NTN Bearing Corporation originally enlisted EIM to build their website in the Spring of 2010.  We were re-engaged in the Summer of 2012 when asked to translate their website in Spanish to provide one unified web destination for their South and North American locations.  We launched the new site ntnamericas.com at the end of January, 2013.

In order to accomplish this task, we teamed up with a well-known website translation and localization company who took on the content translation portion of the project.  EIM worked with NTN to identify which specific sections of the existing website would need to be duplicated so our developers could create a separate website to be translated in Spanish.

The project was a success because of the teamwork between all three parties involved.  EIM provided the necessary files to the translation company, who worked directly with the local NTN team. A designated NTN employee based in the area where the Spanish site would be utilized reviewed all translated content.  This allowed NTN to have complete control over the localized copy, ensuring the correct dialect was used.

EIM also worked with NTN to minimize the effects a new primary domain would have on their SEO ranking.  They successfully switched to ntnamericas.com, simply redirecting ntnamerica.com to their new URL.

As NTN expands their global reach, we look forward to working on future site translations. We also look forward to cultivating new client relationships with companies that aim to cater to broader audiences with website translation projects.

Don caught the agency bug while working on the client side of Robert Bosch Tool Company. Since then he has spent time at many of Chicago’s digital agencies – VSA Partners, Critical Mass, and most recently Manifest Digital. He’s worked with some of the world’s most iconic brands including Nike, Gillette, Nickelodeon, PetSmart, and Valvoline. But perhaps the most fun came from contributing to the online extension What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas.

His resume might intimidate. But when we asked what work he’s most proud of, he beamed with pride and said, “Coaching and mentoring a number of Project Managers that I’ve worked with and seeing them succeed.”

Sounds like Envisionit Media’s type of guy.

A very short interview with Don:

What’s the one thing everyone should know about you?

I’ll probably tell you after about three Kettle and Tonics.

What’s your favorite mythical creature?

I really like Falcor from The Neverending Story, or Chunk from Goonies (think I am dating myself?)

Technology has its ups and downs, but for the most part, it gets better. Web browsing, which was once only restricted to our desktops, now has the ability to be done on our tablets and smartphones. However, with this breakthrough came complications. Among mobile devices alone, there are numerous variations of size and resolutions. How could a single website accommodate for all of that? Or more importantly, imagine how much time/money is spent on designing and developing for that large of an audience?

I’m sure a lot of us have come across a website on our phone that is simply not “mobile-friendly.” Responsive design eliminates this problem. Simply put, all it takes is a single design to be compatible with multiple devices. Layouts are “fluid” so that when you adjust the size of the window, the layout and design will correspond with your desktop, phone, tablet, game console, etc.

Another essential fact to realize is that we are using mobile devices just as much or even more than we are browsing on our desktops.  If you encounter a website on your phone and it is uncomfortable to view, are you likely to visit that site again? Responsive design is a smart method to consider, not only because it’s designing for the future, but because we can cater to all  users.

Visit mediaqueri.es for more examples of responsive design!

I know, I know. You’ve heard it a thousand times: “you should blog!” Yet somehow you still have NO clue what to write about nor do you ever seem to find the time (let alone the desire) to get started.   Believe me, I understand.  We hear it all the time and it’s a common problem.  Let us give you an edge with some fresh new ideas.  No more excuses!

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25 things you can write about on your company blog

1. Feature your customers via real pictures, quotes and stories
2. Make people laugh with videos - Share a collection of hilarious YouTube videos within a relevant theme.  For example, if you are a retailer trying to drive traffic to your site around the holidays, you could post great “Christmas Gone Wrong” videos.
3. Pose a question- If you’re looking to engage your audience, this is the way to do it.  Who said you have to know all the answers in order to blog?
4. Introduce your employees
5.  Do a photo blog post  - Use an app like GramGrab to make your Instagram and Pinterest photos into content your audience will love.  Remember to give proper photo credit when due if you’re not using your own images.
6. Give your opinion on industry news - And remember: an opinion that not everyone agrees with is OK. In fact, sometimes it’s a good thing.
7. Show a visual evolution of your website - Make people smile by using Way Back Machine to take screenshots of your site over time.
8. Share a personal story - the most viral content on the web is content that people react to emotionally.  Share a struggle, triumph or endearing story that will make any reader want to share it.
9. Upload a video from your smartphone - When it comes to your blog, an occasional amateur video is acceptable.

