By Stephanie Orton Lynch, Director of Public Relations, Delucchi Plus

When meeting with clients about their businesses, products and services, I often ask the question, “How does the world find and consume information about you or your brand?” It’s a simple question. And, there is a simple answer that universally applies to all individuals and businesses: the Google search bar. Think about it. You hear about a business from a friend or you meet someone interesting at an event and you want to find out more. What do you do? Chances are, you turn to your computer or smart phone and Google them or their business.

The information that Google provides on the first page of the search results is the information that will define you or your brand. Whether positive or negative, a judgment will be made based on this information.

Recently at an event for New York Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), I had the pleasure of speaking on this topic in an effort to shed light on best practices for “Branding in the Digital Age.” Here is a quick five-step process to establishing and managing your brand in the online environment:

1. Google Yourself or Your Company – Take an audit of what information is currently being presented. Is the information and content in the search results correct? Is it the same information that you would tell a person about you or your company if you were meeting in person?

2. Design an Effective Channel of Communication – Where are your customers or business partners communicating online? If you are a B2B business, it might be LinkedIn. If you are B2C, it might be Facebook and Twitter. You also need to determine which channels of communication are right for you. Which social media channels are you able to manage to maintain a steady follow of communication?

3. Have a Mission and Purpose: Establish what you want to communicate, when and why? All content should be directly related to your business objectives and timed accordingly to allow for a steady flow of communication.

4. Establish Style Guidelines: Do you want to be formal or informal? Funny or serious? Your social media voice should match your company’s brand.

5. Stay Active and Engaged – Once you establish your lines of communication, you need to stay active. It is not enough to simply set up social media accounts; you need to be publishing interesting content on a regular and steady basis. The volume of information is not as important as the consistency.

The exciting news is that you have an unprecedented opportunity to create and publish information in the online environment to create and define your brand. Never before have we had the control and accessibility that we now have at our finger tips. This is why we work closely with our clients to take advantage of these opportunities to enhance their digital reputation using social media, web design, search engine optimization and more.

Participants in the NY CREW event. From left to right: Ed Kim, Lucy Carter, Ted Moudis, Karen Dome, Stephanie Orton-Lynch, Ashley Terrill and Linda Alexander.

It was such a pleasure to speak at the NY CREW event and a pleasure to be associated with such a great network of professionals.

You may have seen a sneak peek of our trip to Main Event Caterers on our Facebook page last week, but feast (pun intended!) your eyes on this full round up from our team-building outing. For those of you not yet aware of Main Event Caterers, they are the award-winning event and catering company based out of Arlington, VA. They also happen to be one of our clients! At Delucchi Plus, we strongly believe that our life experiences inform our work and allow us to be the most creative versions of ourselves, so we gathered up the team and hopped on a bus to Arlington for a Main Event Cook Off. We were quickly separated into teams (Blue and Orange, of course) and competed in an Iron Chef style competition to see who could work together the best to create delicious, inspiring meals out of limited ingredients. Which team was declared the winner? That depends on who you ask, but as far as we’re concerned, we’re all winners for getting to work for such dynamic and unique clients!

The Blue Team cooking up a storm in Main Event’s gorgeous kitchen and engaging in some hardcore team bonding.

Main Event Caterers stocks their kitchen with tons of healthy and fresh veggies. Digital Marketing Specialists Molly and Sarah worked together to prepare delicious sautéed kale.

The orange team went with a “Southern Comfort” theme. Here our Art Director Ryan prepares the fried chicken.

A montage of completed dishes: A crowd-pleasing chicken risotto, strawberry flambé, a “Delucchi PLUS” apple pastry, and scallops with beet sauce.

As you can see, Main Event Caterers provided us with a delectable dinner as well as an unforgettable team-building experience. If you’re planning a wedding, business event, private party or the like, look no further than Main Event Caterers for all of your entertainment needs!

Be sure to visit Main Event Caterers on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. What’s that? You need some menu inspiration for your upcoming dinner party? I think you’ll find all you need on the Main Event Caterers Tumblr.

Washington, DC, April 10, 2012 – Christine Delucchi, Owner, Delucchi Plus (www.delucchiplus.com), a strategic marketing communications firm, and Blue Bug Digital (www.bluebugdigital.com), an innovative digital public relations and social-media marketing agency, both located in Washington, DC, announces today the hiring of Joanne Williams as Director of Operations.

