Our Q2 “You Rock Award” Winners Showcase -
Our Q2 “You Rock Award” Winners Showcase

Author: keepitsimple

Our Q2 “You Rock Award” Winners Showcase

Posted on by keepitsimple

The You Rock Award is passed from team member to team member each month and is a fun way for us to recognize each other and our accomplishments. 

April 2022

One of our awesome Marketing Managers, Katie, selected our Graphic Designer Danielle for April!

Katie chose to pass the You Rock Award to Danielle for the following reasons: “I picked Danielle for April’s You Rock Award because she is an incredibly hard worker and is very passionate about her design projects. She is always very easy to work with, will always listen to her team members, and is willing to answer all of our questions. Her creativity is constantly praised by customers and she always strives to do better!”

 

May 2022 

Danielle, Graphic Designer Extraordinaire, chose to give May’s You Rock Award to our awesome Videographer, Victoria!

Danielle said this about Victoria: “Victoria always arrives with a smile and spreads infectious positive energy throughout the office. She strives for new, better, and easier ways to reach goals and to overcome obstacles. She has an authentic passion and love for both life and her work!”

 

June 2022

Victoria, our amazing Videographer described, “I chose Mikayla as the well-deserved choice for the You Rock Award.

Mikayla is always giving her best to her work, and is constantly exhibiting our core values of Own It, Continuously Learning, putting our Team First, and Doing the Right Thing. She is such a fun and enjoyable presence in the office, and I’m so glad she is a part of our team!”

 

Icon Vs Logo : Understanding the Difference

Posted on by keepitsimple

Sometimes there’s a bit of confusion about the difference between an icon, emblem, wordmark, and logo, and why it’s so important you not use them interchangeably. Each serve a specific purpose, and while they may sometimes look alike, the intention behind each is very different….so today we’re breaking it down for you!

This blog post, one of our most popular, was updated on March 29th, 2019 to include even more info and examples of icons, logos, and wordmarks (oh my!)

Logo

Logos establish relations, and help viewers create a connection between a company and its product- it is essentially a simplified ad! Logos are the symbol, or face, of the organization. They should inspire an immediate recognition of the company’s brand, core values, products and services. They can even provoke emotions regarding the quality of customer service, the cultural significance of the brand, etc. A logo is a powerful representation of your business. It conveys a much larger message than you may have thought!

A logo can be just an emblem, just a wordmark, or it can encompass both – often the formula for a strong visual brand identity is emblem + wordmark = logo. When both a wordmark and emblem are used to create a logo either element can be used individually, but are not the brand’s logo (unless great success has happened and the brand can drop the wordmark, like Starbucks).

Here are some examples:

                           

 

Emblem

For many brands, Rock Paper Simple included, an emblem is created to further identify the company and it becomes the mark of that organization. For us, it’s our “pointer” which appears in our full logo or stands alone in usage on social media, stickers, and collateral. The emblem signifies a specific characteristic or quality about the company and can be used to identify the company on its own.

Emblems are more significant of brand identity, so they tend to have more detail in them than icons in order to distinguish branded content from action buttons in an app or on a website. Since most profile photos on platforms like Facebook are square or circular, it is common practice for emblems to be designed for use on social media.

Here are some examples:

                           

Wordmark

A wordmark is exactly what it sounds like – the brand’s words, usually the company name, in an immediately-recognizable, distinct typeface that, even without images can be used to identify the brand. The wordmark tells directly what the related content is associated with, in case visual familiarity with the emblem fails.

Here are some examples:

Icon

Icons are meant to convey abstract thought and they artistically summarize an action or operation-  they represent what is being offered. When people see it, the icon should create an immediate understanding of what the creator/business/website means to express. It helps the viewer to simplify thought and make fast connections.

In the instance of mobile apps, most organizations choose the emblem part of their logo, or often a defining feature of their brand or service they provide, to be the icon. This way they remain instantly recognizable. However, they are made based on the branding and should not stand on their own to identify the brand itself, with exceptions from massively popular products and services like the Facebook “Like” icon.

Icons are almost always designed quadratically and are designed to scale within specific dimensions. This way they fit square App icon dimensions, and/ or help provide consistency when designing actions on a website. They generally remain very small.

