50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business

May 22nd, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez

A while back I came across Chris Brogan’s article on using Twitter for business, and I felt like it was a great guide for business owners who are still new to the Twitter craze. I decided it was about time that I include his ideas right here on the Gatorworks blog. For the complete article on Brogan’s blog, feel free to click here. I’ve included his ideas below, but I have also added a little of my own commentary in there:

First Steps

  1. Build an account and immediate start using Twitter Search to listen for your name, your competitor’s names, words that relate to your space. (Listening always comes first.)
  2. Add a picture. ( Shel reminds us of this.) We want to see you.
  3. Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. I know this doesn’t sell more widgets, but it shows us you’re human.
  4. Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you.
  5. Share links to neat things in your community. ( @wholefoods does this well).
  6. Don’t get stuck in the apology loop. Be helpful instead. ( @jetblue gives travel tips.)
  7. Be wary of always pimping your stuff. Your fans will love it. Others will tune out.
  8. Promote your employees’ outside-of-work stories. ( @TheHomeDepot does it well.)
  9. Throw in a few humans, like RichardAtDELL, LionelAtDELL, etc.
  10. Talk about non-business, too, like @astrout and @jstorerj from Mzinga.

Ideas About WHAT to Tweet

  1. Instead of answering the question, “What are you doing?”, answer the question, “What has your attention?”
  2. Have more than one twitterer at the company. People can quit. People take vacations. It’s nice to have a variety.
  3. When promoting a blog post, ask a question or explain what’s coming next, instead of just dumping a link.
  4. Ask questions. Twitter is GREAT for getting opinions.
  5. Follow interesting people. If you find someone who tweets interesting things, see who she follows, and follow her.
  6. Tweet about other people’s stuff. Again, doesn’t directly impact your business, but makes us feel like you’re not “that guy.”
  7. When you DO talk about your stuff, make it useful. Give advice, blog posts, pictures, etc.
  8. Share the human side of your company. If you’re bothering to tweet, it means you believe social media has value for human connections. Point us to pictures and other human things.
  9. Don’t toot your own horn too much.
  10. Or, if you do, try to balance it out by promoting the heck out of others, too.

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20 Great (and 20 not so great) Logo Redesigns

May 4th, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez

Check out this great blog post from The Design Reviver on the 20 Great (and 20 not so great) Logo Redesigns.

Logos express complex ideas and concepts with simplified illustrations and typefaces that communicate distinctively and effectively. They are one of the most difficult aspects of graphic design for this reason. Some logos are incredibly clever and effective while others are poorly made and fail to communicate. Read More

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Check out our newest site: NewsFifty.com

April 7th, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez
Visit NewsFifty.com!

Visit NewsFifty.com!

Our team recently launched NewsFifty.com which aims to provide the best daily political, state, and breaking headline stories from all 50 states around the nation. You’ll notice the site uses a very lean design very similar to The Drudge Report or the local Dead Pelican; however, the competitive advantage with NewsFifty.com is the ability for the user to quickly and efficiently click from state to state to see the news that matters to them. Each state also has an extensive directory of links to blogs and media outlets.

Check it out, and let us know what you think!

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Making the Transition from Print to Web

March 30th, 2009 by David Link

A big “Thank you” to all those who attended our little talk at Saturday’s AAF Conference. We’ve uploaded all our slides and resources, and they are available to you here. Even if you didn’t attend the presentation, feel free to check out “Making the Transition from Print to Web.”

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them for us below. Thanks!

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SXSW… wow.

March 20th, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez

Wow…what a weekend! I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the South by Southwest (SXSW) 2009 Interactive Conference this past Friday through Tuesday (March 13-17) along with David Link and Alise Johnson (and many others which I will explain in a little while). The conference was a great opportunity for me to get out of the office for a few days to learn, meet, greet, and be inspired. The SXSW experience was truly amazing because of three main reasons:

1. The Y@T PACK from New Orleans

Part of the Y@T PACK Bus Wrap

Part of the Y@T PACK Bus Wrap

Net2NO, led by Damien LaManna, Tiffany Starnes, and Jessica Rohloff, is a group of young professionals dedicated to social change in New Orleans. The group puts a special emphasis on technology and economic development and they meet once a month to share ideas, collaborate on projects, and learn from special presentations by industry professionals. I joined Net2NO a few months ago and have greatly benefited from the gatherings. This group’s enthusiasm, creativity, and general concern for their community is truly contagious.

