Roland Schertenleib is the co-founder and creative director of Focustribe Studios, an interactive agency based out of  Newport Beach, CA.  Mr.  Schertenleib moved to California from Switzerland to help a friend start a technology business – and one year later started his own agency doing interactive design and development. Prior to that Roland earned his MBA from the University of Zurich, attended the SAE College for Interactive Design and was a creative director with various advertising agencies in Switzerland.
 
 

Focustribe Studies (FTS) is a high-end boutique firm that focuses on the development of both traditional and digital brands.    FTS clients range from small startups to large fortune 500 corporations. FTS activity involves full-scale engagement with clients that include every aspect of online media -  from interactive design, web application development, email marketing , SEO  to “Social Media Marketing”. Over the past 10 years,   FTS has been active in several online ventures and has witnessed both succeed and fail. 

According to Mr. Schertenleib, "the idea of owning an online business still seems to have a great attraction to many people. Depending on the business there is a low fixed cost, its location independent and the growth potential is unlimited. However, as soon as the platform is built most people realize that getting exposure and building a client base is not as easy as they originally thought.  That is the area that can get very costly."
”Social Media Marketing (SMM) is the new secret sauce which is supposed to generate the viral effect every marketer is looking for. Everybody wants to do it - but nobody really knows what it is and how to effectively make use of it, continues Schertenleib

Confronted with this topic on a daily basis, Mr. Schertenleib shares what experience has taught him: "SMM is building relevancy for your brand to the point that a community wants to engage with it. There is no defined process for building a community around your brand."
 
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