A few weeks ago I sent an email to the agency asking for thoughts on what made digital marketing in 2012.  I wasn’t surprised to get some really thoughtful answers back.

I suppose digital marketing today is all about your perspective, right?  Ask our developers, and they may say 2012 was the year of mobile-responsive design.  Our paid media gals immediately brought up remarketing.  As the social media person on the team, my first thoughts were Pinterest, social analytics and content marketing.

Our Senior Analyst, Vlad, brought up something that touches every part of our agency, though: mobile. Regardless of what business you’re in or what type of marketing campaign you’re running, its official: you can no longer ignore the power of mobile.  Mobile devices have changed the way people interact, do business and make purchasing decisions.

Think about your life for a minute…

What do you do while sitting on a train? Waiting in a long line? During TV commercials?  I play on my smartphone.

What did you get for Christmas this year?  I got an iPad.  And I’m apparently part of the 33%+ of Americans that own a tablet or e-reader device.

Where did you find that new recipe?  Where do you look up an address as you get into a cab?  If I had to venture a guess, almost all of these answers would involve a smart phone, tablet or some type of app.

Vlad reminded me that in 2012, Google Analytics rolled out tablet reports as a compliment to their existing mobile reports.  ”One of our clients saw a 10% increase in mobile website traffic in 2012.  Of that mobile traffic, about half of it came from tablets,” he said.  Most companies aren’t thinking about screen resolution or device type, but they should be. “If your mobile site doesn’t load correctly – or load fast enough – people are likely to bounce and not come back,” said Vlad.

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Digital marketing is one of the most quickly evolving industries in history.  Keeping up with what’s new is a big job and one that the Envisionit Media team takes very seriously.  Therefore, we wanted to kick off the week by sharing a few digital highlights that may influence your marketing, social media and digital activity this week.

We’d love to hear what YOU think is newsworthy.  Please share your favorite digital news with us in the comments section below!

Nielsen & Twitter Establish “Social TV” Rating

There has been a lot of talk about “Social TV” lately, but most of us have been waiting for something that will help justify the movement.  Today Nielsen and Twitter anounced a partnership in which they will work together  to measure TV show engagement via the “Nielsen Twitter TV Rating.”  The new rating system will be an standard industry metric allowing developers and advertisers to create valuable ”second screen” and advertising experiences.  The insight gained will also influence content produced by TV networks.

5 Ways You can Help Sandy Hook Shooting Victims

While social media arguably made things more confusing for the press during the terrible events of Friday December 14th (reporting the wrong name of the shooter and driving traffic to the WRONG guy’s Facebook & Twitter pages, for example) it also brought a lot of good.  Check out the fundraising campaigns that were started by people who used the power of social media to accelerate donations.

Our favorite example of usuing social media in a time of crisis is WallofLove.org: a site that hopes to show that there is more good than bad in the world.  Join the movement by sending your square image of love to submit.to.walloflove@gmail.com.

9 Awesome Facebook Fan Page Ideas 

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Some people can talk to anybody about anything. That’s Nicole. As senior social strategist (say that three times fast), she’s starting conversations everywhere by creating awesome, innovative social media programs for brands. And she’s always keeping it interesting by researching what’s new in social media and technology, then applying it to clients’ programs.

Before joining Envisionit Media, Nicole ran her own small digital agency which focused on digital content creation.  She’s also the founder of MsCareerGirl.com, a savvy blog filled with smart career tips and advice on life after college.  Nicole loves doing speaking gigs about social media in her spare time which lead her to be a guest on Oprah & Friends XM radio, an adjunct professor at DePaul, and to be quoted in publications like the Chicago RedEye and US News & World Report.

Senior social strategist. Senior social strategist. Senior social strategist.

