Building a successful brand does not have to be complicated or stressful. Following a few simple rules can help you do more than just maintain your business—it can help drive growth!
Images without a logo is a no-go. All of your marketing materials, including social media posts, ads, signage and documents should have your logo and contact information. An eye-catching ad that goes viral becomes wasted potential if your audience has no idea who you are and how to connect with you. This information does not have to be large or intrusive, but it should be visible. It can be as simple as including your social media handles or your email address.
Choose brand colours and texts carefully. Research indicates that the most popular colour in North America (and worldwide) is blue, followed by red and green.
The colours and font types you choose will represent your brand. They should be enticing to your core audience and indicative of the image you want your brand to convey.
Do your homework. Survey your target demographic about their likes and dislikes and let this information guide you. The more connected you are with your audience, the more you will learn about which fonts and stylistic themes will engage them.
…And always remember…consistency is key!
Choosing your brand’s ‘voice’. The tone of the copy in everything, from your Instagram captions to your sales pitch, should be consistent and representative of your brand. Audiences feel more connected to brands that they can personify.
What kind of personality do you want your brand to have? And, is that personality attractive to your customers?
Once you have found your voice, implement it across all areas. Even your internal communications should maintain your brand’s tone. Any and all interactions with your audience (including how your customer service representatives speak with customers) should reflect your brand’s voice.
Shower your brand with attention.
Logos and taglines are important, but this does not mean you should invest your entire budget in just these areas. So many small businesses are guilty of spending far too much time and money on the visuals, without putting any effort into crucial areas like engagement, consistency and copywriting.
The image you project through your logo and ads should be reflected in every part of your business. Customer facing content like webpages, public profiles and social media accounts should be updated frequently and with a professional appearance.
Get a second opinion (or three). You know everything about your business and what you can offer, but a stranger will not. To know whether your branding does a good job of captivating your core message, run it by a few people before settling on the final product.
Family and friends can offer great insight because they probably already know what your business does and they can give you feedback on whether your branding is effective in communicating your message. You should also reach out to fellow industry professionals with expertise in various areas in your field.
Want some guidance on implementing a great branding strategy? Contact us today! Our knowledgeable experts are always happy to help.
The more leads you can generate, the more sales you are likely to make, and the more profit you will earn. It sounds simple, but in practice it can be a challenge. A smart, diverse strategy will help you keep the leads rolling in.
Why is Tactical Lead Generation so Important?
Successful marketers do not rely on a single source for leads. They invest in multiple platforms and techniques to ensure that they have the best chance of reaching the largest audience possible. Offering target audiences easy ways to access content that benefits them helps to forge a relationship that converts to sales.
The Social Media Advantage
Social media is an engagement tool, so use it to connect with your audience.
Answer questions quickly and be sure to follow up with people who comment and show interest in your business.
Run giveaways and contests to give people an incentive to follow and share your page with others.
Post links to helpful recourses on your website.
Use platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Twitch to host webinars and live shows, and post shorter video content.
Offer Quality Content
Give something to get something in return. Make good quality content available through multiple avenues to build your reputation as an authority.
Blogs – Having a blog on your website gives you a place to show off your expertise and value. If they like what they see, your leads are likely to convert because the sales tab is right in front of them.
eBooks – With an eBook you can share more detailed content. You can even bundle up past blog posts with a little bit of new content for those who prefer long reports.
Case Studies/ Testimonials – Show potential clients proof that your services are effective.
Tutorials – Step by step tutorials and guides in video or written form can be used to instruct clients on how to use your services/products in the most effective and creative ways.
Emails – A monthly, weekly or bi-weekly newsletter is an excellent way to nurture and grow your connection with your mailing list. With emails, you can be sure it will be seen by recipients. Share high-quality content, special promotions and deals, and notify your followers about contests. Emails are also good tools for cross promotion of content you share on other platforms.
The Power of SEO: Common Mistakes to Avoid
Search engines are vital to how consumers discover solutions. Ensuring your website ranks well and is easy to navigate increases the likelihood of reaching quality leads.
Confusing Landing Page – Visitors to your website should be able to discern what your company represents and how your services can help them within 10 seconds of loading the page.
Lengthy Sign Up Forms – Avoid forms that require too much information. Keep it simple. Ask for an email address that enables visitors to receive newsletters, coupons and updates.
Out-of-Date Online Footprint – The information on your website, social media pages and review sites should always be up-to-date. On the chance that potential customers stumble across your MySpace account from 10 years ago, you will miss your chance at a sale because of old information. Check your footprint frequently and update as needed.
Successful lead generation relies on all of these pieces coming together. If you need help generating quality leads, be sure to connect with us at info@socialeyescommunications.com.
Advertising on social media is an absolute must for any business, but how do you get started? The recipe for success is simple and intuitive. That said, there are definitely a few “must haves” that will improve your chances of running a top performing ad.
