The day people started socializing online is probably the day you figured print marketing was dead. With many people carrying out the brunt of their social interactions on a computer screen, it makes sense that advertisements would migrate from paper to monitor. And they have. However, there will always be demand and use for print advertisements.

While online marketing does present many advantages, there are certain aspects of print marketing that still trump the digital alternative. For one, physical advertisements are much more durable. Not just in a sense that you can actually feel, carry and basically do anything else you please with them (paper airplanes?), but also in a way that commands your attention. How often have you sifted through your email, mechanically deleting messages you don’t care about? It’s a fairly ecumenical trait. Print ads have a shelf life that will continue long after a consumer clicks “delete” on an email.

Uniformity is a must for all of your business’ print advertisements. Having the same logo and design on your materials will help establish your brand as highly unique and easily identifiable. While we are mostly known as web designers by many of our clients, we got our start in the business designing print materials. We understand how important it is for businesses, particularly small ones, to carry out print marketing campaigns that will increase their visibility. This is a service we still provide and recommend for our clients.

It’s important to understand that marketing is never about just one medium. Sure, online is a huge one right now, but a successful marketing campaign utilizes as many mediums as possible to reach as many people as possible. Your business cannot exist solely as a virtual entity. After all, you are dealing with real people. They want to see physical materials such as posters, brochures and business cards that will further legitimize your business. There are too many scam artists trolling the Internet. Showing your business isn’t one of them is always appreciated!

Sometimes taking something for granted is really a form of flattery. Let’s talk email, for instance. Email has been around for the better part of your lifetime, better because your life is undoubtedly just that thanks to it. In fact, the Dark Ages could easily be expanded from the period of intellectual deficiency in 10^th century Europe to every moment in time before email was created.

So how does such an extraordinary service become so ordinary? Well, success is one answer. Email does so much for us on a daily basis that it’s sometimes easy to forget it’s there. It’s that engrained in our lives, and while social media outlets grab today’s headlines when it comes to how we communicate and do business, email marketing remains as one of the best solutions for reaching an audience.

Email marketing is one of the most effective techniques of online marketing for a few reasons:

• It’s cheap!

All you really need is Internet connection and email management software for sending eBlasts (will explain later).

• Keep ‘em updated

It’s the simplest way of contacting your audience and updating them with information related to your business.

• Fully customizable

With the help of authentic email management software, you can address each person by his or her first name as well as schedule a date and time for automatic delivery.

The most efficient and effective form of email marketing involves eBlasts – mass emails sent all at once to a large mailing list. Don’t let the word “mass” fool you. This isn’t spam. In fact, Formcode can help personalize the text and images as well as create a custom sign-off template for each email you wish to send to clients and customers. For those who do not have images enabled in their email account, we will provide text that accurately describes them so nothing is lost in translation. Understanding how important navigation is, we make sure each email fits correctly. No scrolling for your main message, just reading.

As previously mentioned, email marketing is a relatively cheap and easy technique, but money and effort can be wasted when used incorrectly. A few pitfalls we can help you avoid include:

• Not coding your campaign properly to work and look correct in multiple email programs.
• Using only graphics for your message without support of text elements (users with images disabled won’t see your message at all).
• Large or improperly sized graphics for standard viewing in email programs.

Email marketing is just another service we can provide for our clients. It’s also one that often gets overlooked by companies. Don’t be one of them! The value of email is something that will never depreciate. As depicted in the graphic above, email continues to dwarf alternative communication outlets in total accounts and daily activity, making it the most valuable real estate on the Internet.

Out with the old, in with the new. That was Werk-Brau’s mind-set when they came to us for a new look. However, that’s the only thing the company plans on changing when it comes to how they operate. Since 1947, they’ve been manufacturing and producing the highest quality specialty products for heavy equipment out of Findlay, Ohio. A modern company with an old school work ethic, Werk-Brau Co. Inc. is dedicated to its customers and backs all of its products with a “best in the industry” warranty.

Our office is currently under construction, working hard to bring another first-rate company a well deserved and much needed visual upgrade. The updated logo above was one of the first steps we took in making this happen, and we look forward to the challenge ahead!

“Flash is dead.” This has been one of the most familiar phrases used in web tech discussions for some time and for good reason.  Back in November of last year, Adobe confirmed that it would cease development of Flash on mobile devices, saying that it would instead focus on HTML5 and apps for mobile platforms. The announcement came years after Apple chose not to support Flash on the iPhone, citing concerns about performance issues. Here are a few cons that have Flash on the outs:

• Flash sites take longer to load

Internet users aren’t the most patient bunch these days. Many will move on if a site takes too long to load.

• Flash is not SEO friendly

Search engines do not index flash, and if they can’t see your site, they can’t refer it to anyone. Thus, no one searching for your brand will find your site.

• Can’t track analytics

Your site’s analytics are vital in understanding what is working and what needs improvement. Most Flash sites only load one URL, so none of this data is traceable.

• Making changes with Flash is costly

Sites built in Flash are difficult to update. This means paying your developer lots of money to change your site regularly.

