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Websites

In today's world, your online web pressence will often be the first impression your customers have of you or your organization. Cicada Graphics will use modern programming tools combined with classical design sense to ensure that your website looks and performs as professionally as you. We can move forward on almost any budget, so don't hesitate to contact us and see how we can help you.

Branding (Logo, Messaging, etc.)

Speaking of first impressions, your organization's brand is one of the most important elements in your marketing mix. While a clear and asthetically-based logo is part of your brand, it's only one aspect. Cicada Graphics will generate a beautiful, professional, modern logo for you, but then we will complete the brand ID process by helping you establish your mission/value statements, your slogan, your color palette, your font set, and even your preferred advertising elements checklist.

Web-Hosting/Domains/Email

If you don't currently have an email account that reads "yourname@yourdomain.com", then you're giving a less-than-professional impression of yourself to anyone who decides to email you - especially if you already own yur own domain. Choosing, securing, and setting up your own user-friendly domain name and set of domain-based emails can seem like daunting tasks - but Cicada does it for clients all the time! We make it easy to start using your domain to make you look as professional as possible to your customers.

Social Media

If you are not using Social Media to reach out to your customers, then you are missing out on the opportunity to meet your target audience on their own terms, and where they have already decided to interact with others. They're just waiting for you out there... but which accounts/services should you use? How should you establish your online Social Media pressence? What should you say? ...or not say? Cicada Graphics knows the answers. Let us help you add this powerful tool to your marketing efforts.

...and Everything Else, Too!

If it has to do with defining the way you are perceived professionally by your target audience, then Cicada Graphics can help. If you would like to talk with us about any of the items above or in the list below, just click here and ask Jeremy (owner of Cicada Graphics). We will get back to you right away to discuss your needs!

- Logo/Brand ID
- Business Card/Stationery Set
- Ad/Page Layout
- Email Blast Design & Distribution
- SEO Consulting
- Brochures, Signage, and Collateral Materials
- Photo/Video Editing
- Photography/Videography
- Ad Messaging/Scripting

If you don't see it here, but it's a marketing-related service, there's a good chance that we do that, too - ask us here, and we'll let you know if we can help!

Need a website by August? - Join Cicada Graphics as We Develop CicadaQuickSites THIS SUMMER!

Need a website by August?

The next set of agents and/or agencies who join us as we continue to develop CicadaQuickSites this year very well may get just that! You see, Cicada Graphics is seeking a limited number of agents and/or agencies who are affiliated with Senior Marketing Specialists and who also currently need a website. Not sure if you're interested yet? You still have questions? Oh, right... we haven't even told you what CicadaQuickSites are.

What is CicadaQuickSites?

Allow us to back up and explain. It's no secret by now that Cicada Graphics & Web Solutions offers custom websites and other visual marketing materials - like logos, brochures, branded presentation items, etc - we've been doing that stuff for almost ten years now for hundreds of clients across the country.

But sometimes, you don't need a fully-dynamic and custom-detailed website for your organization. You just need a website... and you need it quickly.

That's why - by May of 2014 - Cicada Graphics will offer a new, fully-automated product called "CicadaQuickSites" online for SMS agents and agencies who just need a simple website that does simply the basic things they need.

Here's why we want YOU:

We know how to make websites. We even know what it will take to build a self-service system online that will produce an automatedly generated website... but you are the one who knows what that site needs to look like. As an agent or agency, you have a picture in your mind of what it would take to make a simple - but successful - agent-site via CicadaQuickSites.

So what we want is for you to get in on the "ground floor" of this project with us now and help us develop what will become the standards that the rest of your collegues will use in the years to come via the future roll-out of CicadaQuickSites. By joining us this summer, you will essensially have the opportunity to get a semi-customized website for the price everyone else will pay for an automatedly-produced site.

So it's a win-win! But there is a catch...

We can only accept a few agents and/or agencies to sign up this year as we continue to develop the system, so when we reach our limit, you won't get another chance to get a CicadaQuickSite until NEXT YEAR when we unveil it as a fully-automated product at SMS's next Sales Summit (likely in late-Spring of 2014)!

So, if you are interested, we need you to let us know now!