Check out our top tips below:
Creative Musts – Top-Notch Visuals
Rule #1, your ads must have a visual competent. In fact, the majority of your posts on social media should have a visual competent. Text alone won’t cut it.
When potential customers are scrolling through your feed, it is the imagery that captures their attention first. Striking visual content will force them to stop and investigate further.
What do we mean by striking visual content? Bright, attractive colours, interesting fonts, engaging subject matter, and so on.
The visuals should also be a solid representation of your brand. Take Grace Bonney for example. Her design blog and Instagram page are great examples of enticing and unique visual content that consistently reflects a common theme throughout.
Make Your Content Clean and Uncluttered
You might be thinking, “How will people know what my business can offer them if I don’t tell them everything upfront?” Here’s the thing: ads should peak a viewer’s interest. A wall of text or cluttered visuals will turn people off. Uncluttered content is just more pleasant to look at.
Focus on including the most important content only. Remember, you can run multiple ads with different content, so no need to stuff it all into one ad. Check out the posts on Zoe Sugg’s Twitter profiles for her lifestyle brand and her clothing line. Every post is simple and gets straight to the point.
Intriguing Posts Will Lure People In
People’s curiosity will be your biggest asset. The more intriguing your posts are, the more likely it is that people will click through on your ads.
So, what does an intriguing post look like? Take a look at the Facebook and Instagram pages of Kayla Itsines. Being a health and fitness guru, she dedicates much of her page to health and fitness tips.
The majority of her posts are spotlighting the before and after pictures of her followers who have achieved great results with her fitness plans. The side-by-side comparison is a powerful image because it evokes the question, “How did this person get so fit in so little time?” Clicking through to her page answers the question.
Running social media ads that produce high conversion rates is, in fact, achievable. These tips should set you on the right track, but if you want to maximize your efforts or you just need more guidance, be sure to reach out to us! SocialEyes Communications has the expertise to help you master social media advertising. Call us at (416) 938-1240 or email us at info@socialeyescommunications.com.
Developing an effective branding strategy is essential for professional services firms. Think of it as the first impression you make on potential clientele. Good branding can attract new clients to your door, while weak or non-existent branding can leave you trailing behind your competitors, and may even lead to a loss of existing clients.
Avoid the pitfalls of lackluster branding by following our top tips! Let’s take a look…
How Will You Grow Your Business?
Before you jump headfirst into building your brand, consider your overall business plan. How are you planning on building your business? What does your growth strategy look like? What is your budget for branding and marketing expenses? What are the key tenants of your firm?
Your business plan is going to determine what you have to work with in terms of funds and resources. As your business grows, you will have more resources to dedicate to your branding strategy.
Define Your Target Demographic
Branding is a very important part of how you connect with your target demographic. Like we mentioned earlier, this is your first impression. In order to make a successful first impression on your target demographic, you need to know this group inside and out.
To start off, figure out who will benefit most from your services. Consider qualities like income bracket, career, age, where your target demographic lives, where they do most of their shopping, and so on.
Using Your Value Proposition
Part of your branding will be dedicated to showing your target demographic how your services are a better fit for them over the services offered by your competitors. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean you will be calling out other brands directly. What this really means is stressing how your firm is unique and different from everyone else.
Basically, your branding needs to say, “Our firm can give you this amazing thing that no one else can!”
To learn more about determining your value proposition check out this blog post.
Build a Marketing Strategy
Your marketing strategy will be the vehicle for your brand. Marketing enables you to tell your target demographic about the services you offer and your firm’s mission statement. Your marketing materials should be a clear representation of your brand.
The text, fonts, logos and all of the graphics should look and feel like they are part of your firm. In fact, any consumer looking at any of your marketing materials should be able to connect your brand’s style and aesthetic to your firm.
Establish a Web Presence
Got a website? Good. That’s a great start. It is also a good idea for your company to have profiles on all social media platforms, including any platforms that your target demographic is likely to use. For instance, let’s say you own a photography service: this type of business would benefit the most from an Instagram and a Flicker account. Facebook is another platform that’s crucial for building a brand.
Maintaining an active social media presence is good for growth and visibility, but it also makes it easier for people to connect with your firm directly. This direct connection allows you to build a strong reputation. To maintain that connection, share on-brand posts regularly and respond to comments to encourage engagement.
Collecting Data and Making Adjustments
Successful branding hinges on expansive market research. Collect as much data as you can on your target demographic in order to tailor your branding strategy to their tastes. Once you have a branding strategy developed, it will be beneficial to continue collecting data around your clients’ responses to various parts of your brand and marketing materials.
You can then use the data that you collect to measure the effectiveness of your branding. It is always a good idea to make adjustments based on this data. The branding of your firm should be constantly evolving and shifting based on your market research. Changing with your target demographic will help you retain their loyalty and interest.
