Onyx Opinion

July 6, 2010

Tips for Managing Generation Y

By 2025, Generation Y will make up 75 percent of the global workforce. This generation of employees is dramatically different from previous generations. Having grown up with easy access to the world through the Internet and travel, Gen Y has a deep understanding of globalism and values diversity. They are tech-savvy, highly motivated, self confident and driven. The challenge for business leaders is finding a way to engage Gen Y without alienating older generations of workers.

Here are some useful strategies to help satisfy and motivate the new generation of employees:

Real-time Feedback: The traditional performance management process has become ineffective. Gen Y needs real-time feedback, positive and negative, in order to make necessary adjustments required for successful performance.

Communication: Gen Y is comprised of extreme communicators and is accustomed to using a variety of media to communicate. Taking advantage of social media tools can help centralize communication among the members of the organization and reinforce key messaging from management to staff.

Mentoring: By establishing a mentoring program, organizations present Gen Y with the opportunity to develop their career path within the organization and learn from experienced employees. In addition this allows for reverse mentoring to occur, as Gen Y can teach members of older generations how to use technology to increase overall efficiency.

Time/Place Flexibility: Shifting focus from hours-worked to results-achieved and allowing flexibility in location can allow employees to work at the time/place that best maximizes their productivity.

For additional management tips read the full Developing a New Paradigm for Managing Gen Y article.

Tags: Gen Y, management, onyx group

Posted by: Megan Valente in News, Onyx Opinion

May 13, 2010

Facebook crowned Top Ad Publisher

With the vast array of possible places to spend your advertising budget online, Facebook has topped many other ad publishers to take the crown as top ad publisher. In the first quarter, Facebook beat Yahoo by over 40 billion ads, nothing to laugh about. With over 400 million users, it’s no wonder why Facebook is seeing such high numbers. Learn more on Facebook’s rise to the fame as top ad publisher.

www.inc.com

www.facebook.com

Posted by: Nick Williams in Onyx Opinion

April 27, 2010

4 Quick Steps For Better On-Location Headshots

So you need to take portraits for your website or for headshots – here are some quick tips to get that great photograph. Nothing shows character more than an on-location portrait, show people in their comfortable setting. The viewer will be able to connect with them easier than a white background. Here is our resident model Kris Carter, to help show my points. Keep the few things in mind when shooting next round:

1. Focus on the eyes – It’s that simple. The eyes are the most important part of the photo – so make sure they are tack sharp. Manual focus will help you get the results you need.

2. Framing – Do not center frame everything. Diving into some photography ‘rules’ – you want to practice the “Rule of Thirds.” Imagine the picture with a tic-tac-toe board over the frame – you want the focus to be on a “line” or “corner” in 1/3 or 2/3 of the frame. This example will help you imagine the lines.

3. Separate the subject – While on-location portraits are also about the environment the main focus is on the subject. Separating the subject from the background will get your great results. This is achieved by using a longer lens; 50mm or ideally 80mm+ achieves great results. In conjunction with a long lens, a shallow depth of field is achieved with the use of open F –stops i.e. ƒ1.8, ƒ2.0, ƒ2.8. Here are examples showing the difference.

4. Click & Process – Once you have your settings dialed in, focused on the eyes and properly frame – release the shutter. After the picture is taken, that isn’t the end though. Upload to your computer, open your photo-editing software and being processing the image. A few basic things to enhance the image – contrast, sharpening, saturation, color temperature. See below images for before and after.

I hope this has given you a little insight on getting better on-location portraits. Small increments make the big differences, but there is a lot to keep on your mind when you’re ready to release that shutter. Happy clicking!

Tags: headshots, on-location photographs, onyx group, photography, photoshop, portraits, website

Posted by: Nick Williams in Onyx Opinion

April 26, 2010

Why Social Media Pays

We believe that business and creativity must be balanced in order to achieve marketing success. Regardless of the buzz around a certain approach the major question should always be, will this be profitable? So, have you been wondering if social media really is worth your time?

According to the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report the answer is a resounding YES! The study’s findings show that social media use can be both profitable and effective as a marketing strategy.

Social media was identified as being instrumental in closing business deals. In fact 74% of small business owners who were early adopters say it’s helped them close business.

Additionally, social media use increases overall web exposure. Respondents reported higher traffic to their sites and 73% of respondents reported a significant rise in search engine rankings.

Finally, the study show that social media is increasingly cost effective. Almost half (48%) of respondents said social media reduced their overall marketing expenses this is and increase form the 35% who reported savings on last year’s survey.

