News

by Danny Nicklin
Media Coordinator/Account Planner

It is expected that through the rest of 2010 and beyond, the number of businesses incorporating social media into their marketing strategies and budgets will continue to increase.

The objective for these businesses is to keep up with the latest technological and sociological trends, create unique promotions and interact with an influential (and still growing) audience.

But what many businesses may be overlooking is how they are handling social media internally.  Last week, three Nebraska prison guards made comments on their Facebook walls describing their use of force on an inmate.  They have been suspended pending an investigation into the alleged comments.

It's just the latest and most local example of people getting into professional trouble for making work-related comments on personal profiles.  While these profiles allow for a certain amount of privacy control, it's still fairly easy for a single message or photo to be distributed to an unintended audience.

It is up to individual users to recognize the very public nature of these profiles and react accordingly.  To put it in marketing terms, we are creating a brand - our personal brand.  From the photos we post to the comments we make, it's important to be diligent and self-aware enough to pay attention to the brand we're creating and how it could affect personal and professional relationships.

But businesses should also be proactive, and include internal social media management as a part of their social marketing strategy.  Educate employees on how they can properly separate affiliation from their employer and create policies that highlight consequences should an employee choose to post something that reflects poorly on the employer.

Social media presents businesses with a number of exciting opportunities to interact with customers.  But when you join the conversation, your employees naturally become a part of that conversation too.

Danny Nicklin is a Media Coordinator and Account Planner at Idea Bank Marketing in Hastings, NE and is currently developing and executing social media plans for multiple clients.

WHO WE HELPED:

Memorial Community Health, Inc. (Aurora, NE), is a private, nonprofit corporation providing health care services to the communities in Central Nebraska - comprised of Memorial Hospital, Memorial Health Clinics, Memorial Community Care and East Park Villa.

WHAT THEY NEEDED:

A new logo that properly captured their characteristics and could be used with each affiliation on a variety of materials.  We first defined the specific objectives the logo would have to meet.

The logo had to: 

• Reflect the hospital's reputation for making patients feel they are being cared for by trusted caregivers they may already know or recognize.

• Compliment the tagline: "Because every moment matters" with imagery that exudes a sense of ethics, value, and humanity.

• Exhibit a feeling of excitement and pride in the lively and progressive nature of the Aurora community.

• Be manageable in a variety of print, web and video applications.

• Avoid trendy approaches to ensure long-term usability.

HOW WE DID IT:

The logo we presented includes an interconnected shape that represents the cooperative and unified system of Memorial Com­munity Health.

In addition, the shape incorporates the initial letter of the organization, "M", while resembling an iconic first aid cross.  It also has the appearance of overlapping bandages to suggest a healing environment.

The fonts we chose are friendly, yet professional, while the combination of green and blue colors reinforce the friendly and neighborly feel.  It is easy to read and will withstand the test of time.

HOW IT WENT:

Memorial Community Health unveiled the final logo to the public on February 12, 2010.  We are now working with them on integrating the new logo into their print, online and all other communication materials.

WHO WE HELPED:

Homestead Bank is the new name for a group of privately held banks in Cozad, Lexington, St. Paul and Wolbach, Nebraska.  Before the name change, each bank operated under a separate and distinct name despite being under the same ownership.

WHAT THEY NEEDED:

A cohesive campaign that effectively informed current and potential Homestead Bank customers of name change and minimize concerns.

HOW WE DID IT:

With the goal of reinventing Homestead Bank's identity, we first designed a new logo. The design pulled aspects from the previous logo to maintain a sense of familiarity.  We then created a tagline that would demonstrate Homestead Bank's commitment to helping their clients - "your journey. your bank."

With a logo and tagline in place, we wanted to incorporate their agricultural roots throughout other materials.  We accomplished this through intentional use of visuals and color in a series of newspaper ads and into a fresh website; continuing the theme in a radio ad series with ag-related audio and music.  The ads, along with press releases, were distributed to local media before and after the transition to properly prepare their customer base. The website was launched to coincide with the timing of the name change.

We created further cohesion by designing a collateral package of business cards, pocket folders and stationary to unify each branch under Homestead Bank.  

HOW IT WENT:

Adam Boryca, Executive Vice President of Homestead Bank, said community and customer response to the name change was "overwhelmingly positive." The campaign to introduce the new name and logo was successful in terms of assuring customers that ownership, staff and day-to-day business practices would remain the same.

Since launching their website on October 15, 2009, homesteadbank.com has had over 5,200 visits, representing an over 45 percent increase in traffic.  Page views increased over 18 percent and average time spent on the site went up over 43 percent.