Social Media Marketing: Steps in Page Management

New to the emerging field of social media marketing? You may be keen on learning the ropes of managing online communities on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, among other platforms.

Here are the steps to get you started on page management.

Build your online identity. Gather your team for a discussion on building your online corporate identity. By now, you should already have a company logo. The next step is to tweak this logo to match the specs of different social media platforms. Resize it so that it fits the boxes snugly – no cropped out parts. View it across different devices, to check if it loads properly and quickly. Is it pixellated? Maybe you need to come up with a file with a higher resolution. Are the letters legible? Do the colors appear bright but not overwhelming? How do you describe your company or brand? These are also the same questions you need to ask about your images and text to be uploaded on your page. Do you already have a standard set of mission-vision statements? Sit down with your marketing and communications team to establish these once and for all, and publish them across all your pages.

Set up the controls. Assign people from your team to be the official managers of the social media communities. Deliberate on the tasks of each. Everyone should contribute to the development of a calendar, and then they can take turns posting every week, and proofreading each other’s proposed content. The team leader should then perform the role of being the final approving body. For more important posts, concerns could be elevated to top management. On Facebook, roles are differentiated to offer different posting and editing capabilities: Some can have full control over publishing, others can only create posts. Other tasks that can be delegated include the review of user engagement statistics and moderation of comment exchanges.

Build the following. For this step, you can begin by building on your current lists – subscribers to your newsletter and business contacts. You can also avail of advertisements to suggest your page to users, which you can target according to age, interest group, location, among other criteria. Someone from your team can also be in charge of looking for people, organizations, and groups to link up with. Then, through constant engagement, relationships on this platform can be strengthened over time.

Talk to marketing experts for more effective social media marketing strategies.

Must-Have Marketing Materials During Company Events: Part 2

What follows is the continuation of a list of marketing materials that are must-haves for your events – whether it is a press briefing, an outreach program, or even an anniversary where you gather your industry partners. For the first part, go here.

Standee. A standee is a self-standing display that can feature any of these things: information about the event or the company organizing the event, a program guide, or a life-size picture of the product or brand endorser. Standees need to be creatively designed, such that the attendees would also be encouraged to take photos of or with it and even better, post them on social media.

Access badge. To enter or re-enter the event venue, participants may be handed with an access badge, which can come in the form of an id tag, a baller, or a stamp, all of which should come with some form of a branding.

Event materials. The branding should also extend to all materials to be used by the host organization and participants. The rule of the thumb is that every item that can be seen by a prospective customer or client can be considered a marketing material in a way, be it a pad or pencil for note-taking, the registration form, or even the cue cards that the host will read the program from.

Business cards and company brochures. A company event is an opportunity to sell, as well as find new partners in the industry. All company representatives should have in their person a good set of business cards and company brochures printed according to the corporate communication guidelines – that is, based on the preferred palette, board thickness and size, and with all the proper branding.

Branded souvenirs or loot bag. Finally, the best event planners make sure that the participants are able to bring home something tangible, durable, and very useful, which can help promote the company or its products and services long after the event’s conclusion, and on a daily basis if possible. Some good examples would be business card holders (a nice touch would be inserting a card of the company’s marketing executive, should they like to get in touch for opportunities to collaborate), a cap, or a rain jacket – all of which are nicely embroidered with the company logo.

These days, you can partner with events planners who can produce these marketing materials. But if you want to save on costs and also have more flexibility, you can create them on your own, and just seek the help of a graphic design agency for the conceptualization and execution.

Must-Have Marketing Materials During Company Events: Part 1

Smart businesses know how to take advantage of all opportunities and make the most out of their investments. Company events, for instance, should be organized in a way that allows them to serve multiple purposes. This could be achieved through the use of well-designed marketing materials.

Check out this list of things to prepare for your event:

Tent cards. Tent cards are boards that are placed on the tables, and which can serve as many things: a table marker, a program guide, and an information card about the company, its offerings, and the event. And in today’s age when most events are documented on social media, it should also feature a list of the company’s social media accounts and the event hashtag, as well as an invitation for the event attendees to post about what’s happening on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other similar platforms. If you are holding a contest (say, a most creative shot with the product being launched), you can use the tent card to discuss the mechanics, too.

