Media Components Blog : Philadelphia Web Design & Social Media Marketing

Every year we reach out to our partners and colleagues about the annual Russian Mosaica Heritage Festival.
This year again we are proud to be one of the sponsors of the festival.

The Russian Mosaica Heritage Festival is an annual Philadelphia Russian-speaking community cultural festival organized on Penn’s Landing in downtown Philadelphia. The Russian Mosaica is a part of series of multicultural festivals sponsored by PECO and supported by several large corporate sponsors and the City of Philadelphia. This year the Mosaica festival is scheduled for September 19, 2010.

The Russian Mosaica has become the main cultural event of the Russian-Speaking Community in the Greater Philadelphia Area and attracted significant interest from both the Philadelphia locals and guests.

The Festival has promoted the Russian-speaking community and celebrated its ethnic, cultural and religious diversity. In 2010 the organizers are striving to make the Festival stronger and its message more powerful and are seeking professional help with the Festival organization and promotion. A logo community contest and advertising media campaigns are scheduled to launch shortly.

This Sunday September 20 2009. Media Components LLC is sponsoring the Russian Mosiac Cultural Festival.

This will be the 3rd year we are involved with the Russian-Americans Chamber of Commerce and help organize the entertainment portion of the festival along with promotions.

Each year the Chamber & Russian-Americans United Arts Council organizes this festival to represent the Russian Community of Philadelphia.

WHEN: September 20th 2008, from noon until 6 pm.

WHERE: Penn’s Landing Great Plaza

WHAT TO DO:

* See great performances of the best community artists and children’s groups.
* Sample delicious ethnic food from various Philadelphia restaurants.
* Patronize the arts and crafts of talented local artists.
* Browse local merchants for unique souvenirs.
* Enjoy great family weekend on the Delaware waterfront.

We have been busy with several exciting projects here at Media Components. One of our clients Apple Graphics Inc. continues to impress us with the work they do on vehicle graphics and wraps. They have hired Media Components for Social Media Outreach and Marketing.

One of the main components of the marketing strategy we recommended was online video. The nature of their business is very visual and appealing; internet video is a perfect solution to display what they do best.

Each week we film the crew working on all sorts of vehicle wraps, custom digitally printed banners, signs and even wall murals.

Our main goal with online video is:

• Generate more leads, sales and publicity for the business
• Enhance the website with an engaging web video
• Take hold of the massive power and reach of online videos
• For interested visitors on the website to take action

There is nothing else that comes close to the effectiveness and persuasion power of a well designed video message. But why is video the best way to go? Because, today, the average attention span of a web user today is measured in seconds. Our Videos tell the story in an exciting interesting way.We have also been uploading these videos to most social networks like Facebook, myspace, youtube to generate buzz and traffic back to the main website.

Here are two great examples of Apple Graphics Inc – Philadelphia Vehicle Wraps Videos we have created:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd05y29a4sU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAkf0zp6c9s

Fore more videos visit Apple Graphics Inc.

We are happy to invite all of our blog readers to our new Facebook Fan Page and Twitter account. We will be utilizing these accounts to update our followers with news, projects and other interesting information about our company. Simple Click “Become a Fan” on facebook page to follow us.

Media Components – Facebook Fan Page

Media Components – Twitter Page

We have added another 2 great sites to our portfolio of Attorney / Law websites. These two websites are powered by Wordpress CMS Technology that allows our clients to quickly and simply update all of their pages through out the site. Many of our clients request the ability to have access to the tools that enable them to make quick blog posts, integrate the latest’s social media plug-ins and make sure that the website is Search Engine Friendly. The Wordpress Community is growing and many new extensions and plug-ins are released daily.

Our team of designers and developers are experts in Wordpress Website Design and always excited to have the opportunity to work on any business’ website.

Here are several screenshots of the released Attorney / Law Websites:

Horwitz & Zim Law Group, P.C. 

Neil R. Gelb, P.C. Attorney At Law

Wordpress CMS Backend

Photo By: Jackie Bayne

I have been consulting Craig Sumsky of Cutting Edge DJs on Internet Marketing, blogging and social media. To say that Craig truly gets the idea of Blogging is an understatement, he truly gets what using such tools as blogs, facebook and twitter is all about.

