We produced this short web video for Downline Ministries as a promotional tool for the Downline Builder.

The Downline Builder is an interactive discipleship tool that will allow you to create a customized discipleship curriculum for one-on-one relationships or small groups. In contrast to the typical one-size-fits-all approach, the Builder will give you the opportunity to customize and personalize discipleship curriculum as many times as you want with as many different people or groups as you want for whatever period of time you want, all while providing built-in accountability for real, life-on-life relationships so that discipleship doesn’t become a mere academic exercise.

Lohmann has been the Executive Producer at Pikewood Creative for the last eight years, creating videos and commercials for a wide range of clients.  Earlier this year, Lohmann was awarded an Emmy^® for his work on United Bank’s “Anticipation” television commercial, centered around the lead-up to the Mountaineer football season.   In addition to his regular production work with Pikewood Creative, Dan has worked for the Olympics host broadcaster for every Olympics event in the past seven years.

Aside from his work at Pikewood, Dan has been active on the board of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes for the last five years and coaches youth soccer and basketball. He also devotes time to support Chestnut Mountain Ranch, a home for troubled teen boys, where he has produced videos to help tell the ranch’s story. He finds himself fortunate to be able to use his creative gifts for the good of the community by producing the annual United Way fundraising video each year.

The Young Guns awards were created in 1999 by West Virginia Executive.  Each year, a new class of Young Guns is selected.  Nominations for this prestigious honor are accepted throughout the year, and new members are selected each September.

WordPress is easy to use
It’s often said that if you can edit a Microsoft Word document, you can edit a WordPress website. You don’t have to be a web designer to update your content. Updating a post or page is effortless thanks to the built-in visual editor in the WordPress dashboard. The interface is easy to navigate and everything is organized in a way that makes it easy to find.

WordPress is flexible
Wordpress is completely open source which means there is a worldwide community of programmers and designers working together to add more features and functionality to WordPress. Add-ons, or plugins, can be easily installed in the WordPress dashboard area to further enhance your website.

WordPress will save you money
Another advantage of being open source is that there are no setup or installation fees. WordPress is free of charge and basically serves as a blank canvas for creating professional website designs. Many advanced features can be added to your website by installing free plugins that were coded by professional programmers – which also include frequent security updates.

WordPress is SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly
WordPress is the most SEO friendly among all content management systems and allows full optimization through its features and SEO plugins. Matt Cutts from Google says, “Wordpress takes care of 80-90% of (the mechanics of) Search Engine Optimization”. With much of your website being optimized automatically you can spend more time developing better content for your users.

WordPress is here to stay
In August 2011 WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg announced that 22% of new active websites in the U.S. are powered by WordPress, and 14.7% of the top million websites in the world are taking advantage of what it has to offer. As the number of WordPress-powered sites continues to grow, so does the number of developers who are making it a better and more robust content management system.

That’s a shocking number when you consider the importance of using your website to promote your business or organization and generate more leads. You must work to be up-to-date, relevant, and produce great content. Simply having a static website out there isn’t going to work anymore and other methods for updating your site can be cumbersome at best.

Why do you need content management for your website? Here’s two good reasons…

1) Content Marketing is the Best Marketing

In a recent article, Mikal E. Belicove talks about the increasing investment that companies are making in the area of content marketing and content curation. Mikal writes, “So what exactly is content marketing? It’s the creation and publication of original content — including blog posts, case studies, white papers, videos and photos — for the purpose of generating leads, enhancing a brand’s visibility, and putting the company’s subject matter expertise on display.”

Content marketing has become the most important tool for branding and promoting your business. Mikal goes on to say that “twice as many B2B marketers now employ content marketing as they do print, TV and radio advertising.” That means that a great website is more important that ever. It also means that your website isn’t just an online brochure with 10-15 pages and that’s it. Your website needs to be put to work. It must be a scalable and adaptable tool that gives you the ability compete in the Content Marketing game.

A website built with a content management system (or CMS) is the best way to accomplish your communication and marketing goals.

