Post by Lauren Hong, President of Out & About Communications

Creating a new website for your brand is an incredibly exciting -- yet overwhelming -- task for any small business. In a matter of weeks, you’ll pour your heart and soul into making sure your branding, messaging, and design are all on point so that your new website can show your audience exactly how you can solve its problems.

It’s stressful, that’s for certain. And it’s equally as thrilling.

We’re going to add something to the mix that you likely don’t want to hear right now -- but bear with us. Here’s the thing: just when you have all the building blocks in place, the last thing you want to do is kick back and relax. The weeks leading up to your website launch are the perfect time to take a few extra steps to get your website working for you well before it’s launched -- and to make sure its reveal is absolutely epic.

Your website pre-launch to-do list

Not only are the weeks leading up to launch a prime time for preparing some logistics, they’re also a spectacular time for building up some buzz. How, you ask? Let us count the ways:

1. Coming soon page. Your website might not be ready yet, but have your designer lay out a simple splash page with “coming soon” messaging on it that your developer can use as the front door for your website while they build it behind-the-scenes. Key elements of a coming soon page: your logo, a brief bit about what your company does, your contact info, links to your social media channels, and an email capture to form an interest list. Don’t be afraid to have a little fun with it in order to build the hype now so you can capitalize on it when your site launches.

2. Jumpstart your SEO. The coming soon page isn’t just for good looks. Getting content up there -- namely, content that includes your brand and info -- kickstarts the SEO building process. After all, search engine rankings don’t improve overnight. It can take months of optimization before your brand earns its keep in search -- meaning it’s never too early to get started.

3. Give a peek behind the curtain. Offer your social networks -- or the email list you’ve already built -- a behind-the-scenes tour of the website building process as it progresses. Drop some breadcrumbs as you go: screenshot small pieces and share via your blog, Facebook, Instagram, and other networks to keep the anticipation brewing amongst your community. Want to really connect with your audience? Don’t be afraid of transparency and vulnerability.

4. Build your media kit. When you’re writing a compelling story, others will want to help you tell it. Have your media kit at the ready. Consider it your “show-and-tell” up until launch day. Things you may want to include:

• your contact info
• a company overview/company story
• biographies of key team members
• frequently-asked questions
• any media coverage you’ve already received

Remember: storytelling is key. Your media kit provides the foundation.

5. Start blogging...now. Whether or not you have a live blog during the time the site is being built, you should be generating posts. If they can go up during the process, it becomes a fantastic outlet for sharing progress and building SEO. If not, you’ll have a library of posts to go live with the site so that visitors can sift through a selection. (This is a great time to draft that post about the new launch that you want up there on day one, too!)

6. Activate your advocates. Take to the social media streets and the avenues where your loyal customers live to build your team of brand ambassadors who will help you rally as the site is built and upon release. Hype doesn’t happen in a silo. Incentivize when appropriate, and always, always find ways to show your gratitude.

7. Prep your post-launch communications. The day your site goes live is for celebrating. And when you have the following things in place ahead of time, you can do just that:

• Email signature: update links if applicable, and add a quick note about your newly launched site.
• Social networks: prep a few posts for LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc., and be ready to schedule them out.
• Email blast: engage the list you’ve already built, including the contacts you added from your coming soon page. Announce the new site and direct them to your tell-all blog post that’s already live.
• Direct outreach: don’t underestimate the power of personal contact. Reach out individually to contacts who helped or showed interest along the way.

8. And, finally… party. The moment you’ve been waiting for: pop the bubbly and open the dance floor. Your website is live! But wait… what’s a party without some guests? Host a digital launch party where you offer prizes or discounts for people who visit, share, or engage with your site in some manner. (Hint: e-commerce companies: this is a great time for that grand re-opening sale!)

Upfront investment; long-term gain

A new website is a lot of work. (That’s an understatement.) And here we are, telling you to do a little bit more. Take our word for it: we wouldn’t tell you to do it if it didn’t pay off in the long run. The upfront investment you make in your website will reward you with ongoing returns if you add the extra few steps to set yourself up for an epic launch.