He became really passionate and involved with his internet marketing and is starting to really notice the effects of using all these web tools to drive traffic to his website & blog.

He recently wrote a very nice testimonial about me and I wanted to share it here with you on the blog:

I first met Denis Sinelnikov – owner of Media Components – at a LeTip meeting back in 2005.  He spoke passionately about web presence, blogging, meta tags and everything else internet marketing, and although I knew he knew his stuff, I just wasn’t ‘there’ yet.

I left LeTip in 2006, but never lost touch with Denis.

So why wasn’t I ‘there’ yet? To be honest, from 2005 to 2006 I was playing (and winning) a lot of online video games and in 2006 some friends and I launched a YouTube project called ‘katiesopinion’ which reached moderate success wiyh a current 25,000 subscribers.  One day, a friend kiddingly suggested that if I would only apply as much time and energy to my business’s online presence as I had on video games and YouTube projects, I could rule the world, all it would take would be to shift my internet O.C.D. focus.  After much deliberation,  I contacted Denis and asked him to help me achieve this goal.

Upon first contacting Denis, I had thought I knew my direction.  I saw where I wanted to be, but Denis showed me that the way I was planning on getting there wasn’t the best plan of action.  He suggested that on my limited budget that the best route for the most effective results was not to overhaul my website (for the third time) but instead to add a blog.  The website could come later but he really pushed for the blog and together we made some minor temporary changes to the website’s landing page in order to accommodate the blog.  So in October of 2007, my company, Cutting Edge Entertainment added a blog.

I didn’t do much with it in the first six months, but Denis continued to make changes in order to optimize its effectiveness.  By the time I got serious with it and really applied myself it was late in 2008, but the results were immediate, and massive.  I watched the traffic to my blog – and subsequently my website- increase exponentially.  I became more and more passionate about it and Denis was ever available with guidance, assistance and advice about how to maximize the blog and its online findability.  With Denis’s help, and trial and error experimentation, I was able to create a kick-ass marketing tool while saving thousands of dollars by avoiding hiring someone to do it for me.

Currently, Denis and I are working on my new website.  He has earned my respect, and more importantly my loyaly in believing that he was the right fit for my internet maketing campaign.  He is my net ‘Jiminy Cricket’ and without his help I would have made costly mistakes and made little to no real progress.  While other self appointed SEO experts were offering their services as ‘consultants’ for thousands per month, Denis taught me to be self-sufficient for a fraction of that money, and for that I will be forever grateful.

The customers of today don’t use the phone book, they use internet search engines.  Just creating a website or blog is like printing business cards and never handing them out.  Through blogging I have changed the way my DJ company does business, and have reaped the rewards of the added traffic and earned the respect of my industry colleagues for being a leader in online marketing.

- Craig Sumsky
CuttingEdgeDjs.com

We have been pretty busy considering the economy going downhill with many companies going off-shore for their website development. Media Components focuses on networking with local business organizations like BNI Ivyland, Buxmont JBN and heavily on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Thanks to our position on Local Google Search, we received a lead from the search engines that turned out to be a great client and a case study that we are proud to share here on our blog.

Graduate students in the School of Arts and Sciences at University of Pennsylvania came to us with a project that required a total redesign of their current website. Their main objective was to revamp their static web presents into a dynamic, updatable and search engine friendly website.

SasGov committee wanted a fresh Web 2.0 style design for their current Homepage and Website. We used Wordpress platform to totally customize their front end design and also the backend CMS that Wordpress has to offer.

Some of the functionality that were developed into the site include: Events Calendar, Search, Blogs and custom intake forms.

Here are few screenshots of Before and After:

Before the Redesign

After the Redesign

Wordpress CMS for Easy Updating

We are currently working on several other Wordpress related projects and will be posting the case studies here on the blog.

