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Sub Sea Systems — Our World is a blog dedicated to the unique experiences of Sub Sea Systems — Immerse yourself in our incredible adventures, company culture, and innovative programs and products.

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Monday, February 29, 2016

Dog Blog — #OfficeDogs


Sub Sea Systems boasts our very own office dogs. These 2 employees are an integral part of Sub Sea Systems’ daily operations — and they work for treats (sweet potato and chicken is their favorite!). From being in charge of employee morale to chasing off offending bugs, lizards, birds or imaginary threats, these employees help make Sub Sea Systems a great place to work.

Employee Profile


Oliver de Bie (Oli)

  • Male, Apricot Cockapoo
  • 8 lbs
  • will be 2 on March 15th, 2016

Loves bananas, Dog Yoga and his Mom (Vice President of Marketing, Hannah)


Oliver is a Momma’s boy, so it is a good thing his Momma works here, too. A typical day of work for Oliver includes dashing from the front office to the back office, sniffing and marking his territory (aka the parking lot), and playing with Cali (the other office dog — we will get to her shortly). Most days Oliver greets employees with an open mouth smile and a wiggly body. Some days, however, he passes on the cordial greetings and snubs everyone– he can be a little moody.



Oliver doesn’t mind being pet, but he prefers to be held. And, most employees know by now that they have to be careful when holding him because he’s quick with his tongue, and loves to give slobbery kisses on the mouth. Oliver is very smart and even knows to ring a bell when he needs to go potty. His other repertoire of tricks include: sit, down, speak, and “up up” (stand up and twirl).

Besides his Mom (Hannah de Bie) and Dad (Evan de Bie), Oliver’s favorite person is President and CEO of Sub Sea Systems, Jim Mayfield (aka Grandpa!). Jim and Oliver are best friends — and especially love spending time together on the weekends, playing and adventuring in the yard. Oliver recently starred in a FunCat electric catamaran video that debuted on Facebook last week.


Employee Profile

Cali Mayfield

  • Female, brindle Boxer
  • 65 lbs 
  • 2 years old

Loves riding in the car like a human, sneaking into the cow pasture,
and her Dad (Vice President of Production, Kyle)

Cali loves attention, and when she gets it, she wiggles and contorts her body into the shape of a jellybean (it’s hilarious!). She is a great watchdog, and spends a good part of the day dutifully watching out the window to make sure we know if anything moves outside… including leaves.

Cali and Oliver play together, take naps together, and eat and drink out of each other’s food bowls. Cali’s favorite pastime at work is to chase lizards. She is sleek, graceful and powerful, but most of the time she’s a big goof ball. If she hears a lizard move, she jumps high in the air, straight up, and then lands face first in the middle of the suspected bush where the lizard is hiding. She jumps from bush to bush along the hillside, like a gazelle, as she desperately tries to catch the lizards.



Cali can run very fast, ears blowing back in the wind; she is definitely too fast to catch, and is very cognizant of her ability. Her favorite game is “come and get me” – or better known as “please come inside you stubborn dog.” She’ll stop and look at you very indignantly when you ask her to “come.” She stands as still as a statue, and then the second you get close, she does a goofy jump and runs immediately away. She thinks this is very funny, and the game can easily last for a good 5-25 minutes.

Cali is also a bit of a crybaby —she cries to see her Dad (Kyle Mayfield) when he is not in the room. Besides her Dad and Mom (Veronica Mayfield) Cali loves Keenan Mayfield (FunCat Product Director). She looks up to him and he adores her. They are a cute couple. Cali will soon be star of an up-and-coming FunCat video, be sure to keep an eye out for it on Facebook.

These 2 spectacular employees have now started to take part in Sub Sea Systems’ marketing efforts and they even have their very own Instagram account. Follow Cali & Oliver on Instagram to see pictures of them hard at work for Sub Sea Systems.

We LOVE our 4-legged friends! If you have an office dog that comes to work with you, we’d love to see– share posts with the hashtag #officedog.