Originally published in Advisor Perspectives

by Lauren Hong

Every three to five years. That’s how often you should be refreshing and revamping your website based on how quickly technology and design develop. Not what you want to hear? Fear not: I promise the return is worth the investment on this one.

Your website is the new billboard. It’s the new full-page advertisement in that glossy magazine. And, most importantly, it’s your round-the-clock sales team, building your company when you’re at dinner, making friends on the golf course or getting some well-deserved shuteye.

Put your website to work

Your website isn’t just a splash page meant to look pretty. When done right, it’ll work as hard as you do – and become a game-changer for your business. Here’s how:

1- Your website can streamline processes. Start treating your website as the virtual assistant it is. Enable it with contact details, fact sheets and intake forms. With just one quick visit, a prospective client should be able to a.) get in touch with you, b.) learn more about what you do and c.) get started with a service. Let your website do the hard work so that when they get to you, they’re knowledgeable about your company and already satisfied with the process.

2- Your website can educate clients. In a world with so many choices, clients like to know they’re making the right one. Make your website an online hub that nourishes your clients’ need for information. Don’t just offer insight into your company; post educational resources that can help answer questions you frequently get, and offer continuously refreshed, valuable content via your blog. Help your clients before they even ask for it.

3- Your website can inspire action to generate leads. Whether your goal is to have a potential client call you, sign up for your email list, download a whitepaper or schedule a consultation, your website should act as a lead-generation machine. Empower each page with one clear, concise call to action that inspires immediate action on the part of the visitor.

Ready to turn your website into the workhorse it’s meant to be? The time to get started is now.
Audit your website

Take a look at your current website. Ask yourself the following questions:

1- Can prospects quickly and easily navigate to the information they need? If it takes more than 2-3 clicks, the answer is ‘no’. Keep it simple. Be sure that you’re not overwhelming customers with too many choices.

2- Does it stand out amongst my competitors? It’s a crowded market out there and looks do matter. Pay attention to design as it relates to the audience you want to capture. Use your competitors’ sites to benchmark your own. Know your point of differentiation, and capitalize on it with the branding, functionality, and copy on your site.

3- Is it generating leads? Consider the way you generate and collect leads. How easy is it, at this moment, for a potential client to find your phone number, fill out a contact form, sign up for an email list, download a whitepaper or schedule a call? Essential elements like contact forms, email capture, and contact details cannot be overlooked. Put them front-and-center.

4- Is it mobile-friendly? Pop on over to your website from your phone or tablet. How does it look? Responsive websites are made to adjust to the screen they’re viewed on. With Google’s most recent update, mobile-friendliness isn’t just nice; it’s a necessity.

Once your mini-audit is done, you’ll have a better idea of where your website could stand to improve.

Here’s the good news: A refreshed or revamped website does not have to cost you a cool $40K. On the other end, I highly advise against using a template or plug-in-play website that doesn’t allow for the dynamic changes needed to keep your site fresh with content and updates. I recommend finding the middle ground with a responsive, clean WordPress site that’s user-friendly for both you and your visitors.

Use your website as your 24/7 sales support: welcoming customers to your business, offering them the opportunity to learn more and get their questions answered and encouraging them to take action.

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Lauren Hong is the founder & president of Out & About Communications, a full-service marketing firm that works with financial advisors and a handful of professional services industries to help grow their business and get their brand “out & about” in their communities.

Great news! We are hosting a fantastic webinar. Details are below. Make sure to sign up asap.

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On April 21 Google launched a new algorithm that ranks mobile friendly websites higher than those sites not optimized. With all the hype, I am sure some of you are aware of this but are you aware of how to utilize this new algorithm to knock out your competition? On May 28 at 1pm Pacific, Out & About Communications President, Lauren Hong, will be hosting a webinar with digital expert, Allison Mellon. They will cover how the new algorithm, commonly referred as “mobilegedon”, effects you and your company’s website, tips to enhance your online presence and ultimately how to knock out your online competition. At the end of the webinar, attendees will be offered a chance to submit their website for review so stick around to get some expert advice.

