Resource Review: Prezi Presentations

Are you tired of cranking out the same old Powerpoint presentations? Do you need a creative format to present your firm’s qualifications? You might be in the market for Prezi, an application that lets you create zooming, free-flowing presentations.

Prezi presentations move away from the flat, linear slides of Powerpoint and allow you to design a package that is flexible, yet clean and professional. Prezi can be used directly from an internet browser without the need to install anything. This subscription option is free, but allows others to view your Prezi creations. A paid subscription option allows Prezi Desktop to be installed on your computer, so you can access it without an internet connection. This option also allows your custom Prezis to be private.

What are some instances when we as marketers might utilize Prezi?

• Interview presentations
• Digital brochures
• Image libraries
• Personal portfolio

The Prezi website, http://www.prezi.com/, is your best source for getting started with the application, and features a plethora of information on Prezi’s features and options. As a new Prezi designer, visit the site and browse the thousands of already created Prezis that are at your fingertips.

Before embarking on your own Prezi creation, the tips below can help you get organized:

Sketch
Storyboard by hand the concept that you want to present. Whether it be interview content, or a firm brochure on a specific type of project, organize your ideas on paper first. Since Prezi moves away from the linear nature of Powerpoint, be creative in how you want ideas to flow. Because of Prezi’s zooming feature, ideas can really build on one another and don’t have to spread across your workspace.

Images & Video
Prezi allows you to import images at a small file size (2880x2880) and video at a maximum of 50MB. Select what images and/or video you want to include before getting started. Place all of your Prezi-ready files in one folder for fast uploading.

Color
Prezi has fairly limited custom-color options for fonts and shapes. Decide what color family you want to incorporate before getting started and set up your selections as one of your first steps. Prezi has the option for further customization through Cascading Style Sheets (CSS).

Once you’ve finished your Prezi, you can present it in several ways:

• Present “live” with an internet connection
• Export to Prezi Desktop, which does not require an internet connection
• Download a portable Prezi – creates an exported/downloaded version of your prezi presentation, which works without internet access, without a prezi account, and without Prezi Desktop. You can use it to present where you don't have access to the internet, or send to an external audience. The link generated contains a non-editable version of your prezi, and player software for Windows and Mac.
• Download the Prezi app for iPad and take your Prezis on the go

Good luck and be sure to visit http://www.prezi.com/ for inspiration and help getting started!

Erin Bettison, CPSM, LEED GA
Sr. Marketing Coordinator
Austin Commercial

Susan Savkov
Marketing Manager
STG Design

Photos from the 2011 SMPS Kickoff Party

View photos from the 2011 SMPS Kickoff Party on October 6th at Star Bar. We had a great turnout of current and potential members.  Thanks to everyone that attended. 

SMPS Lunch and Learn AND One-on-One SF330 Review Sessions

Lunch and Learn: Optimize Your Next SF330 Submittal

Learn how to view your SF330 submittal with a new perspective and differentiate your team from many competitors. Demonstrate your strength thru team organization and tailored resumes. Prove your experience with focused project descriptions. Understand how to tie it all together and close the deal in Section H. Nancy Usrey, Author of the Insider’s Guide to SF330 Preparation, will share tips from her review of many SF330 packages from teams large and small. Come prepared to ask questions!

One-on-One SF330 Review Sessions

As an added feature to this special Lunch and Learn, our expert speaker Nancy Usrey has agreed to offer a limited number of one-on-one thirty minute sessions to review and analyze your SF330, making recommendations for improvement and suggestions for winning more work! Five 30 minutes sessions are available for purchase at $50.

About the Speaker

Nancy Usrey (pronounced er’-sree) a recognized national expert on federal procurement and the marketing of A/E services, brings more than three decades of knowledge and experience to the topic, acquired through real-world experience both inside A/E/P firms and as a marketing consultant to the A/E design industry. She currently helps design-build and mega-project pursuit teams develop and implement successful positioning strategies and proposal plans. Nancy is the author of ZweigWhite's publication Insider's Guide to SF330 Preparation, and the precursor Insider's Guide to SF254/255 Preparation. Nancy is a Fellow of SMPS from the Dallas Chapter, and also writes, speaks, coaches, and consults on marketing and management issues faced by A/E/P and construction firms.

REGISTRATION CLOSES MONDAY OCTOBER 24th

When: Thursday, October 27, 2011 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

Where: DPR Construction, Inc.
9606 North Mopac, Suite 300, Austin, TX 78759

Event Registration Fee
Member $20.00
Non-Member $35.00

RSVP Monday, October 24, 2011

Blogging Basics

There is a laundry list of issues that need to be addressed when it comes to improving corporate blogs, but here we’ve narrowed down the key elements that companies should focus on. Here are 10 tips for corporate bloggers hoping to make a positive splash in their communities.