As Director of Operations, Joanne will oversee the operational management of both companies to include: administrative, recruitment, estimating and production services, creative services, and overall agency work flow and utilization. Joanne will be responsible for streamlining operations and communications to increase efficiency and profitability while ensuring procedural and contractual uniformity.

Joanne Williams, Director of Operations

Joanne brings 25 years of operations and personnel management experience to the companies including Director and President positions at RedPeg Marketing, Williams Whittle and The Bomstein Agency. Fluent in Spanish, Joanne will be an integral part of the agency’s international team. Joanne is a graduate of American University in Washington, DC.

“We are thrilled to bring Joanne on board,” remarks Christine L. Delucchi, Owner, Delucchi Plus and Blue Bug Digital. “Joanne’s is well known and respected in our industry and we were excited to add someone of her caliber to our management team to help position us for more growth in 2012.”

About Delucchi+: Delucchi+ is a full-service strategic marketing communications firm that has over 20 years’ experience working with local, national, and international clients in real estate, travel and resort, retail, financial services, sustainability, health and wellness, and non-profit industries. Services include branding, advertising, new media, market research, and public relations. Follow Delucchi+ on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

About Blue Bug Digital: Blue Bug Digital is a digital communications firm providing a broad range of digital public relations and interactive marketing services. Services include strategy, social marketing, internet marketing, email marketing, digital public relations & reputation management, website design & development, emerging technologies, and reporting & analytics. Follow Blue Bug Digital on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Washington, DC, April 5, 2012 – Christine Delucchi, Owner, Delucchi Plus (www.delucchiplus.com), a strategic marketing communications firm, and Blue Bug Digital (www.bluebugdigital.com), an innovative digital public relations and social-media marketing agency, both located in Washington, DC, announces today the appointment of David Menda as Director of Digital Strategy.

As Director of Digital Strategy, David will oversee the integrated digital marketing strategies for the client portfolios of both companies including website development, interactive campaigns, social media, digital applications, search and online advertising campaigns and email marketing programs. David will leverage his rich background in digital marketing to provide solutions for multi-service clients and to deliver effective marketing recommendations regarding emerging digital and new technologies. An integral member of the business development team, David will also drive the RFP process and help build and diversify the client portfolio for both companies. Fluent in Spanish, David will continue to oversee the firm’s growing internationally focused client base.

David Menda, Director of Digital Strategy

“David is an innovator, a trendsetter and a progressive thinker who successfully connects digital strategies to all aspects of client work while driving new business opportunities for both companies. I am confident David will excel in this new role and continue to strategically lead our clients to success,” remarks Christine L. Delucchi.

Formerly the Senior Digital Account Manager at Delucchi Plus and Blue Bug Digital, David has an extensive background in the digital marketing industry handling the account management for a wide variety of industry clients. Prior, David served as Product Manager Retail eMarketing for TIG Global, a subsidiary of MICROS, Inc. where he lead a task force to expand internet marketing services including social media, email marketing, search engine optimization, digital media, pay per click, and comparison shopping engines for the real estate, retail and hospitality sectors. David is a graduate of The George Washington University School of Business.

About Delucchi+: Delucchi+ is a full-service strategic marketing communications firm that has over 20 years experience working with local, national, and international clients in real estate, travel and resort, retail, financial services, sustainability, health and wellness, and non-profit industries. Services include branding, advertising, new media, market research, and public relations. Follow Delucchi+ on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

About Blue Bug Digital: Blue Bug Digital is a digital communications firm providing a broad range of digital public relations and interactive marketing services. Services include strategy, social marketing, internet marketing, email marketing, digital public relations & reputation management, website design & development, emerging technologies, and reporting & analytics. Follow Blue Bug Digital on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

In the digital world, things change with every passing second. As a company who prides ourselves in staying ahead of the curve, we make it a top priority to stay up to date on these changes. Today is the day Facebook switches all 800 million of its users over to timeline, whether they’re ready or not. Arguably the biggest visual change to Facebook since its debut, the timeline will literally put a new “face” on Facebook. Here are a few of the new features we’re looking forward to and how we’ll be using them to improve the digital reputation of our clients.

The new Delucchi+ home tab

Cover Photo – Now instead of a tiny profile picture, all pages will have a cover photo that allows for a full-width image to represent a brand. The image can include text, photos, or both. It’s a chance to get creative, and we’re excited to help our clients use this space as a “first impression” to new visitors.