For example:

                                               

On our website, our menu for internal pages has identifying icons, to help better direct visitors to the information they need. On our services hub page there are even more icons next to our offerings. These can help a client further differentiate what they want to know more about. Here are examples of other icon we see every day:

Facebook’s “Like” icon                  Star Wars Rebel Alliance Icon                iPhone FaceTime Icon

                                                                                 

The one thing all brand elements have in common — they should always be designed as vectors, so that they never lose quality when resized for various needs!

Still confused? Need help designing a true brand identity package? We’ve got your back.
Call us or send a quick message!

 

Keeping Motivated

Posted on by keepitsimple

Ah, Motivation…something we lack when it comes time to head to the gym, but mysteriously have in abundance when watching all six Star Wars movies in one sitting. The art of getting motivated and staying motivated is often extremely ambiguous. It can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what motivates you to get out of bed, drive to work and keep pursuing your dreams, day after day.

We know for a fact that you are going to accomplish awesome things in life. You have a vision for the future, your passions are unique and no one has the same potential that you do. But finding the motivation to get started on those dreams and encouraging those around you to do the same? That’s a bit tricky.

1.) BE AWARE OF YOUR MISSION
Before you’ll be motivated to do anything, you need to know why you do it. When you’re motivated to get out of bed and head to the coffee pot, your mission is caffeination. You’re motivated to get into your car because your car will take you to work, but what happens when you sit down at your desk? Tapping into the key motivation of why you’re working will inspire you to keep pushing. Dan Pink, a lawyer with a passion for management and behavioral science states in his TedTalk that, “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” The external gain from your work might not be evident at first, but the internal satisfaction of knowing you’re making a difference is liberating.

You’re motivated to keep researching because you don’t want to see another family be torn apart by cancer.
You’re motivated to stay late and finish a proposal because you want your team to be proud when they present tomorrow.
You’re motivated to show up to work despite the temptation of the snooze button…because you really don’t want to live off top ramen again.

Instead of just looking at the work you do, look at the value and the purpose behind it. It doesn’t matter if you’re a barista, an engineer, a dog walker or a financial analyst. Your work has value, it has a purpose and impacts people every day. A builder doesn’t just build houses, they build homes that families can live, grow, and create a beautiful life in. Chef’s do more than just cook food, they create delicious meals that are meant to be shared with loved ones and bring people together. When you’re feeling unmotivated to keep working, remember your mission and the heart behind what you do.

2.) CONSCIOUS OF MISTAKES
Sometimes it’s the paralyzing fear of future mistakes that hinders our motivation. The thought of falling short and failing to execute well can be enough to stop us in our tracks. The truth is, we all make mistakes. Luke Skywalker made mistakes. Steve Jobs made mistakes (the black turtleneck was not one of them) and we hate to be the bearer of bad news but – you probably will too.

The awesome part about mistakes though is that they allow us to see what went wrong and motivate us to adapt. Okay, so your boss doesn’t like it when you’re late. Use that knowledge as a motivator to be more punctual next week. Instead of viewing mistakes as a roadblock, allow them to be a motivational guide who points you in the right direction.

3.) KEEP THAT NEGATIVE MINDSET ON MUTE
Often times, the biggest distraction from our dreams is us. We’re motivated, passionate and excited…and then we think about negative potential outcomes, dwell on past mistakes and compare our abilities to those around us and suddenly the future doesn’t seem so bright. In order to stay motivated, we have to make sure our mindset is focused on the positives. There’s nothing more un-motivating than a negative coworker, manager or even worse, internal critic. Keeping negative self-talk in check can help us to stay motivated on our mission instead of getting sidetracked in endless “what if’s” and worries.

Keeping that negative mindset on mute gives you the freedom to turn up the volume on positivity. And having a positive, optimistic outlook does more than just motivate you on your mission. It has the power to encourage those around you and the potential to motivate your team to achieve awesome accomplishments, every day! You’d be surprised at how contagious positivity can be. Spread some around your workspace and see if your team catches on.

If you’re aware of your mission, conscious of mistakes and have your negative mindset on mute, you’ll be motivated to accomplish those tasks, demolish that to-do-list and who knows, maybe even have enough motivation to spare to make it to the gym this week.