2) Content Management Makes it Easy

To be successful at all this it has to be easy. You need to focus on creating good content for your website and implementing that content needs to be hassle-free.

Having a website built on a CMS provides you with the ability to produce this content and keep your website current and fresh. It’s gives you the flexibility to you need. Imagine sitting at an airport and being able to log in to your CMS to add a new blog post to your website, change a phone number, or remove a former employee from the staff page.

Other methods for updating your website can be complicated. For example, Dreamweaver is a good software application for web development and can be used as a way to update your website. However, it often requires knowledge of HTML, CSS, etc. and doesn’t even come close to providing the same level of speed and flexibility found in a dynamic website built with a CMS.

Hiring staff or companies to support you with web editing and development is a good option, but this could be expensive. It most cases, the best strategy is to get your website up-to-speed with professional design and a content management system.

Websites with content management systems are the best tool for promoting your business or organization online and will give you the ability to focus on creating the great content needed to make your company a success.

For more information on how a website with a content management system can help your business, contact us…

How can you use a QR Code?
A QR code can enhance your printed material with an interactive media response, or an immediate call to action at the moment of the engagement with your marketing piece. They work as links to online (rather than fixed) content, and provide the flexibility to support campaigns for almost any product or service being offered.

What are the PROS and CONS of using a QR code on printed material?
There are several things to consider when deciding if a QR Code is a fit for your project.

PROS:
Ease of Use
Range of Users
QR codes are trackable
Easy way to direct users to online content
Appeal to curiosity of users
Cost effective

CONS:
Lack of awareness
Requires user to have smartphone
Users need to download QR code reader
Scanning can be a long process
What if the novelty wears off?

So, are QR Codes evolving in the print industry or just a current trend destined to fade away?
This is a subjective question and depending on who you ask you may get various answers.  It all depends on how each business is implementing QR Code and the intended use. Considering everything, QR Code is still doing a great job for many. As for how long it will serve the purpose; I guess no one knows for sure. Personally, I think relevant material is the key to the success of QR Codes. Too many QR Codes link the user to irrelevant URLS, or non- optimized web pages. Unfortunately in those situations, the QR Code is seen to be at fault, when in fact it is the marketer.

When used in a creative and clever way to engage the user for a meaningful true experience, the QR Code can make a huge impact on printed material and connect the user to traditional design and digital technology. So in these terms, yes it is evolving and changing the way printed material engages the user/viewer.

A great example of this is an ad from setjapan.com:

In conclusion, I think when considering using a QR Code on a project, weighing the pros and cons is a great place to start, but also think about the potential QR Codes have to be great marketing and advertising tools when this technology is embraced.

But what do you do with a video about a corporation? And why do you need a corporate video?

Corporate videos have multiple uses: business-to-business, business sales, shareholder meetings, award ceremonies, documentaries, training, etc.  The ever-shrinking attention span of the average internet-age person has forced everyone to think outside the box to get noticed.  Video is the user-friendly approach to accomplishing that goal.

Great corporate videos tell stories about real businesses and real people:

• The old-school corporate video is dead.  You know the one with the stiff script read by the even stiffer narrator.  The old-school corporate video contains visual images that lacked artistic composition.  They came off as fake and unprofessional.
• New-school corporate videos are thick in their texture.  They contain art-directed visual images, motion graphics, engaging music tracks, and real people speaking from their heart and not reciting the words from a scriptwriter.
• Today’s corporate videos use today’s technology to explain what was once mundane material.  Graphs and financial statements can be animated and flow with colors and sound that leave a lasting impression on viewers.
• Technological advancements also allow corporate videos a limitless number of viewing options.  Sure you can show the finished product in the ole corporate boardroom, but that’s only the beginning.  If you can digitize it, then you can watch it anywhere.  From the big boardroom to the phone in your hand.

Corporate videos of yesterday have become image videos.  They are becoming the universal language of business.  It’s not a matter of if your company needs a video, but rather how badly you’ll hurt your business without one.

