Whether you're a blogger jazzing up your home page, a business setting up their website, or an organization posting on your Facebook page, this same question is bound to come up at one point or another throughout your social networking:

Am I allowed to use that?

If you haven't asked yourself this yet, I suggest that after reading through this, you go back and double-check your past work, but we'll get to "why" in a moment.

When I say "that," what am I referring to? In this case, I'm talking about pictures, but the same question can come up for quotes, copyrighted written material, articles, music, giveaway procedures, etc.

We live in a generation where a picture is now not only worth a thousand words, but it's also worth a click, a few +1's on Google+, a dozen likes on Facebook, some retweets, re-pins, and ultimately whether or not you reach your audience efficiently.

In today's society, roughly 46% of American adults own smartphones (as of 2012). With almost half of the U.S. using these devices, it's no wonder that businesses in all fields are doing their best to make their company mobile-friendly. Restaurants across America have been working over the years to bring two of my favorite things together: social media and food.

Let's face it: there's no reason to NOT be using social media in order to buy and sell food as a restaurant and/or consumer. According to Mashable, 94% of smartphone users look for local information, 27% of them looking daily. And, of that 94%, 90% have taken action as a result. In fact, 24.2% of U.S. smartphone users use their mobile devices to place orders at restaurants ahead of time.

How can a restaurant adequately engage their customers through mobile phones? The two biggest ways include online ordering and delivery apps and rewards apps. I've gone ahead and broken down some of the top-used restaurant apps. Take a look:

What is the current #1 free social app in Apple's App Store? Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? Nope. The answer may surprise you, because you probably have not heard of it-yet. Pheed is one of the hottest social media apps right now, and rightfully so. It has been getting a lot of buzz around the internet, as people have become increasingly fascinated with the app that has finally outshined the major social media players.

GOOGLE ADWORDS 101 PLUS SOME!

On a monthly basis, I have several clients who run pay-per-click campaigns and I would say my knowledge of PPC and AdWords is an intermediate level.  On Wednesday I received a call from "Google."  Yes, a legitimate call from a Google representative and if a Google representative calls and wants to talk to you about your current pay-per-click ad campaigns, answer it, put them on hold, grab your laptop and a drink, and expect an informative education about Google's latest updates and additions to pay-per-click.

Whether you're a business, brand, professional or amateur blogger, or simply an individual looking to have their voice heard on social networking, one of the most important steps you can take in the realm of social media is to establish your public image and maintain it on networking sites. Take a look at these four steps for getting started.

Step One: Who are you? Who do you want to be?

The first SMB Dallas meeting of 2013 took place this morning in the offices of Freeman+Leonard / BravoTECH where Eric Swayne of Golin Harris spoke to a full crowd about finding, using, and tackling the world of "Big Data". Many (including myself) tackled the troublesome traffic on the Dallas North Tollway to learn how to understand just what big data is and how to use it. If traffic got the best of you and you were unable to attend this morning's meeting, I hope my blog proves helpful for you! Enjoy.

It's All Social

Guest Blog Post for Atomic Design and Consulting by Kay Byfield

People Are Social

Humans started working together eons ago in order to meet the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter. This led to teams, clans, tribes, cities, and states. Over time, necessities, and many of our relationships, began to be provided through commerce.  All of these associations are social.

To be successful, businesses must provide a necessary product or service and find ways to make it available to the consumers who want it.  That requires design, production, sales and marketing, distribution, and customer service.

These functions all involve people of course. Employees, investors, customers, competitors, regulators, suppliers, and communities all have relationships with the business and the other stakeholders. In the broadest sense, whenever there is an interaction among them, it is social.

Using Social Media

Does implementing rel=author just make you want to throw the laptop across the room?  After many hours of teeth gnashing and repeated blows to the head by my desk, I have (hopefully) created the steps below to prevent someone else from nubs that use to be teeth and cranial goose eggs.  Below is a fundamental step-by-step guide of implementing your rel=author information on your website, but let's start with a little information about it.

PageRank in 2013:

Between the great turnout, the free food provided by i Fratelli (thanks again!), the hashtag "#smcdallas" trending on Twitter, learning valuable information about the compliments search has on social (and vice versa) from the night's speaker Rob Garner, and enjoying a beverage after-hours at the new Mockingbird Taproom, The first SMC Dallas event of the year set a high bar for the rest of 2013.

Focusing on the importance of understanding and interacting with your audience as a marketer, Garner stressed the successful feedback brands would receive for being "always present." This served as one of the many key bullet points given by Garner for transitioning from traditional marketing methods to "real-time" marketing.

Real-time Marketing and Language

3...2...1...HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Okay, so it may be a few days late but better late than never, right? If you're reading this, congratulations, you have made it into 2013, the world did not end and 2012 is in your rear view mirror. We are now a week and a half into January and more than likely, you fall into one of the three following categories. You have either: A) made New Year's resolutions and worked hard to start the year out strong, B) given up your 2013 resolutions (but you gave it a good run...) or C) resolved not to make any resolutions in the New Year. (After all, who really follows through with them?)

