What is one thing Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, institutions of higher-education, and all other businesses have in common? They have a message, and the fundamental success or failure of any business or organization lies in their ability to get that message out. So what does this mean for your company? Before I answer that question, let’s back-track a bit.
Since the rise of technology in the late 20th century, the goal of marketing departments everywhere has remained the same – to get your “message” out, whether it’s a product, service, mission, or goal. However, as technology advanced and Web 2.0 arrived, the means by which we seek to achieve this goal have changed. Now, the goal is getting the right message out to the right audience. Niche marketing has existed for decades, but with the internet being the force that it is, prospects of any product or service want to have access to as much information as possible, as quickly as possible, and with minimal time spent searching for it. As I like to refer to it, we are living in an era of ‘hyper-education,’ which is quick and thorough access to all information relative to a given product or service.
The Web and its users are much more opinionated and involved than you may think. When researching possible product purchases, web users want transparency. They are NOT looking for the latest sales jargon trying to lure them into what they probably already view as a scam. Give them the facts. Assume that they are intelligent enough to take the relevant, unbiased educational information you are giving them and make an informed decision. Your only job is to do the informing.
Of course, this isn’t to say that, when appropriate, a follow up e-mail or monthly newsletter can’t be helpful. The idea is to give those in search of ‘hyper-education’ the ability to easily locate what they need while adequately conveying your message – how you do what you do, and what makes you the best at it. People are looking for your product, service, or organization to fill a void in their personal or business lives. Prospects will trust your company for giving them quality web content and feel like they’re making an informed buying or investing decision.
Where do we at Hannon Hill play a role in this? Cascade Server enables anyone comfortable using Microsoft Word to be equally comfortable creating and publishing their own web content. Who better to create the content that generates buzz about your business or organization, than the people most enthusiastic about it – your employees! Use Cascade Server, to frequently post blogs, easily post comments, and make interaction readily available. Quickly create and publish press releases, white papers, articles, and a variety of other web content to further educate, inform, and excite potential prospects.
Using interactive tools provided by a CMS will enable your employees to interact with each other and potential prospects, share ideas, and facilitate the ‘hyper-education’ that the web’s users are seeking. Let prospects know why they should share in your enthusiasm for your company or organization and its products, services, and goals. Getting your message out, providing ‘hyper-educational’ content that adequately informs prospects, and making a variety and depth of information available at the click of a mouse will ensure your investors, buyers, and prospects trust your company and the goods or services you provide.
For more information about our content management system, or to better understand how Cascade Server works, please take a look at our Business & Technical User Intros.
Much like Yule logs and a 6-pack of tube socks under the tree, the office Christmas party is a time-honored holiday tradition. Unlike the first two, however, the Hannon Hill Christmas party is greatly anticipated. As founder and CEO David Cummings says, “The holiday party is a great venue to relax and reflect on the success of the year. I always look forward to it.” Last Thursday, COO David Klanac and his wife Ashley welcomed us all into their humble abode for this year’s holiday get-together. In a townhome set with decorations that would give Martha Stewart a run for her money, Hannon Hillians gathered to eat, drink, and be merry – pretty much like a day at the office, but without the widescreen monitors, instant messaging, and slavish devotion to content management systems.
As people trickled in past one of the Christmas trees (I counted three) with their spouses, friends, or significant others in tow, they were quickly welcomed by our bartenders for the evening. Although I didn’t partake (strictly red wine for this guy), I heard that the pear-raspberry martinis were a smash hit. The professionally catered main spread was laid out in the dining room, and included bacon-wrapped scallops, salads, make-your-own sandwiches (with a great mustard, and that comes from an avowed non-mustard fan), dips, baked pastas, and crudités (that’s a fancy word for a vegetable platter – but this was a really good vegetable platter). For dessert, there was chocolate fondue with strawberries, cookies, and lots of those little pastries that you see in food magazines and never think you’ll get a chance to eat. But that chance came, and everybody took advantage of it.
After folks finished up most of their grazing, DC garnered all of our interest with a hearty thank you for our work this year, and wishes of a happy holiday season and a great start to 2008. Everybody stood with rapt attention to take in all of David’s kind words, and all eyes and ears were transfixed on him as he expounded upon his pride in the accomplishments of the past year, and his excitement for the developments of the next one. Oh yeah, he was handing out our Christmas gifts too – maybe that had something to do with it. Nonetheless, a great time was had by all, and a gigantic thanks goes out to David and Ashley Klanac for being such gracious hosts. Happy Holidays!
Elizabeth graduated with highest honors from the Atlanta College of Art with a BFA in Digital Video Production. She also participated in the internship program at Partizan in Los Angeles, during which she had the opportunity to work with such directors as Olivier Gondry, Chris Applebaum, and Casseus. Her short films, music videos, experimental sound pieces, and mixed media art have appeared in a number of film festivals, venues, and publications, including Paper Magazine, Southeast Performer, and Spin. She continues to produce, direct, and edit independent films and music videos in Atlanta. In addition to her interests in visual arts and film, Elizabeth studies the art of improvisational comedy at Whole World Theatre and the art of excellent baked goods via her own kitchen.
