October 18, 2009
I have been using my Gmail account recently for professional use and not use personal use. One of the things that I seemed to be missing was a nice looking, custom HTML signature. Sure, I had my name and basic contact info, but that just wasn’t cutting it. I needed something more appealing. Every communication is an opportunity for someone to connect with me via social media or to check out our company’s Web site and I no longer wanted to miss these opportunities. I did preliminary searches and found that several Gmail users were also frustrated with the inability to add a nice looking HTML signature. I knew something had to be out there and I became determined to find the best solution.
I first ran across a Firefox plugin called Blank Canvas. The plugin allowed for custom HTML signatures in Gmail. Just what I was wanting! Right? Wrong. Like many other HTML editors it was not user friendly. My signature did not display as I wanted and it was just a pain to use. There had to be something that was user friendly that could generate a stunning signature.
Ironically enough at that very time, I also had my Google Reader open and ran across a Hubspot Blog post about simple branding opportunities that cannot be overlooked. Sure enough, in the first paragraph was a link to another Firefox plugin for email signatures called WiseStamp. WiseStamp allows you to create very professional and creative email signatures for Gmail, AOL Mail, Yahoo! Mail, and Hotmail. Best of all it’s simple to use! It takes about 2 minutes to get your signature setup and there are even several email signature templates set up to choose from. Adding your social networking links is a breeze! Just enter the URL and the icons are taken care of automatically. This email signature tool even allows you to share your latest blog post via a link in your email signature automatically.
I would recommend taking a few minutes to set up an email signature via WiseStamp right now if you are using Gmail, AOL mail, Yahoo! Mail or Hotmail. Take advantage of this simple, but often overlooked branding opportunity.
Check out the video below for a quick overview:
5 Comments | 
Gmail, branding | Tagged: custom HTML Emai signature, firefox email signature, gmail email signature, gmail HTML email signature, wisestamp email signature | 
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Posted by derekmcclain
September 7, 2009
When was the last time you read a review of a product or business online? Did this review influence your final purchasing decision in any way?
Coming up ranked #1 in a local business Google search is great. It can mean more phone calls and more online leads resulting in more business. Or it can work against you.
Still being relatively new to the Fishers area I was searching online for a local medical doctor to visit. I will not mention any names or the particular type of doctor I was seeking. The first place I went, as always, was to Google. I did a Google search for this type of doctor – local search results and the continued #1 organic listing underneath both turned the same doctor’s office. I checked out the Web site, determined this would be a good place to start…but wait…I went back to the results page and noticed there were also 6 reviews of this particular doctor/medical practice. I went on to read all 6 reviews. They were horrible. 6 different people provided “one star” reviews and stated they would NEVER visit that particular doctor again. In their reviews, they cited everything from waiting hours to get in to see the actual doctor, to the doctor making them feel so bad that they left in tears.
Now it’s hard to say if all of these negative reviews were 100% authentic, but the fact that there were 6 of them with descriptive encounters was enough to influence my decision to continue looking for someone else. The sad thing is that this same turn of events is happening for a lot of businesses that are spending money and working so hard to rank high in Google search. What is even more sad is that most have them have no idea, or if they do, they are doing nothing about it.
Kevin Hood wrote a great blog post about the impact of a review he saw online while searching for a place to purchase a tailored suit in The Internet Reflects Your Business. While he stated that the likelihood of someone leaving a negative review is probably higher than someone leaving a positive review…the bottom line is the negative reviews still influenced his purchasing decision.
Think if this particular doctor’s offered a free service or 25% discount to 50 of its best patients just for doing an online review. By targeting your best patients, most of the reviews would be positive. 50 positive reviews vs. only 6 negative reviews certainly makes coming up #1 in Google even more powerful.
What do you think of this idea? How much do you weigh online reviews into your purchasing decisions?
Leave a Comment » | branding, google, social media | Tagged: google search, online purchasing decisions, online reviews, rank #1 google, reading reviews online | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
March 29, 2009
Go ahead…do a Google search for your name.
Now ask yourself: Are you happy with the results? Were there any relevant results?
Okay, now Google search your company’s name. Ask yourself the same questions.
Question: What is the point of this excercise?
Answer: To many people this is who you are, like it or not.
- When you apply for a job odds are the HR
department will do a Google search and review the results as part of a background check.
- When a potential customer is deciding if they are going to work with you or not, they are probably going to do a Google search on you and your company.
- People even do a Google search before they decide if they really want to be your friend or go on a date. Another form of a background check.
Unlike keywords such as “cell phones” or “cars” your name and company name are something you can realistically own (in most cases). This is very important to your brand and your company’s brand. It is also very interesting to note how many of your search results are social media profiles. In my particular case, Facebook, LinkedIn and Smaller Indiana are all on the first page of results. This is an important extension of extension of your name and brand as well.
So ask yourself: Do you really own your name online? If you do not or if you are unhappy with the results – what are you going to do about it?
5 Comments | derek mcclain, google, internet marketing | Tagged: derek mcclain, facebook, fusework studios, google search, google search your name, improve google search, linkedin, Smaller Indiana | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
November 25, 2008
If you have logged in to your Google account recently, you may have noticed 2 big updates. Your Gmail account can now have a customizable design and you can now promote, remove and leave comments about Google search results thanks to SearchWiki.
The Gmail design update is very welcomed as many people have unofficially tried to take the initiative on their own to spice up the previously very plain design. There are over 30 new themes to pick from so everyone is sure to find something they will like. There are even seasonal themes that change automatically as the season changes throughout the year or a weather theme that rains on your email. How cool is that? This offers yet another reason for Gmail to stay in Beta…LOL
The SearchWiki integration with Google allows you to edit and customize your search results, but only after you have logged into your Google account. You may add notes and comments to each search result for future reference. This new feature also gives you the ability to promote and remove certain search results depending on if you find the information helpful. The promotions, deletions and comments of search results will not affect other individual’s search experience but will enable your results to be easily managed.
Leave a comment and let me know what you think about these 2 new Google updates!
1 Comment | Gmail, branding, google | Tagged: gmail, google, google mail design, promote search item, searchwiki | Permalink
Posted by derekmcclain
