PR, Marketing + Advertising

Behind SEO success, a ‘knuckle down’ approach

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June 12, 2012

“About every web company says they do search engine optimization,” says Allison Kulage, who is often the person these companies call when they need a subcontractor. As the founder of Bare Knuckle Marketing, she works with businesses directly, helping them identify and meet marketing goals with SEO. Kulage, who has a marketing communications background, looked for marketing jobs after graduating from college, but found that many of them were little more than commission-based sales positions. After leaping from one job to the next, she discovered a talent for search engine optimization, or SEO – a practice of organizing web content to be friendly to search tools like Google. After more than a decade working with SEO, Kulage grew tired of watching web marketing companies charge clients for search engine optimization that amounted to little more than adding tags to a WordPress site, to keywords to a meta header (part of a website that tells search engines what it’s about) or – at worst – nothing at all. With SEO, Kulage says, there are no immediate or automatic fixes. “One day, I just said to myself, ‘You gotta knuckle up and work hard at this stuff! The gloves are off. It's competitive and the only way to win is do honest, hard work by creating good content that users want.’ " With the help of Bad Girl Ventures, where she took classes in business management, a SCORE mentor and practical training from the American Small Business Centers, she was able to quit her full-time job to launch Bare Knuckle Marketing in just two months. These days, Kulage advises companies to diversify their online traffic sources, so that if and when Google changes its algorithm, they’re still getting website hits from other sources, such as other search engines, social media sites, blogs and more. “People focus too much on how they rank in search engines," she says. "For years, Google has personalized search results, which means you and I can search for the same thing, but get different results based on our search history. You may be number one [in a Google search], but you may only be number one on your own machine. There’s too much focus on rankings, and not enough focus on real metrics -- not just traffic, but traffic that’s converting.” By Robin Donovan

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MakeupHaulic puts all the best beauty tips in one place

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Architecture + Design

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May 22, 2012

Go to YouTube, eHow or the Facebook pages of major beauty brands, and you'll find thousands of videos featuring everything from how to apply crackle nail polish, use an eyelash curler or apply mascara. There are no shortages of product reviews, either.. These video blogs, or vlogs, help many women decide whether or not to purchase a new product, and how to use something new or unfamiliar, explains Brinda Chattergee, a Cincinnati entrepreneur. "It's mostly young women who are sharing information about purchases, and coming together around information," she says. Chattergee, who has a graphic design background, discovered the beauty vlogging world while researching product design for a beauty product. During her research, she thought it would be great if there was a site dedicate to the best of the videos, both professional and amateur, where people could quickly find and create the type of content they wanted. That's the idea behind her new website, MakeupHaulic. Chattergee describes the site, which is not yet public, as a curated destination site for all things beauty. In addition to featuring existing content, the site will also offer tutorials for those who want to become beauty vloggers. She plans to feature some sponsored content as well. "It will feature a blend of normal folks as well as professionals," she says. "It will be very democratic. Anyone can participate." MakeupHaulic is one of eight companies chosen for UpTech, a new business informatics incubator launched by several Northern Kentucky institutions, including Northern Kentucky University, Tri-Ed, ezone and Vision 2015. It's an intense, six-month accelerator program that includes $100,000 in funding. Companies selected to participate will also be working with students and faculty at NKU's College of Informatics. During her time in the incubator, Chattergee plans to launch the site and rework its design or the user experience in response to user feedback. "The launch is pretty immediate at this point. We'll be taking it to the next level in response to feedback. It's a very important phase and an exciting time for all of us involved," she says. By Feoshia Henderson Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Alias 360 Photos launches to support more dimensions of local businesses