Follow along.... #CompetitorKnockOut #Rankhigher #mobilegedon

Webinar Schedule
1-1:05          Host: Lauren Hong, President of Out & About Communications (5 min intro)
1:05-1:20     Competitor Knock Out Discussion with Allison Mellon, allisonmellon.com
1:20-1:30     Q&A

Bio
Allison Mellon is an agency-grown digital strategist and professional maker of things. Over her career, she has been a part of SapientNitro, Digitaria, Vitro, Mirum and Cozy working with clients big and small. She helps her clients by defining digital content and execution strategies, building functional and technical specs, facilitating site development, and optimizing sites to build better brand experiences. Allison has started her own consulting business, partnering with agencies and businesses to push digital boundaries and make ideas real. Check her out at allisonmellon.com

This is a complimentary webinar. It is designed for Marketing Managers, COOs, or CEOs who are involved in the overall marketing strategy and want to learn more about the new Google algorithm and SEO enhancement.

I WANT IN

Congratulations to Sweet Stamp Shop on their new website launch! Out & About worked with Sweet Stamp Shop to redesign their website for desktop and mobile. The challenge was to better showcase their stamps, create a more user-friendly platform for sales and enhance the overall site to match their brand. On the launch of their new site, they had record-breaking sales!

by Marshele Scherrer, Marketing Coordinator

A picture is worth a thousand words… or so they say. A picture could actually attract a potential client or express your brand. Photos have always been crucial for advertisers in magazines and billboards, but today, the quality pictures is important for all businesses. Social Media thrives on images and as a business owner or marketing manager, these images are essential advertisements for your brand. That is why it is imperative to maximize your advertising space and choose the correct image size for each social media platform. That way you are not stuck with a big blank space where you could have been showing off how awesome your company is!

Many of you may not be experts in Photoshop, but creating great images has never been so easy. Two good tools that many people use for quickly editing images are Pablo and Canva. Check them out and let us know how it works for you!

So what size photo maximizes your advertising space?  Here is our cheat sheet for the most common social media platforms:

Facebook: 1200px x 628px

LinkedIn: 800px x 800px

Twitter: 1024px x 512px

Pinterest: 735px x 1102px

Instagram: 1200px x 1200px

Here is my disclaimer: We live in a constantly changing world. These dimensions will probably change but as of April 2015, these are the dimensions and sizes you should keep in mind when planning your social media posts.

Out & About Communications is looking for a Marketing Coordinator to join our team! Details are below and here outandaboutcommunications.com/work-with-us/

Please share the link with folks you think might be a good fit!

Cheers,
The Out & About team

MARKETING COORDINATOR

Out & About Communications is seeking a talented Marketing Coordinator to assist with client and internal marketing projects. The Marketing Coordinator will primarily work with our Marketing Manager. Work assignments could include but are not limited to project research, supporting with website updates (primarily web maintenance and blogging), building media lists, basic graphic design updates, and supporting with coordination of special events.

We are looking for someone who is a self-starter, has an aptitude for details, and who has a passion for marketing communications. Fluency in Google Docs, Excel and Dropbox are a must. Basic knowledge of WordPress, Adobe InDesign and Illustrator are preferred.

The Marketing Coordinator role is for support on an as needed basis, but it could grow into a full-time position. You must be based in San Diego. If you are interested in supporting this type of work, please email us your resume, cover letter, social media links and any inquires to hello@outandaboutcomm.com.

Blog by Marshele

Living in San Diego, we have the privilege of having so many great restaurants and coffee shops at our fingertips. I thought I would share a few of my favorites that I have really enjoyed recently.