What Businesses Can Do About Facebook’s New Algorithm

Posted on by keepitsimple

How many of you utilize a Facebook page to interact with your customers and gain new ones? Have you heard about the new algorithm being implemented that will change the way your pages posts show in news feeds? This is a pretty BIG deal and there are some things you can do to ensure your Facebook page does not get completely drowned out by these changes.

What’s all the fuss about?

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, recently announced a change to the social media platform’s algorithm for its users news feeds. Facebook is undergoing a year-long revamp to encourage interactions that are meaningful and personal. With this change, Facebook users will begin to see more posts from friends and family in their newsfeed and less public (unpaid) content from businesses and publishers. This change comes from feedback from Facebook’s users and recent studies that have shown that just scrolling on the social network and watching videos can make people feel worse, whereas meaningful interactions that build relationships with friends and family lead to a happier, healthier life. “We feel a responsibility to make sure our services aren’t just fun to use, but also good for people’s well-being” Zuckerberg wrote in a post announcing the new changes.

This will make it more difficult for business pages to have a large organic reach, but Zuckerberg did say that the public content that “encourage[s] meaningful interactions between people” will be shown more than the content that doesn’t.

What does this mean?

Well, you know those posts that you put up that no one comments on? Those posts are less likely to be shown organically in people’s news feeds.

Facebook wants people to interact and build relationships, not to just mindlessly scroll through without making any engagement with their news feed. If you noticed that people aren’t commenting or sharing your content, it may be time to step up your Facebook game.

What can you do?

There are plenty of minor changes you can make to ensure your business’ Facebook presence continues to grow. Here are a few suggestions:

 

You should try encouraging people to comment on your Facebook posts.

Ask a question like “Are you a saver or a spender?” or “If you could travel to any country for free, where would you go and why?” These types of questions prompt your fans to comment on your post and by them commenting, their friends and family are more likely to see your post.

 

We do want to advise you to be careful of making posts that seem like spam.

In other words, don’t say “COMMENT below if you’re having a great day.” Facebook is working to not show those types of posts as well, so it’s best to avoid it.

 

Don’t be afraid to ask your customers to follow you on Facebook.

It won’t hurt to send a nice email to customers that have recently visited your establishment or purchased your products/services to thank them for for their patronage and ask them to stay up to date with your business by following you on facebook (don’t forget to provide them with the link to your facebook page).

 

Ask those loyal fans to click the “see first” option when they follow your page.

You know those customers that come in and or order your products/services all the time? They’re your fans! When you ask them to follow you on Facebook, tell them there’s a “see first” option so that they can be sure to see your posts. They’ll be happy to stay informed.

 

It may be time to increase your ad budget.

Looks like these changes won’t affect the paid ads. You’ll want to spend a bit more on boosted posts and run an ad campaign. What’s going to be key with this paid advertising is that you use purposeful targeting. Targeting to everyone won’t get you too far and frankly it’s a waste of money. Show your ads to the people who want to see it and make sure the content is relevant. For example, a real estate agency should not be showing their ads to everyone. A real estate agency would be better off targeting people who are over the age of 25, likely to move, and also target the specific area the real estate does business in. When you use targeting like this, your ads will be shown more often to the people who want to see them.

 

Create more Facebook Live videos.

Facebook has found that these videos generate more interaction amongst users and that’s exactly what you need to be seen in the news feed. Start a Live video when something new and exciting is coming up, but be sure to make a post about it in advance to give your fans a little heads up as to when you’re going live. Make sure you keep your viewers engaged by interacting with them. Say “Hi, Jessica!” when she joins in on the video. This is also a great way for your fans to get to know your brand on a personal level.

 

With all that being said (well, written), Facebook is a great way to keep your fans engaged with your brand and it can continue to be as long as you continue to learn about and adapt to these changes.

Still confused about all these changes? No worries… The team at Rock Paper Simple would love to answer all of your questions. Please give us a call or contact us here!

Make 2018 Awesome! [video]

Posted on by keepitsimple

Happy New Year! “Ever Forward” is something I like to say all the time and it has a lot of meaning. It means you aren’t satisfied with “good enough”, with the status quo… it means always getting better, always growing, always learning. Striving to innovate and do better than last year. -Joshua Adams

Check out Stephanie and Joshua in a year-in-review here at Rock Paper Simple!

