For some reason, people seem to really like lists….not just prefer them, really like them! I could write the same information in paragraph form, even using the exact verbiage, but the response rate is measurably higher when there are bullet points involved. So last month, I gave you a list of our top five social media tools with the idea that I’d expand on each one in separate articles. Don’t worry… I’ll do my best to keep it “reader friendly” in list format.

Even if you didn’t read the last article (and if you haven’t, why not?!?), you can probably guess that the number one social media tool our clients use is facebook. This social networking giant is used globally in virtually all demographics. It’s easy to use, unintimidating, and let’s face it – just plain fun! The reasons it appeals to businesses are nearly endless, but I’ll list (yea for bullet points!) the top incentives for your business to join the fun below.

Not too long ago, we received a phone call from one of our oldest and biggest clients. As he started to talk, the desperation in his voice was at a level not yet heard from anyone we’d worked with before. Sure, we get calls from businesses needing a website or a logo or some modern marketing services “right now,” or a client is needing a refresher on how to upload an image to their current site, but those can be handled with ease and relative quickness. This client drew a clear line for us between desperate and urgent. You see, this client left his entire online presence in the hands of one trusted employee, and because the statistics of our collaborative marketing efforts consistently showed excellent results, our client focused his attention on other areas of the business. One day, (and we do mean in one day) that trusted employee was gone and the client knew nothing more about us than our phone number and the fact that we’ve done two websites for him.

So last month, in our article “Is Your Website Missing,” we talked about the oft made mistake of thinking that the only thing to getting a website is, well, getting a website. We shared with you the pitfalls of excluding critical details in building your website and marketing it, thereafter. This time around, we want to touch on some of the top ways to increase your online presence and boost your traffic, outside of search engine optimization (SEO). After all, you surely want people to see one of your greatest marketing investments, right?

Good morning readers! Unless it’s no longer morning, then good afternoon, good evening, or goodnight! If reading this blog post, it’s likely that you have some sort of interest in websites. Either you have one that you love (designed by us, of course!), you have one that you hate (hopefully not designed by us), or you are in the market for one and you would like our help.

Each year, it seems that people put a lot of focus on where they've been and make plans about where they want to go in the next twelve months, and although we at Directing Design don't generally tend to be conformists, it seems that in this regard we are no different. Our (mostly) fearless leader has been a Sandler Training student for quite some time now and each Tuesday morning, he excitedly walks into the office with new lessons learned. As they've often proved invaluable, he strives to share the class teachings and employ that knowledge when making decisions. Naturally, that led to a conversation with each of us regarding his own goals as they relate to which direction he'd like for the company to go, and of course that sort of conversation always inspires one to set goals of one's own.

Now, me being the "I need to spend countless hours reading about how to best set goals and then writing and rewriting (and rewriting again) the goals because I'm trying to mesh all the information together" type, I did a little - no, a LOT - of research on the subject and I'm hoping to impart enough of my newfound knowledge to save you a bit of time. You know... for actually trying to achieve those goals.