Be connected. Be discovered. Be on Facebook.

Since my last post on, “How to Create a Facebook Page…” back in January, many of our clients, both for profit and non-profit, have come to us with many questions about how they can have more of a presence on Facebook. So I’m back with more helpful hints, suggestions and an updated way of how to create your “Page.” Remember, Facebook Pages are a distinct presence that represent an organization and are separate from your personal profile.

How to Create a Page:
Step 1: Go to Facebook.com. Right on the homepage there is a link to create a page.



Step 2: Choose which category you fall under. For example if you are a non-profit, select “Brand, Product, or Organization.”



There are numerous ways for brands to leverage Facebook. Pages are enhanced with applications to help any organization communicate with and engage with their fans. Some applications you can use are:
:: RSS Feed
:: Discussion Boards
:: Events
:: Photos
:: Video
:: And many more!

Keep the conversation going! Every time someone comments on your new status, photo, video, or discussion thread, you need to comment on it. You should be talking with your clients. It may take extra effort to engage with your fans but it will keep them coming back. This is one way to promote an exceptional brand.

Keep it current! Spark conversation, post questions, or new topics for a discussion forum. Update your status with calls to action, recent news or upcoming events.

The connection! Support strong relationships with people who care about your organization. Did you know that more than 3 million users become fans of Facebook Pages every day?

For all you non-profits, don’t forget about Causes Pages! Any U.S. registered 501(c)(3) non-profit or Canadian registered charity can sign-up. Facebook processes the donations automatically via credit card, they tally the results, and report the donation activity via a public "scorecard" on the Cause Page. This allows you the ability to reward the people who donated. Our client, La Casa de Don Pedro, recently created a Cause Page. [click here to check it out]

Check out The Byne Group’s Facebook Page to see how we have utilized the photo, video, and RSS feed applications. Or give us a call and we can discuss how The Byne Group can help you create your own Facebook Page. See how we have helped some of our clients create Facebook Pages:
:: Rockland Parent-Child Center
:: General Patent Corporation

–Melissa Behrens, Senior Graphic Designer

A Guest Post : Summer Safety

This guest post is provided by our friend (and our client) Amy Massimo, Director of Public Affairs at Nyack Hospital — Exceptional Skill, Extraordinary Care.

So, summer has finally arrived, and with it comes a deluge of information about staying safe in the sun, while picnicking, at the beach and a host of other outdoor family activities. I'm sure all of us can relate an unfortunate story about when we skipped the sunscreen, ate something at a picnic that should have been on ice, or were bitten by a bee. Not to rain on anybody's parade, but everyone should know a few safety tips before heading outside.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics:
• Young children should apply sunscreen at least 30 minutes before going outside, and use sunscreen even on cloudy days. The SPF should be at least 15 and protect against UVA and UVB rays.
• For older children, the first, and best, line of defense against the sun is covering up. Wear a hat with a three-inch brim or a bill facing forward, sunglasses (look for sunglasses that block 99-100% of ultraviolet rays), and cotton clothing with a tight weave.
• Stay in the shade whenever possible, and limit sun exposure during the peak intensity hours - between 10 am and 4 pm
• Use a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or greater. Be sure to apply enough sunscreen
• Reapply sunscreen every two hours, or after swimming or sweating.
• Use extra caution near water, snow, and sand as they reflect UV rays and may result in sunburn more quickly.
• Make sure pool gates open out from the pool, and self-close and self-latch at a height children can't reach.
• Never leave children alone in or near the pool, even for a moment.
• Don't use scented soaps, perfumes or hair sprays on your child.
• Avoid areas where insects nest or congregate, such as stagnant pools of water, uncovered foods and gardens where flowers are in bloom.

If you have any questions about summer safety, check with your healthcare provider! And remember the old chestnut "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Me? I'm fair-skinned with a face full of freckles. You'll find me in the shade, slapping on the sunscreen, and drinking something cold. Have a great summer everyone! For more information about these and other tips, visit the American Academy of Pediatrics aap.org.