• Poor user experience

Users cannot bookmark your URL and they are unable to use a back button.

Perhaps what’s even more important is that sites created in Flash cannot be viewed on mobile devices or iPads, both of which are flying off the shelves. In fact, the number of mobile connected devices is expected to exceed the world’s population this year. Pretty crazy, huh? People who use your site on a mobile device are most likely looking for on the spot information. If it cannot be displayed on their device, they’ll most likely move on to a competitor who can display it.

So what does this mean for your business? As you look to upgrade your website, it is important to consider the advantages of using HTML5. These include:

• Deployment across multiple platforms

Web developers can develop once and use the same code in many different markets.

• Getting on the bandwagon

HTML5 is the future and will continue to improve down the road.

• Development of apps

All devices with an HTML5 browser will have the same ability to collect and use data.

• More reliable storage options

Allows storage for client-side data temporarily. Internal and external customers using a business website will have access to a working offline application cache.

• Widespread familiarity with HTML

Most developers and web designers understand the language, which makes for easy project management.

Being in the design biz, we understand how important it is to keep up with the ever-expanding technology that encompasses what we do. 2012 looks to be a big year for the nascent HTML5. Take a look at the top 10 best HTML5 websites so far this year according to eBizMBA. Very cool stuff.

When designing a website, we have a pretty effective tool for determining whether or not it’s visually effective. Well, two of them. But what about a tool for determining whether or not the site is getting its job done in the web trafficking department? We suggest you take a look at what Google Analytics can provide.

Google Analytics is the most widely used website statistics service, gathering data for about half of the top 1,000,000 websites out there. As is the case with other analytics providers, Google Analytics does the job of collecting, analyzing and reporting Internet data for your website. This data can then be used to show how your site can be better optimized to create a more user-friendly experience. A few basic things Google Analytics proves are:

• Visitor Information

Includes the visitor’s location, how long the visitor perused the site, if the person is a returning visitor and his or her bonus rate, which indicates whether or not the person found what he or she was looking for.

• Traffic Source Data

Indicates where users are coming from whether it be a search engine, another website, an email or people simply typing your domain name into their browser.

• Content Information

This shows what people were clicking on the most when visiting your site, which basically indicates which pages are most effective.

What’s really nice about Google Analytics is its objectivity. It doesn’t care about what cost you the most money to develop or what you think is cool. It simply analyzes and reports, indicating what works and what doesn’t. This leaves no room for argument, just improvement. Oh yeah, it’s free, too.

Google Analytics is just another great feature we can provide for our clients’ new and improved websites. Implementing it into our clients’ sites allows them the ability to see all of the essential data it collects over time. After all, what’s the point of doing a major overhaul if you can’t see all of the benefits it provides for your business?

Perhaps you’ve been cut off on the road by someone checking his or her email on a mobile device. That ever happen to you? Maybe you’ve noticed a couple out to dinner, engaging their respective iPhones rather than each other. If you haven’t experienced either of these situations, you will. Mobile devices have been enjoying record-breaking sales, and if they’re important enough to risk a few lives on the road and come between lovers at the dinner table, we can safely assume they’re not going anywhere. That being said, it’s important for your business to have a website that is fully optimized for these tiny screens that are lining pockets across the globe.

So exactly how ubiquitous are mobile devices becoming? In 2009, mobile Internet browsing was a mere 0.7% of total world browsing activity. At the end of 2011, mobile browsing had increased to 7%, a 1000% increase! This trend isn’t going to let up anytime soon. Outside of playing Angry Birds and checking email, people are finding more and more ways of utilizing their mobiles, leaving desktops and laptops a little dusty.

One of the main reasons for the rise of mobile devices is their knack for making shopping a quick and painless procedure. If you’re not buying online directly from your phone or tablet, there’s a good chance you’re consulting either one to gather information on a product you’re planning to pick up from a local store. The ability to do advanced shopping on-the-go is a feature that really has shoppers reaching into their pockets. Having a fully optimized mobile site is essential for businesses who are looking to capitalize on growing e-commerce. Mobile users don’t like navigating clunky pages that are meant for bigger screens.

If online dealing isn’t exactly your forte (brick and mortar businesses, listen up), a mobile site can still provide quick access to pertinent information such as business hours and location details. If nothing else, it’s just another opportunity to give your brand a professional look for everyone to see. QR codes are also trending these days. If you’re looking to utilize them for marketing your business, you’ll need a mobile site to send potential consumers to.

As mobile use is primed to surpass that of computers, it’s important for your business to have a mobile site that is built for easy use. At Formcode Design Group, we can impart a grand sense of design on the compact canvas that mobiles provide. Take a look at our portfolio and imagine how stunning your website would look on an iPhone. Could be good for business.

Driving web traffic is like learning how to play the guitar. Not only does the process take a great deal of time, it never really ends. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t start! Here’s some info that’ll help get your site on the road to becoming a fashionable destination.

SEO, or search engine optimization, is a process of making a website more visible to anyone using a search engine, and visibility is a pretty big deal. This method analyzes and constructs web pages so that they can be discovered, analyzed and indexed by various search engines.  SEO understands how search engines work, what people search for, the actual words typed into search engines and which search engines are generally preferred.

