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Your Online Presence Checklist

Your Online Presence Checklist

Is your business doing enough on the digital landscape to keep current customers happy and new customers interested? Here is a checklist of what EVERY business should make sure they are doing when establishing their online presence.

☑ Have a fantastic, informative, and easy-to-use website that grows over time and is always up to date. This is easier said than done, we know, but we’re here to help.

☑ Make sure your information is correct and accurate in all “directories” and especially Google, Bing, and Apple Maps. For your industry, there will be other key directories to pay attention to.

☑ Pay attention to reviews and collect more over time. There are tools (we have) that can help you do this but at the very least, ask friends and family and clients you know well to review you online. Key review sites are Google, Facebook, and Yelp but there will be other industry-specific sites also.

☑ Be active (at least one post/week) on at least TWO social networks. The easiest is Facebook and Instagram because you can connect them to publish content once to two channels. But if you can do video, even amateur video regularly, then YouTube (the second largest search engine) is a must.

☑ Make sure everything above matches. The address and hours and information are the same everywhere. Good photos and consistent branding/images. Does your logo need a refresh? Design = Trust.

☑ Make it VERY EASY for customers to contact you. Phone, text, chat, forms, email, instant messaging. Someone in your organization can be put in charge of checking all the ways people get in touch with you and responding as quickly as possible. Technology has added a layer of “respond NOW” to our society. You can outsource some of this but do so very very carefully.

☑ Always be collecting. Even if you don’t do email marketing at the moment, still collect emails and text messages every chance you get. There are always strategies for this that can work wonders for your business. But at the very minimum, collect this information.

☑ Consider investing in digital ads. These can help with branding/awareness, building a network of followers, and sales. There are many ways to advertise online so you want expert help for this, but digital ads can take your dollar much further than other channels.

This may seem overwhelming but once set up, it’s not hard to maintain. Of course, we’re here to help and consultations/guidance is always free.

Building a Responsive Branding Package

What is the current state of your branding package? Is your logo responsive? Just like a website, a logo will benefit your business the most if it responds to mobile devices. If a website isn’t optimized for mobile viewing 91% of customers will turn to a competitor. 

In a world where screens come in all manner of shapes and sizes your logo will benefit your bottom line the most if it is recognizable and memorable everywhere. However, this means much more than making your logo larger or smaller to fit the screen. Your logo will best serve your business if it is responsive and adapts to any use-case accordingly. 

a branding package graphic showing responsive logos from Coca-Cola, Chanel, Disney, Heineken, Warner Brothers, and Kodak 

Image Source: https://medium.com/@jackanto/responsive-logo-must-to-follow-4901cb0cfcbc

Creating Trust

A branding package is much more than just a set of pretty graphics made for your business. Logo packages should be designed to serve a purpose. A brand that functions well is like a digital storefront: When your brand is attractive, updated, and appealing it will help create a foundation of trust between you and your customer.

Even as late as 2015 most small businesses could get away with one version of their logo in one place: on the sign in front of their business. Today’s logos have to function better and accomplish much, much more than they used to. Over 50% of consumers surf the net on smartphones. If your logo can’t scale down to smaller screens you’re potentially turning away over half of your business. 

Over 80% of customers view your digital storefront before they visit your actual business or make a purchase decision. For a website to scale effectively you need a logo that scales as well. Customers are more likely to trust you if your business is well-represented in all scenarios. 

Responsive Logo Attributes

Every logo that has been designed to be responsive shares a few specific traits. Those traits, in order of importance are:

  1. A responsive logo is recognizable in black and white, even if the mark has color it must be recognizable and clean without it. Why? If your logo doesn’t work in black and white it won’t work well on different mediums such as laser engraving, wood and glass etching, and vinyl cuts. 
  2. It must be recognizable at sizes as small as 32 pixels wide. Why? Because your logo needs to be recognizable from a distance as well as on small devices.
  3. There must be different versions for different media types in addition to versions that work well on any background. Why? Because your logo should be easy to use, it should look great on a photo, solid color, or on black or white.
  4. There must be an icon and a wordmark that can stand separate from each other and still be recognizable. Why? There are times where it isn’t appropriate to put your entire logo on a document or product. This is why it is best to have both text and an icon that can stand apart and still represent your business. 
  5. There are versions that scale to large sizes effectively and add meaning as a logo gets larger. Why? Small marks, when scaled up, can often dominate space and be the center of visual attention in a bad way. They’re optimized for contrast at small sizes, but that contrast can be too much at large sizes. A great example of this is the Warner Brothers logo above.