Regardless of which of the above categories you fall into, I would like to challenge you. I would like to challenge you all in 2013 to strive towards carrying out one resolution all year long. I challenge you to attend at least one networking event to improve or soak up knowledge in your related career field.

And here's why...

Since the more recent updates of Google's Panda and Penguin algorithms, it seems that more and more individuals, brands, and organizations are talking about trust in late 2012 and now in 2013.  Just like the world of search engine optimization, organically speaking of course, trust on all levels – individual, brand, and organizational – is now not only a part of Google's Panda and Penguin algorithms, but a part of everyday life.  So, who are you?

It's been a great year to work in the realm of social media. Sure, there were frustrating moments when the Twitter server went down (with Instagram's server going down the day before, what was a social media guru to do?!), but each platform in this field has grown, and has come a long way when looking back to where they were at in 2011.

Do you remember the good ole days? Back when you only had to manage a couple of social outlets to promote your business and manage your online reputation? Well, those days are gone. Just as soon as you learned (way more than you ever wanted to) about promoted Facebook ads and Tweet Adder programs, some genius comes along and tells you that you need to be on Linked In and Google + and Pinterest. Now ask yourself, are you going to spend the weekend trying to figure out how to create a pin board and determine what type of content would be appropriate for you to pin? Maybe you'd prefer to learn about managing circles on Google+ and starting a Google+ hangout? Maybe you can attend a seminar on how to properly create a company profile on Linked IN and figure out which groups you should be participating in?

What this post is about: Creating a Site Map to use as the roadmap for the creation of your website.
What this post isn't about: Creating a sitemap.xml file for Google or general SEO.

Over the past year I have worked with several clients that have signed up with Atomic and have moved, or are moving through the development process. 

There's no mystery to it. It's much like anything else you research when attempting to decide who to give your business to. If your air conditioner breaks down, you probably go online and do a Google search. Take a look at who pops up; see who looks credible and capable. Then maybe you ask around and get a referral from a friend or colleague. Ultimately, you choose one who has a proven track record, customer testimonials and a professional appearance. Same process applies to choosing a web developer.

Here at Atomic, we want you to make an informed decision. We want you to visit with multiple agencies. Investigate their work. Ask for references. See what others have to say on Social media etc.

In fact, we are so confident in how we measure up to the competition, that we took the time to put this document together to assist you in your search. Below are our recommendations on how to select a trusted resource when it comes to a digital media agency. If you follow these guidelines, you should be pleased with the result of your web development project.

As a young professional in the field of social media, I do my best to attend each monthly SMC Dallas (Social Media Club) and SMB Dallas (Social Media Breakfast) event in hopes I can retain as much new information related to the world of social media as possible. Granted, it is a little tougher for me to muster up the motivation to set my alarm clock an hour earlier for SMB, but as soon as I get my coffee and Einstein's fix, all is right with the world. (Many thanks to my peeps at Atomic Design for providing this month's breakfast). If you were unable to attend SMB this morning, I hope this post proves helpful to you.

On Thursday, November 15, a small but chatty group filed into theater four of the Angelika Theatre at Mockingbird Station in Dallas for the monthly SMC Dallas meeting. This was, of course, after enjoying a tasty pasta, salad, and breadsticks meal courtesy of Boston's: the Gourmet Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar. The speaker for the night was the author of Author of The Hidden Wealth of Customers, and president of Customer Reference Forum: Bill Lee.
Bill Lee opened up with small talk about the people he met during the dinner and network portion of the night, then got down to business by saying,

I am currently in the process of transition my career from traditional print media graphic design to the web design/development field. As part of this process, I am enrolled in the web development certificate program at Collin College. I expect to receive my certification at the end of this coming spring semester.

I feel very fortunate to have been chosen to participate in the internship program here at Atomic DC this fall. There are some things that you just can't learn or experience in the classroom, and exposure to the multitude of web programming software titles, of which Joomla is one, is one of those things.

New seasons are upon us, and with new seasons come new changes. Clients will come and go, but what can you do to ensure that the 'go' number stays low? Instead of trying to salvage a relationship in its most dire state, cultivate the relationship for the full duration of the contract. Here are some tips to help maintain the connection you’ve established.

