Archive for the 'Better Web Copy' Category
Written by admin | February 1, 2011 11:43 am
Oxiem helped Eagle Warehouse & Logistics create a new site that is modern, reflects family values and showcases the unique services Eagle provides. With a patriotic color scheme for this military family, a redesigned logo and contemporary navigation buttons, the site is expressive of Eagle’s values and helps drive business.
Gregg Flowers, sales & marketing director for Eagle, one of the top third party logistics firms in Central Ohio, according to Business First, had this to say about the new Eagle site:
“Crystal Olig & the Oxiem team have done an outstanding job with creating a website that we are proud to have.We asked them to make a website that would be a 24/7 sales rep for Eagle Warehouse & Logistics…they did just that. Oxiem did everything they said they would & even more. If you are wondering if Oxiem is the right choice for your web design, stop wondering & go for it. You won’t be disappointed.”
With a focus on making sure clients could contact Eagle in just a click or with a quick call, the site includes a quick contact form on most pages as well as a web-only 800 number, allowing them to track and measure calls coming from the web.
Another goal was to help companies and start-ups who have no experience with logistics or shipping to clearly understand the logistics business, and secondly, see that Eagle is there to help educate them and be a consultative partner. This was achieved through quick definitions and explanations placed throughout the site.
Custom site imagery showcases the real people behind the scenes at Eagle, many of whom are members of the Flowers family. Even the team’s clients, Beer Tubes, who co-office at the property, got in on the action.
Oxiem will partner with Eagle to launch a full Search Engine Optimization and marketing campaign to drive leads and new business to Eagle. For all your Ohio warehousing, logistics and packaging needs – think Eagle.
Written by bsterzenbach | April 28, 2010 12:08 pm
We’re not in it for the accolades, but when you get a pat on the back from your peers, it sure feels good!
Oxiem recently took home two PRism awards from the local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, in partnership with two outstanding clients.
PRSA is a leading organization for communications and public relations professionals, and boasts an active local central Ohio chapter. Each year the chapter honors local companies doing outstanding work for clients in the public relations and marketing communications arena with a PRism Award. Entries are judged by a reciprocal PRSA chapter somewhere across the country.
This year’s award ceremony took place Thursday, April 22 at the Hilton Polaris, hosted by local media personality Monica Day of the local NBC-4 affiliate.
Oxiem took home two PRism awards in partnership with two outstanding clients.
The microsite developed to support recruitment, branding and awareness goals for the Ohio Hi-Point Career Center, Ohio Hi-Point Journeys, won a PRism Award in the category “Non-Profit Social Media Campaign.” Oxiem client Shane Haggerty, marketing & communications director for Hi-Point, also is a member of a PR organization for school communicators and the site also won top honors from the Ohio NSPRA chapter.
Mary Szymkowiak of the Dublin Convention & Visitors Bureau was on hand at the awards ceremony to accept top honors with a PRism award in the category “Non-Profit Website” for the site IrishIsAnAttitude.com, designed and developed by Oxiem.
Oxiem team member Crystal Olig is an active member of PRSA, serving on the local University Liaison committee and a national executive board for the organization.
“What is unique about this award is that it’s judged from a communications standpoint,” said Olig. “Not only do these sites do a great job of marketing, but they are seen by other communications professionals as having a specific, key message and strategy behind them. It’s an honor to be among the 2010 PRism award winners in Central Ohio.”
See a full list of 2010 Central Ohio PRSA PRism award winners here.
Written by crystalolig | February 1, 2010 11:10 am
In partnership with TechLife Columbus and the Dublin Entrepreneurial Center, Oxiem’s Billy Fischer and Bill Sterzenbach will host a training session on web lead generation tools and tactics on Thursday, February 11 at 12:30 p.m. at the DEC.
Come support us, and learn a little something, too! RSVP on the Meetup page.
DEC Presents…Generatin
g Leads Using the Web with Oxiem
Just having a website isn’t enough anymore. Having an online presence for your business is crucial – but once you’ve got it, what do you do with it? How do you make it work for you? From search engine optimization and web marketing to converting visitors to lead and capturing names, you’ll walk away with 10 things you can do to generate leads online.
