Brand Interview: Nicole Y. Adams, Founder, NYA Communications

Brand Interview: Nicole Y. Adams, Founder, NYA Communications

Nicole Y. Adams, Founder of NYA Communications

How long has your company been in business? Please tell us a bit about your company, its mission, goals…

I founded my company, NYA Communications, in 2003 in the UK and have been operating out of Australia since 2010. NYA Communications is a boutique German/English translation and language services business specializing in marketing, PR, corporate communications and business translations to help clients and agencies expand into foreign markets and grow their business through multilingual communication.

Do you donate to charities? Tell us about that also and why.

Personally, I feel education about heart disease and the associated risk factors etc. is very important, so I regularly make donations to the Heart Foundation. Through my business I sometimes donate to different charity projects via Betterplace. I enjoy browsing the listed projects and choosing the ones I really care about.

Tell us about your brand.

How did you know what typeface (font) would be right for your company wordmark or logo?

I worked closely with Websites for Translators, a young company in the UK who designed my logo and website. They suggested a couple of fonts and I opted for the one with the cleanest lines that most reflects my no-nonsense approach to business.

NYA Communications Business Card Design

If your logo has an illustration, describe why that art was the right thing, animal, place, object, etc…

My logo contains a globe. I deliberately chose a globe to reflect the global nature of my business – communication across borders.

How did you decide on the right color palette to fit your company look and feel?

The range of colours used evolved naturally. I chose the dark pink and blue of the lettering very early on as they reflect my personality and are colours I find very appealing. The rest of the colours in the globe are based on suggestions by the designers and were changed and switched around a few times until I decided on the final colour scheme. The colours in the globe each also reflect one of my services offered, so they are mirrored accordingly on my website.

How did you decide which type of designer to work with, or did you design your own identity and web presence?

I always used to design my own website and identity since I started out in 2003, but I felt it was time for a major change last year, so I hired a professional company who specialize in websites for language professionals to completely redesign my business identity. The choice was easy, as they are experienced designers who specialise in designing for my industry.

NYA Communications - website screenshot

In what order did you present your company to the world? Did you start with marketing and products, or website, blog and social media?

Initially I started by mentioning my upcoming new website on my existing social media channels. But the proper marketing started once my website went live. I also had my Twitter and Facebook pages redesigned, which were launched shortly after the website.

How long after the launch of your company did you start pitching in social media?

I founded my business in 2003, long before social media became popular. I only started to pitch in social media around two years ago – first on Facebook, then on Twitter.  Fortunately, my efforts paid off very early on and I was awarded 19th place in the Top 25 Language Twitterers 2012 competition, which I’m thrilled about.

NYA Communications - Fun Logo for social media - name in cappuccino

Did you do research or study any software, take webinars, teleclasses, before approaching any area of your marketing or web presence?

As a self-confessed CPD nerd, I regularly attend business- and marketing-oriented webinars and online courses. I have completed diplomas in marketing communications and social media marketing just before having my website redesigned and new branding launched, as I wanted to be confident I understood the issues involved in such a major project.

Do you advertise locally in newspapers and/or nationally in magazines? Are they effective?

I don’t, all my advertising is online.

Do you advertise online using Google, Facebook or on other company sites? Are they effective?

I advertise on Facebook and on Linguee, a specialist dictionary website. Facebook ads are very effective to increase your reach and grow your follower base but I haven’t generated any business through them as yet. I did have several enquiries from former school friends and colleagues though, who saw on Facebook that I offer language services and happened to need their company websites or documents translated. Depending on what your goals are, I believe advertising on social media pages can be very effective. It can certainly help you develop your reputation and boost awareness of your company.

Which social media site to spend the most time on and how does it help marketing your business?

I spend most of my time on Facebook, followed by Twitter and Xing, a German business network, and to a lesser extent LinkedIn. My Facebook business page has been effective in terms of getting my name out there, whereas Twitter has proved to be very useful for networking with peers and exchange industry-related information. So I suppose you could call this indirect marketing, as it will certainly boost your (online) reputation but – especially if you’re selling a service, not a product – customers won’t be flocking to your door. LinkedIn, on the other hand, is more effective in terms of direct enquiries from potential clients, so I consider LinkedIn my online business card.

Do you belong to community sharing websites? Which ones and how effective are they in building your audience?

Not at the moment.

What are the best features that help your business?

Recommendations and testimonials from satisfied clients. I strongly believe word of mouth is the most effective tool to generate business. Professional networks such as LinkedIn that offer a ‘Recommendation’ function can come in useful to pool positive feedback.

Branded Mugs - NYA Communications

When you printed your products, packaging, business cards and other print marketing did you choose an online printer or visit a local vendor?

I choose online vendors as I value the convenience of being able to order without having to leave my desk.

Did you know anything about different types of papers, when you wanted to print your marketing materials?

I have to confess I didn’t, so – when ordering my business cards – I ordered several samples of different papers to check them out first-hand before making my choice.

Have you ever used “green” technology in printing, using FSC certified papers or recycled paper and if not, how likely are you at trying this on a next project?

I use recycled paper for all my ‘non-important’ print documents for internal use only. I may also consider using a high-quality recycled version for client documents in the future.

If you sell products, are they produced in the USA or abroad?

I don’t sell products, only services.

Do you speak at events? If so tell us about that.

Yes, I hold workshops for language professionals and other solopreneurs and give presentations on the major software tools used in the translation and localization industry, and on social media marketing. Speaking at events is a great way to share your knowledge with peers and newly established colleagues to foster the profession as whole.

What is coming up in the year or two we should watch for?

Alongside running my translation business I qualified as a business mentor through the Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs in the UK in early 2012 and have been mentoring colleagues at the start of their freelance careers for a couple of years now. I noticed that a lot of mentees have similar concerns or questions, so I thought of a way to pool all this information and make it accessible to everyone. The result is that I’m currently writing a book on business development and marketing for newly established freelancers. It is going to be published in early 2013, which I’m very excited about.

Is there anything you haven’t yet tackled, but will want to do soon?

Go on a 6-month ‘working holiday’ and work remotely from the tropical shores of Fiji.

To learn more about Nicole Y. Adams, and NYA Communications, visit the links below:

website: www.nyacommunications.com
FB: www.facebook.com/NYAcommunications
Twitter: twitter.com/NYAcomm
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nya78
Xing: www.xing.com/profile/NicoleY_Adams
Google+: www.plus.google.com/101746518821127599726/posts

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