I am happy to announce that the new Cape Fear Heart Associates website launched today!  The site is for a new practice formed by Wilmington Cardiology and Coastal Cardiology under the New Hanover Regional Medical Center Physicians Group.  The site utilizes the brand established by New Hanover Regional Medical Center and provides a place for patients and physicians to get information on the new practice.  It was built in DotNetNuke to offer easy editing and growth for the 6 expanding locations of Cape Fear Heart Associates.

Quick Response or QR codes are bridging the gap between offline and online media. As more and more people integrate their smartphones into their daily life, it is only natural that businesses understand the importance of QR codes and how to use them effectively. Sage Island considers QR codes an important tool in our integrated marketing process, and have compiled some tips for how to use them successfully.

First, what is a QR code?

A  QR code is essentially a special barcode that you scan with your smartphone which allows you to access many types of information including web addresses, personal and professional contact information (vCard), product and service information and almost any other type of data.

QR codes provide an essential connection between print media and interactive media in a matter of seconds. With a QR code scanner app installed on your phone, you simply point your camera at the code to find out more information or even compare like products.

Here are some tips for creating QR codes that work.

There are many QR code generators found online. Be sure to use a code generator that links directly to your service, not through theirs. To find this out, simply scan the produced code.

Make them readable. Choose a QR code size that is appropriate for your medium. For print, you will need to use a larger size which will produce a higher resolution. For web, use a size that can allows you to scan without encountering errors.

You will get better performance if the QR code is placed on a white background and displayed straight up and down.

Keep the information you’re encoding as concise as possible. The greater the amount of data, the higher the level of error correction, or ECL, will be needed.

Make your content valuable! Point viewers to a landing page or set of information that relates directly to your call-to-action. This could include:

• Product details
• A coupon or special offer
• A YouTube video link
• A Facebook, Twitter, MySpace Page
• Event details
• White Papers and more!

How can your business use QR codes?

There are numerous ways in which your business can benefit by using QR Codes. They work best when added to business cards, conference badges, product packaging and any form of marketing material.

If you are new to QR Codes, or looking for innovative ideas, our expert designers, programmers and marketers are here to help you with your next project. Contact us to move your business to a new level of success.

We are excited to be heading out to Denver, CO tomorrow morning to attend this year’s SIA Snow Show.  We are excited to be a part of this great event, which for more than five decades, the SIA Snow Show has been bringing the entire snow sports market together in one place.  Making this show the most important trade event for the entire industry. Showcasing the latest trends, innovations, product lines and styles, the SIA Snow Show represents the only global event where 800+ brands are presented in an authentic environment both on and off the snow; all powered by the passion and culture of snow sports. Since its inception, the Snow Show has been listed in the top 200 U.S. trade shows by Tradeshow Week and is currently ranked 59th.

Sage Island is excited to be photographing the Snow Show as well as the On-Snow Demo & Ski-Ride Fest events and working with SIA to help make this another great show.  We have worked extensively with SIA over the years, developing their association and trade show websites, as well as various consumer initiative websites.  We are also excited to help market their online properties through various SEO and PPC tactics.

We are excited for another great SIA Snow Show.  See you there!

Everyone’s been talking a lot lately about the impact of Twitter in search results, and of course, the ubiquitous “likes” from Facebook. It’s clear that social media has impacted SEO, as Google is changing the way it returns search results.  But what about this change is any different than the others?  SEO is constantly evolving and transforming and the addition of social media in search is yet another way to keep us on our toes. If you missed this article on Mashable,check it out.  And if you want to talk to us about your own site, contact us anytime.

How Social Search Will Transform the SEO Industry

Sage Island is happy to share several recent projects we have been working on with a new company – HarvesterGear.  We began working with HarvesterGear in June and have developed their logo, business cards, a marketing brochure, tradeshow pieces and most recently their website.

The new website showcases the different products and services offered by HarvesterGear.  It is built in DNN to allow for easy updates to the site and future expansion of product lines as the company grows.  The site features a produce tracking tool that allows consumers to enter a code found on their produce containers to look up information on where the food was grown.  This tracking feature is something that will be required by law in next few years and HarvesterGear is on the cutting edge of offering produce tracking technology.

We are excited about the new brochure we recently created for Golf Course Unlimited Services.  A local company based in Southport, GCUS offers a wide range of golf course restoration services.  Their new brochure, developed for an upcoming trade show, highlights their available services and features photos of past work.  Be sure to contact GCUS if you are in the market for golf course restoration services!

Recently Sage Island redesigned the Wieland Electric US website.  The new site utilizes DNN to allow for easy updates to the site. The design utilizes the corporate look and feel established by Wieland Electric’s corporate office in Germany.

This site features an interactive sales rep locator and distributor search, which are updatable by Wieland Electric and offer a user friendly search option for potential customers.  Other features include downloadable product information sheets, company news and the ability to check the availability of specific products.