A very short interview with Nicole:

What’s the one thing everyone should know about you?
I love Twitter a little too much. Tweet me @MsCareerGirl.

If you could trade places with someone for a day, who would it be and why?
I’d like to trade places with Oprah because I’d love to see how she gets it all done running so many companies simultaneously. I’d also like to know what it feels like to be paid a fortune to inspire and empower women around the world every day — I think I’d love it!

Working as an intern, becoming a contractor, and then being offered a full-time position at EIM is a journey that is truly too great for words. When I came across Envisionit, I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass. After an interview and a review of my portfolio, I was lucky enough to be hired on the spot as an intern!

During my internship, I was able to work on logo concepts, create stationery collateral pieces, work on several social media backgrounds, among many other things. It wasn’t just the projects, but also the atmosphere of the company that allowed me to enjoy my time as an intern.

My internship was coming to an end, but I believe it was through my eager interest that helped my internship grow into a three month contract as a production artist. This extended opportunity was perfect in all aspects; I was approaching graduation and I loved working for this agency. I was given more responsibilities and continued to work closely with the creative directors, working on revisions or adding on to existing projects. This three month period allowed me to not only become more comfortable with my ridiculous commute from Naperville, but it also helped me gain more experience and knowledge in what it meant to be working at an agency. The organized structure helped me become more organized, and the deadlines challenged me to work more efficiently; and it took this job for me to truly understand the importance of teamwork.

When I had been offered a full-time position, I was completely overwhelmed with pure joy and gratefulness. It was hard to believe that I had actually made it here! I give so many thanks to Envisionit Media for paving the path for me to start my career and become successful in what I love to do. I couldn’t have imagined this being a better journey than it already was and is going to be!

When in the development lifecycle should you start thinking about SEO?

If you’re like a lot of people, the answer is “let’s just get this damn thing built and then we’ll worry about SEO later!” I feel your pain—redesigning your website can be expensive, time consuming, and frustrating.

The last thing you want to think about is keyword research, and besides, can’t you just hire an SEO company to work some magic once you’re up and running? Well, maybe. But the SEO company’s first recommendation might be “this site sucks, it’s all in Flash, and you need a redesign.” Have fun at your quarterly review.

OK, so SEO is important, but what should you be considering while you’re in the design process? Here are some bullet points that we’ll flesh out below.

• Keyword targeting and site architecture
• Search-engine-friendly URLs
• 301 redirects
• Analytics and tracking
• Site speed (the silent killer)

Keyword Targeting and Architecture

What keywords are you going after? If it’s a re-launch, are they the same keywords that you were ranking for before, or are you looking to expand your reach? Either way, you need to think strategically about the keywords you will be targeting.

That means that each keyword phrase will need a unique page of content and each landing page should be no more than two clicks away from the homepage. In fact, by doing keyword research in conjunction with designing the site architecture, decisions about what pages to include and how to organize them will fall into place much more easily.

Another note about site architecture: key pages should be no more than two clicks away from the homepage, in order to a) make them easier for visitors to find and b) to effectively pass the link juice from the homepage to the landing pages on the site.

But what about aesthetics? Yeah, I know, aesthetics are important. And so are the actual humans that will be using your site. You have to balance the demands of search engines and real people—and helping people find what they want is part of good usability and SEO. If Ryan Gosling was using your site, you would want him to say “you’re the perfect combination of user-friendly design and search engine optimization.”

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Cynthia came to intern with us as a college student. She was ambitious, focused, and oozed raw talent. Working as a designer for an eBay luxury goods e-consignment store and styling company during college was the precursor to today: working as a full-blown production artist.

Now, she works with creative directors and art directors to make sure design projects are in tip-top shape. Her most recent projects include a few email campaigns and digital marketing efforts, working on logo concepts, print collateral, and generally being awesome.

We’re pretty lucky to have someone with Cynthia’s hard work, dedication, and drive on the team.

A very short interview with Cynthia:

What’s one thing everyone should know about you?
I can probably beat you in a game of pool or bowling.

Fill in the blank: I can cook …
Anything that can be thoroughly cooked via microwave or toaster oven.