2018 Marketing Prep Kit: Make 2018 Awesome!

Happy New Year! “Ever Forward” is something I like to say all the time and it has a lot of meaning. It means you aren’t satisfied with “good enough”, with the status quo… it means always getting better, always growing, always learning. Striving to innovate and do better than last year. -Joshua AdamsWith a new year upon us, getting your marketing plan in order is key. Building your marketing plan can be a challenge, so we decide to put together a handy marketing prep kit to help our friends, neighbors, colleagues and clients get a head start! It’s packed full of 18 pages of awesome… enjoy!You can download it by visiting: https://rockpapersimple.com/prepkit/

Posted by Rock Paper Simple on Thursday, January 4, 2018

With a new year upon us, getting your marketing plan in order is key. Building your marketing plan can be a challenge, so we decide to put together a handy marketing prep kit to help our friends, neighbors, colleagues and clients get a head start! It’s packed full of 18 pages of awesome… enjoy!

Rock Paper Simple's 2018 Marketing Prep Kit

Rock Paper Simple's 2018 Marketing Prep Kit
We talk to alot of people about marketing and one of the questions we hear all the time is where to even start with their brand, their plan, their goals, etc. So we decide to put together a handy marketing prep kit just for you! It’s packed full of 18 pages of awesome… enjoy!
(we promise to never sell your private information or send you inordinate amounts of spam!)

Set Your Budget [video]

Posted on by keepitsimple

The New Year is almost here and with that comes budgeting and marketing plans! We hear all the time… “so how much should we spend on marketing!?”. Determining your marketing budget can be challenging, so we wanted to give you some guidelines and things to think about. Stephanie gives us some of the best practices and items to consider when building your budget.

2018 Marketing Prep Kit: Set Your Budget

The New Year is almost here and with that comes budgeting and marketing plans! We hear all the time… “so how much should we spend on marketing!?”. Determining your marketing budget can be challenging, so we wanted to give you some guidelines and things to think about. Stephanie gives us some of the best practices and items to consider when building your budget.Building your marketing plan can be a challenge, so we decide to put together a handy marketing prep kit to help our friends, neighbors, colleagues and clients get a head start! It’s packed full of 18 pages of awesome… enjoy!You can download it by visiting: https://rockpapersimple.com/prepkit/

Posted by Rock Paper Simple on Saturday, December 30, 2017

Building your marketing plan can be a challenge, so we decided to put together a handy marketing prep kit to help our friends, neighbors, colleagues and clients get a head start! It’s packed full of 18 pages of awesome… enjoy!

Rock Paper Simple's 2018 Marketing Prep Kit

Rock Paper Simple's 2018 Marketing Prep Kit
We talk to alot of people about marketing and one of the questions we hear all the time is where to even start with their brand, their plan, their goals, etc. So we decide to put together a handy marketing prep kit just for you! It’s packed full of 18 pages of awesome… enjoy!
(we promise to never sell your private information or send you inordinate amounts of spam!)

Set Your Goals [video]

Posted on by keepitsimple

“Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor.” – Brian Tracy

At Rock Paper Simple we believe that doing things on purpose, with a plan, with goals in mind, always helps guide us to a more positive result. When you are working on your marketing plan for the new year having realistic set goals helps to guide the rest of your decisions. Getting goals down on paper make them real and helps inspire commitment to making them happen. Scott shares more on goals in this video. Check it out!

2018 Marketing Prep Kit: Set Your Goals

“Goals allow you to control the direction of change in your favor.” – Brian TracyAt Rock Paper Simple we believe that doing things on purpose, with a plan, with goals in mind, always helps guide us to a more positive result. When you are working on your marketing plan for the new year having realistic set goals helps to guide the rest of your decisions. Getting goals down on paper make them real and helps inspire commitment to making them happen. Scott shares more on goals in this video. Check it out!Building your marketing plan can be a challenge, so we decide to put together a handy marketing prep kit to help our friends, neighbors, colleagues and clients get a head start! It’s packed full of 18 pages of awesome… enjoy!You can download it by visiting: https://rockpapersimple.com/prepkit/

Posted by Rock Paper Simple on Thursday, December 28, 2017

Building your marketing plan can be a challenge, so we decided to put together a handy marketing prep kit to help our friends, neighbors, colleagues and clients get a head start! It’s packed full of 18 pages of awesome… enjoy!

