled embedding their latest videos and you can even download this one for free from their YouTube page. Go Ok Go!