Nearly every form of marketing, at any given moment, could be considered an interruption into your prospects day. As any quality marketing person should do, try to put yourself in your prospects shoes for a moment. Imagine you get to your desk and sit down to an inbox of 53 new email messages. As you sift through the messages to identify any critical communications, you become annoyed that you are required to muddle through numerous solicitation type emails. Your options are: to either ignore them, delete them, or make a mental note to possibly go back later and review those which may have caught your attention. However, you are not likely to spend much of your valuable time reading some company's pitch on their products or services at that very moment.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending both SMB Dallas and SMC Dallas. Needless to say, I was able to soak in a great deal of valuable knowledge in the past 24 hours. If you have never had the opportunity to attend either of these events I highly recommend checking them out; regardless of what your career entails. There are elements of social media that can pertain to every branch of business and if you don't take anything away from the keynote speaker, one thing is certain; the networking makes these events more than worthwhile. If you are considering attending either of these events in the future or were unable to attend this month, here is a brief recap of what you missed:

I hear ya, and apparently so does Facebook. The social media platform is testing their newest features that scream "online marketing dream" to retail businesses: the 'Want' button, the 'collection' button, and the 'wishlist' feature.

If your business, large or small, is not connected on social media I would say you have a major game of catch up to play. Aside from being a relatively inexpensive way to reach out to your existing advocates, social media also allows you to establish your brand on multitude of platforms each complete with a sea full of potential customers. (More like an ocean, there are so many, but you get the point.) Check out these other awesome benefits of social media your business has been missing out on; the list includes but is not limited to: lead generations, listening channels, SEO building, customer-relationship management, increased loyalty and the ability for your brand to create a personal presence. (Whew, try saying all that in one breath.)

Now that you have seen what you've been missing out on, the time has come that you realize it's time to jump on the bandwagon. As a late bloomer, you are probably very anxious to reap the benefits of your newly born social media presence. This is where many businesses become frustrated. The truth of the matter is, creating your brand's social media presence will not be an overnight success. I cannot stress enough to have patience in your future social media campaigns. It is often heavily debated whether it is possible to measure the ROI on a brand's social endeavors. Although, it is possible, it will take a great deal of time before the cash starts flowing in and here's why.

Have you ever asked the question, "Why do certain websites show up as #1 in search engine results?"  If you are a small-to-medium-sized business owner, this question can become the source of much pain and envy. 

And here is the "suckiest" part of it, you are typically competing against larger companies or corporations with in-house SEO (search engine optimization) experts who work tirelessly in areas like organic search, pay-per-click, keyword research, and link-building.  How do you compete against those odds?

There are some strategic SEO tips and tricks, if done properly, can yield better search results.

When my boss told me I was given one of our company's spots to attend SMC Dallas' event featuring bloggers and how to work with them in relation to marketing and social media, I was ecstatic. I couldn't think of two things I'm more passionate about, so to have the opportunity to learn and educate myself further was beyond exciting.

As an amateur blogger over at City Girl Gone Country, I was very pleased with the blogging information I received from the panel of bloggers. Dallas bloggers Oh So Cynthia, Living Locurto, June Cleaver Nirvana, Food Bitch, and Manchu-Media were very informative on several different topics, like how they determine which products they want to associate with and making sure to write quality posts versus quantity posts.

However, as a social media coordinator here at Atomic Design & Consulting, I felt that I left the event with a desire to have learned more about working with bloggers in regards to marketing. Granted, we could ask questions at any time and have them answered by the panel, but I would have ended up having eyes rolled at me and the mic torn out of my hands after 7+ questions, had I gone with that approach.

So, in honor of the Food Bitch's Five Pros and Five Cons story she shared last night about her critique of a pizza chain, I've conjured up a list of a three pros and cons of last night's event. Shall we?

Well, it's that time of year. Notebooks and pencils have been selling like crazy, kids are back in school and learning new subject material, and summer internships have come to an end as the first official day of Fall approaches tomorrow, Saturday, September 22nd. And with this, the Intern Files v.2.0 comes to a close. But have no fear! My work here at AtomicDC is not yet finished. I was fortunate enough to accept a part-time offer as a Social Media Coordinator with AtomicDC. I'm grateful to have them working with me so that I may produce social media content for my beloved clients around my college Fall '12 class schedule. How great is that?! So, consider this my "graduation" from internship to coordinator at Atomic Design & Consulting (since I'm "just a little" anxious to graduate something already!).

In wrapping up the Intern Files, I asked myself what I learned and what I will take away from this experience with AtomicDC as I "graduate" to my new position. The truth is, I'm not finished learning quite yet, and I don't think someone can necessarily ever be finished learning new tricks and trades in this field. The internet and online marketing world is ever-changing, and so we must change with it. This brings me to my first learned skill at AtomicDC:

Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom was the program of choice back when televisions required you to get up from the couch to change the channel, fiddle with the volume knob that always fell off, or adjust the rabbit ears for better reception.  If you are not familiar with these practices, go ask your parents, your much younger very cool aunt/uncle, or much older less cool sibling. The show featured host, Marlin Perkins, bringing wild animals and their natural habitats around the world into viewers homes across America on Sunday nights.  The show is most notably known for pioneering the format now common to nature shows - a gripping story with real challenges faced by the Marlin Perkins and his camera crew in the wild.

