Here’s SOBO’s top 7 suggestions to ready up your communication effort:

1.    Create a list of keywords and use them throughout your digital communication (website, Facebook page, LinkedIn, twitter, YouTube, etc.)
2.    Create a blog calendar.  We struggle with this too, so to improve a regular flow of blogging we have created a goal (twice a month) and assigned a blog shepherd to be responsible for the published date’s content.
3.    Review your online marketing with fresh eyes. The easiest way is to sit next to someone who is not familiar with your business and watch how they navigate and ask them what they understand about what they see and read…your own mini focus group.
4.    Create or update your LinkedIn company page. If you haven’t noticed all of the new features available it’s well worth taking the time now. Here’s 5 Tips for Using the New LinkedIn Company Pages.
5.    Call to Action.  Make sure your marketing communication has a purpose and a call to action.
6.    Check your links. Seems obvious, but I’m always surprised what links have magically disappeared or gone dead on my website, Facebook page, or even the signature of my email.
7.    Make it easy. Many of the social media sites will automatically feed each other, for example connect your LinkedIn account to your Twitter for automatic tweeting.

Ready UP in Spring and your marketing effort should bear fruit in Summer.

• LinkedIn — Keep your personal profile up to date and create a company profile too.
• Facebook — Create a Page for your business. If you are worried about confusing your personal and business personae, create a new Facebook account to use professionally.
• SEO — Review your website with an eye towards Search Engine Optimization. Know your core keywords. A good place to start is Google’s Key Word Tool Box.
• Capabilities Statement — Know what you do well and shout it out! We’ve created a PDF of our capabilities and our New Years Resolution is produce our own video version. Here’s one we produced for Honeywell:

• Blog — Remind your customers of your expertise (like we’re doing now). This doesn’t have to be too time consuming. You can record your blog content into your phone and email it to a writer (or SOBO of course) to turn into a blog. Blogging is one of the best “organic” ways to update your website and increase your traffic.
• Be Creative — We recently heard of a CEO who sends a short (30 seconds or less) personalized to prospective employees after their interview using his computers build in camera. “Hey Sally, Thank you for coming into today. I know you meet with Stan, Katie and Thom. They were very impressed. We hope you consider our company a good fit for your skills. I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.” Imagine the impact of a quick personal video message after a sales call!

Of course if this all seems a bit overwhelming, there’s no need to panic…SOBO’s ready to help you exceed your New Years Resolution.

Here’s to a successful 2012 and have a magnificent New Year.

Remember, every social media platform you choose will take some work to be a benefit. You need to schedule time to feed and weed your garden to insure it’s worth your effort.

The social media landscape is changing at lighting speed. This is my 1000-foot view. I’m very interested in discussing this topic so please jump in with your thoughts and comments.

SOBO has a long history of producing multimedia and video government agencies and nonprofits. Some of our NAICS Codes are listed below:

• 512110 – Motion Picture and Video Production
• 541613 – Marketing Consulting Services (Specifically: consultation and development of web and multimedia projects, video and brochures in multiple languages, digital media, banners, etc.)
• 611430 – Professional and Management Development Training (Specifically: eLearning, marketing, management and business development training support material)

Please fill out the contact information form if you are interested in discussing a project.

Even though it sounds like it might be complicated, SEO is refreshingly logical (mostly), democratic (available to anyone willing to put in the time), and can be absolutely FREE. And you will almost certainly see results if you work at it.

One of the aspects of SEO I really enjoy is that it’s “pull” marketing. You’re no doubt familiar with “push” marketing, which inserts unrequested ads and e-mails into inboxes and onto results pages (I really dislike the blinking ones). Pull marketing simply helps people find what they’re already looking for.

So the key to helping people is to make sure you’re speaking their language. Quite literally. This means you need to think about what people type into a Google search box if they were looking for your products or services. These are called key words.

The important thing is that when someone enters key words into a search box, the results will be prioritized by how close they were to the original searched words. Simply put, if someone enters, “How can I find the best personal coach in Baltimore?,” theoretically, your link will appear in the search results first if you’re the only one to have those words in that particular order.

So you first need to determine key words that work for your business. And after you’ve made a list (quite possibly by studying the web sites of your competitors), begin putting the key words into question form, because it turns out that a lot of people write questions to Google, not just words and phrases.

Once you have a keyword list, you do just about everything possible to use these key words liberally (but not obnoxiously) on your pages.

Notice that I said “just about” everything. Google is not stupid (and yes, Google really is the primary search engine you need to concern yourself with, but not the only one). In fact, millions of dollars every year go into Google’s frequently updated “search algorithm” so that it’s not fooled by shysters. Some people have actually stuffed their pages with “invisible” key words (making them the same color as the background so the words are unnoticeable in a browser window). Web pages with this kind of “trick” will be penalized by Google and possibly other search engines.

On the other hand, Google rewards you for honest attempts to help your audience find information. Key words in page titles are weighted more heavily, for instance, than in metatags that are buried in the html of your pages.

Next time: we’ll talk about narrowing down (or building up) your key words list.

