For this year’s Super Bowl, a lot of companies went overboard to deliver viral clips that promote their products and services. From goosebumps to an increased heart rate, these videos will wrap you in emotions meant to take your breath away and blow your mind.

Now, note that not all these videos were created by big shot companies, so when you have the right idea, success is a sure thing. Here’s the top 20 most shared YouTube ads in January 2012. Keep a close eye on the video description, it’s quite useful.

We use quizzes all the time in our daily lives, or at least I do. Whenever I talk to someone, I always ask a bunch of questions about this and that, and that’s really what a quiz is. Sure, real life conversations are not like those TV show quizzes where you get a prize at the end, but quizzes are still part of our life, though we don’t put that label on them.

You see moms doing it all the time. “What is that? A dog.”, “Who is that? It’s daddy.” Mothers do it because it positively impacts their children’s development. And if you think about it for a second, you’ll find many other real life examples.

Whether you want to bring some traffic to your website, promote a product, get some feedback or you are curious about what your friends might think – QuizSnack is the online app that can help you ask these questions and more.

These posts will help you create the most awesome quiz online: Survey Tricks in Advertising and The DIY: Online Quiz.

And when you’re finished (in a few minutes) you can share it with friends.

How to promote your Quiz – SnackTools sharing options

Send your quiz via e-mail

If you want to use this option, people will instantly receive an email with an invite to your quiz. Friends and family will be sent to the Direct Link page where they can see and respond to the quiz questions. Also, make sure you edit the title for the quiz, as this will be the subject for your email.

If you log in with your Facebook, Twitter or Yahoo account, all your friends/followers/contacts can be invited. Nice, huh? There are also a lot of other different sharing options inside each app from the SnackTools family. You can have access to all of them, according to your needs, when you upgrade to Premium.

Post on Facebook – A link to your quiz will instantly be posted on your Facebook wall
Post on Twitter – You are just a tweet away from sharing the quiz to all your followers
Embed button – If you are not that into social networks, you can still promote your online quiz. Copy the Embed code and paste it in any HTML frame on a blog or website.
Download – You really like what you did, but you are not quite ready to share your quiz. Just download it to your computer and use this app later on.

Tip: I know that sharing options are great ways to make your friends complete your awesome quiz, but what’s even better, you can have live stats on how many completed the quiz. This way you know for sure you are headed in the right direction!

I get those goosebumps and thrills of excitement whenever I come across new products. But If I’m bored I leave that page as fast as Speedy Gonzales and be sure I’ll never go back.

Customer satisfaction is a sensitive topic and you can’t negotiate on it. The simple truth is, customers need to receive the best. But no matter how hard you try to do just that, you need their constant feedback to make sure you’re on the right track. Feedback is the key to getting more out of your work. Once you know what they think, you can mix a recipe that will make everyone happy.

Let’s get a little insight on how you can publish a survey with all the right questions to get to know your customers.

How to post a survey in Jimdo:

1. First, you need to create a survey in QuizSnack. (For more info on how you can do this, check out:…)

2. Go to Jimdo and log in to your website page.

3. Press Add new element from the left-side menu.

4. Click Widget/ Html so you can embed the code of the survey.

5. Return to the survey in QuizSnack (press View  - Embed code – copy the code)

6. Paste the code in the HTML frame in Jimdo.

7. Save your work and instantly see the changes.

Tip: A survey created with QuizSnack can be posted on any platform. No matter where you display your work, if you want to get some quality feedback, this is the right online app to use.

Banners are the most common form of online advertising, and I’m pretty sure it will always be this way. You see them everywhere: in your e-mail, on your favourite website, and even when you perform a mere Google search. While you might think you need serious design knowledge to create an amazing banner, you must know that BannerSnack makes everything as simple as it gets. But no matter how creative your banner image is, it still needs to direct potential customers to your website or an e-mail form. Not just so you know the number of clicks and views, but also to make sure people can go buy your product fast and easy.

When you create a banner in BannerSnack, you can place links anywhere on your image, clipart or buttons.

Log in and select the background color or image. Once you’ve done this, select a clipart or other object and click Action.

Select the GotoURL or ClickTag and place the link in the URL field below.

That’s it! Click Play to preview your banner and see the changes.

If you like the banner ad and you are done editing, press the Publish button to save your work.

Tip: You can embed your banner on any online platform. Even more, if you have a Premium Account, you can download the banner to your PC.

Logos are the new trend. They are the creative signature for your work. You don’t have to own a big and popular website to have a cute little logo. Every blog deserves a personal touch to stand out. With BannerSnack, you can create any type of flash content. I previously wrote about how to create banners, how to make killer website intros and now after the last post about newsletter templates, you can rock your blog by creating a representative image to be used as a logo.