Just click the link below and sign up to be a part of the development of CicadaQuickSites starting this summer.

Click here to let us know if you are interested in CicadaQuickSites.

Cicada Graphics at the 2013 SMS Sales Summit

For those who visited the Cicada Graphics showcase section of this year's first annual SMS Sales Summit, hosted by Senior Marketing Specialists at the Holiday Inn Executive Center, we'd like to thank you!

We had a great time meeting all of you and presenting throughout the day on topics like "Why You Can't Ignore Socisl Media Any More" and "What Do I Need to Make My Website?"

If you learned anything - aside from the fact that Cicada-green makes for a very bright tie color - we hope it was that Cicada Graphics has the knowledge and the experience to help you address any advertising and/or marketing challenge that you will face - regardless of whether you're an individual or the leader of a large organization.

If you saw Cicada at the 2013 SMS Sales Summit, and you have follow up questions for us - or even if you missed us and think we might be able to help you - contact us on our Facebook Page here or follow us on Twitter and send us a message. We look forward to talking with you about establishing the right message, look and feel for you.

Because - after all - without the right look, you're just some other organization!

For more photos of last week's 2013 SMS Sales Summit, scroll on down the page below!

The Wrong Way to Use Twitter - Part 1: Account Creation & Setup

Written by: Jeremy Burt, owner of Cicada Graphics & Web Solutions


You knew eventually you'd have to do it, so you went ahead and started a Twitter account...

...and a Facebook Page, and a LinkedIn Company Page, and maybe (if you were feeling especially productive that day) you even started a Google+ account, a Pinterest account, Foursquare account and YouTube channel.

Then you posted... something.

And you were off! You were "doing" this social media thing! Finally you could stop worrying about it. You had one less thing to think about, and the best part was you knew that you would always have an answer when people asked "Hey, can I follow you on Twitter?" or "Are you guys on Facebook?"

And then you posted... something else. ...and again a few more times since then.

But you may have already made a few mis-steps, so lets back up...



The Wrong Way  #1: Don't worry about who sets up your account - just make sure it's up and cross it off your list so you can move on to something else.

Who created your account(s)? What email address or account did they use? How did they set up the account's ownership and reporting features? What sort of notification settings did they apply to the account(s)? Why does any of this matter? Well, It's not just a simple matter of house keeping. The way you set up your accounts from the beginning can save (or create) a number of headaches down the road.

Every social media requires the use of at least one email address in order to establish that the account is being created by a real, living, breathing human being. So when faced with the question of which address to use, many people will arbitrarily use one [read: "any"] of their email addresses that come to mind, or - even worse - they will have the local intern who is setting up their account(s) use one [read: "any"] of their email address to set up the account(s).

*at this point, I'd like to point out that allowing "the intern" to manage basic aspects of your social media presence after the accounts have been established is one thing; but allowing them to create or set up your accounts will cause nothing but problems later. Don't allow interns, friends, nieces, nephews, your next-door neighbor's kid - or anybody but yourself for that matter - to set up your organization's social media accounts. DO IT YOURSELF.*

The biggest problem with allowing anybody to use any email address to create and setup your account(s) is quite simple - What happens when that individual is no longer associated with your organization? Suddenly your organization's social media presence is in the hands of an individual who has no authority to represent you... and you are now at the mercy of their willingness to hand over the reins, which - in some cases - will include either having them give you personal login credentials to their personal email/social media accounts, or going through a lengthy "verification/re-verification" process together.

Solution #1 A: DO IT YOURSELF or at the very least have it set up using a generic email account to which both you and the account creator/monitor(s) will have access.

This will ensure that you know how to access, monitor, and - if necessary - edit the account(s) and its content. Additionally, you will then be set up from the beginning to receive information, feedback, and engagement reports from the various accounts that represent you.


Solution #1 B: As often as possible, USE THE SAME EMAIL TO SETUP ALL SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS.

This is made easier by the fact that Google is well on their way to owning the world, and many of the social media accounts owned by (Google+, YouTube, Blogger) are all automatically made available to you once you've set up an account with any of them.