The Net2NO crew decided that we would charter a bus and go to the SXSW Interactive Conference as a group to let everyone know that not only is New Orleans open for business but also that the state is a thriving place for digital creatives and technology entrepreneurs to start or expand a business. With the help of awesome sponsors, we purchased booth space at the tradeshow armed with materials on Louisiana’s Digital Interactive Media Tax Credits for technology businesses, Angel Investment Tax Credits for start-ups, and personal success stories. We had a daily drawing at 5:04pm to give away weekend stays at the W Hotel New Orleans and a free registration to WordCamp NOLA in New Orleans, LA. (coming up April 10-11… David Link is a panelist… more info to come! )

Personally, I loved working the tradeshow booth because I saw so many people get instantly engaged in the idea of moving their businesses to New Orleans. I would mention the tax credits, the cost of living, the amazing culture, and the overall quality of life in New Orleans…and I would see people’s faces light up with excitement. I firmly believe that Net2NO will get at least one business to actually move their firm to New Orleans as a result of attending the SXSW conference.

David Link, Alise Johnson, Damien LaManna of Morgan+Co, Brian Rodriguez

David Link, Alise Johnson, Damien LaManna, Brian Rodriguez

Of course,  it wasn’t all work all the time. We had to throw a New Orleans party and show Austin a good time! On the night of Monday, March 16, the Y@T PACK rounded up a few hundred people at Lucky Lounge to listen to DJ Othertempo, a.k.a. Elliott Adams, who is also the Director of the Digital Interactive Office in the Louisiana Economic Development Department, and Austin Nights Brass Band. The amazing party was organized by young arts enthusiast, Andrew Larimer.

2. The SXSW Presentation / Panels

Of course, this was the meat of the conference. I had the opportunity to attend many beneficial keynote presentations and panels that discussed a variety of topics that will help further my career and ultimately provide a better product to my clients. On Saturday, I attended a presentation by Robert Hoekman, Jr. entitled “The 7 Rules of Great Web App Design.” It was a well-done presentation, and I’ll expand on his 7 rules in a future blog entry. Later that day I also attended panels that included design greats such as Jeffrey Zeldman and Jason Santa Maria.

By far my favorite presentation was by Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary has built a $60M business with his light-hearted and fun video blog “The Wine Library.” Gary had a tremendous impact on me, so I’ll have a comprehensive blog entry coming up that recaps his talk. Stay tuned!

3. The Support for New Orleans Entrepreneur Chris Schultz of Voodoo Ventures

Chris Schultz of Voodoo Ventures moderating his panel at SXSW

Chris Schultz of Voodoo Ventures

Net2NO member, Chris Schultz of Voodoo Ventures, moderated a panel at SXSW called “Outsourcing 2.0: Is the World Flat or Not?” The interactive format included Q&A with other panelists, including New Orleans developer Matt Tritico, Sandeep Sood of Monsoon Multimedia in Silicon Valley and Andrea Azdril of Startech Global in Los Angeles. The room was packed with entrepreneurs, developers, and designers full of questions on the topic. Schultz did an exceptional job, and it really made me proud to see a New Orleans entrepreneur leading a discussion on a very important topic at a major tech conference. I had a tremendous sense of pride during the presentation, and I feel privileged to share both a business relationship and friendship with Chris. If you don’t know Chris yet, you need to get on it.

So, there you have it folks. I had the time of my life. I cannot wait until next year!

**Did you go to SXSW? Briefly share your exciting moments from SXSW with us below in the comments area!**

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Gatorworks Designs Logos!

March 2nd, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez

Our bread and butter is designing websites; however, we have a great creative team that can handle the entire identity package for small to medium sized businesses. Our design services include logo design, printed materials such as business cards, letterhead, and even large format design (like billboards).

Below are a few of our happy logo design clients. Let us know what you think of our logos!

This is a logo designed for FanTheFire.com

This is a logo designed for FanTheFire.com

This logo was designed for New Orleans tech company Make Buzz

This logo was designed for New Orleans tech company Make Buzz

The above logo is for Wage Hunter, a Baton Rouge start up.

The above logo is for Wage Hunter, a Baton Rouge start up.

This is the logo for the Southern Republican Leadership Conference to be held in New Orleans in 2010.

This is the logo for the Southern Republican Leadership Conference to be held in New Orleans in 2010.