A number of Elizabeth's independent productions can be found on YouTube as well as on her personal website.
The holidays are just a few weeks away, and Hannon Hill is here to help provide ideas for your shopping list this year. Our content management-inspired Twelve Gifts of Christmas are sure to motivate and benefit everyone involved in maintaining and contributing to your website throughout the new year:
1. Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 is a perfect solution for any designers who work with a CMS. The latest version of Dreamweaver includes CSS tools and intelligent integration with Adobe products. Building templates for Cascade will be a breeze with this gift under the tree.
2. For that person on your list who always claims she needs more space, a new external hard drive should solve her problems. LaCie makes reliable hard drives in a number of sizes, specifications, and designs to store or back up loads of content.
3. A perfect solution for someone on-the-go, AT&T LaptopConnect Cards allow any laptop to connect to the internet away from home or work. With one of these handy cards, business trips will never again get in the way of keeping web content updated. With compatibility in over 155 countries and improved performance, this gift is sure to please any frequent travelers on your list.
4. Podcasting is one of the most prominent features of Web 2.0. Samson’s CO1U USB Studio Condenser Microphone makes it easy and affordable to record podcasts directly onto your computer without an audio interface, and the podcasts can be uploaded and published directly in Cascade Server. Order one for your favorite media guru, and you’ll be sure to make his holiday a merry one.
5. Web log analysis software can be a valuable advantage for any website administrator to better understand more about those who visit her website, including the number of unique visitors, the most viewed pages, operating systems and browsers used, and search engines that were used to find the site. Many options are available, inlcuding WebLog Expert, OneStat, and AlterWind. Give the gift of analytics to your favorite admin this season.
6. Text-heavy blogs can often appear dull without any visual supplement. Help to remedy your favorite blogger’s site with a new digital camera. With today’s models, anyone can beef up a website with easy-to-use digital cameras, and many even include software for editing images before sharing them online.
7. Adobe Flash CS3 Professional will give your favorite developer or designer the tools to create all the bells and whistles he could hope to include on his website. This gift is not only valuable for stunning visuals and animations, but it also can be used to create interactive demonstrations and polished video content.
8. For your Apple aficionado friends, Mac OS X Leopard is now available. With over 300 new features, including the impressive new Finder, Time Machine, and Spaces, organization has never been easier. Boot Camp even lets Mac users run Windows. This improved operating system will give all of your Apple friends the functionality they need to be even more productive with all of their programs, including their CMS.
9. The gift of a domain is always a nice, personalized present. Maybe you know someone with a specialized area of their website that has grown enough to warrant its own site, or perhaps you’d like to inspire someone to start a new website. In any case, a domain will show that you took the time to personalize a gift just for the recipient. Plus, multiple domains may be managed right from within Cascade Server.
10. A good XSL/XSLT editor, such as Oxygen or XMLSpy would make a great gift for your developer friends. These products allow developers to create and edit XSL/XSLT documents as well as test and validate them. This gift will keep giving all year for your favorite developer.
11. Anyone who uses a computer for long periods of time would appreciate an ergonomic keyboard in her stocking. One of the most popular and affordable ergonomic keyboards is Microsoft’s Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000. Ergonomic keyboards reduce muscle strain by correcting hand positioning, thus helping to prevent carpel tunnel syndrome.
12. A USB flash drive is an affordable choice for anyone who needs to quickly transfer files between home and office. Available in various sizes and novelty designs, flash drives make perfect stocking stuffers for everyone from system administrators to simple website contributors who want to work on their content on multiple PCs.
We hope that our suggestions have provided some helpful ideas, and we wish you luck with your holiday shopping this season!
As COO, David Klanac manages the finance, sales, marketing, and general operations of the company. He provides product expertise and knowledge of complex implementation tasks to simplify and streamline clients’ training, use and ownership of the solution.
David is a member of the Technology Association of Georgia, and a proficient programmer in XML, PHP, ASP and ASP.NET. He holds a bachelor of business administration degree in management information systems from the University of Georgia.
I was in the car driving with my father-in-law recently, and he told me about a dinner conversation that he had with a customer in Boston a few days ago. He works in the process engineering industry and spends many of his days traveling around to manufacturing plants as a technical consultant and selling them manufacturing equipment designed to improve their processes. The conversation, he says, went through the normal "how's your golf swing these days?" small talk to finally a deep discussion about the power of online mediums to cultivate and nurture business relationships. To his utter dismay, the gentleman stated quite confidently that there is "no need to focus any attention on a website in this industry." He further stated that there is plenty of business to be had by conducting it offline in the way he always had and that a website and related information systems are just not necessary.
I feel that my reaction to my father-in-law’s little anecdote was fairly natural -- I pulled out my iPhone, navigated away from my realtime traffic information site and tapped the calendar application that synchronizes with my Outlook database that's also tied to my online Google Apps. Yep, the year is 2007. Who knew?