But even when you go on to set up additional accounts (Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc) you should continue to use the same email account. this makes aggregating your social media feedback easy - it's all just waiting for you in your inbox!

*I acknowledge that Facebook is unique in that you cannot set up a "Page" without using a personal account... in this case, there's no way to get around it; you MUST set up your own personal Facebook account (if you haven't already) using your own email address and then use YOUR OWN Facebook account to create your organization's Facebook Page. Nobody is forcing you to actually interact on Facebook, but Facebook is forcing to create an account in order to have a page. Actually, it's kind of sly when you think about it.*

The Takeaway...

You wouldn't hand over the keys to the building to some high school student you barely know. Nor would you hand your biggest client over to the new guy and send them on their merry way without any training. Yet that is essentially what you're doing when you let the intern create and setup your organization's outward-facing image using their own contact information.

There is a time and place to set a social media specialist, but you need to take control of the creation and setup yourself. You may think it's a bit of a hassle at first, but believe me... the alternative is A LOT worse.


This is Part 1 in an ongoing series about "The Wrong Way to Use Twitter and Other Social Media". To receive information about the rest of this series, subscribe to this blog above.

Cicada Graphics' First "Real" Week (an Explanation)

Ok, so for those of you who know of Cicada Graphics, the title of this blog may seem confusing. Let me help you by explaining that, no; this was not Cicada Graphics' first week of doing business. In fact, I am proud to announce that Cicada Graphics has just seen its 5th year anniversary. Cicada has seen a lot of growth since its inception, and continues to offer new products all the time. This - the fact that Cicada is NOT new - should put a few of you (especially on-going clients of Cicada Graphics) at ease.

So why then have I titled Cicada's first blog posting with such a seemingly disassociated set of words? Because a unique set of circumstances led to a change in Cicada Graphics as of this week.

Those circumstances being: I lost my full-time job last week.

It was unexpected, but surprisingly quick and efficient (as far as these things go, I'm assuming). It was laid out in very clear terms that the organization simply couldn't keep me, circumstances as they are.

As any "normal" person would, I found myself shocked, frustrated, scared, and - I dare say - a little hurt. But I moved past that to begin the next "normal" set of actions one takes when they find themselves in such a predicament - I started networking like my hair was on fire! Instinctively, my actions were aimed at finding another job - a "normal" nine-to-five to replace the one I'd just had taken from me. Anyone in my social circle quickly became aware that I was "available".

But an interesting thing happened as I blasted my message across every media I had at my disposal... the individuals who were responding were not coming to me with "normal" jobs as I had expected. Instead, they were contacting me with projects and opportunities for Cicada. I even had a few conversations that included those beautiful words every young business owner hopes to hear, but never really expects to until they've already made it: "product distribution" and "partnership agreement".

Needless to say, I was overwhelmed. Within 48 hours of being what I would have considered "normal", my life had been turned upside-down - and now my wife and I were faced with an interesting delima: Do we take "the road less traveled", and seize these potentially life-altering opportunities (even while the rest of the world is looking down the barrel of a global recession)?

Or, do we do what's "normal" and send out resumes, texts, tweets, instant messages, phone calls and telegrams to everyone I meet in hopes of finding a "normal" job? That's the "normal" thing to do, right? I mean, the answer to not having a job is that you go find another one, right?

Well... I am happy to say that after many conversations with my wife and family (and at least as many prayers concerning the decision) I concluded that it was reasonable for me to be ab-normal. I decided that I would NOT look for another "normal" job, and that if it was to be that I should become successfully un-employed - then so be it!

So, as of this past Tuesday evening (08.25.09) I became gainfully un-employed by my own small business, Cicada Graphics, LLC! I am now officially and absolutely reliant upon my own determination and the successes that God allows me to have. I am now completely dependent upon the small business that I began over 5 years ago as no more than an outlet for my creativity.

While this is terrifying to me on its surface, it is also exciting in a way that have never experienced before. I have, in the last few days, felt a desire to achieve in a way that no other role has brought with it. I'm proud, grateful, and anxious.

I have no idea what the coming days, weeks and months will bring for me, my family or Cicada. What I do know is that this was Cicada's first "real" week... and I loved it!