Tags: exposure, intergrated marketing, onyx, revenue, social media

Posted by: Megan Valente in Onyx Opinion

April 15, 2010

Twitter Unveils Revenue Model

From the start Twitter founders have placed emphasis on building a strong user base, before worrying about how to monetize the site. After the site’s recent exponential growth Twitter is finally unveiling a revenue model. The advertising structure, dubbed Promoted Tweets, will initially be implemented using Twitter’s keyword search function. Advertisers will have the opportunity to buy key words and link them to their ads. Eventually, Twitter plans to display promoted posts on user Twitter feeds, these will be placed based on relevance to each user’s interests. The question now is how Twitter users will react? Will they have a problem with Twitter integrating paid media into their traditional earned media structure?

http://adage.com/

http://www.nytimes.com/

Tags: onyx, twitter

Posted by: Onyx Group in News, Onyx Opinion

April 13, 2010

How to Become a Social Entrepreneur

The concept of corporate social responsibility has become a hot button issue throughout the business world. Many businesses are feeling the pressure to become part of the social responsibility trend. But, what does it really take to be a social entrepreneur? Whether you are considering beginning a social enterprise, or plan to integrate a social mission into an established business, here are some useful tips for achieving success as a social entrepreneur.

http://www.inc.com/

Tags: onyx, social responsibility

Posted by: Onyx Group in News, Onyx Opinion

April 12, 2010

Doing Things Right The First Time

After moving into a new house last year, it was time for me to upgrade from the old push mower I had been using. The new house came with a much larger area to keep up with and required a riding lawn mower if I ever wanted to do anything other than mow grass on the weekends. I shopped around at different stores for a couple of weeks and determined that most riding models were just too expensive. I decided to go with a used model from a local mower dealer–which was a little awkward to drive due to the square steering wheel, but seemed to be in good shape.

I brought it home where my wife immediately laughed at me and asked if I was “borrowing the old mower from the year 1955.” When I told her that I had purchased it, she was no longer laughing. She said that it had been a mistake to purchase the mower and that I should return it or I would regret it. This is tough for me to say, but my wife was right.

I had problems with the mower from the moment I engaged the cutting blade. I ended up spending a lot of time, energy and money getting a myriad of problems fixed. The real cost of this used mower far exceeded the price of the new mower (which came with a warranty and even — a round steering wheel).

Sometimes at Onyx Group, we see the same thing happen with business owners and their corporate identity. Often we are hired to help them create a stronger brand for their business. It is most often the case that they started their business years before and have grown to a point where their current brand and corporate identity have begun to hold them back from future growth. When they started their business, they either didn’t value great creative services or didn’t understand the importance of a strong, cohesive identity that could keep up with their growth.

Now, further down the road, they see the added cost of not only having us rework the identity, but also the expense of producing all new collateral. Shirts, signs, websites, invoices, letterhead, business cards, truck decals… The list goes on and even includes the time and energy of educating employees and customers of the change. The real cost of not hiring an experienced marketing and design firm in the beginning is much more than the higher cost on their quote.

Often times, you get what you pay for. Make sure you are getting the round steering wheel and new blades first or you will spend more time and money in the long run.

Tags: Branding, get what you pay for, Neil, onyx, strategic planning

Posted by: Neil Bell in News, Onyx News, Onyx Opinion

April 12, 2010

What Will Your Site Look Like On An iPad?

With all the hype surrounding Apple’s iPad release, web developers are beginning to pay attention to how their websites look on the iPad. Want to see what your site will look like on an iPad, but can’t get your hands on the real thing? Never fear, just check out this new iPad Peek tool.

http://mashable.com/

http://ipadpeek.com/

Tags: Design, iPad, onyx

Posted by: Onyx Group in News, Onyx Opinion

April 12, 2010

Our Favorite Tweets of the Week Apr5-Apr9

Every week we tweet tons of interesting links, highlighting excellent content that we find relevant and inspiring for designers. We compiled this list of our favorite links we tweeted in the past week, just in case you missed any!

Keep in mind this is only a small selection on the tweets we sent out this week. The best way to keep up to date with us and check out awesome links is by following @OnyxGroup.

We love Lamar’s creative new use for their “between ad signs,” providing a place for Conan:

http://bit.ly/bntTgf

Check out this sneak peek at Twitter’s Redesign:

http://bit.ly/aAYNxw

A Basic Look at Typography in Web Design:

http://bit.ly/aOk9On

Looking for inspiration? These interviews with designers, developers and bloggers offer some excellent insights:

http://bit.ly/bE3BQR

How to Make a Screencast for Your Website:

http://bit.ly/d043nU

10 Steps to a Stronger Professional Network:

http://bit.ly/c5GORh

What Is YOUR Personal Brand?

http://bit.ly/ab9Snv

For some Monday morning inspiration check out these creative white letterpress business cards:

http://bit.ly/99U5I6

Tags: inspiration, onyx group, tweets

Posted by: Onyx Group in News, Onyx Opinion

April 12, 2010

In-Store Marketing Gains Importance

A study last year by Nielsen Co.’s Bases unit found in-store marketing is the leading medium for generating awareness of new package goods in the U.S. and five other key developed markets. With the numbers showing an increased impact of in-store displays many companies are placing greater emphasis on creative-packaging. In this Advertising Age article P&G shares some of their new brand-building and packaging design strategy.

http://adage.com/

Tags: Design, in-store marketing, onyx group

Posted by: Onyx Group in News, Onyx Opinion