When using SEO, a website must be able to optimize the words and phrases found within it to gain recognition from a search engine and achieve the highest ranking possible. Don’t be too general! If you were to search “travel” in Google right now, you would get about 3.6 billion results. Not only is it nearly impossible to be at the top of that list, that’s not usually how people search in the first place. Imagine you are going to Las Vegas. You certainly wouldn’t search “travel” and go from there. You’d be much more inclined to search something like “Las Vegas travel” or “Things to do in Las Vegas.” Think like your target audience before trying to land them on your site.

To land the top search results for a category of keywords, it’s important to have content-driven pages. You won’t be able to conjure up web traffic without having meaningful content for potential online buyers and clients. If your content stands out, people may buy into your business and advise friends to do the same. With this traffic being created, the search engine will recognize it and designate a high page rank for your site. The ultimate goal is to get your name on that coveted first page of a search engine.

At Formcode, we understand that although great design is always welcome, creating a content-driven, SEO-friendly site is key for getting that design seen by many. We build websites with SEO in mind and can take it a step further by providing SEO services for our clients. Here are a few examples of what we can do:

• Optimize content by formatting and tagging it properly.
• Optimize images for search by naming and tagging them properly.
• Making sure that if your content is specific to location we capitalize on that by optimizing your content based on that location.

We don’t just want to build a beautiful face for your company. We want that face to be seen by as many people as humanly possible.

You’ve more than likely seen one of the symbols that adorn the building above. If not, they’re called QR codes, and you will soon enough. These 2D barcodes contain various kinds of encoded data such as binary, alphanumeric or Kanji symbols. They’re similar to the standard bar codes that appear on all kinds of consumer products but contain much more information. While it’s important to know what they are, it’s more important to understand how they can be used with your marketing material.

QR codes provide a means of making products or services available instantly and conveniently. They can be integrated into all kinds of printed materials including:

• Event displays
• Business cards
• Print advertisements
• Brochures, posters and flyers
• Postcards and mailers

A simple scan from a QR reading app using your mobile device’s camera gives instant access to a brand’s website. Since users are likely using a mobile device, it’s important to direct them to a mobile-friendly landing page for the most optimal, user-friendly experience. Sending users to a website that’s formatted for desktop viewing won’t make a very good impression for your business.

Creating a successful QR campaign is like creating a successful design – it requires effort and planning. For instance, you can use a code to provide a link to a tutorial video, information about a brand’s service and products, contact information and create awareness of special offers. The more engaging the content is, the more potential consumers will utilize it. Using QR codes just to claim social media savvy is never enough!

At Formcode, we are capable of providing QR codes to companies and can implement a web marketing strategy around them. If you have a promotional offer or special event that you want people to know about, we can build a custom landing page that gets people in on the action.

The debate over the importance of QR codes has been raging on since its inception, but it’s important to always look into new marketing tools before pegging them as “fads.” Bill Gates thought the Internet was just a fad in the beginning but it seems to be working out just fine these days!

You can’t be reading this right now and not know what social media is, so thanks to its unrelenting influence we can spare you a pedantic tutorial on what it is and why it’s so darn important. We will, however, provide you with a little info on why it’s important to your business.

Quick fact: there are roughly 131 million U.S. Facebook users between ages 18 and 64 and more than 500 million worldwide. So there are basically a half a billion people using the same kinds of tools to convey shared interests and keep up to date with everything that’s going on around them. That has to provide a decent avenue for marketing, right? Definitely.

The first step in utilizing social media for your business is the same as any marketing strategy: understanding your audience. Always consider whom you are communicating with before you attempt to communicate. Trust us, it will save you a lot of time and effort. In addition to being able to talk to your customers, social media also allows you to listen, which is perhaps even more important. As a web design company, we know how imperative it is to understand a client’s needs before building a project that’s tailored for them. Social media marketing works the same way.

Once you know whom you’re talking to, well, it’s time to talk to them! Even some of the biggest companies make an effort to interact with their customers via social media. Frank Eliason, Director of Digital Care for Comcast, uses Twitter to find people talking about the company and ‘tweets’ them information. Starbucks asks for suggestions on how to make the company better, and any suggestion made by a customer will be discussed by Starbucks CIO on the site. Skittles provides an example of humorous customer interaction on their Facebook page:

Derek comments: Is it just me, or does there seem to be too many orange ones in the bags now?

Skittles replies: Derek despite what you or the Internet may think, we can assure you there is no orange skittles conspiracy – red on the other hand…

Aside from the social aspect, there is now a visual aspect to be considered. With the implementation of Facebook’s Timeline, it is more important than ever to showcase your business in the most professional light possible. In addition to setting up your Facebook page, we can create custom backdrops for Twitter and other social media outlets such as WhoSay. Our design expertise can give a professional facelift to all of your social media pages.

A company’s approach to social media should be consistent with their work ethic and personality. Similar to how a website is a first impression of a business, social media can be used to show how that impression is maintained throughout the life of a company.