For more information about Nyack Hospital go to nyackhospital.org.

Benefits of Daydreaming for Creativity as well as Calm

I love daydreaming but I feel a little guilty doing it.

According to wikipedia while daydreaming has long been derided as a lazy, non-productive pastime, daydreaming can be constructive in some contexts. There are numerous examples of people in creative or artistic careers, such as composers, novelists and filmmakers, developing new ideas through daydreaming. Similarly, research scientists, mathematicians and physicists have developed new ideas by daydreaming about their subject areas.

As a kid I was always lost in my dreams, ok I'll admit that when I was 13 it was mostly about how Paul from the Beatles would fall in love with me some day! And there are times when I've been caught not paying full attention when my husband is telling me something for the third time. But professionally I get some of my most creative, imaginative thoughts while daydreaming, and I see it as a valuable tool for coming up with fresh marketing ideas for my clients.

And as it turns out, there is some interesting research to back that up.

“Daydreaming is important, neuroscientists have found, because it allows the brain to make novel associations and connections between unrelated ideas; and the freedom to drift allows our brains to imagine abstract, highly imaginative things. As any creative person knows, these are exactly the kinds of states of mind that lead to sessions of brilliant creativity, where ideas can come as fast as you can write them down.” - Jonah Lehrer, The Boston Globe

Not a natural daydreamer and want to know how to start, here are some tips from Rick Goodfriend a corporate certified speaker on communication strategies.

1: Imagine what need or value you would enjoy having satisfied today. (Example: I need more time to complete my project.)

2: Daydream for a few seconds or longer on a strategy that may meet this need. Example: ( I daydream that I will ask my coworker for assistance. He says yes and the job is complete in half the time.) Already I can feel a calm. Now I can decide if I want to use the solution or imagine a different one. Your creativity may flow bigger and faster with ideas..

In Summary: Take a minute or two and enjoy your daydreaming. You will feel more relaxed when you have finished.

Non Profits who understand the value of a story

With fewer donations and declining investments, nonprofits have to be re-think how they raise revenue.

I recently read a great article in the Wall Street Journal By Shelly Banjo in which she gave some successful fund raising case studies.

One of the most interesting to me was about Covenant House in NYC. Why? They understood the power of their clients stories. Anyone who knows about my philosophy on marketing knows that I am a big believer in story-telling as a means to capture attention. And the way they approached the ask was true and authentic.

They had the youths who had been helped, who had lived the organizations tag line “Changing Lives, Creating Futures” reach out to the people who had given in the past and had created hope for them. Done right, what can be more powerful. According to Jerome Kilbane, Covenant House's executive director “The people receiving a nonprofit's services are the best spokespeople for the organization. After receiving a call, "the size of the donor's gift increased by 50% from the year before" on average.

Their website also supports the idea of telling individual stories. A link titled “WHERE ARE THEY NOW?” looks at past youth who have been able to accomplish their goals of living independently. A great way for donors to feel they have made a difference no matter how large their gift.

Are you resting on your brand?

Like most in the marketing and advertising world, I do a lot of reading about what’s going on in all different types of companies. 2009 has brought many a story of the failures of businesses of all kinds, sizes and ages, for-profit and not-for-profit alike. Not so much about success. Maybe it’s not as big a draw as failure but if you’re like me, I want to learn how businesses are succeeding in what has been termed ‘the worst time since the Great Depression'.

So, why are some businesses doing well (notice I’m not saying great) and others are just plain out of business? There is no one answer however I do think success relies on vision, ingenuity and optimism, along with an evolving business plan.

Remember the , “As General Motors goes, so goes the nation”. Phew! Glad that’s no longer the case, or is it? I will give GM the benefit of the doubt that they make a decent car (I’m not a GM owner). However, their recent failure had as much to do with their lack of vision and ingenuity than everything else.

