This is a question we get asked a lot when we encounter people in public and hand out our business cards. When most people think of silk they usually think of clothing items made from the product of a silk worm. Actually when we came up with the name for our business we were combining some new services into with our older business name, Greer Web Design. We didn’t want a name that would restrict us to our family name or web design only so we debated several names and SpinningSilk stuck. Why? Well the majority of the work we did and still continue to do revolves around the World Wide Web, a subset of the Internet. We were not thinking as much about the material silk worms produce for fine textiles but rather the webs spiders construct. Spider silk is extremely thin and lightweight but don’t let that fool you. It is also one of the strongest fibers on the planet. Designing for the web and print works best when you can make files as small as possible while at the same time crafting compelling words and images.

The past couple of days have been fantastic days of growth and the feeling of a turning point in the history of our company.  We’ve been getting more and more calls for current clients to take on new web design projects, an upswell in photography assignments from clients has been encouraging and we are making big plans for a greater focus on podcasting aspect of our company. Last night I attended an excellent webinar hosting by Cliff Ravenscraft of gspn.tv where I learned many of the aspects of podcasting that will help us streamline and bring better service to our clients. As a result of attending the webinar I spent a good part of the morning testing out some audio editing programs and as a result I’m looking at getting a piece of software I don’t currently own, Sound Studio 3.  More than likely I will take advantage of the MacUpdate Promotion which not only includes a copy of Sound Studio but also several other pieces of software that will be interesting to try out including a copy of Parallels so we can run Windows on one our our Mac laptops that currently aren’t running a copy of Windows.

Tonight I plan on doing further work on the web site I mentioned in a previous post. The task will probably take several days as I work on it between client projects so please be patient as some things will be renamed and moved around in the following days. I want to close by saying I appreciate all of those who have thought of us for their small business marketing needs such as web site design and development, custom photography, small print jobs and online media distribution like podcasts, etc.

I have mentioned and explained in a previous series the concept of “personal branding.” We usually think of branding as something connected to commercial products you buy off the shelf but really the idea of “personal branding” is nothing new, it’s basically a new term for the old concept of having a good name and reputation.  What is new however is the ways we encounter potential employers, clients, etc. We are a new media centric company in that has the web and related media as the core of our business with photography, print, audio and video services used in critical support roles with a mindset of consistent branding across those media. However I left our one critical “media” and that is you.  Ideas, the way you dress, speak and your reliability are how other people perceive you. Resumes and portfolios can be one thing but it’s amazing how a face to face interview and good references can make or break the decision to hire.

The same holds true for business owners, sales people and marketers. Yesterday we started the process of looking for a new car. One of the things I dread the most is stepping on to the lot of a car dealership. The high price points, choices and stereotypes of car salesmen make thinking about the experience stressful.  However yesterday was not such an event. The salesman approached us and yes he was aggressive but I expect some degree of aggressiveness from sales.  He was not dressed in the usual sport jacket and tie but still smartly and neatly in dressy casual attire.  That made me feel more comfortable from the beginning. As he began talking he never mentioned the price. Instead he started talking about features and then took us for a ride pointing out such things as the design of the vehicle, suspension, braking. It was also refreshing to hear him admit he didn’t know some things about the particular model but would get the information for us. This reminded me of an article I read this morning by Chris Garrett called, “What is Authority?“.  He mentioned that it is a combination of personality, expertise and visibility and when those three come together the core is authority. Of course expertise and visibility come to mind but personality? Yes I can see how that sets on up as an authority.  If you come across as selfish, a jerk or you’re trying to trick people all expectations of authority more often than not may be lost.

How do you come across on your web site, social networks, e-mail, etc?  Does the design you have make you look professional? Would you be proud or embarrassed for employers or clients to see the activities you “advertise” across forums, blogs and online social networks? How do “brand yourself” in real life networking meetings, sales calls and presentations?