Susan Branch Smith is a profession writer who has been working with SOBO for over 15 years. She has experience writing video, print, multimedia, and the web. She is also the owner of Basecamp Productions, located in Baltimore and Williamsburg, Virginia.

SOBO, celebrating 20 years in video production & multimedia!

In fact, our breadth of experience in video production is our greatest asset to you. We have been working with a wide range of customers producing broadcast quality video, multimedia, and eLearning in the Baltimore, Annapolis, Washington D.C., and Northern Virginia area since 1991.

What kind of message will your staff or customers respond to? Helping you decide on your message and communicate it to the right people is our specialty. Plus, we can help you repurpose your communication assets to maximize your training and marketing budget.

In short, you get more than a production crew when you work with SOBO Productions. You get a multimedia marketing-savvy team player. Please review our capabilities document and this website to understand the breadth of the solutions that we provide our clients.

Titan Steel – Reaching out to global customers.

“I first met Suzy early in 2008. She represented one of several qualified companies we had biding to create a marketing video for our company, Titan Steel Corporation. All these companies showed me the quality of work to make me comfortable that they would be able to handle the project we had in mind. What separated Suzy and SOBO from the other companies was her organization and especially her emphasis on project management. She made me feel most comfortable that she would manage the project well. Time has proven that she has managed all our projects well. …

We are now going on our forth year in our relationship with SOBO. We have been very pleased with their quality of work, their flexibility with our time sensitive initiatives, their responsiveness to our many demands, and of course, completing the projects on time. We have come to rely on the fact that SOBO brings the creativeness in marketing and branding ideas we are looking for. SOBO has truly become our “marketing partner” and one I feel most comfortable in endorsing.”

~ Herm Rivera,
Director of IT & Marketing, Titan Steel

SOBO was originally contacted by Titan in 2008 to help them launch a new office in the United Arab Emirates. We produced a marketing video and an interactive auto-launch flash drive highlighting their steel distribution services. Since they don’t have an in-house marketing department, they rely on us to help them effectively promote their business.

SOBO is very “brand” conscious and we work hard to insure that their is a continuity of messaging and design across all inward and outward facing communication. We have helped to define that for Titan, and work with them to make sure their marketing investment is made wisely.

We are not experts in steel and do not pretend to know what’s important to Titan’s customer, so an open dialogue is critical to a successful communication partnership. One way we ensure that is Project Management. With experience comes an understanding of how to keep all stakeholders in the loop. SOBO utilizes an online client project management portal to communicate and track milestones, comments and version control of projects. (Notice the Client Login link in the header of our website.) All members of the team have access to the project assets and communication available at their fingertips.

Titan’s clients no longer only reside in North America. Over time, their work in the International Marketplace has given them a presence in many countries. When Titan needs to communicate to clients around the globe. SOBO helps with design and translation.

Titan’s Marketing Materials:

• Short 3-minute marketing video (produced entirely from still photos to keep costs down)  Note: The video has been close-captioned for SEO and communication functionality. We’ve suggested adding subtitles in additional languages.
• Interactive marketing presentations on Flash Drive and CD
• An English-language brochure that’s now been translated to Portuguese, Italian, German, Chinese, French, and Spanish
• Banners, brochures, give-aways and looping video for Titan’s German 2011 Tradeshow (photo above)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5stI3PwFNk4

Come back concert for Rock ‘n Roll icon.

“If you want attention to detail, innovative ideas, someone who will work with you, no matter what the situation, in order to get your project completed, on time and on budget, Suzy Shaw, producer and project manager of SOBO Productions, is whom you will want to hire for the job.”

~ Karen Braithwaite-Yarn,
REEL Good Productions

Suzy Shaw, Darlene Love, Steve VanSant, and Lisa Shankle

SOBO had been producing a website for REEL Good Production, when she received a call from her client on New Year’s Day, 2010, Could she produce a concert video six weeks away, in New Jersey? Um, sure. As if time wasn’t already an issue, SOBO didn’t actually win the bid until just two weeks before the concert. Nonetheless, Houston, all systems were GO.

With plenty of other work in the hopper, SOBO still managed to pull together the crew, six cameras, and a crackerjack director required for the live event. Several hours later, client REEL Good Productions had their first concert video in the can, thanks to SOBO.

The concert was Darlene Love’s comeback performance, “Darlene Love: The Concert of Love,” recorded live-to-tape, with post-production at NFL Films and Bennett Studios. SOBO put together the DVD,  CD, and packaging of the concert. This year, American Public Television jumped on board and SOBO stepped back up to the plate to edit the Public Television broadcast versions of the program.

Darlene Love: The Concert of Love is a great example of what our experience can mean for you. We can produce a concert video with six cameras as well as we produce your corporate video with one or two.

In fact, our breadth of experience in video production is our greatest asset to you. We’ve made:

• corporate videos
• music videos
• fundraising videos
• training videos
• interactive instructional DVDs
• and more.

I am looking forward to your feedback, suggestions and questions, so don’t hesitate to shoot back an email. Don’t forget to subscribe the SOBO Blog RSS so you’ll receive updates when we post new information. Thank you for your interest.

Sincerely, Suzy Shaw
Owner • Project Manager • Producer

“Technology… is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other.” ~C.P. Snow