Additionally, many companies are able to repurpose elements of their video production to create vignettes and commercials.  Vignettes can be used to further explain a product or service in more detail.  The vignette can be placed on the specific website page for that product or service offering.

What’s the most interesting and creative use of a corporate video that you’ve seen?

We’d love to hear about it and take a look.

Logo design for Z100 Rock radio station.

This purpose of this commercial is to communicate the overall benefits of using Citynet Cloud Services for business. With the Citynet Cloud, businesses can share, protect, and manage information with greater efficiency.

Our idea was to create something that would stand out and be memorable. We didn’t want to get into too many specifics with this commercial because the scope of services and capabilities involved could be overwhelming to most viewers. So, playing off the idea of “city” in Citynet, we decided to create a virtual/futuristic city to represent this idea of the cloud and local community. And so, a city in the clouds was born. The city itself has a futuristic design while being positioned in a sterile, vast, and open landscape. The landscape represents the cloud environment with its scalable and endless possibilities. The city brings that often nebulous concept of the “the cloud” into a unified community. In this case, the community focus is on the West Virginia service area. Within the city are buildings that represent the four major services/benefits of using the Citynet Cloud. Those services are access to information, information security, business growth, and local support.

Citynet is an IT services and management company that was founded in West Virginia. The company is now one of the leading providers of IT services in the state.

1. Logo is Visually Outdated.

You’re now thinking to yourself, this was great when it was designed, what happened? A redesign of a logo keeps the brand from feeling stale or out of touch. This could be as simple as changing out colors and or updating a font. A great example of this is the at&t logo. You can see that the overall concept did not change at all, yet there is a drastic visual difference between the old one (left) and the new (right). Changing the font and adding some depth and a 3D feel sets this logo apart. The new one feels fresh and current.

2.For Better Recognition and Growth.

With websites, social networks, and blogs being a significant resource for communication, your logo needs to be adaptable on all mediums.  Being web-friendly means easily readable and professional looking across all platforms.  Take a look at this Starbucks logo. Although the original one (left) would look great printed on a coffee bag, when used as a twitter icon, a facebook profile pic or on a website, it will lose its impact and be very hard to recognize. By simplifying things, and adding some color, the logo becomes an icon that people instantly recognize for the brand.

3.You’ve Changed.

Whether you’ve changed your name, type of business or want to change the image of your business, a new logo can symbolize that and create a new visual representation of your brand. For example, apple used to just sell the Macintosh computer. Today with the introduction of new products, services and  innovative technology it not only sells computers, but ipod, ipad, iphone, etc. It is important that the logo evolve with the brand and create a new image of the company along with its products.

These are all examples of successful logo updates that have made an impact on the company.  I suggest that if you have any of the above scenarios currently happening within your company that its time to reevaluate your company’s logo and the message you want to send your current and potential clients.

Want your logo updated? Contact us here to get started.

The LeanIn video player is the first of its kind to allow viewers to respond to what they’re watching by adding comments and creating notches on the video’s timeline. This allows new visitors to quickly see the most talked-about parts of the web video without wasting time trying to find the good stuff.

LeanIn has some features that I think will enhance your web video as well as encourage interaction on your website. Here are 5 things that are exciting about this new social web video concept:

1. Social Data

Find out which parts of your web videos work, and which parts don’t. You’ll be able to get refined statistics by analyzing comments, notches, and “likes”. The LeanIn Dashboard also provides more in-depth information so you can really to get to know your viewers.

2. Brand Your Video Player

LeanIn lets you embed videos from external video sites, like YouTube, while allowing you to customize and brand the player. This helps keep your identity consistent all over the internet.

3. Promote Social Media Interaction

Just because you have lots of “likes” on your company’s Facebook page doesn’t mean those people are actually coming to your website. By allowing video comments to be shared with LeanIn on Facebook and Twitter you have the opportunity to reach an entirely new audience.

4. In-stream Advertising

The LeanIn video player shows comments and activity from your friends on a real-time ticker while you watch your video. You can like their comments, see what they’re saying on other videos, and more, without leaving the player.