Aside from Gator Boys, Crocodile Hunter, and any other Animal Planet program, animals are being used  in other industries, like Mozilla's Firefox, the client/server system Butterfly, and of course all of the O'Reilly technology books with a variety of pen & ink drawings of obscure animals.  In addition to those mentioned, Google has jumped on the bandwagon by enlisting the animal kingdom to help with naming conventions.  Interestingly enough, speculations revolve around the algorithm Panda being named after Navneet Panda who has been one the primary engineers working on the algorithm changes.  Others believe the names come from the "endangered species list" or my favorite, the D.C. Comic's arch-nemesis to Batman, Penguin.


The Google Panda algorithm's primary responsibility is to weed out low-quality content in search results, most notably ad-infested article network sites.  This gentle giant might look like a big teddy bear but beware those who have weak content and/or high bounce rates.

 As today marks the first day of school for many, it is a bittersweet feeling for me considering this will be the first August I am not sitting in a classroom. For the past few days my Facebook newsfeed has been filled beyond belief with pictures and status updates about returning to school for another great year of college and hopes and aspirations of the year to come. I cannot help but think back to a year ago embarking upon my senior year with that same eagerness. Not only did the past year fly by in a flash but so has this past summer. With the passing of senior year has also been the passing of my summer internship. Lucky for me, I am fortunate enough to have accepted a permanent position in social media with Atomic DC! I am so thankful to be given this opportunity and am filled with the same eager feeling that I had last fall. When looking to the future, I cannot help but think of how much my internship has prepared me to tackle whatever comes my way. With that being said, I've come up with several reasons why you should consider taking on an internship before accepting a full time position.

In this day and age of Google search engine algorithm manipulation and big budget PPC campaigns, there is still one pure search going on out there; the search for non-profits. More importantly, are those worthy of donations and professional assistance.

Thursday night, twelve lives were taken and several were wounded at the Century 16 Theater in Aurora, CO, when a gunman opened fire during the midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises. Directly after, feeds went live of the heartbreaking story, informing users far-and-wide. Social media became a fundamental crutch for family members and strangers alike, seeking information and updates.

You start out with a degree from a four year university sprinkle in some fun and joy, and then presto you have a selling machine. They want to take the heart of your company and make it pump blood to every body part with more efficiency. The marketing representative has goals and dreams for every potential client to feed into his new and highly educated formula and business model. How do you get him there?

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Review on the Popular, Influence-Measuring Klout.

As both a social media intern and an amateur blogger, I come face to face with new applications involving foreign concepts and ideas every day. Some look so intriguing and fun to use that I am inclined to try them right away, while others I put on the backburner, waiting to hear of any buzz about their helpfulness. When I started to hear and see more about Klout and its apparent ability to increase one's influence, I realized this was something I needed to try and evaluate for myself.

This week's inspiration for my blog post came when least expected.  It all started from one simple question asked by a dear friend of mine this past Saturday. Let me explain. This past weekend one of my best friends from college came to stay with me. After explaining my role of a social media intern to him, he first asked the most common question I receive after explaining my position, "So...you just play around on Facebook all day?" I must say, there has not been a single person that has not asked me this question upon hearing I work in social media.  He then followed this oh-so-generic question with a point that has never occurred to me before. "What would happen if Facebook were to phase out?"

Getting the word out about yourself or your company may not seem like a difficult or urgent task, but it is one of the most important parts of becoming a successful brand and can take several steps to efficiently "spread the word," so to speak. Whether you are speaking on behalf of your company/organization or simply yourself, it is crucial to become and remain connected with your audience.

As an advertising student, we were taught the basics. First, you learn what type of work goes into a campaign. The second lesson is how to run your campaign. In the world of sales and marketing, there is a lot more persuasion involved to earn the business before those points are even reached. Marketing, which is the umbrella advertising sits under, relies on people interacting and brokering deals between clients and agencies. How do businesses gain the business of others companies in this new age of social media and SEO?

This is not "the story of seven strangers, picked to live in a house, work together and have their lives taped to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start being real". This is the story of one recent college grad, chosen to work as an intern, learning daily what it means to make the transition from the "college bubble" to the real, working world.

For many years now, it has been widely accepted that you should only use web-safe fonts on your website. Web-safe fonts are fonts that are widely available for use among the various operating systems. This includes fonts such as Arial, Times New Roman, Georgia, Lucida, and more. Below is a more complete list of web-safe fonts from Windows, as well as their Mac equivalents.

As a kid, I remember bargaining with my parents for those few extra minutes of television before bed. The time was already decided, but I would always try to receive more than I was allotted because I knew what strings to pull – "just five minutes more!" Even though this example may be dated, it still happens in client relationships. Here are some pointers on how to get to that white light at the end of the tunnel, while walking that tightrope of courtesy and compliance.

Welcome to the second round of the Intern Files. Allow me to introduce myself: the name's Sarah Beacom, and as a current UNT student and one of two Atomic Design & Consulting summer interns, I hope to fill the impressive shoes left by the talented Lindsay Madura. My hope is to shed light on the ins and outs of interning in the realm of social media.