Brick & Bell
One of my favorite places to go in San Diego is not one of the new and trendy coffee shops (although I do love many of these spots and there are so many in this city). It’s an older, quant spot tucked away in La Jolla. Brick & Bell is located on Silverado right off of Fay. I love stopping by here to grab a cup of coffee when I’m on the go. When I have time, my husband and I like to order one of their delicious pastries or an acai bowl (one of the best acai bowls in San Diego) and sit and enjoy their outdoor patio. Like most places in La Jolla, it is a dog-friendly spot so don’t feel like you have to leave the pooch at home.

Check out other reviews on yelp.
Address: 928 Silverado St La Jolla, CA 92037

The Brooklyn Girl
A new favorite of mine is The Brooklyn Girl in Mission Hills. This is an ideal spot for happy hour with friends. They serve unique flavors of popcorn every day, and I have yet to try a flavor I didn’t love. Their happy hour menu is more than reasonably priced. Their regular menu, on the other hand, is a little pricier (but it’s worth it). What I love most about this place is the chic decor. You will have to see it for yourself.

Check out their menu.
Address: 4033 Goldfinch Street San Diego, CA

Draft Republic
Lastly, if you like craft brews like your fellow San Diegans, Draft Republic is a great place to check out in the UTC area. They have 36 beers on tap as well as a handful of delicious cocktail menu. The restaurant was previously the NY Strip Club and is still managed by the Cohn Restaurant Group. Go with a group of friends and let loose your inner competitive spirit with a game of shuffleboard, foosball, ping-pong, pool or darts.

Check out their menu.
Address: 4282 Esplanade Ct,  San Diego, CA 92122

What are your favorite places and spaces in San Diego? We would love to put them on our foodie bucket list!

Blog by Lauren Hong

At Out & About Communications, we love working with brands to create seamless branding. Below are a few easy tips to tighten up your business branding.

#1 - Create a Style Guide

A style guide is a great way to ensure your branding is uniform across all platforms-- online, print, and in various documents. At the basic level, a style guide includes all of your branding color codes (CMYK, HEX, RGB etc.), fonts, and logo variations. This is a great resource for designers, printers, and web developers who help produce your branding pieces.

#2 - Business Email Address

Create a business email addresses for your team. For example, your email could be name@yourwebsite.com. This helps to polish your brand, and it looks more professional than a name@gmail.com/ hotmail.com/ yahoo.com email address. We recommend creating a business email through Google Apps for Work (~$50/per user per year).  With Google Apps for Work, you’ll have all of the features Gmail offers and more. Click here for details.

#3 - Matte Business Cards

As much as we love the plastic, glossy, and dark colored business cards-- you can't beat how practical and affordable matte business cards are. When you're out meeting folks-- esp. at networking events with tons of people-- it's not uncommon for others to write on your business card. As a graphic designer by trade, writing on business cards makes me cringe. I, however, am guilty of writing on cards to help me remember the conversation/ who I talked with. The plastic, glossy, and dark business cards are pretty, but they just aren't as practical.

#4 - Uniform Headshots

We recommend working with a photographer to take uniform headshots for your team. These photos can be used on the website, LinkedIn profiles, award nominations, speaking bios, and more. We recommend having the photographer take a team photo and photos of your office to use on the website. Fabulous photos are a great way to sell you and your services!

#5 - Keep up with Social Media

If you're going to have a social media page (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc.) make sure you keep up with it. Social media is a great way to connect with folks online, build your network, and keep others updated. If you're going to open an account, make sure you're posting and posting content that aligns with your brand and audience.

What are your favorite tips to enhance your business branding?

Guest blog by Paris Mowlavi Torkamani

This week we have the privilege getting the Inside scoop from Paris Mowlavi Torkamani, Esq., who practices transactional and corporate law here in San Diego. Take it away Paris...