5. Get More Views

Since the LeanIn player gives a bird’s-eye view of video content, viewers can quickly find things that interest them and discover more of your web videos in less time. This will also give them more satisfaction since they are only watching things they find appealing.

If you haven’t already, head over to LeanIn and take a look. This is just one of the exciting new social media products that will create unique, enjoyable social web video experiences for your internet users.

http://www.reelseo.com/leanin-social-video-player/

Relationships take time. It depends on you.

It’s important for the website design company to get to know the business or organization they’ll be working with and make a product that will meet their needs. It’s a process, and the client (that’s you) will be asked to participate in that process. The web company isn’t an expert in your field. We have to get to know you and your business and then take the things we learn and translate them into something that will work on the web.

So much of the web design process depends on the client. As web designers and developers, we are asking you to engage in the process with us. There’s much to consider in regard to your message and the content you provide to potential customers on your site. We don’t take this lightly and neither should you.

Of all the variables and factors that impact the development timeline for websites, it’s the relationship with the client (e.g., reviews, approvals, etc.) that has the greatest impact. For example, we’ve had almost exactly the same type of site take significantly different amounts of time to produce. Let’s call them websites A and B. With website A, there were problems with content and approvals and it took over six months from the initial meeting to launch. With website B, the client was participatory and the process went smoothly in regard to content and approvals. Website B took a little over a month from beginning to end.

Knowledge is power and leads to speed.

The technology industry (including web design and development) is an ever-changing business. Every day new things emerge that help make things better, faster, and easier. There are many options and ways of doing things. Having a solid understanding of all the available options is critical for success in the web design and development business. With this knowledge comes the flexibility to create websites with greater efficiency. For example, before the invention of WordPress, Joomla!, Expression Engine, etc., web designers and developers needed to design content management systems (or CMS’s) from the ground up. These open-source platforms can help make database-driven website development faster and less expensive. It keeps us from reinventing the wheel and allows for focus in other areas of production.

The type of website matters.

The type of website being developed can have an enormous bearing on the project time frame. A website can range in time from a few hours to a few months, to even a year or more. It depends on the project. It’s probably best to think of a website as a publication. Before you go into the process, think about all the things you want to communicate. Think of things you’ve written, or the things you need to write in order to successfully inform your audience and tell your story. How long will it take to write or develop all that content and the tailor it for web purposes? In many cases, it takes a considerable amount of time.

As with any communication piece, the content is just the beginning. (But keep in mind that the content needs to be great! The best websites have the best content.) Once that’s established, it’s important to organize and prioritize that information in a way that will lead to success through the website. Careful planning is key here. Once the content is developed and organized, the design and development process kicks in, which includes things like visual design, programming, usability testing, accessibility, and more. As we mentioned, it’s a process, and not usually a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all solution.

How long does it take to make a website? Here are some keys to success:

Stellar content
Planning, management, and organization
Relationship and communication
Great design and development

Ultimately, a professional website design company will be able to produce a website for you that will work well. However, you must realize that when you initiate a website design project with a professional company, you are in essence becoming part of the team. It’s important to contribute to the process and be a good team player.

Ideally, a standard website will take about a month to produce, but there are many variables to consider. A conversation with a professional website design and development company can help you get a better idea of your realistic time frame.

Have a website project in mind? Contact us to get started with a free evaluation.

A professional website is increasingly becoming the most valuable tool and the most important investment you can make in your business or organization. There’s no disputing that a strong web presence is the central focus for any successful marketing campaign. Websites are valuable.

In the past, companies spent considerable amounts of money on media buying in efforts to increase business. Today, the focus has shifted to investing in a strong online presence including website, social media, and Internet marketing campaigns. And don’t forget, websites are created for the sole purpose of increasing business leads, generating revenue, and encouraging participation for your business or organization. Done right, the ROI can be dramatic. That’s not the case for many of the things on which we spend money.