Five things you may have missed in the social-sphere this week.

The world of a social media community manager is always evolving. This makes for an interesting day, but sometimes there just aren't enough hours in the day to keep up. That's why I brought you the list of important things that happened across the social space this week.

If an attorney is not proactive in implementing a data protection solution for their clients' information, are they waiving the attorney-client privilege? In today's cyber-centric society, the responsibility seems to be leaning toward the attorney to protect their clients' information. Attorneys have access to private information, especially as technology continues to grow and advance.

When it comes to online marketing, you have to realize your consumer has been trained to believe they can find anything they want at the click of a button. However, you need to be aware of how easy or difficult it is for people to find and share your content. So, here are six tips to be sure your content is being seen.

What's a Site Map?

Site maps are organizational tools that help outline an overview of your website or project you are working on. Site maps are very similar to flowcharts; however the difference is that flowcharts represent a step-by-step solution while Site maps just show a top down view of pages.

Recently, I've been going through design concepts like Trevor goes through PB&J sandwiches. There's always been something that didn't quite click with my psyche, which would allow me to revise, reevaluate, and restart my design. Here are some tips I've uncovered that will help keep the design train rolling safely to its destination.

What are RSS Feeds?

RSS stands for RDF Site Summary, but is often referred to as Really Simple Syndication. RSS is a web feed format used to publish frequently updated information, such as news and updates. This information becomes syndicated automatically using web applications and content management systems, such as Wordpress and Joomla. The RSS format allows people to subscribe to these content feeds so that they can be notified of new content and view the new information quickly.

Over the last 10 years, Atomic has enjoyed numerous mutually beneficial strategic partnerships with PR firms and Media Buying agencies. These relationships are a win, win, win! The end client gets the expert advice and professional execution needed, without all of the hassle of coordinating consults, monitoring production, and responding to every little question a designer or developer might submit throughout the production process. Many times, they may not even know how to respond. Just one more benefit of utilizing an industry professional from a PR firm or marketing agency.

This internship has definitely come and gone with the blink of an eye! My final day was upbeat and full of bonding before I left the office. It's amazing how much I have learned in what seems to be such a short period of time. Here are the three things I think are most important to hand off to you future interns, or those just starting a new job. Enjoy!

If you have read The Secret to Search and have Search Engine Optimization down but you need to build up your social media presence to get even better ranking, you are in the right place. In the SEO blog recipe I wrote awhile back, I mentioned in that SEO and Social Media are becoming more integrated, so here is my recipe for a great social media campaign to add to your Digital Marketing repertoire.

If you’re like one of the 35 million Americans that have office jobs, the glare from your computer monitor and the sedentariness of the position eventually start wearing you down as the day goes on. If you're like me, energy isn't the only thing that begins to evade - creativity does as well. I have a tough time staring at a design for a prolonged period of time while maintaining peak creativity. Here are a few recommendations to enhance your work day and overall mental health.

Law Firms and their struggle to embrace Social Media

Almost three years ago, Atomic approached hundreds of companies and businesses regarding social media and their plans to participate in the social space. Many companies scoffed at the premise that social media could actually be a place where they could engage and influence their target audience, let alone move the coveted revenue needle. Nearly three years later, nearly every organization realizes the critical role social media plays in today's digital marketing arena.

The other day I was proud to sit in on my first face-to-face client meeting! Now it may sound silly, but I had knots in my stomach walking into the conference room. I didn't know what to expect, or how much I needed to say, or even where to sit! These nervous thoughts soon went away when the meeting took off, and I was ready to become a sponge.

Whether it's cars, internet, or technology, one selling point will always be the speed at which (these) mediums travel. Marketing companies will nearly always use these things to their advantage, even if it means directly comparing themselves to a top competitor. If you haven't looked into caching methods to speed up load times, now may be the time to do so.

I am sure everyone has heard the adage, "You get out what you are willing to put in." While this usually is applied to cars or a home remodel, it holds very true in the workplace.  The amount of work put into your employees is equal to the amount of work that you get out. This is especially true in a small business. I don't mean literally the amount of work you do for them, or wages paid, bonuses, etc, although those things undoubtedly have an affect. I mean the amount of "work" you are willing to put into your employees to give them that sense of team. The sense of empowerment and loyalty you can build within your employees is a force that can move mountains.

I'll admit when I started here at Atomic, my palms would not stop sweating. Now the term "intern" seems nerve-wracking. At first I thought: What will they think of me? What kind of tasks will I face? How can I help this company? I'm sure all of you fellow interns out there had some sort of butterfly in your stomach the first day. I've come to find my experience here very helpful for the future, and now the term "intern" is something to be proud of! Here are some tips that I believe are beneficial as an intern:

I’m back and we are going to tap the goldmine of information on maintaining a healthy list and comfort you on saying goodbye to your unengaged subscribers.