It’s a social networking site that connects you with friends alright, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t use Facebook to market your business. In fact, millions of people have tasted varying degrees of success using this site as an advertising media. The key word here is “networking”, which you can use to your advantage if you know how to work the crowd that haunts this hangout. Besides, you also have widgets and applications that you can utilize to increase awareness of your services. If you read between the lines of the success stories on Facebook, you’ll find that they have the following in common:

* They were willing to take the risk: No risk, no gain is the motto that seems to be working on Facebook. Marketers must invest in applications and widgets that have the potential to create more than a flutter of interest on Facebook. Remember, you’re competing with thousands of other applications, so make yours innovative and familiar, and one that holds value for the users you are trying to target. Users are more likely to go with what they know and are familiar with. Invest in hiring professionals to design your app or widget for you if you’re not comfortable with the task.

* They were willing to experiment: If your first venture was not successful, don’t be afraid to experiment – that’s the message that successful marketers on Facebook are sending out. Be willing to tweak your app or widget, try other options like Facebook ads, allow users to add content (you may need moderation for this one), join communities and groups, and the like.

* They knew the demographics well: The biggest mistake that Facebook failures made was to assume that regular marketing tactics would work here as well. With people who are 25 and above forming the fastest-growing sector of the Facebook crowd, it’s best that someone who knows the target audience designs and implements the application or marketing idea. If not, you’re in for massive disappointment.

* They knew how to do as the Romans did when in Rome: Translated, when on Facebook, talk like the majority does here. Listen to conversations, eavesdrop on Walls, find out what and how people are saying it, and use that as the basis to develop your ad copy (figuratively). If you speak the local lingo, you’ll find that you’re better understood.

* They knew the art of subtle marketing: The in-your-face approach is doomed to failure here, so play down your approach and make it subtle. You can’t go about shouting in private spaces about yourself or your company. Work your way into conversations and wait for the responses to pour in. Remember not to inundate spaces with your presence and risk being labeled as spam.

This article is contributed by Sarah Scrafford, who regularly writes on the topic of web design schools. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com.

We will be at the Nightclub & Bar East Coast show in Atlantic City from October 13-15.

This year we are an Informational and Marketing Partner for the Trade Show and Convention.

The Nightclub & Bar East Coast Convention and Trade Show returns to Atlantic City in October, bringing our industry together in a unique and exciting way.

Here are just a few of the highlights you can enjoy at the show:

• More than 200 exhibitors, featuring the hottest new products and innovations

• Educational sessions overflowing with ideas you can put to work in your own operation

• Pre-conference workshops providing specialized information and training

• Fabulous events – networking opportunities galore!

The Nightclub and Bar Convention and Trade Show is the definitive industry gathering for hospitality professionals looking for insights, ideas and innovation to help boost their profitability. Dynamic speakers share their successes, experiences and insightful tips for surviving and thriving in a slowed economy. The exhibit floor will be packed with exhibitors showcasing the latest beverages, sound, lighting, mixes and much more. BONUS: We are offering subscribers to email list working in the hospitality industry a special discount of 50% off the regular fee.

Register online at www.nightclubandbarshow.com and enter ME2008E in the priority code box to register at the discounted registration rate. This rate is available for new registrants only and cannot be combined with any other offer.

Summer Update from Media Components LLC – We have been busy this summer working on all sorts of projects. Some of the projects include total website redesigns, complete brand development and setting up Blogs for some of our existing clients.

We had the pleasure of working with a new company “Virtual Kitchen Concepts Inc.” and they came to us with a need to design a logo, website and several marketing materials. We took their vision and designed a simple logo which is used on their storefront sign, printed materials and on their website. We built a dynamic Content Management System for them that allows their editors to keep the website fresh and search engine optimized. They have also started to Blog about their business and communicate with their clients.

URL: http://www.virtualkitchenconcepts.com/

One of our long time clients Marisa Pell hired us to revamp her site which provides both the consumer and press member a place to instantly access information regarding her products, services and latest news. An online media room, as well as a press friendly environment was developed for her new website. She also has access to the CMS (Content Management System) to make her own changes and update. Her readers can now subscribe to her Blog feed and stay up-to-date with her events and news.

URL: http://www.connectionbeyond.com/

Another client who really enjoys Blogging is Craig Sumsky from Cutting Edge Entertainment. His company consists of “experienced group of interactive entertainers: MCs, DJs, dancers, vocalists, musicians, and engineers trained to get your guests involved.” We also revamped his homepage with a new clean design to point visitors to the right pages on his website.