Improve Your Customer Relationship with a Responsive Branding Package

A responsive logo and branding package can work wonders to improve the relationship you have with your customers and even increase the value of your product. Contact UplinkSpyder and we’ll make sure to set you on the right path with a logo for your business that communicates, is responsive, and is beautiful. 

2018 Year in Review

2018 Year in Review

2018 was a busy year for us – and an exciting one at that. We’ve introduced new Spyders to our team, renovated and expanded our work-space (our “web”, if you will), added more businesses to our already awesome list of clients, and spent many hours doing what Spyders do best: writing, designing, and marketing.

To celebrate this incredible year, we have compiled a list of some of our favorite 2018 projects for your viewing pleasure. But first, a word from our fearless leader and CEO:

Our ten year anniversary as a company is this year — April 2019 — and it’s pretty remarkable to take a look at how far we’ve come and how much has transpired in those ten years. We started out of a home office with two clients.

When I look back, I see the huge mistakes we’ve made and tried our best to learn from and I see a landscape of beautiful and impactful work — but most of all, I see the relationships we’ve built over the years and continue to build. That’s why we do this work. Because we love to serve others and help other businesses grow and have successes of their own.

I want to take this moment to say thank you to all of you who have trusted UplinkSpyder — and the Spyders that work here — with your website, design, marketing and content needs. We have big plans for the next year. I’m really excited. I never thought of myself as a business owner, much less a successful one, but God has graced Emmanuel and myself with many extra chances to learn and grow. Employing others is one of the hardest and most rewarding experiences of our lives and I’m so very grateful I continue to have that opportunity.

Please take a look at a very small sample and a few cool statistics from the last year of our first decade. And stay tuned for more awesome to come…

Happy New Year!
Deanna Rivera, CEO

2018 at a Glance

13,506+

Hours Creating Awesome

In 2018, our Spyders spent over 13,500 combined hours working on your website, blogs, social media, newsletters, and more – and guess what? We loved every minute of it. We find joy in creating a website with a beautiful, mobile-responsive design that wows both your customers and search engines. When we see your keyword rankings improving, or a Facebook ad generating tons of clicks to your website, we literally high-five each other for a job well done. Your success is our success.

183,000+

Words Written *Since June

Just over the last 7 months, we’ve written over 183,000 words to help increase website traffic and pull customers in based on careful SEO research. This is done through your website’s “normal” content outlining your services, but also through our new content marketing packages for blogging, which…not to toot our own horn or anything…are pretty freaking great. We can’t stress how important it is to regularly post blogs to your website. Don’t think your business needs a blog? We’d love to tell you why that’s not the case.

439+

Newsletters Sent

Over this past year, we have sent over 430 newsletters for our clients, and that doesn’t count the additional efforts we make to ensure each of those newsletters get opened and clicked on. This includes automated emails (triggered by contact forms, pop-ups, etc.) and newsletter re-sends, with new subject lines, to people that didn’t open them originally. With email marketing, and all of your marketing efforts, consistency is key! We help our clients stay in their customers’ inboxes through well-crafted newsletters, helping grow their audience along the way.

+53%

Average Website Growth as Compared to 2017

Our existing websites, that we maintain and update regularly, experienced an average of 50% growth, compared to 2017. That’s because we don’t just launch a website and then wave good-bye. We become business partners with our clients, constantly helping them discover new ways to grow their business. When you work with UplinkSpyder, you work with a team of individuals that become your friends, and treat your business like our own.

23 Websites Launched

2018 was the year of experimenting with new design methods, further content analysis, and improved user experience. Through all of the 23 websites we built and launched in 2018, we were able to create something unique, which we are very proud of. Your website is the heart of all your marketing, so if it doesn’t truly reflect your business, has false information, or doesn’t show up properly on a mobile device, it’s not benefiting you at all. In fact, it may be hurting you. Luckily, we happen to know a group of talented Spyders (not the creepy, crawly kind) that can fix these issues for you.

25 Brands Created

When a new business owner comes to us and says “I don’t have a logo yet,” or “I don’t have a brand yet,” – it’s music to our ears. Our favorite projects are the ones that we help you shape from the beginning. In 2018, we helped 25 businesses find their identity. Check out some of the highlights below.

Thanks for reading all of that,
but the proof is in the pudding.