Starring and Pinning – Starred posts will expand to cover the full width of a page and will make it more prominent in the timeline. Pinned posts will stay in the upper left spot of the timeline for up to seven days. We’ll be using both of these features to help our clients highlight weekly contests or new products that have a strong visual appeal.

Company Milestones – This feature allows a company to add important milestones (awards, anniversaries, etc.) to their timeline on the dates they occurred. We’ll be using this to help our clients share their story and company history. Plus, we have a huge milestone of our own coming up: Our Fifth Anniversary! We can’t wait to add this milestone to our timeline.

Facebook Offers – An update to the former Facebook Deals, this feature functions similar to an application and allows brands to post sales or specials on their pages. Because offers will be sent through the news feeds of page fans, visibility will improve. While this feature won’t be immediately available to all users, Facebook expects a full roll out soon. We’re excited to use this feature for our retail clients that regularly promote deals and discounts through social media.

Facebook Advertising – Simply stated, Facebook has improved the reach of their ads. The new Reach Generator ads are designed to reach more of a page’s existing fans. Seeing as Facebook Ads are one of our favorite current features, we’re all over this update. We’ll be working closely with out clients to ensure their ads are taking full advantage of this update.

Private messages – Pages now have a “message” box that will allow fans to initiate a private discussion between themselves and the page admin. We predict this will be a favorite feature amongst our clients for obvious reasons: Companies will be able to keep their sensitive conversations private and reduce clutter on their walls.

Some fear change, but as a full-service digital marketing agency, we embrace Facebook’s ever-changing ways. We know that updates like the timeline will allow us the opportunity to increase the value we bring to our clients on a daily basis. We’re also excited about the debut of our company timeline that we rolled out today. Stop by and and drop us a line or two! Let us know what you think of our new look, and don’t forget to “like” our page so we can stay in touch! Prefer to tweet? Follow us @delucchiplus.

Washington, DC, November 22, 2011 – Delucchi Plus, a strategic marketing communications firm and Blue Bug Digital, an innovative digital marketing firm, today announced that the companies are the agency of record for The Residences at W Atlanta – Downtown.  

Working in partnership with The Marketing Directors, an industry leader in marketing and sales solutions, Delucchi Plus and Blue Bug Digital recently launched a comprehensive communication campaign for The Residences at W Atlanta – Downtown. The campaign was designed to increase brand awareness in the market and reintroduce the property as the premier residential community in downtown Atlanta. The traditional communications strategies include a complete refresh of branded collateral materials, interior and exterior signage, property brochures, and print B2C and B2B advertising.  

Additionally, a fully integrated digital approach was leveraged to position The Residences at W Atlanta - Downtown in the online environment. Digital marketing elements include a refreshed website, online banner ads, social media marketing, multi-media and video production, pay-per-click advertising and search engine optimization.

“We are excited to be working together with The Marketing Directors to make The Residences at W Atlanta – Downtown synonymous with luxury living and to bring to life the experience that only a property of this caliber can deliver,” said Christine Delucchi, Owner, Delucchi Plus and Blue Bug Digital. “We are confident that our collaboration, creative work, and integrated digital approach will create and sustain the sales results and marketing objectives that are desired for the property.”

About The Residences at W Atlanta – Downtown: The Residences at W Atlanta – Downtown feature true modern design one-, two- and three-bedroom homes, along with six highly-appointed penthouses. Pricing starts from $199,900 and average $490,000 for unfurnished residences. Each stylish residence offers floor-to-ceiling windows, private balconies and the highest-quality Gaggenau® European fixtures and Alno® cabinetry. Residents enjoy all the amenities and services at W Atlanta - Downtown including WET® heated pool, Sweat Fitness® center, preferred pricing at Bliss® Spa, preferred reservations at the bistro/American steakhouse, BLT Steak® and other exclusive owner benefits. For more information, visit www.watlantaresidences.com or follow The Residences at W Atlanta – Downtown on Facebook and Twitter.

About The Marketing Directors: The Marketing Directors, LLC was founded in 2007 by David Tufts.  He and Adrienne Albert, Marketing Directors, Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer collaborated to create a team of the most highly experienced real estate professionals in the Southeast to service developers specializing in high density residential sales and repositioning marketing strategies. With over 30 years of experience, The Marketing Directors, LLC, represents real estate clients and developers throughout Atlanta; Houston; Daytona, Orlando, Tampa and St. Petersburg, Fla.; Chapel Hill, N.C.; Huntsville, Ala.; Jackson, Miss., and Memphis and Nashville, Tenn.  The Southeast offices are headquartered in the Four Seasons Tower at 75 14th Street, Atlanta, Ga., and 121 South Orange Avenue, Suite 1500 in Orlando, Fla. For more information, visit www.themarketingdirectorsinc.com or follow The Marketing Directors on Facebook.