URL: http://www.cuttingedgedjs.com/

Aside from working hard with our clients, we also have been busy helping out in the community with organizing several upcoming events.

PodCamp Philly 2008 – a BarCamp-style UnConference dedicated to podcasting, blogging, video bloging and all things New Media. PodCamp Philly 2008 is being held September 6th & 7th at Philadelphia’s Temple University. Rapidly becoming known as one of the area’s preeminent technical universities, Temple features the Tuttleman Learning Center containing 30 state-of-the-art multimedia classrooms, as well as the 75,000 ft² Temple TECH Center.

URL: http://podcampphilly.com/

The “Russian Mosaic” Festival celebrates the Russian-speaking immigrants’ culture and educates the residents and guests of Philadelphia about the incredible journey and great achievements of its third largest immigrant community.

We have setup a Facebook group for the Event:

URL: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19624199511&ref=ts

If you read this far, thanks for showing interest in Media Components! We will be updating you guys about new projects, events and news when time permits.

Feel free to email, message or call anytime regarding any of our services. We offer FREE CONSULTATION to everyone!

We will be attending the Lower Bucks County Chamber Business Expo Tomorrow at King’s Caterers. Find us out and about the Expo floor networking and snapping photos of the different booths and businesses that will be promoting their services.
Some of the 2008 Exhibitors include:

Read the rest of this entry »

About 50 people attended the Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce on February 8th, 2008. Among them were business owners, chamber members and clients of Media Components LLC.

The topics were Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), E-Mail Marketing, RSS, Blogging & Web 2.0 Technologies.
Along with Denis Sinelnikov, there were two other presenters: Kathie Jankauskas, Edward T. MacConnell, and sponsored by PNC Bank / Newtown.

Photos from the event:

Denis Sinelnikov talking about blogging, web 2.0 technologies

The Presentation Slides can be downloaded here.

Denis Sinelnikov of Media Components will be a speaker and presenting on the topic of internet marketing and blogging technology at Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce Technology Forum on February 8.

Also presented by Kathie Jankauskas (KJanStudio), Edward T. MacConnell, CES, CBC (EMA Group Inc.) and sponsored by PNC Bank / Newtown, “Blogs, Mail and Web Driven Sales” What your competitors are doing to attract YOUR customers will be held from 8:00-9:00 a.m. at the Chamber. Their will be a half hour question and answer session following the presentation. Cost $15 members, $30 non-members.

Register online at www.lbccc.org under the events calendar. A continental breakfast will be provided.

Microsoft has a really cool new technology they showed off at the TED conference.

For more information go to http://labs.live.com/photosynth/

Thanks to C.C. Chapman for the heads up on this cool event in Doylestown PA, we had a chance to personally experience the power of FiOS.

We met Jim, the blogger and moderator of 2pointhome.com, who hooked us up with a Flip Cam that we used to produce this Viddler Video. Please visit their website to see the great things they are doing for families in need of technology makeover.

We also snapped a few photos that can be viewed on our Flickr.

Social Media Networking is rapidly evolving, and the buzz in the blogosphere is spreading into business world. Several of our clients are asking how to leverage the power of social networking and use it for marketing purposes. Today we will discuss Facebook, and how it can be used for business.

Social networking is all about communication and engagement and Facebook is the place to be if you are trying to capture attention of the masses. The growth of Facebook is phenomenal!

Some Facebook Stats:

Users have grown by nearly 300 percent to 18.5 million since last July. Half those users log in every day–making Facebook about eight times better read than the New York Times. There are more than one billion photos on the Facebook site. 600 million searches each month using a 200-gigabyte search index, featuring real time updates.

More detailed Facebook growth statistics can be viewed here.