Check out a few highlights from our web design and branding of 2018:

5 Steps of Brand Building Every Business Must Know

5 Steps of Brand Building Every Business Must Know

When it comes to the steps of brand building it can often be overwhelming, whether you’re a startup or simply rebranding. That’s why we decided to give you 5 steps in the brand building process that you can begin doing right now. So what is this branding thing all about? What does it mean for your business? How do you develop a unique brand that will not only draw customers in but keep them?

What Exactly is a Brand Build?

In an article written by Deanna back in 2015, she describes the building of your brand as “not one thing. It is the TOTAL experience you provide, either to your clients or your employees. Everything someone sees, smells, hears, touches or tastes, as it relates to your business, is a part of your unique brand.”

A recognizable brand is worth its weight in revenue. You want customers to think of your brand first when a specific need comes up, or to associate your brand with a positive business trait, such as friendliness, speedy service, or honest quoting. Building your business’ brand is an essential phase in creating a strong business presence, great marketing, and a devoted customer base.

However, how do you go about building a successful brand like that? Read on for our top five steps in the brand building process so that you will be ready to develop your own business strategically.

The 5 Steps of Brand Building

1. Research The Target Market for Your Brand

brand building

You need to make sure you know who you are selling to before you can strategize further on what you are selling them and how. With that in mind, you need to:

  • Identify your target market
  • Find out what they need
  • Brainstorm the best ways to meet their needs

Determining your market and finding out what makes them tick will help you understand what your short- and long-term goals should be. You want your ideal customer to feel appreciated and satisfied with the product or service that you’re providing them.

One helpful exercise for this step is to brainstorm “buyer personas” for your potential customers. What kind of person would be interested in your product? Your research should inform you of your target market’s geographical location, economic status, age, and gender.

2. Write a Mission Statement for Your Brand

This should address all of the following areas:

  • Your brand’s personality and voice. Is it sassy? Clever? Sensible?
  • Your brand’s business image and style. Is it professional? Informal? Thrifty? Top-of-the-line? What is your business aesthetic in advertising? What style of writing will stand out as belonging to your business?
  • Your brand’s specific strengths. What is your brand better at than anyone else?
  • Your brand’s unique place in the market. Why should customers choose you over others?

Answering these questions will allow you to set specific goals for your business to maintain consistency with your brand’s mission statement. Once you do this, you can make decisions based on whether an opportunity or idea matches your mission statement. This clarity will also help keep your business consistent, which will help you build a reputation as being reliable to customers.

3. Strategize Your Advertising

brand build

Promotion is essential to starting and maintaining a thriving business. Whether it’s online, in person, or on a billboard, you need strong advertising to remain consistent and thereby help your brand. Today’s digital age all but demands social media and a blog for your business.

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are the “Big Three” social media platforms that you should make a part of your brand building in order to maintain a presence online. A blog for your business is good, but not if you can’t update regularly. Consistent content online will keep you in the front of your existing customers’ minds and bring you to the attention of new customers. If you can afford other advertising, utilize the avenues that will be consistent with your brand’s mission statement.

4. Figure Out Your Pitch

This goes hand-in-hand with Step 3 but is geared more for fellow industry professionals and investors. Keeping your mission statement in mind, practice an “elevator pitch” for what your business is all about. This pitch will come in handy when you make contacts or develop relationships for your business. Along with a pitch, make sure you can quickly write or verbalize your brand’s strategy. You want to clearly and concisely interest them in getting involved or investing.

5. Network, Network, Network

brand build

Got your pitch ready? Good. This step is all about making friends and getting people interested in your brand. If your business has a blog, make a list of potential companies that might be interested in co-branding. Don’t look for companies precisely like yours; look for businesses that offer something that can complement but not replace your service or product. Reach out to them and see if they’re interested in linking to you (you can link to them in return) or teaming up on advertising.

Also- get away from the desk and computer and join your local networking groups. BNI is a popular one throughout the nation, and most towns have networking groups unique to them.

Following these five steps to brand building will provide positive results for your business. Besides that, however, it will make your work a lot easier: The more specifics you have nailed down for your brand, the less time you waste figuring out which direction to go or whether an idea is right for your business goals.

Most importantly, the better hold you have on your brand, the stronger it will appear to your customers, and the more they will remember it.

If you don’t have the time or resources to strengthen your brand yourself, consider hiring someone to help. Our team is equipped and ready to begin the steps of brand building for your company. Contact us today to set up an appointment.

Branding = Creating an Experience

Branding = Creating an Experience

The definition of “branding” changes depending on who you’re talking to.

Some instantly think, “logo”. Others think about colors and the “look” of a place, or the tagline or name. Others look outside their own business and point at “big companies” like Google, as if (more…)