About Delucchi+: Delucchi+ is a full-service strategic marketing communications firm that has over 20 years experience working with local, national, and international clients in real estate, travel and resort, retail, financial services, sustainability, health and wellness, and non-profit industries. Services include branding, advertising, new media, market research, and public relations. Follow Delucchi+ on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

About Blue Bug Digital: Blue Bug Digital is an Internet communications firm providing a broad range of digital public relations and Internet marketing services. Services include strategy, social marketing, Internet marketing, email marketing, digital public relations & reputation management, website design & development, emerging technologies, and reporting & analytics. Follow Blue Bug Digital on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Washington, DC, October 28, 2011 – Christine Delucchi, Owner, Delucchi Plus (www.delucchiplus.com), a strategic marketing communications firm, and Blue Bug Digital (www.bluebugdigital.com), an innovative digital marketing firm both located in Washington, DC, announces today that the agencies won several sales and marketing awards at the 2011 Great American Living Awards (GALA) Ceremony held Thursday, October 27, 2011 at the Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner, VA. Delucchi+ and Blue Bug Digital took honors in the following categories:

Winner:                         Overall Marketing Campaign: North Bethesda Market

Winner:                         Online Social Media Campaign: Miller & Smith

Winner:                         Best Website: Foundry Lofts

Award of Merit:              Best Website: Brambleton

Award of Merit:              Best Website: North Bethesda Market

Award of Merit:              Printed Brochure: North Bethesda Market

Award of Merit:             Overall Marketing Campaign: Foundry Lofts

“We are so grateful for our clients and congratulate them and our fellow winners on their achievements at this year’s GALA Awards,” remarks Christine L. Delucchi, Owner, Delucchi+ and Blue Bug Digital. “­We are thrilled with our wins and so thankful for our continued success.”

Presented by the Washington Metropolitan Sales & Marketing Council (WMSMC), the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association (NVBIA), and the Maryland National Capital Building Industry Association (MNCBIA), The Great American Living Awards (GALA) celebrates excellence in new home architecture, interior design and sales and marketing.  

About Delucchi+: Delucchi+ is a full-service strategic marketing communications firm that has over 20 years’ experience working with local, national, and international clients in real estate, travel and resort, retail, financial services, sustainability, health and wellness, and non-profit industries. Services include branding, advertising, new media, market research, and public relations. Follow Delucchi+ on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

About Blue Bug Digital: Blue Bug Digital is an internet communications firm providing a broad range of digital public relations and internet marketing services. Services include strategy, social marketing, internet marketing, email marketing, digital public relations & reputation management, website design & development, emerging technologies, and reporting & analytics. Follow Blue Bug Digital on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Social media is all about engaging customers in the digital age.

Customers are no longer limited to their local stores; the entire Internet is at their fingertips. It’s extremely important to help customers find you, keep their attention when they do find you, and give them reasons to come back.

Google Doodle

This weekend, I spent almost 10 minutes playing with the new Google doodle! At first I couldn’t figure it out, so I used Google to actually figure out how to “play” with it! I was hooked, and unconsciously I am already waiting for their next one. Google has engaged me, and has given me a reason to come back.

Social platforms such as Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Foursquare – they all make it easier for customers to find you and get to your landing pages.

Keeping their attention and giving them reasons to come back – now, that’s the hard part. That’s our job.

My suggestion – Embrace new technology but don’t forget the basics. Figure out how to use the ever-changing set of social tools available to engage your customers. Facebook gets this; let’s take the new Facebook interface as an example…

Facebook has developed a new feature called Timeline (to be released in about two weeks). This new feature allows users to interact with their entire Facebook history as if it were an interactive scrapbook. Timeline divides Facebook pages into two columns where photos, comments, and updates display one’s own unique life story. In other words, Timeline allows users to scroll through each other’s entire lives on Facebook.

“It’s like a scrapbook, but it’s more comprehensive, it’s more organized, and you don’t have to spill out photos all over your living room floor,” said Chris Cox, VP of product management at Facebook.

