Sometimes the petite pepper provides the right amount of heat for a tasty recipe. With the arrival of a shiny new year — along with a shiny new decade — the promise of hot tech and the drive for business improvements can inspire many an entrepreneur to take a closer look at the company web site. Would the site deliver better … Read More
5 Marketing Things to Do Right Now
Yeah, we know. “This” economy is a drag. Entrepreneurs like us are scrambling to put their energy and money into best-bets for breaking even, and just maybe branch out into growth areas. But you can and should make time for a few marketing steps that keep your name and services out there. At least pick one. 1. Be Online and … Read More
BirthLink.com Welcomes New Arrival
Redesigning the web site for Chicago’s premier birth and wellness resource provider, BirthLink.com, actually took…wait for it… nine months. Grotto partnered with founder Jo Anne Lindberg to rethink how the site was structured and design a robust new portal with easy access to the provider directory and birthing and health info, as well as Jo Anne’s own health-related business, Life … Read More
Does Your Website Need a Check-up?
Do you find yourself apologizing for your website when you send someone to it? (“Just ignore the pictures/flashy thing/out-of-date stuff.”) Do you feel like the site could actually motivate more people to call or buy? Does it just seem like the site feels a little dated or out-of-step with what you see on the Internet these days? Or, it doesn’t … Read More
Mind Your Copyrights: Is Facebook Getting Grabby?
Whether or not you have taken the plunge and started exploring the possibilities for smart business marketing among the social networking sites, this news bears watching. This week, a story broke that Facebook recently – and quietly — changed its copyright policies which made it rather unclear as to whether or not they would own whatever users post on the popular … Read More
ARTbody Gets in Shape: New Logo, Website from Grotto Communications
Angela Renee — creator of ARTbody: Angela Renee Technique, a unique approach to body sculpting — came to us looking to create a brand identity to represent her unique fitness program. Inspired by some sketches of the human form by Angela (she’s an artist as well), the Grotto team crafted a round mark with a curvaceous flow. Modern, feminine fonts spell out … Read More
Nimble Thinking Sparks Holiday Tradition
Most of us have heard newscasters and various info portals over the years mention something about tracking Santa’s progress on his global marathon. Turns out, the technology has been around for 50 years and began with a mistake. A typo in the phone number for the big guy’s hotline resulted in kids inadvertently calling the North American Aerospace Defense Command … Read More
Shoppers Now Prefer Search Engines to Yellow Pages
It’s official. As of 2008, local shoppers report using search engines (the usual suspects like Google, Yahoo, MSN) more than traditional print directories. Led by the venerable Yellow Pages, these print editions are still likely to be a tool for finding businesses. The Web Pro News article also reports internet yellow-type directory sites are currently third in the list of chosen options. The article … Read More
Putting Yourself Out There
Mind how you post information about yourself on social networking sites as businesses look to the web to compare notes. A recent poll by CareerBuilder.com shows 22% of hiring managers screen employee profiles on Facebook (doubled from 11% in 2006). Many found discrepancies and promptly eliminated an applicant from the pool of candidates. Others report positive results (according to this … Read More
Watch for Ways the World Will Market FOR You
I’m not sure how it happens. I truly don’t give the Olympics a second thought as they approach. Then. Suddenly. I spend night after night watching remarkably fit and focussed youngsters (mostly) performing their feats. Funny, the things you begin to notice. Just as I wondered aloud if the spike-tastic beach volleyball stars, Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor, were sporting … Read More