 1. Establish a Content Theme and Editorial Guidelines

When creating a product or service, you must be able to define the value that it’s bringing to consumers. In the case of a blog, you need to clearly define the focused theme that your team will follow. Choose a blog name and theme that fits well with your company’s expertise, but don’t be afraid to branch out into a larger space. Your blog should provide pertinent information for consumers interested in your area of business.

Once you’ve chosen an area to cover, create a set of editorial guidelines that your bloggers will follow. Guidelines can include appropriate verticals and topics to cover, as well as how and when posts should be written.

A clear goal and theme for your blog will make it easier for users to know what to expect.

2. Choose a Blogging Team and Process

Choose a team of core bloggers to begin your blogging adventure. Select individuals that are knowledgeable and comfortable writing about the areas you would like to cover. Also, it’s key to choose people who write well and have a great online presence.

Train your bloggers on the editorial guidelines and decide what type of writing and editing process you would like to put in place. Some companies prefer to elect an editor or group of editors to have a final look at all blog posts, while other companies allow their bloggers to publish directly. Figure out the level of comfort you have with your blogging, editing and publishing process and implement a procedure that works well for your team. 

3. Humanize Your Company

A company blog is an opportune place to let down your hair and get to know your customers. Think of it as a conversation between people, not between a brand and one person. In order to have a conversation, you need two people — a blogger and a reader.

Always keep in mind that your blog is about people connecting and conversing with people, not a corporation. Throw away that “corporate” concept, and you’ll be ahead of most. 

4. Avoid PR and Marketing

If maintained correctly, your blog will act as a repository of real analysis and opinions provided by your company’s fine employees. The type of insight and expertise that a blog can demonstrate is far more useful than any PR pitch that you could post. Stay away from trying to sell your readers. There are appropriate venues for that, and your blog shouldn’t be one of them.

Lululemon Athletica, a yoga-inspired athletic apparel company, constantly adds value to its community through its blog by providing posts on topics that their core followers would appreciate. Some of the most recent posts were on how to do a handstand, protect the lower back, and explore a new city.

Readers will get a taste of the massive knowledge bank available at your company. Take your mind off of marketing, and you’ll find that the analysis that you provide sells your company better than a press release ever could. 

5. Welcome Criticism

Oftentimes, corporations shy away from opening up their websites and blogs for commenting and interaction, because they are afraid of the harm that criticisms may cause. Make it a policy to welcome criticism, thinking of it as an opportunity for feedback and improvement. There are lots of ways to deal with negative feedback, so don’t be afraid to open up to your community. 

6. Outline a Comment Policy

Be aware that if you open up your blog for full feedback (which you should), you will get a variety of comments — constructive, complimentary, hateful, and spam. Be prepared for everything. Create a comment policy that your team can follow, and make sure everyone is on same page. Outline the types of comments that should be responded to, deleted or passed along for follow-up. 

7. Get Social

Make sure your blog is open for comments and utilizes share tools, such as Facebook, Twitter and Digg. Share tools allow your users to pass along your content. Why not allow your readers to promote your work?

Put forth an effort to respond to comments or forward them on when a specific employee could offer the best expertise in that area. Make sure each employee maintains a personable tone when responding to comments, so that readers know that your bloggers are genuine.

Lastly, if you haven’t done so already, implement a social media strategy for your blog, creating the appropriate profiles across social networks that your readers and customers are active on. Usually, Facebook and Twitter are a good start, and YouTube is a must for video-sharing. When you post on your blog, announce the new post on your social networks and ask for your readers’ opinions on the subject.

Promote your social presence on your blog, by implementing links, buttons and widgets that link to your social profiles. This will enable readers to stay connected with you across platforms. Whole Foods’ blog, Whole Story, for example, displays its social links prominently at the top of the blog. 

8. Promote Your Blog

Just as you would promote any other company initiative, get the word out about your blog. Share the URL on your website, social networks, business cards, e-mails, and advertisements.

Without promotion, building an audience can be difficult. Get behind the quality work that your team is putting into the blog and promote away. 

9. Monitor Mentions and Feedback

One way to get a pulse on your blog and its effects on the community is to monitor mentions and feedback. Set up Google Alerts for your brand, blog name and any keywords that might be relevant. Search on Technoratiand Twitter for those set terms.

To make things easier with Twitter, set up custom search columns in a Twitter client, such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck or CoTweet. The columns will update in real time, keeping you up-to-date on brand and blog mentions at all times.

Getting more sophisticated, you should look into social media brand management tools, such as Radian6, for monitoring keywords across social sites.

10. Track Everything

You’re probably accustomed to tracking everything, and your blog is no different. If your blog is a page on your website, make sure your current web analytics tools are set to track all the same data that it monitors on your website. If you don’t currently have a web analytics tool, check out Google Analytics, a free analytics tool with an easy-to-use interface.  At the minimum, make sure you’re tracking site traffic, where referrals are coming from, and traffic-wise which posts are doing best. Learn from the data and adjust your blogging guidelines accordingly.