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Development News

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May 15, 2012

When Chris Breeden at Arnold’s wanted his historic business to be the first in the city to offer an interior tour via Google maps, he turned to his neighbors at Alias Imaging for help. He’d seen how Google maps offered 360-degree tours of businesses on the East and West coasts as a way to offer viewers the chance to get a sense of a place’s architecture and ambiance long before, and after, they’d paid a visit. With help from Alias Imaging, led by co-owners and founders John Carrico and Adam Henry, Arnold’s became the first Cincinnati business featured by Google in a virtual tour. In the process, Carrico and Henry launched a new business, Alias 360 Photos, and became “Google Trusted Photographers” in order to add panoramic tours to Google Maps’ pages. Henry explains the certification wasn’t an easy process. “It’s not like we just shoot and upload,” Henry says. “It seems simple and natural, but it’s quite painstaking.” While the duo of polished commercial photographers have worked for a wide range of commercial clients, from Procter & Gamble to local ad agencies to independent businesses like Arnold’s, the certification process required new training on an exacting process that requires them to take dozens of pictures from nearly every vantage point, then use specialized software to conform to Google specifications. On top of all of that, each tour must be aligned with Google satellite images. “The weirdest thing to me is that it requires so many pictures,” says Henry, who, along with Carrico, also provides the photography and video for The Queen City Project, a partnership with Bluestone Creative that has often been featured on Soapbox. Because of the tight guidelines, businesses can be assured of high-quality tours that literally add three dimensions to their web presence. Henry sees that as a cost-effective opportunity, especially for smaller businesses. “For hundreds of dollars, you can get thousands of dollars of material which is priceless exposure on the internet,” he says. Once businesses contract with Alias 360 Photos to create their virtual tours, the photographers get to work, estimating they need no more than a couple of hours of time on-site to get the photos they need. After that point, the Google content is managed for the businesses. “They basically get a whole new website built for them that is hosted on Google places,” Henry says. By Elissa Yancey Follow Elissa on Twitter

Cincinnati Innovates competition adds consumer products category

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Architecture + Design

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May 8, 2012

In a city that's home to branding, retail and consumer powerhouses like Procter & Gamble, Macy's Inc., LPK and Nielsen, it's natural that Cincinnati Innovates would add a consumer products category to the annual invention competition. "Being such a cool consumer marking town, we have a ton of consumer product ideas. We want to help people with ideas get their product on the shelf," says Cincinnati Innovates founder Elizabeth Edwards. Edwards, CEO of Metro Innovation, launched Cincinnati Innovates in 2009 to spur investment in innovative products and services across Greater Cincinnati. Since its founding, several similar contests have sprung up across the region to drive dollars to ideas. Cincinnati Innovates competitors this year will vie for $100,000 in cash prizes and awards. This year's contest runs until July 15, with a $1,000 early bird prize up for grabs May 30. To enter to contest, go the the Cincinnati Innovates website. Winners will be announced Aug. 16 at Northern Kentucky University. Cincinnati Innovates entries have been heavy on software, medical and web-based ideas, but the contest always saw a fair share of consumer products. By creating a new category for these products alone, Cincinnati Innovates' partners hope to better nurture those ideas. CPG Strategies will award $25,000 in services to a consumer product seeking retail distribution. In addition, a new class will be added to Cincinnati Innovates' annual lineup of complementing entrepreneurship courses. The course will be based on the book CPG 101: Strategies to Get Your Consumer Product to Market, by CPG founder David Towner. Since 2009, Cincinnati Innovates winners have earned $250,000, and have leveraged an additional $5 million in investments. Other prizes include: A $2,000 HYPE Community Choice AwardTwo commercialization awards of $25,000 and $10,000 from CincyTech$10,000 in branding and design services from LPKA $5,000 video production award from 7/79 videoBy Feoshia Henderson Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Freelance developers create Gaslight Software

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Entrepreneurship

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May 8, 2012

Developers at Gaslight Software have done what many just daydream of doing. The young software development company was forged by freelancers, many of whom left corporate life. "We were independent contractors. Most of us met at what's now called Cincinnati Agile Roundtable," says Gaslight developer Doug Alcorn. "After a few years, we decided we could do better if we worked together instead of on our own. We have no titles, no boss. This is 100 percent team-driven." A dozen developers work in Gaslight's Blue Ash office, helping clients develop mobile- and web-based applications that improve efficiencies and promote business growth. Gaslight works with growing companies and startups across the country. Among applications they've developed are Tweethopper, which allows you to manage multiple Twitter accounts; WebPulp.tv, a video podcast that explores the inner workings of scaling a web ap; and Vendor Wizard, which securely automates the tracking and management of vendor relationships and documents. "We want to make an impact, and work to benefit our clients in tangible ways. We want to feel we're part of their team in developing software and not just a vendor," says developer Peter Kananen. Gaslight works to cultivate a culture of community and teamwork that carries into the wider Cincinnati tech community. The company participates in a number of local developers' groups, including Cincinnati Ruby Brigade and Cincinnati Lean Startup Circle. They're also the lead organizer of the first Queen City Merge web conference May 10 and 11. "There's a lot of talk about brain drain in the city. It's a constant battle. We want to highlight tech in this city, get people together and have them look around to see what's going on around them," Alcorn says. By Feoshia Henderson Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Boostchatter incentivizes social media interaction