Whether you’ve just agreed to lend your brother money, provide professional services to your family friend, or start a business with your spouse, the most important first step that you can take to reduce the risk of future conflict is to memorialize the terms of your relationship and agreement in writing. In fact, this is true for most, if not all, agreements that you enter into. Before you pop open that bottle of champagne and clink your glasses together, stop and take a minute to pull out your pen and paper (or computer/tablet/phone) and write out the terms that will form the basis of your agreement – the name of the parties, effective date, term and purpose of the agreement, relative duties and responsibilities, etc… Far too often, I have seen a relationship that started out in a friendly and agreeable note end in conflict and disagreement. More times than not, the reason for this is that the parties were so anxious to get the ball rolling on a project that they skipped right over the essential first step of figuring out exactly what it is that they are agreeing to do for one another. When parties go through the process of reducing their agreement to writing, they are forced to confront, discuss, and negotiate issues that they may otherwise have completely overlooked.

My clients will often say that they don’t want to memorialize a certain agreement in writing because they fear that it will complicate the matter, offend the other party, or ruin the relationship. I usually respond to those concerns with an earnest warning: if the other person is going to be offended by such a rational suggestion, then I would be wary of entering into a business relationship with them in the first place. Also, any disagreements that may arise at the commencement of the relationship, and in the process of reducing your agreement to writing, will not be in vain, but rather, will contribute to a more transparent and effective business relationship. Moral of the story: minimize the potential for future fighting by taking the time to put the material terms of an agreement in writing.

Disclaimer: The comments and opinions expressed in this blog post are intended for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Reading or using the information in the blog post does not create the existence of an attorney-client privilege. 

Paris Mowlavi Torkamani, Esq. primarily practices business transactional and corporate law in San Diego, California. When not advising her clients on a wide range of business-related matters, she is usually spending time with her husband and son, practicing, yoga, or scoping out the latest fashion trends. You can learn more about Paris via her Facebook page here or you can email her directly at pmowlavi@gmail.com.

Blog by Marshele Scherrer

I have never been a morning person and I doubt I ever will be. For me, getting out of bed is probably the hardest thing I have to do all day (isn’t that true about most things--getting started seems to be the hardest part). One of the ways I try to get myself up and energized is by easing into my day with some super basic yoga stretches. Try these 4 poses tomorrow morning and let me know how you feel.

Child’s Pose: Before I even get out of bed, I usually roll over into child’s pose. It is great to relax the back, neck, and shoulders. This resting pose gives you a calming way to wake up to the day...

Here's what to do:

1. Rollover into a kneeling position.
2. Drop your rear-end toward your heels as you stretch the rest of your body down and forward. with your arms extended in front of you.
3. Make sure to take deep full breaths to start the flow of oxygen.
4. Stay here for about 30 seconds or until you are ready to move on.

Cat-Cow: Next I move into cat-cow. This is a great stretch for those who are trying to work on posture. It is also good for opening up the abdomen, back, and hips.

Here is how it works:

1. Rise onto your hands and knees (wrists are directly below your shoulders and knees below hips).
2. Inhale into cow (your head and tailbone lift up, dropping your belly towards the ground, heart extending forward).
3. Exhale into cat (arch the spine upwards, tuck the chin toward the chest, draw the navel in towards the spine).
4. Move through this 4-5 times.

Standing Backbend & Side-stretch: Now comes the hard part...actually getting out of bed. This is a great full body stretch that opens you up for all the day has to offer. It is also great for balance.

Try this:

1. Inhale your arms straight up and bend back ever so slightly to feel elongation throughout your entire body.
2. Exhale and let one hand slide down the side of your body with the other hand still raised.  Relax your head and neck as you feel a full side body stretch.
3. Slowly inhale up to center and exhale to the opposite side.
4. Repeat this motion 5 times on each side.

Forward Fold: Lastly, I end my stretching with a slight inversion. Inversions give your body the rare occasion for your head to be below your heart to allow for the energizing boost of oxygen

Follow these steps:

1. Exhale, folding forward at your hips.
2. Allow your knees to bend slightly and try to bring your chest towards your thighs.
3. Relax your neck and let your head hang heavily.
4. You will feel this stretch in the lower spine as well as in your legs. Stay here for 10 deep breaths.

Do you have a favorite morning yoga pose or tip that helps you wake up?