With the masses flocking to Facebook, many businesses starting to look into using the platform to market their businesses and engaging with potential customers. Here are several tips we recommend doing to get your business into Facebook:

1. Sign up to Facebook and invite your co-workers. By having your employees engage and interact with other members your company will build presence and personality. People tend to trust individual more then just a company.
2. Create a Facebook Group. Here you can invite all of your employees, friends, and anyone on Facebook who would be interested about your company and services. Here you can start message board discussions, post photos, videos and attach links to relevant company news.
3. Import your RSS feed from your blog. Your company should have a Blog (if not, we can set one up for you) that updates your readers about news and events surrounding your company. There is a great feature on Facebook that allows you to automatically import your blog posts as notes, and then they are syndicated through the Facebook newsfeed to all of your friends. Import your company feed and post it on your profile.
4. Create a Facebook Application. Since Facebook opened up its platform to third party developers, thousands of new applications have been added to Facebook. 14 million people interacted with Facebook Applications in August. Applications are also highly engaging; capturing more time per session than any other activity on the site. While building a Facebook application will require programming knowledge and time commitment, it can also pay be rewarding for your company. In recent news, TripAdvisor wants to acquire Facebook App for $3 Million is a great example of how Facebook application development can make you money.
5. Spread the Word on Facebook. After you created a profile, group or an application, the best way to promote it is by posting a comment or a note on your friends & co-workers profiles. After all Facebook is social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around each other.

When you get a chance, check out a new Facebook Application we created:

To sign up to facebook visit: www.facebook.com

PhIMA strives to provide valuable learning opportunities and networking events for agencies, publishers and clients alike. The organization’s intent is to encourage open communication in an effort to increase the sense of community within the Greater Philadelphia market. Participation and membership will help to support the future of the industry and is open to professionals of all levels.

Denis Sinelnikov becomes a member of PhIMA, and will be attending the regular meetings to stay up to date with the interactive marketing techniques.

For more information about the association, please visit PhIMA website.

Denis Sinelnikov in conjunction with Media Components, Web Design Firm in Bucks County & Philadelphia, released a new website for Buxmont Jewish Business Netowork:

We (Media Components) are involved with Podcamp this year, helping organzing & promoting this free unconference for both the pod-curious and the pod-enthusiastic.

Are you part of a corporation wondering how new media can be used as an internal tool and or as external marketing? Are you a venture group thinking about whether to invest in this new media space? Are you an individual, school, or library wondering how to incorporate podcasting into projects and community events? Are you interested in citizen journalism? Do you want to know more about new media monetization?

Podcamp is for people interested in all aspects of new media. Bloggers, Podcasters, Video Bloggers (Vloggers), and those interested in using these new media tools are the people the conference serves best. If you’re interested in doing something with new media, you’ll want to attend.

10 Reasons to Attend PodCamp Philly

1. To Network and Forge Valuable Connections

At any point during PodCamp Philly you’ll share the room with at least one person (if not a dozen) who can offer you huge value or solve a significant problem for you as a podcaster. It may be a sponsor. It may be a promotional opportunity. It may be someone you can interview. Bring lots of business cards and be ready to network.

Read the rest of this entry »

Media Components proudly sponsored & participated in the 2007 US Open Soccer Tournament – program that enriches the lives of the neighborhoods and communities.

Among the attendees were the Philadelphia Mayoral Candidates, Michael Nutter, Al Taubenberger & Denis Sinelnikov of Media Components.

The event was very successful with over 400 attendees, and many corporate sponsors.

The Winning Teams of US Open 2007


Denis Sinelnikov with other event Sponsors

Alex Shapiro of Power Marketing World with Commerce Bank Sponsor & Philadelphia Federal Credit Union Sponsor

Internet Overview

You hear a lot of people talking about the secrets to success on the Internet and how easy it is to make it big. The TRUTH is that just like any other business it takes hard work and dedication to become successful ON and OFF the Internet. What should you expect from your web site? How will people find your site? The answers to these questions really depend on only two factors.

• How much time and effort are you willing to spend creating a compelling sales oriented web site.
• How much time and effort are you willing to spend marketing – getting the word out about your products and services.

The Internet has changed a lot in the last few years. The amount of competition for customers is tremendous and the way customers are finding sites is fundamentally changing. To get noticed, your site MUST stand out from your competition.

How will people find your site? – Recent Changes

The top few listings on all of the major search engines are now being taken by paid advertisers. These listings generate about 95% of all the search engine traffic. We see this trend continuing. What does this mean to you? It means that if you are depending on the search engines to generate business you will likely need to choose paid advertising as an option. It can be extremely affordable and profitable.