Here are some fantastic examples of blog headers that have a logo image:

Use BannerSnack to create a logo for your blog

BannerSnack lets you create a logo image, the easy way.

1. You need to log in to BannerSnack and select a size (this is entirely up to your vision of the logo).

2. Upload an image, add text or apply other objects (like cliparts).

3. Save changes and download your work.

Press the Dowload .GIF or Download to .SWF buttons.

You can only do this with a Premium Account but it’s totally worth it.

Bellow you have the steps for posting on an online platform. Here is how you can do this if your blog is either on WordPress or Blogger.

How to post a logo in WordPress

Wordpress is the most famous and highly used blogging platforms. Most of the websites run on this platform, not to mention blogs. But the future in online is about making everything more personal, placing your mark on everything.

A logo is a unique way to do that. If you have a WordPress blog, log in and go to:

1. Appearance – Header.

2. Upload a header image.

3. Save changes and there it is: your customized header.

How to post a logo in Blogger

Blogger is another famous blogging platform that you can access with your gmail account.

If you already have a blog here, you will surely like the idea of posting a small logo in your header. This way,  your blog will have a customized look.

1. Log in to Blogger with your Gmail account.

2. Press the View Blog button.

3. Click the Design button from the upper side of the page.

4. Press Layout and click Edit.

5. Upload your logo and if you are satisfied, click Apply to blog to save the changes.

Tip: There are many great things you can add to your personal blog, but no matter the quality of the content, always give the visual side its credit.

Hey guys!

Back in the days, marketing was mostly about printed ads, TV commercials and maybe letters in the mail box. But now, marketing is everywhere. There are so many products out there! It’s getting harder and harder to choose. The fierce competition between brands is like a spartan battle. Our lives are focused around brands. I wake up and brush my teeth with a certain toothpaste brand, eat a brand of cereals with milk, put on clothes from certain brands and drive my car from a brand I trust to be safe.

With so many choices, advertising is clearly about persuasion, which is more like an art than it is science. Of course, you are more loyal to a product that helps you, but advertisers count on that first impulse when you have to pick a product from two brands you know nothing about.

If you are a seller, this post is just what you need to convince people your product is great! Now, with all that spam out there, you might think that e-mail marketing is overrated. Maybe even think that people have to be on Facebook or Twitter to advertise to them, but the old ways still work. E-mail is still out there and it can be as powerful as ever.

Once a person subscribes to your Facebook page or your website, they give you permission to send them an advertising message. And this is the starting point of any relationship. Someone who wants to receive something from you, and maybe even give you something in return.

Believe it or not (trust us on this one) you can create rocking content to send via e-mail in just a few steps. No need to pay a designer or a programmer to do it for you, BannerSnack can do this and more.

If you are wondering about how to get started, log in to BannerSnack and select a size.
Add the elements you want in your newsletters (columns, cliparts, buttons, you name it).
You can even add a few tabs to be displayed in your newsletter before sending the subscribers to a website page. Let you imagination run wild – creativity is you major asset in this field.

Here is a template I might use in some newsletters. Check out the newsletter template example here.

Tip: Now that you have your newsletter template and hopefully a large newsletter database, all you need is a good e-mail service. We can recommend MailChimp – it’s free and you get all kind of filtering according to age, sex, location. The best products for a great advertising campaign.
Hope these insights come handy!

This might be a hard truth to swallow: unconsciously you do like others telling you what to do. Now, don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t mean you like to be bossed around, but some people function better when somebody else tells them what to do. It’s not because we like taking orders; clearly nobody does. But there is something about decision making that we definitely want to avoid. All that responsibility, and then what if something goes wrong?! Consciously or not, we all prefer others to make those calls.  

Decide now: What banner color is best for the social event of the year? The choice is more difficult when you have to think of all the colors out there. But let’s simplify: you have to choose between pink and blue. Somebody else selected these from the color range. With two rights, the probability to make the wrong choice is clearly diminished.

There is an emotional component to every advertising message. Something that makes people relate with what they see or hear. There are 6 principles that can make people give in to your marketing message.

Reciprocation:  We feel obligated to return favours.

If someone helped us, we have to help back, right? This is how communities like Digg were build up.

Authority:  We look up to experts. They should know what is right.

If someone has a title (say, PhD) to accompany their name, chances are we actually listen to what they have to say.

Commitment/ Consistency: We want to act according to our beliefs and values.