But You Have Already Talked About This Before…

Correct, I have written a blog before about the importance of maintaining a healthy list and getting rid of subscribers who care much less about you than you do them. Now I am going to advise you on how to go about giving them another chance and then smoothly transition them off your list if they are unresponsive.

Atomic recently signed up another restaurant as a new web development client. During our design consultation, the owner made us aware of one of his core concerns regarding their web presence. As we discussed the typical usage of high impact imagery, he noted that he didn't want any tricked up photography of food on his site. He preferred homegrown images with poor lighting and a lack of any professional photography elements.

As some of you may know, Atomic Design & Consulting will soon reach its' ten year anniversary, so this calls for a celebration! Currently, Megan and I are planning a 10-year celebration where Atomic's close family, friends, and clients will come enjoy a night of fun memories, and cheers to the next ten years! Now, it's easy to get lost in party planning while trying to keep up with every day work tasks, so here are some useful tips that I've found help keep things organized and working smoothly:

If you're a business professional, you probably have more than two email accounts you check on a regular basis. Even as a regular guy, I've kept my accounts separated, each relating to a specific facet of my life. I've got thousands of emails floating in my inbox – what can you do to ensure that I, and many others within your target market, will read your email?

The advent of social media has changed the way we view advertising and customer interaction on the internet. We are constantly seeing more jobs being created for those that specialize in managing a company's social media and those that handle a company's public communications. Below are some jobs that will likely soon be common, and the relevant skills that may be required to perform those jobs.

Cyber bullying has been a common topic of news lately due to the increase in teens being victimized, the growing number of stories of tragic implications, and the release of  new controversial anti-bullying films.  I decided that it is my turn to speak up about this rapidly growing new form of harassment.

Often times the importance of office etiquette and encouragement can get lost in all the social media and email marketing buzz. A few weeks ago, Monroe hosted our weekly Friday discussion where he stressed the importance of optimizing your surroundings for a better work place. It's true that a successful business starts when you're surrounded by a happy work environment and while maintaining proper office etiquette. Here are some things to consider while optimizing your own office environment:

Yesterday, I spoke on a social media panel and was asked a very good question; "What is the one social media platform my business needs on to get the biggest bang for my buck?" It is probably the number one thing that all the newbies in the social media realm want to know, and it's not all together a bad question. It is a very expansive marketing field with plenty of bells and whistles that can be placed on your social media tab, so it can be easy to get overwhelmed. So how do you sort what you need from what just looks cool?

The answer is, it depends.

Occasionally we welcome bloggers from other industries and companies to post information we feel will be helpful for the readers of our blog. We hope you find this information useful and encourage you to share your opnions in the comment area at the bottom of this blog.

We would like to welcome a guest blogger from Encryptics®, Tricia Adams. If you are sending sensitive information over email or your mobile device, see what you can do to keep your data and information safe. If you have further questions about this, you can find out more on the Encryptics® website.

Have you noticed lately that the Target television spots rarely ever display the name "Target" anymore? They just show their well executed creative, then display the red bullseye-like symbol at the end of their commercial and everyone knows exactly which brand it is. Why is that? Well yes, millions of dollars in advertising budget doesn't hurt, but there's more to it than that. It is also a result of Target's marketing team doing an incredible job of building their brand and maintaining their brand integrity.

As an intern, I'm given various tasks every day I come into the office. Now, one would think the intern gets all the "dirty" work, but my experience here at Atomic Design & Consulting has been rather enjoyable! I've learned the tricks and trades of social media along with properly networking with others to expand brand awareness.

TV. Radio. Print. All these have been traditional marketing channels to get your product or service in the consumer's mind, but do they still hold up in the modern world, and do they produce more results? 

Occasionally we welcome bloggers from other industries and companies to post information we feel will be helpful for the readers of our blog. We hope you find this information useful and encourage you to share your opnions in the comment area at the bottom of this blog.

We would like to welcome a guest blogger from Encryptics®, Tricia Adams. If you are sending sensitive information over email or your mobile device, see what you can do to keep your data and information safe. If you have further questions about this, you can find out more on the Encryptics® blog.

It goes without saying that your nonprofit needs a Facebook Page, Twitter handle, Google+ and LinkedIn profile. Here are a few tools you need in your marketing tool box to affectively market your nonprofit to the millions of internet users just waiting for a cause like yours to propagate their browser. Best of all they are all no cost or low cost to your nonprofit.

Humans are incredibly visual creatures, although I probably don't need to tell a fellow human that. Our eyes catch an image and are immediately drawn to it. There is just something about pictures and photos that provoke immediate emotions and responses, and words just can't keep up.

I have been a huge proponent of picture with posts, and I'm clearly not the only one. I love posting photos, I love looking at photos, and I have seen the stellar results of posting photos for clients first hand. On one client's Facebook account, I saw an average of 10X the amount of interactions on posts with a photo. Don't just take my measly research for it though.