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Entrepreneurship

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May 8, 2012

When Jason Haines and Tommy Tayman were pulling all-nighters at Centre College, they figured it as a temporary, college-only experience. Little did they know that, years later, they’d be driving across the state, locking themselves in a shared office and cranking out code until the wee hours of the morning. These days, the pair is looking for a little more than good grades. Their new company, boostchatter, is a social rewards program that allows businesses and other organizations to incentivize social activity on Facebook and Twitter. “It gives businesses or organizations a way to reward customers for being active on social media – it could be commenting, liking stuff, checking stuff, tagging, retweeting," Haines says. "Any of the social actions you perform as a user, you can incentivize users for doing them." For a small retail shop, that might mean free coffee, a t-shirt or a coupon. For awareness groups or nonprofits, it could be a trinket for some type of medical awareness or a chance at earning points to redeem for merchandise. Basically, the business or organization can set up its own rewards that make sense to its own users. Boostchatter isn’t the first post-college project the two have collaborated on. In 2004, they partnered to form Optimle, a custom application and web development firm headquartered in Cincinnati. So, when Haines packed his bags and drove down to Knoxville, where Tayman lives, at the end of last year (typically a slow time for web developers), it wasn’t unusual for them to spend 10 or 12 hours – or more – each day hashing out ideas for boostchatter. A private beta for the project is currently in the works. By Robin Donovan

Etsy anthropologist headlines local web confab

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Architecture + Design

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April 10, 2012

A local software development company is behind an innovative web marketing and development conference coming in May. Queen City Merge: Social media, marketing, design, development & winning, aims to give a 360-degree view of the latest web marketing and development trends, with an impressive lineup of speakers, including LB Denker, anthropologist of developer culture at Etsy. "We've got lots of very talented individuals and companies right here under our noses, and I'm not certain we appreciate or even understand that fact," says developer Chris Moore of Blue Ash's Gaslight Software, the main organizer of the conference. "Our goal is to connect these folks so that we can help improve the local tech and startup communities." Queen City Merge targets anyone who makes a living from the web: designers, developers, social media and marketing professionals and investors. The conference is less tech-oriented and more about creating inspiration and developing interaction among people, he says. "Queen City Merge will be a Wifi-free zone," Moore says. "If you're coming, plan to leave your computer at home. We want you to hang out with lots of smart folks and enjoy conversation. You'll have time to update Twitter and Facebook when you get home, or if you must, there's still SMS. We want attendees to be engaged and conversant. We're all building solutions with technology across many platforms, but we don't connect as often as we should. We're out to fix that." There will be two days of sessions, including "Top Ten Mistakes that Kill Companies" by Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP attorney Rob McDonald, Cheap and "Easy Customer Support" by CoSupport founder Sarah Hatter and "Design for Developers" by Relevance Web/Interface designer Jen Myers. There will also be sessions on responsive design and Denker, of Etsy, will speak on building online communities. Other event sponsors include Ample LLC, Engine Yard, The Brandery, Rockfish Interactive and Cincy Coworks. Queen City Merge takes place Thursday, May 10 and Friday, May 11 at the Contemporary Arts Center. After the Friday session, sponsors will treat everyone to the Reds vs. Nationals game at Great American Ballpark. Early Bird pricing (which ends April 14) is $199; standard pricing is $249. Organizers plan to make this an annual event. By Feoshia Henderson Follow Feoshia on Twitter