Visit Subseasystems.com to learn more about our products.

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Thursday, February 25, 2016

7 ways to boost your business in 2016





In today’s competitive marketing world, content is king. As a business, you should be creating interesting and relevant content on a consistent basis; developing a brand identity and recognizable personality that stands out in the online crowd.

Creating content that naturally attracts visitors to your site because they want to learn about your product or service is called inbound marketing, and is the new norm. You want to draw people to your business by offering them something they want to read, learn or see. Images with quotes, quizzes and interactive web pages engage users and inform potential customers about your product, activity or service.

That being said — when looking forward and planning your inbound marketing strategy for 2016 you should keep a few key aspects in mind.

MOBILE
Mobile devices are becoming the most widely used tool to access online content —people are attached to their phone or tablet and almost never leave home without being connected. With that in mind, it’s critical that your website is responsive and designed for easy mobile interaction. In fact, in 2015 Google released a new ranking algorithm that ranks sites optimized for mobile higher than those that are not.

VIDEO
Video is rapidly becoming the number one way to market your product or service. People like to watch videos that make them laugh or cry, and intrigue or inspire them. Right now Facebook is competing with YouTube by encouraging users to upload and post videos directly to Facebook (instead of sharing a link from YouTube); Facebook has increased impressions for video posts, resulting in a larger demographic seeing your content. If you’re faithful to the traditional video sharing platform, YouTube offers ways to promote your videos through Google Ad words. Right now you can receive a $100 credit if you spend $25.


CONSIDER A BLOG
Writing about topics that interest your target audience can only boost your Search Engine rankings, and attract new customers. Write about experiences, customer reviews, current events and more. Make sure to include beautiful images and links to your website. Creating a schedule is helpful. Plan 3 months of weekly blogs and social media posts and stick to your deadlines. It takes time, but it is useful and eventually attracts significantly more people to your site. See an example of a schedule below. Click here to download this beautiful calendar template by half asleep studio.



SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO)
Honest code and content
In the past (and sadly still happening today) many marketers and SEO companies tried to cheat Search Engines by hiding keywords on backgrounds and other such nefarious, unethical strategies to boost rankings. This does not work. Google’s algorithm punishes sites that try to cheat. The best way to boost your rankings through target key words is to write natural content, and include those key words in your website’s text — use alt tags for images; use h1 tags for the most important headings and h2 etc. Follow the rules and you will go far.

SOCIAL MEDIA
There are many social media platforms and according to your target audience you will want to focus more time on certain ones. You should be posting relevant photos, links, and videos on a consistent basis. How often you should post varies across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and all the other many new ways of socializing. Try creating or using hashtags, post about current events and holidays, and engage your followers and friends. Use your posts to create a brand personality.

http://www.shortstack.com/how-often-you-should-post-to-social-media-infographic/


TRIPADVISOR/YELP REVIEWS
Positive reviews and testimonials that you receive on TripAdvisor and Yelp should be shared on your website — share them and blog about them. It’s also important that you respond to every review — positive or negative. When responding to positive reviews, be creative and find a way to connect with the customer. Use negative reviews as an opportunity to show that you are customer service oriented. Rather than being defensive or aggressive show that you want to rectify the situation. Angry customers can be converted into avid fans if you handle their concerns with respect and recognize their feelings.

EMAIL MARKETING
Email marketing is not dead. In 2016 a vast majority of people will be reading their emails on their phones or tablets. If you have a legitimate email list, send your readers quality content or offers, even shareable graphics such as animated gifs. (Animated gifs in email campaigns are a fun way to catch attention and obtain clicks. Here is a tutorial on how to create an animated gif in Photoshop.) Use email campaigns as leverage to gain business from repeat customers, or even attract new subscribers to your lists. The perfect tool to do this is Mailchimp. We cannot recommend Mailchimp enough – it is an incredible, FREE, online tool that makes email marketing easier than ever.

There are many other ways to enhance your inbound marketing strategy and bring in new business, but the number one most important thing to do in 2016 is to create valuable, shareable content and get it out into the world.