This month we are pleased to be an advertiser in Personal Branding Magazine. You can get a sample issue at personalbrandingsample.com and then have an opportunity to subscribe to the full version for the following year. Connected with that is the Personal Branding Blog which I would encourage you to subscribe to and read frequently.

April 21, 2008 is Creativity and Innovation Day. Well at least according to the web site linked it is in Canada. It’s based on Leonardo da Vinci’s birthday (April 15) and culminates on Creativity & Innovation Day, April 21st. I just found out about it myself.  You’re probably reading this on Monday morning and for most people Monday is maybe a day we don’t look forward to or at least it’s a busy day in which creativity and innovation may take a back seat.

Before you get overwhelmed with the challenges of the day or start to feel down at the thought of a dreaded task, take a few moments and ask yourself, “Can I approach today with some innovative thinking? Can I take advantage of a problem or process and turn it into an innovative idea?”

I couple of books I acquired last year at a creativity seminar have help me approach challenges in my business and home life in creative ways.  Six Thinking Hats and Thinkertoys are great for helping me think different.  Another fun book that can help you think in different ways in order to solve problems is A Whack on the Side of the Head. I encourage you to check them out sometime. If not as a purchase at least check with your local library.

As I look ahead at this day and the challenges I will be facing I am going to ask myself the following questions in hopes of getting the most out of situations even though they may look interruptive at first;

• How can I take the greatest advantage of the time I will be spending in the car today?
• Can I eat differently? Focusing on what will help me think better instead of “coping with stress?”
• Can I get a message out about the products or services I provide in unique or different way?
• Can I better automate a task that is repetitive in my life?
• What one think can I do today that will make today more remarkable than this time last week?
• Can I create a process to stop myself for putting off a back burner task and in turn help me go the extra mile and exceed expectations?

I hope this reminder catches you at a good time?  What are you thinking about doing today in order to be more creative an innovative?

If you’ve been on the Internet or involved in any kind of business development I’m sure you have heard the term, Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short. This is nothing new. Ever since search engines or directories have been on the Internet companies have wanted to be at the top of the listing.

I hate to use the term “early days” but the previous mindset regarding preparing a web site to be easily found by a search engine involved some back-end technical steps which at one time made sense when search engines and portals had more of a directory approach.  The initial approach involved adding what is known as “meta tags” in the code of the web site and while some of these are still important to a degree modern search engine optimization is focused and hopefully will always be focused on the actual content in terms of text, images and other non design elements.

In terms of marketing this is actually a huge advantage in terms of competition, making updates known quicker and standing a better change at being found. Provided a web site has compelling content and is updated frequently.

What are some ways to to optimize, design and develop a web site so one can make frequent updates and provide compelling content? Here a few things to consider;

• Have a web site designed around a content management system - The makes it easier and faster for the non-designer, i.e. owner or employee of a company to update a web site without asking the web designer to make those updates.
• Incorporate a blog feature on your web site - The search engines love frequent content and writing on the topic related to your business on a frequent basis increases your search engine ratings
• Register your domain name for more than one year. The more years the better as search engines like Google rate domains with a longer registration period higher as it makes them look less, “fly by night.”
• Include words in your title tag you think people will use to search for a business like yours
• When writing, write naturally. Be sincere and don’t try to trick the system by stuffing keywords in the document.

These are just a few tips but they are ones they have helped us tremendously in the past few years to the point we rank on the first or second page of important search terms, many of which we have a lot competition.

Some SEO resources you may want to look at include;

• The Search Engine Academy of South Carolina
• The Wikipedia SEO entry
• Google’s page about working with SEO companies

Again these are just a few resources. We are constantly looking at ways to optimize web site for our clients and also our own business so we can not only get more customers but also practice what we preach and become more experienced to help others. If you are struggling with getting good search results for your web site contact us and find out what tools and resources we have that can help you be more successful. Of no one can guarantee you will be number one, that’s impossible and always changes but we can help you get achieve greater visibility amongst all the other choices out there. What are your SEO Success stories or concerns?