As a social media manager, a big part of my job is writing content. This year I have heard several presenters at SMCDallas and Explore Dallas say storytelling is the way to go and a great place to start with your content creation. That's all fine and great, but is it really practical?

The practice of hitting the spacebar twice after each period in a paragraph is not necessary, not correct, and is now considered bad practice with today's typographic options, especially on the web! Yet we still receive materials from clients that include two spaces after each period, and removing these extra spaces increases the time required to place content on the web.

We all know the economy's not in the best shape. The adage "you have to spend money to make money" still remains intact, but what if there were more cost-effective solutions to get your name(s) on the map?

The entrepreneurial spirit is a powerful element in today's world. Ok, I admit it. I've been watching a lot of 'Shark Tank'. But, it still doesn't change the fact that creativity and mental strength are still effective facets of a healthy business. Here are a few ideas to boost awareness, broken down by budget.

A wise man once said: "Define your goals and engage people."

Now I'm not just quoting Atomics' very own Jackie Bese because I want some brownie points, they wouldn't hurt, but when I heard him speak these words they were like fire burning into my brain. Now don't worry, I'm still alive, just more focused on the importance of impressions and word-of-mouth interactions.

SlideShare is a great place to share your presentations with the world on topics from traditional marketing, technology, business, social media, and just about anything you have a presentation on. Recently SlideShare has turned up the heat with their new tool for sharing presentations, Zipcasts.

Like many people out there, I was and still am a little skeptical of Google+ as a social network. There is no doubt in my mind that every business needs to be on this platform but, I think Google+ may fall under the ever blurring lines of SEO as opposed to Social Media. I am however becoming a huge advocate for the Google+ search options as well as how they integrate into my search on the regular Google homepage.

You're a business; you send your marketing campaign every month with some really good information. You get a lot of opens, but what happens after your subscribers open the email? If you don't know the answer to this question then we need to talk.

Every day I encourage more and more people to devote additional time to their LinkedIn profile for a myriad of reasons. However, today I will focus on just one critical reason for connecting with as many people possible on social media. I currently have approximately 1,100 connections on my personal profile. Each day I get messages from LinkedIn regarding various activities. A few weeks ago, I received the following startling message from LinkedIn.

Jackie Bese, Partner of Atomic Design and Consulting, is presenting at Social Savvy Seminar this afternoon.

We all know and love Twitter. We have seen how useful it is in communicating, marketing, and as a news source. Twitter is not just a local or national tool though, it is worldwide. Up to this point, we can read tweets that are in English, unless you were privileged or gifted enough to have learned another language. I do know a few words in several languages, like most people, but certainly not enough to decipher a message. That doesn't matter anymore.

In today's economy the right website look, feel and user experience is crucial to securing new business. This is especially true for nonprofits. Nonprofits are faced with unique challenges in their efforts to gain PR, new members, donations, sponsors and volunteers that for-profit companies seldom face. Take note of these key factors and you are sure to have a more pleasant buying experience.

Budget:

Have one. Your website is a 24/7/365 representative of your organization. "You get what you pay for" rings true here. Often nonprofit directors are tempted to let volunteers handle the development of their entire brand to potential donors and sponsors or they will call around to small one-man shops with one hand while clutching the budget in the other. Fundraise specifically for the website development or find a sponsor to underwrite the cost of the site. In return they receive exposure on the site for a determined amount of time. Not to mention the tax write-off.

Go pro! This is when you need to create an RFP and get it out to respected web development firms in your area. Find firms that develop in a platform that will be easy for your staff to update like Joomla or WordPress. Interview each firm and ask many questions. Ideally your organization will be in a "relationship" with the selected firm for many years and you will want them to be as passionate about your program as you are.

Barter for services. Here is an opportunity to get a professional site developed while controlling the budget. A good firm is happy to barter services for exposure but never ask for a one to one trade. If there is no cash value on the contract you might find the developer places your site in their "low priority" stack. Offer a fair amount of cash and trade and you will both come out ahead.

Design and Functionality:

Expect multiple design concepts with clearly different looks. Give them time. 5-10 quality design concepts will take 2-3 weeks. When it comes to design remember this, "A camel is a horse that was designed by a committee." Assign a 1-2 person team to oversee the design selection and site construction.

Most nonprofits have multiple events in a year and are constantly changing information. It's important to have a good content management system (CMS). Joomla or Wordpress are among the best and are both very user friendly.  Both will allow your staff to easily update the site from any computer. Your specific functionality needs like member areas; payment processing and event calendars will determine the best platform for your organization.

Benefit to Donors, Members and Sponsors:

Let's not forget who is paying the bills here. Be sure to include areas on your site to showcase, promote or thank the companies and people that support your cause. Built in rotating banner manager systems are great tools to help you manage advertising and sponsor areas on your site. These areas can easily be overdone and the purpose of the site can get lost. By rotating the image out it will allow you to feature multiple sponsors in the same area while keep the site design and layout clean. Don't forget to use areas like this for self-promotions in the rotation as well.