In this session, Oxiem Marketing Technology will demonstrate how to use the web to:
* Get more leads
* Generate new business
* Maximize exposure to target customers
About the Presenters
Billy Fischer is the business development manager for Oxiem Marketing Technology and leads the social media practice area. He’s a frequent speaker on social media tools and tactics for community and business organizations. His expertise in marketing and PR spans health care, franchised businesses, the restaurant industry and community organizations. Prior to joining Oxiem, his experience includes time at advertising agency Buchanan & Associates and the Columbus Zoo. He also leads the company’s expanded presence in Columbus, heading up a new office based in the business community of Dublin, Ohio.
Contact Billy
bfischer(at)oxiem.com
614.448.1809 office
937.408.2133 cell
@billyfischer on Twitter
Bill Sterzenbach
Bill is co-founder of Oxiem and is the company’s technology director. His professional career spans web site architecture, online marketing, technology application, website development and hosting for a range of B2B, manufacturing and consumer clients. With more than 20 years of IT leadership experience and a decade’s worth of online marketing expertise, he’s a recognized expert in search marketing and search engine optimization, specializing in driving real, measurable business results through savvy and insightful search strategy.
Contact Bill
937.206.3920
Email Bill
@bsterzenbach
Written by crystalolig | January 15, 2010 2:59 pm
Blogging is one of the most effective ways to provide new content and give people a reason to come back to your site. It also can immensely help continue to optimize your site with the right keywords and relevant content related to a topic you want to rank for.
But, like any web 2.0 tool (or is a blog 1.0? I’ve lost track), the time cost of blogging is what really gets you. All small business owners struggle with the perpetual question: How to run a successful business while still finding time to market and grow it.
I come from a print journalism background, and what we used to call “editorial strategy” is quickly becoming “content management strategy,” and it includes not only topics, scheduling and interviewing, but has evolved to include community engagement, search engine optimization (seo) and branding.
When I talk to business owners, I remind them that it doesn’t take more than what you do every day. You find time to browse magazines, read up on your competition and watch message boards for updates and discussions. Blogging is just finding time to consider what you’re taking in every day, and putting a little of that back out with your own spin on it. Think of it as something you’d forward in an e-mail a colleague or peer in the same industry – “Look at what I saw in Gourmet magazine today. Do you think we could mass-produce? Here’s how I’d change the menu and ingredients to make it cost efficient for a big group…”
Here are a few great tips for kicking off your small business blog:
Start with a list of topics and key words.
Build them into your site structure as categories and/or tags. For example, an event planner might want to include topics like weddings, parties, and corporate events plus trends like colors, menus and flowers.
Carry out your branding graphically.
Picking a generic template from a free site (WordPress, blogger) is temptingly free, but it’s better to spend a little once to get a custom design. If you just can’t, at least take the first step of picking a blog that allows for a custom header. Make a banner and possibly some little graphics to sprinkle into your blog to make it your own.
Choose custom colors.
When you’re searching for blog templates, check if you can change colors of links, lines and backgrounds. Pick something legible first, and then what relates to your brand. Pull colors from your logo, then find complementary colors. Use hex codes to ensure you’re being true to the same purple every time.
Schedule, schedule, schedule.
Helping people know when to look for updates ensures they’ll be back regularly. Do whatever it takes to consistently post. Don’t start off with a three-page post and wonder why you can’t do that every time. Make a point to take 45 min. once or twice a week to write a few paragraphs. It’s tough. You’ll hate it sometimes. Keep in mind that you are marketing, not just blabbing – think of how much money you’re saving in advertising by advocating for yourself.
Stock up on ideas and posts.
Keep an ideas folder of articles, photos or links that made you think. If you have time one weekend morning, delve into it and crank out a few posts – then you can place one a week. People want to hear what’s cooking in your brain, what makes you and your business unique. It’s not just finding the trends, it’s your opinion and use of them that makes your posts unique.
Comment and respond.