Go and create! We can’t wait to see what you come up with.


Sources & Links


http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2015/09/29/the-top-7-online-marketing-trends-that-will-dominate-2016/#5d125764c04c

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/254620

http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/what-trends-will-drive-digital-marketing-success-in-2016/632884

http://www.business2community.com/digital-marketing/game-changing-digital-marketing-trends-2016-01418360#OQPR9CrfYUKyZiSQ.97

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Friday, February 12, 2016

Free Valentine's day ecards and printables


Happy Valentine's Day from Sub Sea Systems! Please enjoy these fun, ocean-themed Valentines. Save them to your device and send them to your Valentine or share them with everyone on facebook!





























We also have print quality files that you can download if you subscribe to our blog! If you already follow Sub Sea Systems' blog, look for an email in your inbox with a link to the downloads.

Sub Sea Systems' blog covers a variety of fun topics. From information about our amazing products, featured destinations and incredible interactive programs, to holiday specials, marketing ideas and silly, ocean-related jokes, our blog is fun and informative.

Check out some of our past posts including these Valentines from last year then Sign-up for our blog!
*you can opt out at any time





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Friday, February 5, 2016

Clear Lounge Underwater Oxygen Bar Scale Model




Sub Sea Systems (SSS) has created a 5% scale model of the Clear Lounge underwater oxygen bar complete with stainless steel railings, acrylic tank and building, textured metal finishes, colorful lighting, and miniature 3D printed SeaTREK helmets.

SSS aimed to present Clear Lounge in a way that potential buyers would be able to visualize the final product. The scale model enabled SSS to demonstrate the possibilities while creating a “clear” vision in the minds of interested investors.

The model is very detailed and accurate, and a number of people were involved in achieving the finished piece. Our in-house graphic designer, Christina Azbill, coordinated the project. She calculated dimensions, ordered specially created acrylic, created the graphics, and assembled the entire model.



In addition, Christina reached out to a local high school, Golden Sierra in Garden Valley, California. Golden Sierra offers classes that teach students how to use CAD software and 3D printers. She saw this as an opportunity for SSS to give back to the community and provide the students with a “real world” application of their work. “We could offer the kids a meaningful project that could be used in college applications and resumes, and we could have custom printed objects that directly represent our Clear Lounge product,” explained Christina.

The results were fantastic. The students expertly designed a number of essential components, and printed and finished each of the pieces. They created the bars inside the lounge (including etched stylized Clear Lounge logos onto the bar surfaces), umbrellas, lockers, dock boxes, and helmets for the top deck. They printed a Jenga stack and miniature bubble guns, and shelves for the outside of the smoothie bar.

Matt Souza is teacher the of design engineering, and he supervised the project. He said,
“This project provided my students with plenty of real-world experience, including working with a "client", adhering to given dimensions and scale factors, and working under a deadline. The students were very excited to see the results of their efforts utilized in the Clear Lounge model. They are also looking forward to visiting Sub Sea Systems this spring!”



Matt Souza selected seniors Zach Gwinnup, Kim Mello, Jaegan Reid, Willow O'Dette, and Cody Witten to complete the assignment. The final work was professional, and we are very grateful for the creativity and dedication of the students and their teacher.



Not to be forgotten, SSS Lead Fabricator Greg Young welded the iconic Clear Lounge arch. His tiny, intricate handiwork created the stainless steel railings surrounding the top deck. The detailed ladder (with perfect welds) descends into the tank, and the beautifully executed arch spans the top of the Clear Lounge model. All of the details, such as the 5% scale trekkers and onlookers, and colorful lights, make the Clear Lounge model complete. It is truly a work-of-art and reflects the combined efforts of talented and skilled local students and the SSS team.



SSS featured the model at their exhibitor booth during the 2015 World Waterparks Association Tradeshow, and because of this display (and the excellent presentation, customer service, and product), we are working on the next Clear Lounge set to open in Kuwait, summer 2016.

Click to learn more about Clear Lounge
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