Rock Paper Simple's 2018 Marketing Prep Kit

Rock Paper Simple's 2018 Marketing Prep Kit
We talk to alot of people about marketing and one of the questions we hear all the time is where to even start with their brand, their plan, their goals, etc. So we decide to put together a handy marketing prep kit just for you! It’s packed full of 18 pages of awesome… enjoy!
(we promise to never sell your private information or send you inordinate amounts of spam!)

Know Thyself [video]

Posted on by keepitsimple

When creating a marketing plan, the first step is to know yourself and your business. They say that the most difficult thing in life is to know yourself and we think it’s because people forget to take a moment and reflect. We suggest starting with these three areas: know your audience, your brand and your competition. Check out what Danielle has to say about it!

2018 Marketing Prep Kit: Know Thyself

When creating a marketing plan, the first step is to know yourself and your business. They say that the most difficult thing in life is to know yourself and we think it’s because people forget to take a moment and reflect. We suggest starting with these three areas: know your audience, your brand and your competition. Check out what Danielle has to say about it!Building your marketing plan can be a challenge, so we decide to put together a handy marketing prep kit to help our friends, neighbors, colleagues and clients get a head start! It’s packed full of 18 pages of awesome… enjoy!You can download it by visiting: https://rockpapersimple.com/prepkit/

Posted by Rock Paper Simple on Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Building your marketing plan can be a challenge, so we decide to put together a handy marketing prep kit to help our friends, neighbors, colleagues and clients get a head start! Check it out below… it’s FREE and it’s 18 pages of awesome!

Rock Paper Simple's 2018 Marketing Prep Kit

Rock Paper Simple's 2018 Marketing Prep Kit
We talk to alot of people about marketing and one of the questions we hear all the time is where to even start with their brand, their plan, their goals, etc. So we decide to put together a handy marketing prep kit just for you! It’s packed full of 18 pages of awesome… enjoy!
(we promise to never sell your private information or send you inordinate amounts of spam!)

 

WHY YOU NEED A MARKETING PLAN! [VIDEO]

Posted on by keepitsimple

It’s crazy that we are ALMOST to 2018! And that means a whole new year of awesome… and it also means it’s time to think about your 2018 marketing plan. Joshua and Scott talk a bit about why a marketing plan is important in this video.

There’s always room for planning out your marketing year even better! We talk to alot of people about marketing and one of the questions we hear all the time is where to even start. How to organize themselves and where should they start with the plan, their goals, etc.

So we decided to put together a handy marketing prep kit to help our friends, neighbors, colleagues and clients get a head start! It’s packed full of 18 pages of awesome… enjoy!

Rock Paper Simple's 2018 Marketing Prep Kit

Rock Paper Simple's 2018 Marketing Prep Kit
We talk to alot of people about marketing and one of the questions we hear all the time is where to even start with their brand, their plan, their goals, etc. So we decide to put together a handy marketing prep kit just for you! It’s packed full of 18 pages of awesome… enjoy!
(we promise to never sell your private information or send you inordinate amounts of spam!)

THE GALACTIC FUNDRAISER IS IN TWO DAYS! [VIDEO]

Posted on by keepitsimple

The Galactic Fundraiser is coming up THIS FRIDAY! We can’t believe it’s already here. It’s going to be a blast. Joshua and Keith (from The Children’s Hunger Project) have a chat on this video for Space Coast Daily about what’s coming. Check it out!

This amazing night of Star Wars, entertainment, food, fun, prizes, community support and of course the new Star Wars movie begins at The Courtyard at the Oaks at 6:30pm.

The VIP party will include excellent heavy hors d’oeuvres (BBQ Shrimp and Grits, Louisiana Style Jambalaya with chicken, smoked sausage & spinach, cheese & garlic pastry, and the like!), a cash bar, door prizes, silent auction, games, cosplayers dressed as your favorite Star Wars characters and so much more! We will even have Rogue One playing in the background!

At 9:30, we will be at the theater for the main event, a private showing of The Last Jedi!

Friday December 15th, 2017
Pre-Party begins at 6:30pm @ The Courtyard at the Oaks
Movie at 9:30pm @ The Oaks Movie Theatre
(We will head over to the theater at 9:00pm)

$50/ticket includes the movie, food, entertainment, prizes and of course the pride of supporting your community.

Check out the website our team put together here: https://galacticfundraiser.com/

And the Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/725673064298733/