This logo was designed for The Gulf Coast Food & Fuel Expo held earlier this year.

This logo was designed for The Gulf Coast Food & Fuel Expo held earlier this year.

Green Escapes is a local plant nursery and landscaping company.

Green Escapes is a local plant nursery and landscaping company.

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Engage Your Customers with Zymeaux

February 15th, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez

We recently designed a website for a mobile marketing start-up company in New Orleans called Zymeaux. The new and innovative firm is owned by Eric Morgan and Damien LaManna of Morgan+Co. Zymeaux provides a quick and easy way for businesses to reach their customers via SMS text messages. Here is a quick way to explain their service (from their website):

Zymeaux gives advertisers a chance to create an immediate impact in a way no other medium can provide. Text messages hit the consumer wherever they are, which is mostly on the go. It becomes a small part of your customer’s daily life, not in an annoying bombastic way, but as if to say, “hey we know you’ve had a long day, why not stop by [insert your establishment’s name here] for half price appetizers just for our very special text message subscribers like you! Oh, and bring your friends.”

The end result is a dynamic cost effective communication system that is delivered instantly via a highly personable channel to a very specific audience at the most opportune moment.

We’re very excited to be working with Zymeaux, and we look forward to helping their company grow!

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Gatorworks hosts Baton Rouge Twestival

February 9th, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez
Twestival Houston

Image via Flickr

On February 12, 2009 175+ cities around the world will be hosting “Twestivals” which bring together Twitter communities for an evening of fun and to raise money and awareness for charity: water. If you’re not a Twitter user, don’t be shy… this event is open to anyone! If you’d like to sign up for Twitter, click here. Be sure to follow BRTweetup to stay up to date on all future events. Gatorworks is hosting the local Baton Rouge Twestival at 600 Main Bar downtown. The evening will start at 6PM, and Bode & Friends (jazz and funk band) will take the stage at 7PM. We will ask for a $15 donation at the door, but whatever you can give is fine with us! We will provide food and a cash bar as well as the opportunity to meet many local Baton Rouge business professionals.

Again, if you’re not a Twitter user, don’t be shy… this event is open to anyone! If you’d like to sign up for Twitter, click here. Be sure to follow BRTweetup to stay up to date on all future events.

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Zombie-Code: Survival and Combat Tactics

February 9th, 2009 by Chase Swindler

Now that we’ve thoroughly outlined what a zombie is and is not, I think it’s important that you be properly educated on how to defend yourself should a zombie outbreak occur. There are a few schools of thought when it comes to self defense and no one school is perfect. However, with the right amount of know how you can pick and choose ideas from each scenario and create a comfortable zombie-filled living situation for you and your band of survivors (if there are any other than you and I).

Let’s start from the beginning; if and when a zombie outbreak occurs you need to be properly prepared. This is why I suggest you purchase a few things in advance…just in case. My list of pre-purchases is small because I assume once the outbreak is in full swing the need to purchase anything will have plummeted. The list is as follows:

  • A weapon of some sort (should probably be a firearm, but a blade or large blunt object would be acceptable)
  • Ammunition (if you did indeed buy a firearm)
  • A first aid kit
  • Non-perishable food items. (Canned goods are good but if you can get MREs [meals-ready-to-eat] I suggest you get those. Military grade food that lasts a LONG time.)
  • Fuel for your vehicle of choice.

Once you’ve made those pre-purchases you should have enough supplies to relocate to a stronger location and make a stand for a while. Alas, unless you live in an abandon military bunker or a castle I suggest you relocate to a larger, more well-supplied location. A prime example would be a shopping mall, a grocery store, convenience store, or somewhere that carries food items. Now depending on the severity of the outbreak you may need to act as a parasite on the land, moving from location to location consuming the available foods.

Without the proper hideout your plans of survival in a zombie-ridden world will be useless.

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GW Welcomes the Birth of Sarah Ellen Davis

February 2nd, 2009 by Brian Rodriguez

Sarah Ellen Davis

We would like to congratulate Gatorworks Partner, Charlie Davis, and his wife Ellen on the birth of their daughter today. Sarah Ellen Davis made her grand entrance at 9:21AM (Monday, February 2nd). She weighs 6.5lbs and is 18 1/4 inches long. Sarah will now hang out with her big brother William, who is 19 months old. Mommy and baby are doing great!

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