BUT: These changes don’t eliminate all of the other opportunities that are available to you. There are literally thousands of places and ways to advertise your business. Your web site is JUST like a phone number. The more places that it is listed, the more likely it is that someone will call. Review all of the setup steps to learn how to setup your site and use it as a marketing tool.

Marketing/Sales

In other words – Don’t rely on the search engines to keep you in business. You need to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy to get potential customers to your site from a wide variety of sources. These sources should include search engines, web directories, paid advertising, links from other sites, and non-internet based marketing. There are many ways that your customers can find you and not all of them are soley through the Internet. Don’t limit your opportunity.

If you would like a FREE – Website Consultation, please contact us.

Access Lock Technologies hired Media Components to create an online presence and display their product and services over the web.

An Online Brochure Style Website was designed & developed for Access Lock Tech., we used a mix web technologies which included, PHP, AJAX and new CSS treatments which will allow this site to load faster and be updated rapidly.

Below are few screenshots of the LIVE website:

Media Components attented the Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce Business Technology forum on Friday, April 13, 2007. The topic of discussion was: “Til Death do us part” – When do I buy a new computer?

Presented by: Chris Mendla (CGM Systems, Inc.) and Bruce Diamond (Computer HelpLine, Inc.)

Some of the topics discussed were:

• Making the move smoothly
• My key program is making me upgrade
• My computer is eligible for medicare
• “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t boot up!”
• The benefits are huge!

Fore more information about LBCCC events, please visit www.lbccc.org

Media giants pooling resources to create an online video site that will take on Google’s YouTube.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Media giants News Corp. and NBC Universal announced Thursday that they will create an online video site that will rival the popular YouTube.

Read full story here.

If you are a business owner/operator in Bucks County, you are invited to attend the Technology Committee of Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce.

The Lower Bucks County Chamber of Commerce is the largest organization promoting business in the area. Consisting of over 1500 members representing businesses and professionals, the Chamber offers a wide variey of programs and services for members.

The featured speaker was Mr. Donald Jacobs, CIO/County of Bucks, he addressed the topic of the County’s plan to improve their infrastructure.

Media Components is planning to sponsor one of the Technology Forums in the future and be one of the presenters.

Several photos from the meeting:

Media Components is going to attend the Lower Bucks County Business Expo on March 28th at King’s Caterers, Bristol, PA. We will have a table setup at the expo to display our services and answer any questions visitors might have. Media Components has been a member of the Lower Bucks County Chamber for more then a year and is very active in networking through out Bucks County & Philadelphia areas.

Be sure to stop by our table and drop off your business card to be entered into a drawing to win a FREE BROCHURE STYLE WEBSITE.

Fore More info visit www.lbccc.org

We received a very nice testimonial from one of our clients who is using ProPageBuilder Website Builder system to maintan and update their website. We thought we would share this:

ProPageBuilder is simple and easy to use.  I use it on a weekly basis to make changes and to update any web specials that I may have.  I enable the mailing list option to my site to email my customers and visitors with any news, information or deals.  With a click of the mouse, you can view how many visitors came to your website, how many pages they viewed and who referred them to your site.  I definitely have an advantage over my competitors by using ProPageBuilder.

Ed Portley

http://justthissideofheavenmassage.com/

The DVPO is dedicated to inspiring, entertaining and educating the community by providing high quality, artistic and diverse symphonic concerts performed by professional musicians. Our Creative Arts competition includes three Fine Arts with original compositions in Music, Poetry and Art. It is believed to be the only one of its kind in the region.

The second annual Youth in the Arts Live Auction raises over $20,000 for their spring concert. Media Components has donated an item for the Live Auction- a Custom Brochure Style Website (valued at $3500) to raise money for the concert. The Auction brought in several business owners, Bucks County residents and even our newly elected Congressman – Patrick Murphy who is born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia.

Photo from the event:

In this photo, left to right: Michael Pratt – DVPO Music Director, Patrick Murphy – Congressman, Jane Ward – Third Federal Bank, Denis Sinelnikov – Media Components, Elena Antonello, M.D., Vice President of DVPO, Stan Marcus, ESQ., President of DVPO.

For more information about DVPO, please visit their website.