You get what you pay for

Everyone has experienced “you get what you pay for” on some level; the cheap weed-eater that doesn’t quite cut the weeds, the generic tires that had to be replaced a year later, the refrigerator that died right after the factory warranty expired, and the laptop that… well, don’t get me started. You know how it goes, buying things and deciding to make a big investment is a big deal. It’s stressful. We’re afraid we’ll get burned and we’ve experienced that, in most cases, we get what we pay for. Websites are no different. You get what you pay for.

I think most folks would be surprised at the amount of expertise and labor hours that go into making an effective website. Web technology is an ever-changing industry and web developers are constantly having to educate, train, and keep up with what’s going on. It takes effort and commitment to stay relevant. Still, some peoples’ pre-conceived notion is that websites are somehow automated, cookie-cutter, or easy-to-make because the “computer does most of the work.” The truth is that is takes time to establish an effective message, gather and create effective content (which is very important), evaluate a target audience and produce an interface that’s usable and effective. You must also write clean code, test on various platforms and mobile devices, effectively integrate social media and Internet marketing techniques to make the website an effective business tool, develop custom features and applications, and the list goes on.

Professionally done, a website project is not like changing a tire. It is a subjective and unique process, with many variables, which requires participation and collaboration from the client. It’s a partnership that includes getting to know the business, determining goals and priorities, developing an appropriate solution, and providing support throughout the process… and beyond. You really can’t walk into a web design firm and say “give me a new website please.” It doesn’t work that way.

The companies out there offering special deals such as a $200 website, or the “tech-savvy” brother-in-law that will do it for cheap, the do-it-yourself website building methods, and so on will not likely get the results you are looking for in the ever-increasing competitive digital world. You need something you can use as a tool and a site that is built to last. It’s also important that you are engaging, memorable, and credible. This is achieved only through creative professional design and great content. Have I mentioned that content is very important? Well it is, and it’s typically one of the most challenging aspects of the web development.

So how much does a website cost?

Many people use the example of buying a car as a comparison for pricing a website and other forms of creative mediums. This analogy holds pretty well for web design and development. For example, if you look at the base price (or starting price) for a car, you will be looking at a number that will likely change by the time you actually make the purchase. As soon as you start adding the navigation system and other items, the price starts going up. In the same way, the price of a website can increase.

I think the car analogy is a okay illustration, but may be too “product-oriented” for an accurate depiction of website pricing. Cars are priced based on mass production. They are inherently cookie-cutter. Go ask someone to make a unique and custom car for you and I’d be willing to the bet the price will be insane. Websites can’t be priced like commercial cars because they are unique. They are one-of-a-kind and must be tailored to be effective. Making a website is more of a process than a product.

So, I’ve often used the analogy of building a home to that of building a website. In many ways the process if the same: you plan/estimate (blueprints), conceptualize (renderings), build (construction). It is based on time and materials and the estimate is just that – an estimate. The numbers may need to be adjusted along the way to compensate for things that occur during the building process. The builder manages and works hard to come in under, or on the original estimate. And that’s always our goal as professional web developers.

It’s also important to mention that, once a website is launched, it doesn’t stop there. It’s like a baby that never grows up or leaves the home. Again, a website is a tool that you have to use in order to grow your business. It takes effort. This is one reason why it’s important to build a strong foundation and do it right the first time.

With this in mind, the following outline will help give you an idea of how much you can expect to pay for a website:

Standard corporate websites, that may or may not include content management (the ability to edit your site), can range in price from $2,500 to $15,000.

Websites that include content management and more professional features such as secure customer login areas can go from $15,000 to $25,000.

Websites that include all the bells and whistles like content management, secure user/client areas, mobile versions, eCommerce, and other types of online tools such as custom finance calculators, etc. can start at $25,000 and go as far as $60,000 and beyond. It really depends on the project requirements and the level of commitment and labor that will be needed to produce the website.

Again, making a website isn’t an exact science. It is a custom project and should be thought of as a partnership between the web development company and the client. An initial discussion is needed to help determine requirements and the price of any professionally produced website.

Do you have a website project in mind? If so, contact us for a free evaluation and estimate.