If you are a religious person, a request from the church be more successful with you than it will with an atheist.

Scarcity/ Limited: The less available an object, the more we want it. “Buy now. Offer available until” – sounds familiar? This is the most used marketing message.

Liking factor: The more we like someone, the easier we accept their message. This is why football players, successful singers and actors are used in ads to persuade the general public. Who could refuse Brad Pitt when he wants you to buy that perfume?!

Social proof:  We look at others to guide our behaviour.

That is why publishers persuade consumers to buy those “Be like Oprah” books.

Tip: I hope you use these advertising strategies to make great banner ads. BannerSnack is the tool we recommend – if you trust us, trust our amazing apps!

I just made a few points about how you can create killer website intros using BannerSnack, but if you are having a creativity block, here are some amazing intros to inspire you.

A website intro is the first thing people see on your website, and it’s not an easy job to sum up your whole business in just a few words and images. But when you are on a creative drive, this is surely not an obstacle. You can add video, flash, just about anything you can think of. I don’t recommend adding things that are totally unrelated to your business, though.

Here are the 3 principles to consider when creating a website intro:

1. Be direct and show off the personality of your business.

Give hints about your website and what message you are sending.

2. Leverage the visuals with text style.

3. Use call-to-action messages so that users are enticed to explore the website.

Still at a loss for ideas on how to blow your users away? Check this list of amazing website intros.

The friendly duck website – clear, creative and full of brand personality.

http://www.bythepond.co.uk/

SundayBestDesign has a short but clear introduction message and a catchy image. But, most importantly, it has a call-to-action inviting you to do more.

http://sundaybestdesigns.com/

The Chris Thurman presentation website does the trick. This is a freelancer site for an UI designer that presents all the complicated things around usability in a friendly way. Who wouldn’t like working with him?

http://christhurman.com/

Little kids dressed as fruits. Seriously? How cute is that! And because you didn’t expect to find this on a web apps website, you might decide to use their services.

http://thinkorange.pt

A lot of the websites brag about how cool they are and how a single app can do multiple things. But when you are looking for something, you need that specific app to do one thing, but do it right.  Assistly focused on what they do best in a clear, objective message.

http://www.assistly.com/

For more creative juice on website applications made easy, check out our future posts.

Hey guys!

Imagine waking up too late on a day you were supposed to give an important presentation. You pay very little attention to your hair and clothes as you rush out the door. While giving the speech, you realize people stare at your hair. Outer appearance really is that important, and with my little story, I wanted to give you a hint on what a bad looking website can do to your business.

A website introduction is the first thing people see when they type your web address or when they find you on a Google search. It takes users about 5 seconds to decide whether they like you or not. Bright colors, smart catchy messages – there are many tricks on how to charm them based on your website. I am not going to discuss all those tips&tricks, at least not now, but I’ll try to help you figure out the easy way to a creative intro for your website, using BannerSnack.

Curious? Follow the steps below and your website intro will almost create itself:

1. Go to BannerSnack and log in.
You can use your account or a Facebook, Google, Twitter or Yahoo account to sync with SnackTools.

2. Select the size for your intro (choose a preset)
To measure the width of your page, go to Measureit, an excellent tool.

3. Add a background image. Add text, cliparts, buttons.
Let your creativity run free. For more details about the effects, check out these posts I wrote a while back.

4. When you are done, press Play to preview your work and Publish if you think you’re ready to go.

5.  Last, to position a website intro inside a website, you will need some technical skills (or ask a skilled friend to do it for you). Here are the settings explained even further:

I couldn’t resist playing around a bit in BannerSnack, and this is what I came up with:

Stay tuned for more creative info

“Where did I put that paper?!? I know it was here somewhere…” Does this sound familiar?
Remember your college days during exams (or maybe you’re there right now), when you had tons of notes spread all over your room in a chaos? Truth is,  that load of paper wastes your time and tries your patience.

OK, I am sure you can think of a lot of benefits for keeping your documents on a computer. Why wouldn’t you? The files are easier to access and can be read anytime. Moreover, all that paper doesn’t take the space in your drawer – perfect!

But you can do even more when it comes to organizing your space. If you put your things into categories and convert them into PDF files, you end up with a pretty insightful flipbook and no longer need all that paper. There are many programs you can use to easily convert files into PDFs. Give Open Office, PDF Online and PrimoPDF a try.

First, log in to FlipSnack and create a new flipbook.
It is easy to upload the PDF files from your computer.
Customize the size, background color and order of your files, so you can have the best flipbook according to your preferences.

Here is what one of my flipbooks looks like:

Hope you find this useful!