Sand Dollar Studios

Little Trotters Trots Online!

Dave — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:51:53 +0000

Little Trotters Farm and Nursery School’s new website has launched! Their former website was a static one-page website, so we really took them to the next level. Their new website is powered by WordPress, a content management system that will allow staff to make changes to the website, upload pictures, and add news – all without any HTML or programming skills.

Visit their new site by clicking here.

Nadine Dumas Launches What It Takes!

Dave — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:30:16 +0000

Just before the holidays, we launched Nadine Dumas’ brand new website, What It Takes! While Nadine had an old site, it was not search engine optimized, easy to maintain, or well organized for visitors to find the content they were looking for. We addressed all her issues and helped launch her site in record time for the new year!

Click here to visit her new website!

New Andy’s Rent-A-Car Website Lauches

Dave — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 19:01:17 +0000

We’re happy to announce that we launched Andy’s all-new website last week! The site continues to use the same 3rd-party reservation system, but has a beautiful new look and feel for the entire site!

In addition, we helped coordinate a new photo-shoot of their inventory and helped upgrade the aging look of their vehicles page.

Check it out at andys.ky!

Nadine Dumas Becomes Sand Dollar’s Newest Customer

Dave — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:50:05 +0000

We’re happy to welcome Nadine Dumas as our newest client. Nadine is a Cayman Islands-based personal trainer, fitness coach, model, and creator of “What it Takes,” a personal transformation challenge. After her last web designer fell short of promises, we’ll be helping re-design an all-new site that uses current HTML and SEO standards.

Cayman Social Media Clinic: November 9th, 9AM-12PM at the Chamber of Commerce Centre

Dave — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:02:28 +0000

Sand Dollar Studios is hosting a 1/2 day workshop where you will learn how social media can help grow your business. Restaurants, hospitality, accountancy, law firms, and businesses of all types can benefit from using social media:

Gain New Customers
Increase Repeat Business
Lower Marketing Costs
Build Your Brand

If you’re ready to take the plunge into social media, then this workshop will teach beginners how to maximize your efforts and avoid common mistakes. You’ll learn:

The Benefits of Each Social Media Platform
How to Create a Social Media Strategy
What Resources You’ll Need
How to Define and Measure Success
Helpful Management Tools
What NOT to Do

The workshop will feature Sand Dollar Studio’s Dave Ward, a dynamic web consultant with over 14 years experince in his field who’s social media clients include Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, Donna Karan Home, Curtainworks.com, and the Schottenstein Luxury Group. Dave is also past President and founder of the Social Media Club Tech Valley Chapter.

Also featured is our CEO, Gregg Anderson, a seasoned and accredited consultant with years of experience and knowledge in management and business strategy, operations, financial & quantitative analysis, sales & marketing, communications, and information technology. Gregg has consulted for some of the world’s largest companies.

When: Wednesday, November 9th | 9am – 12pm
Where: Chamber of Commerce Centre
Cost: KYD$150/person
RSVP: http://caymansocialmedia.eventbrite.com

Please RSVP for this event at the link above. All are welcome.

Sand Dollar Studios Welcomes Andy’s Rent – A – Car

Dave — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 17:52:01 +0000

It’s been a big week for us, adding two new clients in just 7 days! This time, we are happy to welcome Andy’s Rent – A – Car, Cayman’s only family owned car rental company, as our newest client! We’ll be doing a total re-design of Andy’s website and integrating our new design with their 3rd-party reservation system software. Look for their new website to launch soon!

Save The Date for Cayman Social Media Clinic on November 9th, 9AM-12PM

Dave — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:09:44 +0000

We’ll be hosting a morning workshop/clinic on beginner social media for business on November 9th from 9AM-12PM at the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce. More details to come, but expect to learn everything you need to know to get your business started using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Foursquare, and more. You’ll also learn what not to do so you’re not wasting your time. Stay tuned for more information!

Sand Dollar Studios Welcomes Little Trotter’s

Dave — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 13:13:15 +0000

We are happy to welcome Little Trotter’s Farm and Nursery School as our newest client on Cayman! While they’ve had a one-page website for years, it has little information for prospective clients and existing parents. We’ll be developing an all-new WordPress website where they will be able to provide information on their pricing, mission statement, calendar, curriculum, as well as share what is going on at the school on a day-to-day basis! We’ll post again when we launch the site in four to six weeks…

Social Media on Cayman Done Right: LIME Saves The Day

Dave — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:15:56 +0000

We are a minority here on the Island who use iPhones instead of Blackberry handsets. Given that, the way Internet access is handled on our phones is a bit different then most. About a month and a half ago, the Internet on my iPhone just stopped working. I tried visiting a LIME store a few times, and they were stumped. I called 811, and they told me to go to a LIME store. After almost 3 weeks of this, I was really frustrated – so I sent a message to @LIMECayman on Twitter:

“@LIMECayman Any idea when my iPhone data will be working again? 3 weeks without service…”

I was enthralled when LIME responded the next day asking me for my phone number. I supplied it, and within 24 hours my problem was solved by someone higher-up at LIME then those in the retail stores.

This is how social media is supposed to work. This is social media done right. Twitter and Facebook are NOT just new advertising channels for you to tweet your weekend deals and sales. It’s a two-way street where your customers can ask you questions directly, without going through all the call centers. It’s a way to publicly show you care about them. If you’re using social media to better your customer serivce, you’re doing it right.

We sorta blogged about this in June, you need to actually monitor your Twitter account and respond when people mention your company – ESPECIALLY if it’s a question or a customer service issue. Otherwise, you’re probably going to loose that customer. Even if they just mention what an awesome meal they had at your restaurant, write them back and say “Thanks.” It builds loyalty in your brand.

On a related note, we’re putting together a social media training seminar that will take place in the next month or two here on-Island where we’ll discuss more on this. If you want to be notified when we have a date more info, contact us and we’ll let you know. Or, send us a tweet @sanddollarky.

Facebook Ads May Have Higher ROI For Travel Sites

Dave — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 17:40:36 +0000

A recent study by a UK travel site, On the Beach, showed that Facebook ads offered returns seven times higher then other search marketing efforts like Google Adwords or other pay-per-click networks. While it’s a limited study, over 30 different campaigns were compared so it’s a good indicator that Facebook may return more customer conversions for travel sites then other options. The research targeted people 18-64 and they used multiple ad designs and split testing. Check out the story by clicking here.