You can’t have a garden without seeds. Comments on your blog and on others’ blogs are the seeds that help grow traffic. Responding is important, because it establishes credibility, makes you a voice in the space and adds to the engagement factor.While you’re starting out, just link your comments feature to your email. Responding to posts and comments will just become part of your checking e-mail ritual and eventually part of your blogging patterns. Try and find a few relevant blogs – friends, competitors, potential customers, anyone – and make a point to comment and include a link back to your blog.
Be yourself.
While your first priority should be building your image as an expert and professional in your industry, people want to know you as a person, too. Sprinkling in personal notes, images or feelings can help your blog feel authentic and give it personality. If it’s just the random creative juices spewing out of your brain, great.
Create a voice.
If you talk in a certain way – lots of exclamation points! Always very excited! Ready to rock! – it’s ok to reflect that online. While journalistic detachment and non-biased writing was at one time required, now it’s better to speak and write in a way that is memorable, and in keeping with your brand image.
Strategically place keywords.
Use keywords in places like your text, headlines and title tags (the text that shows up at the top of the browser window of the page).
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We’ve been trying to practice what we preach over here at Oxiem… and writing what we’re thinking isn’t always easy for us either. But we’re doing it — and you should too. If you need someone to just ask about how you could blog for your business, I’m your girl. I’m @sparklegem on Twitter, or you can e-mail me at colig(at)oxiem.com or call 614.448.1812. Happy to chat.
Written by bsterzenbach | November 21, 2009 8:00 pm
Have you ever seen a crazy dude by the roadside with a sign? Have you ever seen some nutty rant on the side of some farmhouse about the evils of a fiat financial system or some other such unintelligible rant? Did you notice something they have in common?
They always use really tiny writing.
It’s infuriating! I mean, HONESTLY – if you’re going to stand on the corner and ‘expose’ some hidden evil, shouldn’t I be able to ACTUALLY READ IT?? Seriously, what’s the point?
I’ve given this much thought and it finally came to me. These people don’t do this because they are nuts, they do this because they truly believe in what they are saying, and they feel they are doing you a favor in letting you know. No, more importantly they are nuts, but as a semi-interesting side-note they are zealots. The reason these fruitcakes write so tiny is because they have SO MUCH TO SAY. They couldn’t possibly imagine putting a large 4 sentence statement out there and building on it over time. They fail to comprehend the value of the understated.
This reminds me of a very common type of marketing client. The small-business client. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE marketing for small business folks – they are fast on their feet, unfettered by organizational nonsense, and generally appreciative of good work. It’s just that they are so very INTENSE about their products and services..
Here is what I’m saying..the small business person LOVES what they do. They feel that they do it best, they feel that they offer a level of quality and service that is unparalleled, and they are generally right. How this becomes a problem is that they want to CONVEY this to the customer in every piece of marketing they do. This goes back to the small writing thing..invariably, when we create ad copy, there is always a request to ‘add’ copy. It’s because they believe in their service and want the customer to know about it. The thing is, a good marketer can do this in 12 words of copy.
Take for example the following concept that was discussed in a meeting with a client who provides over-the-phone technical support. They needed to express the following:
We provide support for all of our products and services. Our company offers technical support that is fast and local. When you call our office, you will reach an easy-to-understand english speaking tech support person.
My partner instantly blurted out:
‘Instant Support from Someone Whose Name Really Is ‘Bob’”
All of that summed up in one cute headline. Most importantly though, it strikes to the heart of the issue – people are frustrated at being relegated to a third-party tech support person reading a script on another contintent. They want to speak with someone who is from their hemisphere that speaks their language. Not that there is anything wrong with using a third-party to provide support – it’s just that this model has been so poorly deployed and abused that it carries with it the perception of complete frustration and pointlessness. With one clever statement, we’ve captured the frustration of the reader and made our sympathy clear. This single act tells the reader “We know what you hate, and we promise to not do it”. It doesn’t take paragraphs to make this clear, in fact, the meaning is lost with too much elaboration.
The Take-away
If you find yourself clearing room for more text, ensure that you aren’t over-expressing your zeal for what you do. We love what we do, and we know we will be the best solution for the client, but ‘using more words’ isn’t the answer. The only way into the brains of our ever-impatiently-clicking clients is through the path of brevity – someone once said it was the soul of wit.