 Adapted from “10 Tips for Corporate Blogging” by Erica Swallow, Mashable

Call fo Entries: 2011 SMPS Austin Communications Awards

Top 5 Power Happy Hour Spots!

Like our Power Lunches, the Power Happy Hour is about finding a great spot to meet a client or potential client to have a couple of drinks, some eats and good networking conversation.

Hangar Lounge **** 
Great Roof Deck Patio
308 Colorado Street, Austin, Texas 78701 • (512) 474-4264 http://www.thehangarlounge.com/

Hangar Lounge is the newest edition to the 4th Street Warehouse District and is has the best roof deck in downtown. The roof deck is three stories up, has great views and you can usually catch a good breeze. Being designed by Austin and 4th Street’s own Dick Clark Architecture, you know the aesthetic is amazingly designed and creates a great ambiance with the 1950s airport lounge feel.

Ambiance: Casual setting; best for happy hour with and established client
Happy Hour Pricing: $4 wines, $2.50 beers and $3.50 well drinks
Parking: Mildly Difficult; meter parking, paid lots and valet
Area of Austin: Downtown

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NoRTH *****
Fantastic Indoor/Outdoor Patio Seating
11506 Century Oaks, Suite 124, Austin, TX 78758
(512) 339-4400 • www.foxrc.com/north/html

Taking its cue from an Italian trattoria, NoRTH offers a contemporary approach to Modern Italian Cuisine. North has an urban feel, with sleek interiors and calm, relaxed atmosphere. The drinks are carefully done and the wine list has something for every level of wine drinker. Their happy hour menu includes a tasty array of small plates and pizzas but won’t spoil your dinner.

Ambiance: Slightly upscale setting; good for new clients and established relationships
Happy Hour Pricing: Apps from $3 to $6; $2.50 bottle beer and $4 well drinks
Parking: Easy; lots of garage parking and surface lots
Area of Austin: North Austin

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Red’s Porch ****
Great Sports Bar
3508 S. Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78704 • (512) 440-7337 http://www.redsporch.com/

Red’s Porch is a self-proclaimed “sports bar and neighborhood dining establishment” which fits it perfectly. They have outside and indoor seating, darts to keep you entertained if your team is throwing away the game, and an impressive beer selection. Their menu also offers a variety of foods to suit everyone's tastes: Cajun, Tex-Mex, Southern and American cuisine choices. The bar was designed very well to keep people flowing and give you space for more serious after work happy hour discussions…granted, it depends on who is playing because at Red’s, you can watch everything from cricket to football.

Ambiance: Casual setting; good for sports enthusiast and established clients
Happy Hour Pricing: $2.00 Lone Star Pints, $3.25 RED’S Frozen Ritas, $6.00 House Texican Martinis, $3.00 Well Drinks, $2.00 Haams 16 oz cans, Texas Draft Specials - $1 Off select Texas Draft Beers
Parking: Fairly Easy; surface lot parking but will fill up during important sporting events
Area of Austin: South Austin

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Moonshine ***** 
Great Outdoor Patio Seating; Unique Restaurant
303 Red River Street, Austin, TX 78701(512) • 236-9599
http://www.moonshinegrill.com/

Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill takes you back to a simpler time. Comfortable and familiar, relaxed and easygoing, Moonshine greets guests like family. Their menu is enticing so if happy hour might turn into dinner, this is the place to go. Happy Hour is early, from 3:30p to 6:30p but worth the time away from the office as it tends to be less crowded and there is plenty of room to present marketing brochures and materials.

Ambiance: Upscale setting; good for new clients and established relationships
Happy Hour Pricing: Half-priced apps; $4 select wines and cocktails
Parking: Easy during happy hour; street parking, valet and easy access to the COA public garage
Area of Austin: Downtown

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Bar Congress ****1/2 
Impressive Ambiance
200 Congress Avenue, Austin, TX 78701 • (512) 827-2760 http://www.congressaustin.com/

Bar Congress, located in between Congress and Second Bar + Kitchen, is a sophisticated artisan cocktail lounge and premium wine bar featuring a vast array of superior spirits and exclusive wines available by the glass. Their bartender is considered an expert cocktail craftsman, which he is. You will be impressed with any drink you order but do venture beyond your normal vodka/soda; the drinks are what make this place. They have a fabulous appetizer menu with unique eats such as chicken fried olives and beef short rib croquettes. Although the area is small, I have never felt overwhelmed by a crowd. The setting is better for conversation so leave the marketing materials at the office.

Ambiance: Upscale and impressive setting; good for new clients and established relationships
Happy Hour Pricing: Normal pricing
Parking: Mildly Difficult; meter parking, paid lots and valet
Area of Austin: Downtown