Uptown Consortium boosts business retention through quarterly seminars

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Architecture + Design

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April 3, 2012

After visits to dozens of uptown businesses, the Hamilton County Development Company (HCDC) has launched a series of seminars designed to meet the immediate needs of local businesses. It's part of the Consortium's business retention efforts. The first workshop, on business redesign, came after one-on-one meetings in Clifton, Mt. Auburn and Clifton Heights, University Heights and Fairview (CUF). The Consortium will meet with business owners in Avondale and Corryville, says Janelle Lee, director of business and community affairs at Uptown Consortium. "We've decided to hold quarterly workshops on different topics, based on our meetings. Our next one is on marketing, and how to best reach your customers. What keeps our communities thriving, safe and clean are our small businesses, and we want to keep them in business," she says. The Uptown Consortium is a non-profit community development corporation supported in part by some of Uptown's major employers, including Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, UC Health, TriHealth, the University of Cincinnati the Cincinnati Zoo. Those organization employ more than 50,000 people and have an annual economic impact of $3 billion. HCDC is nonprofit business incubator and economic development agency aimed at retaining and creating jobs. The design workshop featured local expert Andrew McQuilkin, chief strategic design efficer at BHDP Architecture, which specializes in retail design, store planning and branding. He was joined by Diane Agricola, an experienced interior redesigner and owner of Agricola Redesign LLC. "They gave tips and trends on revitalizing your storefronts and entrances, and making small changes like updating hardware or painting. They also talked about branding concepts, or changing your awnings or windows to attract customers," Lee says. Afterward, a local business, jewelry store D Raphael in Clifton, was chosen for a free redesign. The redesign took an afternoon and gave the business a more updated, sophisticated look, which better highlights owner David Raphael Brine pieces, he says. "I've been in the store for so long that I no longer had a good perspective, and I was willing to trust in them to change things for the better," says Brine, who has been in is current location since 1981. "Right away people who owned stores nearby told me how great it looked, and another young man on his way to a yoga class came in specifically to tell me how much he liked it. It was totally unsolicited and gratifying." To find out more about the outreach, go the the Uptown Consortium website. By Feoshia Henderson Follow Feoshia on Twitter.

Planting local roots helps advice website blossom

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Diversity

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April 3, 2012

Brette Borow hasn’t been home in days, weeks, oh, who’s counting? Although she technically lives in Los Angeles, her business, GirlsGuideTo, planted roots in downtown Cincinnati, too. These days, the advice website aimed at women 18 to 35 is taking off, and Borow is "pretty much living out of a suitcase," as she expands her staff, works on a redesign and conducts the perpetual business development every startup demands. Although Borow grew up in Chicago and now lives in Los Angeles, she set up an office in Cincinnati to tap into the region’s Midwestern roots and the concentration of colleges in and around the city. "Our [readers] are very much your everyday girl and our audience is really the girl next door. She’s relatable and I think that the Midwest is a prime example of that," Borow says. Despite her own marketing background, Borow has a small marketing budget: “There are ways to grow your audience without spending millions and millions,” she says, noting GirlsGuideTo’s continuing rise in reader engagement and traffic. GirlsGuideTo started off as a website whose content was mostly created by website visitors who asked and answered questions amongst themselves. With the recent addition of a Cincinnati-based editor, Katie Ostoich, the site is shifting to primarily editorial content focused on popular topics. “I wanted to make sure GirlsGuideTo wasn’t just a place where women came when they had a problem, but a place they were coming on a daily basis, basically getting the information and advice they needed whether or not they were actually asking a question,” Borow says. By providing a safe place for women to ask questions, seek advice or simply read, she may be doing just that. By Robin Donovan

VenueAgent trades cool spaces for hard cash

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Arts + Culture

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March 27, 2012

Jocelyn Cates wants your house and your office. But don’t worry, she’s willing to take it over when you’re away, and she might just pay your mortgage or rent in return. As the founder of VenueAgent, Cates is always on the lookout for unconventional spaces to turn into event venues. Cates’ company, VenueAgent, matches available spaces, including bridal shops, art galleries, design studios and coffee shops, with event hosts in the area. “Just about anything could work,” she says. So, if you have a house that overlooks the Ohio River, or a sweet loft downtown, or just a big office or warehouse space that’s frequently unused, VenueAgent wants your property as a listing. Cates herself is something of a networking wizard. She credits Joshua Johnson of Mindbox Studios, a local web design and development company, with helping her start thinking of herself as a web entrepreneur. She’s also participated in startup groups and incubators like Continuous Web, the Hamilton County Business Center, and has aligned herself with the startup-development powerhouses including the Brandery and CincyTech, a venture-development organization. Today, she’s using those network skills to find new spaces that could fuel the success of VenueAgent. “One of our listed venues, 915 Monmouth, told me just last week, ‘We don’t have to worry about our rent or other overhead from month to month now. The events that we are hosting in our off hours more than makes up for those expenses,’” she says. "That’s inspiring to me, and that sums up my vision for the future.” The site currently has 30 available venues. By Robin Donovan