Marketing your Nonprofits:

The design and development was just half the battle.  Now you need to get exposure of your brand and cause to the millions of internet users on multiple search and social platforms. Take advantage of free or nearly free online tools. Build a Free Facebook page and start engaging your audience. Sign up and build profiles on Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.  Hootsuite is a helpful tool to manage your social networks in one place. Hootsuite also offers a discounted rate for nonprofits.

Google for Nonprofits offers free or discounted rates for Google Apps, Free Adwords advertising and Premium YouTube accounts to nonprofits just to name a few.

Running a nonprofit is both challenging and rewarding. Hopefully these suggestions will help you market your organization; gain more donations and most of all help the end recipient of your program or services.

I wish you the best of luck!

Stephen Brown
Managing Partner
Atomic Design and Consulting

Many people tend to take security seriously when they first set up their site. Unfortunately, they fail to realize that security must not only be implemented, but also maintained. As a result, many people find their websites getting hacked as a result of not maintaining security. Hackers will set up scripts to send out mass emails, distribute malware, or simply deface the site. Here, I will describe two easy ways you can keep your website more secure.

We have displays near registers with things we may or may not need, solely on the premise that the consumer will buy it. Let's face it. We're an impatient people that thrive on instant gratification. We want everything now, and if it's not now, as soon as possible. With that said, it's almost mind-boggling to see the amount of companies still utilizing Flash in a generation afflicted with happiness priority syndrome. Here are four reasons why Flash simply isn't dazzling anymore.

Here are some quick notes we are taking while out at Explore Dallas today. We will come back and expand on these (and make more sense of them) later but wanted to share for those that couldn't join us for the event. If you are on Twitter the two hashtags that are being used the most are #Explore and #ExploreDFW. 

Enjoy. 

Below are my notes from the sessions I went to at Explore DFW. At the end of the day, I will do an entire recap, stick with me and feel free to comment and add your thoughts below!

Top Reasons People Unsubscribe

In a study performed by Mashable Business, the top two reasons consumers unsubscribe to a company's marketing campaigns are:

Emails came too frequently - 54%

The content became to repetitive of boring over time - 49%

This leads us to believe that maybe sending an email out every Monday reminding our subscribers that it is 'Burger Night' again isn't such a good idea.

With that said, what can we do to revive subscribers that are simply not engaged with our campaigns anymore because we beat them to death with offers and repetitive information? Below are some fresh tips to help recapture their interest and save them from being the one that got away.

This is a short outline to keep in mind when managing and developing your website from start to infinity. These five tips will help you stay ahead of the game and avoid unnecessary roadblocks in the future.

Most of us are still abuzz with interest over the recent string of infamous Super bowl commercials released this past Sunday.  It's amazing how these clips can elicit a wide array of emotions from us in just 30-60 seconds:  Make tears well up in our eyes, grip our sides in laughter, pause and commend their cleverness, or make our hearts grow 10x their normal size (ether from the swell of a heartfelt moment or the call of the fast foods).  These commercials give us so much, and now they ask for something in return. Your participation.

Goals

What is the primary goal of creating your website? What are the secondary goals? For many businesses, the primary goal of creating a website is to facilitate business operations or create conversions, and the secondary goal is to inform visitors about what the organization does and how effectively it is done. Keep these goals in mind throughout the entire process of building your site, as it will help keep the project within scope and also increase the effectiveness of your site.

Create a Facebook iFrame fan gate using Classic ASP code

As a social media marketing professional you will often have the desire to present different creative content based upon whether a visitor to your Facebook page is already a fan or someone you are trying to convert to a fan. This process of displaying different content based upon a user's fan relationship with you is often called a "fan gate" for Facebook pages.

So the question becomes "How to make Facebook pages show or hide content based upon a visitor being a fan or not a fan."

I have a degree in Advertising and all through college people would mix up Advertising and Public Relations, and with good reason, they are only slightly different from an outsiders view. Thanks to social media, the two are becoming even more intertwined.

Atomic has now been in business for more than a decade. Through the years, we've conducted countless web development consultations with marketing managers and business owners alike. One takeaway from this experience is, nearly 80% of our prospects have failed to invest the proper time into evaluating their search optimization needs and how it relates to the success of their new and improved web presence.

Bloggers are the unsung heroes of the internet world. When you can't figure something out, simply conduct a search on Google and you will find at least one blog to lead you through it with infinite wisdom. Bloggers are the silent helpers standing patiently by until called upon, and the relationship is certainly mutualistic. You need the blogs, and the blogs need you.

For those of us who use email campaigns as a way to keep in touch with our customers, the struggle has always been getting them to first open, and then participate in our emails. Atomic is relied on to provide insight and expertise on how to improve this advertising medium and we are going to spill the beans on how to make your email campaigns more effective.