AND, quite frankly, they rested on their Brand! They assumed the GM name and all it has stood for since 1906 would continue by rote. If we build it they will come! Instead of keeping up with trends and the competition, they rested on what the GM Brand used to stand for and not what was needed to evolve into for today’s economic and consumer environment. Even the bigger than life Brands must keep up or be left behind.

A few companies, off the top of my head have been extremely proactive, including Apple, Walmart, Martha Stewart and FaceBook.

Locally, the United Way of Westchester and Putnum County (UWWP) is being extremely proactive, as is the national headquarters. Recognizing that United Way is a very recognizable Brand but must always keep up with the times and changing demographics. What to do? First, they formed a marketing group made up of community members, of which I am a proud member, and asked them dissect what UWWP is doing and then recommend what they should be doing to achieve their new objectives, i.e. reach a younger demographic. While I am not going to divulge any secrets, by having non-associated eyes and minds participating, wonderful, heretofore unheard of, ideas were offered up and will be acted upon.

Is your organization resting on its Brand? What are you doing to keep up to stay ahead? We love to hear success stories!

Deanna Gould, New Business Development Manager, The Byne Group

Marketing to Women

Why Women Don't Give Second Chances, and what can you learn
from it!

Does your firm market to women? Think not, well think again! It’s a proven fact, women make the majority of buying decisions for their families. They decide which non profit to support, which health care provider the family chooses and which restaurant to dine at. Wow, hopefully we choose to use our power for good!

In a blog article written by Liz Ryan she says “Women want assurance - they want difficult problems taken off their plates, and they need their service providers to go the extra mile to make sure they are well served. Women consumers want to be treated as valued customers, even before they've reached that stage - that's the very way that they'll become valued clients, in fact.”

We all remember a time when we didn’t feel valued as a customer. The rude secretary who answers the phone at the insurance company, the doctors office where you wait ten minutes to be acknowledged and when finally asked why you’re there you are told (with no apology) you were in the wrong office. Who of us can say we have always respond perfectly to our own clients. Sometimes mistakes happen, and unfortunately bad service travels fast.

Marketing to women as well as men means paying attention to each customer's specific needs and providing respect to everyone who interacts with your business. Women are very flexible, but we're not flexible enough to suffer insults or indignities without complaint. And, come to that, why should we be?” And if you realize that last phone call didn't go well, try to rectify it quickly. Admitting mistakes is appreciated.

As Liz Ryan says in her blog “Women are great, loyal customers - if you show them you've got their best interests in mind, from the start.”

Tropicana: A Lesson in Branding

It seems that Tropicana’s new identity is causing a lot of uproar. The common opinion is that it looks like a discount brand because of the generic photo and overly simplified design. Yet, the product and price seem to be the same as before! This has caused a lot of confusion. People are angry when they browse the juice section with all its options and brands popping out … they can’t locate their old-time favorite … because its incognito! Not to mention hard to read for many.



When I first laid eyes on the new Tropicana carton, I instantly thought of The Byne Group. Then I thought about Pepsi Cola and their new simplified design. I’m always in favor of a cleaner design (we all are at The Byne Group!) … with Target and Apple being the prime examples of big corps. that have done it well. Turns out that Pepsi Corp. has decided to update several of their key products due to decreased sales. This includes Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade and Tropicana.

The new design was just released in January 2009 and it certainly didn’t last long because Tropicana made a statement this week citing that they will be reverting to the old design.

Even though this seemed to be a crash and burn scenario for Pepsi … I look at it in another way, they got a lot of press coverage and attention over this issue. People were reminded of how much they are connected to Tropicana. And I also applaud them for being brave and trying to do something very different for the industry they are in. Bravo!

New York Times, www,nytimes.com,
“Tropicana Discovers Some Buyers Are Passionate About Packaging,” Feb. 23, 2009.

Brand New blog, underconsideration.com/brandnew,
“Pepsi Takes the Tropic out of Tropicana,” Feb. 23, 2009.