This is a huge opportunity to tell the world your story especially for small businesses. This could help build a unique history with the customers and brand your organization with your fans as an important part of it.

It will give your customers the ability to see what has happened, not just what is happening.

Facebook pages are currently such a moving target – content posted one week is lost tomorrow… this almost forces you to generate new campaigns and new engagement techniques continuously.

“The way your profile works today, 99% of the stories you share vanish. The only way to find the posts that matter is to click “Older Posts” at the bottom of the page. Again. And again”, said Samuel W. Lessin, Product manager at Facebook.

Marketing teams can now spend time generating quality campaigns, which will engage your social customers for months not weeks or days. This will surely transform how companies engage digital marketing companies and increase expectations. Bring it on – we have been waiting for this! :)

Washington, DC, August 31, 2011 – Christine Delucchi, Owner, Blue Bug Digital (www.bluebugdigital.com), an innovative digital public relations and social-media marketing agency, located in Washington, DC, announces today the hiring of Caitlin Weems as Search Engine Marketing Manager.

In this role, Caitlin will oversee management and strategy of all aspects of search engine marketing to increase online visibility for Blue Bug Digital’s growing client base, through the use of search engine optimization, paid search, online media, and email marketing. Caitlin comes to Blue Bug Digital from TIG Global, a subsidiary of MICROS, Inc. where she managed multi-facetted online marketing campaigns for a large portfolio of hotel and resort clients, which included strategic paid search programs, digital media, and website content management. Caitlin graduated from Duke University, with a degree in Psychology and Markets and Management Studies.

 “We are pleased to welcome Caitlin to the Blue Bug Digital team,” remarks Christine L. Delucchi, Owner, Blue Bug Digital. “Her extensive experience and passion for the digital, online environment will be a fantastic asset to the firm as it continues to expand.”

About Blue Bug Digital: Blue Bug Digital is a digital communications firm providing a broad range of digital public relations and interactive marketing services. Services include strategy, social marketing, Internet marketing, email marketing, digital public relations & reputation management, website design & development, emerging technologies, and reporting & analytics. Follow Blue Bug Digital on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Mike Leimback, Art Director, and Samantha DeMott, Production Artist, to provide artistic direction for both traditional and digital campaigns.

Washington, DC, August 26, 2011 – Christine Delucchi, Owner, Delucchi Plus (www.delucchiplus.com), a strategic marketing communications firm, and Blue Bug Digital (www.bluebugdigital.com), an innovative digital public relations and social-media marketing agency, both located in Washington, DC, announces today the hiring of Mike Leimbach as Art Director and Samantha DeMott as Production Artist.

As Art Director, Mike Leimbach will oversee branding and creative concepts for current clients and new business development for both agencies. A branding expert, Mike adds personality and life to campaigns through creative concepts and brand strategies. Mike brings years of creative experience to the team including work for a variety of luxury real estate and retail clients such as Trillium Condominiums, Sport and Health Clubs and the popular Pentagon Row Shopping Center. Prior experience includes Art Director positions at both Williams Whittle Associates and The Bomstein Agency where he developed local print, radio, TV and web campaigns for clients including Ford’s Theater, the Washington Capitals and the Baltimore Orioles as well as a national campaign for HD Radio.

As Production Artist, Samantha DeMott will be responsible for designing and editing creative materials for both agencies. A self-professed social media junkie, Samantha brings a diverse creative background to the agencies.  Before joining the team Samantha held positions in New York City at Likeable Media, Milk Studios and Nielsen Business Media. A graduate from James Madison University, Samantha has her BFA in Graphic Design and Communications Studies.

 “We are thrilled to be expanding our creative team with two talented and unique artists,” remarks Christine L. Delucchi, Owner, Delucchi Plus and Blue Bug Digital. “We are confident Mike and Samantha will add an inspired and imaginative perspective to the work and we welcome them as key members of our team.”

About Delucchi+: Delucchi+ is a full-service strategic marketing communications firm that has over 20 years’ experience working with local, national, and international clients in real estate, travel and resort, retail, financial services, sustainability, health and wellness, and non-profit industries. Services include branding, advertising, new media, market research, and public relations. Follow Delucchi+ on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

About Blue Bug Digital: Blue Bug Digital is a digital communications firm providing a broad range of digital public relations and interactive marketing services. Services include strategy, social marketing, internet marketing, email marketing, digital public relations & reputation management, website design & development, emerging technologies, and reporting & analytics. Follow Blue Bug Digital on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.