These are the basics of how to build a successful brand for a professional services firm. If you require further guidance on creating a branding strategy, contact us! Our experts are happy to help.
With the rise of technology and, of course, the internet, search engines, social media and other online resources have become the primary tools of information gathering. The main point is, many consumers are turning to the internet to find the solutions to their problems and that number will only continue to climb.
Now, you might be saying to yourself, “I already have a website and various social media accounts!” But, is this enough? In today’s ever-changing market the answer a resounding, “No”
Today’s consumer is more likely to do their research, compare services and shop around. Simply having a web presence isn’t enough to entice this generation of shoppers. To show consumers why they should trust your product, you need a way to demonstrate your expertise. Investing and developing industry thought leaders is one of the best ways to achieve this.
How Industry Thought Leaders Can Benefit Your Business
Thought leaders are people who are known for their expertise. They are usually celebrated for their innovative ideas and their informed opinions. These are the people you turn to when you need a wealth of information on a certain subject. Thought leaders are trusted resources.
Their most valuable assets are their expertise and their reputation as top industry professionals who have successfully mastered their niche. Here are a few ways that connecting with thought leaders can help you benefit from these assets too:
Positioning Your Brand/Company as an Expert
Featuring articles and research “reports” written by industry leaders can help you build a reputation as an expert too. By creating a strong association between yourself and a thought leader, you can capitalize on the clout they generate.
Offering Value Gives You More Visibility
Longform, detail-rich content is destined for success on search engine ranking systems. Posting this type of content on your website will allow your entire business to be exposed to more people. If your content is high in quality, people will share it with their social media followers, driving even more traffic to your website. Also, remember to leverage this content on social media and tag the thought leader who created it to expose your company to their followers as well.
Helping You Connect With Top Tier Workers in Your Industry
When you hire workers who are at the top of their game or on their way to the top, your business will grow with them. A connection to a recognizable name in your field, can help you draw in this kind of top tier professional. As these workers gain notoriety for their work, your brand and company can strengthen its reputation as a go-to resource in your niche.
If you tend to stay up-to-date on the latest happenings in your industry, you probably already know of a few thought leaders that have caught your eye. You can choose to reach out to them and pitch the idea of creating some content for your company or you could invest the time into developing your own talent into thought leaders. In either case, we invite to reach out us via our contact page when you are ready to take the next step in expanding your brand!
Advertising strategy has evolved in the last 50 years. In recent history, print ads, flyers, billboards, and the classic bus stop bench ads were among the most common ways advertisers and businesses connected with their audiences. The invention of the internet and social media networks changed all of that.
In the last 5 to 10 years, social media networks have dominated the way we communicate and spend our time online. In 2017 we reached 2.46 billion social network users worldwide according to the statistics portal, Statista. Facebook remains the number one platform with the highest number of monthly active users, which in mid-2017 has reached 2.05 billion.
Continued mobile integration of social networks will see the number active users on social media rise steadily over the next few years. With the increased use of social media, on a cultural scale, the influence of social content now has a significant impact on our lives outside of our virtual worlds. In terms of advertising, the importance of this cultural shift is massive.
You Have Everything to Gain from Advertising on Social Networks
The future of advertising is rooted in online content and in social media. Investing your marketing efforts in social platforms has many benefits, but here are the top perks that you should know:
Reach a Bigger Audience – As we touched on earlier, there are 2.46 billion users on social networks right now and this number is only going to get bigger. Ads on social media have the potential to reach all of these users. You are no longer limited by physical location to expand your audience. Your customer base can grow locally and globally.
Increased Opportunities for Brand Engagement – An element of successful social media advertising is ensuring that there are enough opportunities for audiences to engage with your brand. This means posting quality content on a regular basis to keep your brand fresh in people’s minds.
Multiple Forms of Media to Work with – There are a huge array of social media platforms dedicated to different forms of media. You are no longer limited to just print, or just pictures. For example, you could post videos on YouTube, high-quality pictures and small clips on Instagram, and short, punchy copy on Twitter. Creating unique content for multiple social media platforms gives you the freedom to attract a more diverse audience.
Build a Stronger Connection with Your Target Demographics – These days, consumers are more attracted to brands with personality. Social media gives brands the opportunity to build a personality that promotes company values in a way that consumers can connect with. Branded social media accounts that are presented as characters or personified entities are perceived by audiences as refreshing and more “human.” Consumers want to know that brands care about them and their experiences with the brand.
If you are new to social media, or even if you are just looking to beef up your online marketing efforts, reach out to us! Our team of experts are happy to help you develop a winning social media marketing strategy. You can call us at (416) 938-1240 or shoot us an email at info@socialeyescommunications.com.
Recent Comments