Event backdrop. It is important for an event to create a particular atmosphere depending on its purpose – to entertain, to inform, or to facilitate networking. A good event backdrop contributes to the creation of the conducive ambience. You can opt to use a LED sign, a projector on a blank wall, or have a huge sign printed on tarpaulin, wood, board or paper. Each comes with pros and cons. LED rental costs can be prohibitive, but you can present a lot of messages throughout the program, and even play videos on loop. You can use a projector for the same purpose, but the visual clarity and impact is much better on LED screens. Finally, printed signs are cheap and take easier and faster to prepare, but can only have one look.

Branded apparel for company representatives. Company representatives, as hosts of the program, also serve as brand ambassadors during the event. It would be nice if they are donning apparel bearing the corporate brand, be it a shirt and cap with embroidery, or ID tags printed with the company name and logo, if they are wearing something formal. The bottomline is that they should take the opportunity to promote name recall among the attendees from the moment they are welcomed, to the time they are ushered out of the venue.

Check out the next blog for more on must-have marketing materials for your corporate events.

Financial Marketing Solutions: Which Work and Which Don’t

An investment manager should seek financial marketing solutions that strengthen the referral system and readily convert prospective client into investors. After all, the financial advising business rests on a strong reputation and track record. Clients are attracted to expertise and performance.

However, in today’s world of steep competition, investment managers should not rely on word of mouth alone. Managers should utilize the power of the Internet to turn prospects into gold.

Investors and the Internet

It is now an accepted and widely practiced form of due diligence to Google a referred financial advisor or asset management company. What prospective clients find online about your company will be a big determining factor for whether they employ your services or not.

Research sows that more than 60% of clients use the Internet to research on referred financial advisers. If you are still not utilizing online strategies for your financial management firm, then you are not maximizing the potential of referrals.

Saturated market

Cutthroat competition in the financial industry makes differentiation a must. All asset management firms claim to provide customized investment strategies. It is no longer enough to keep making the same promises to prospective investors.

To stand out, a company must communicate not just performance, but also their operational integrity, unique investment strategy, risk management systems, and culture of competency.

Always ask yourself, “In a growing sea of financial managers, what unique thing can I offer to clients?”. Your answer to this question should be reflected in the materials that you produce for online marketing.

Strategies that don’t work

Marketers will bombard you with advice on which online financial marketing solutions to use. You should discriminate between tactics that work and those that will just be a waste of time and money.

Examples of online strategies that are not worth your while are paid advertisements, display ads, and text ads. These marketing tools are too in-your-face for the now Internet savvy investors.

Strategies that work

What will actually work? Financial marketing solutions for investment managers are not so much about finding new investment channels, but expanding the existing channels that already work. If you already have a good track record and existing investors who are satisfied with your performance, then fail proofing your referral system is your best bet.

Convert a referred prospect into a solid investor by first making sure that they can find you online. Build a professional-looking website with good SEO content and structure with the help of a good SEO consulting services provider. After they find you, make sure to impress them with what they see. Communicate your competence, expertise, and integrity with every piece of information that you share online and see your financial management business grow.

Protecting Corporate Identity in the Age of Social Media

Today more than ever, every individual consumer can access communication platforms on which to publish thoughts and conversations about the brands they use. As a business organization, this development should be met with heightened efforts to protect the corporate identity.

Create a social media policy. Protectiong the company identity should begin at home. How are your people using the social media? Are they serving as good or bad brand ambassadors? Most media entities require their journalists to put disclaimers that whatever they post are their own opinions and not the company’s opinion. Depending on how they use their accounts, you can also instruct them to indicate you as their employer. How they can use social media in relation to your company branding should be detailed in a comprehensive social media policy, which needs to be regularly updated based on the changes in these platforms.

Conduct proper, regular page monitoring. Are you using a tone that’s consistent with your company’s diction? Take advantage of features on social media pages that allow you to screen content on your wall. While you should encourage user-generated content, these should not, at any point, contain harsh language, whether it talks about your brand or a competitor. Instead, encourage content that delivers positive messaging.

Dealing with complaints. Acknowledge – and respond promptly to – each message, even complaints. When it is published on your wall, reply there so the others will also know that you are responsive. For cases that involve lengthy explanations, what you can do is compose a brief reply, then direct the conversation to another medium. Here’s an example, “Thank you for your feedback, we appreciate it. Please check your inbox as we have sent you a private message regarding your complaint.”

Judicious use of files. Just like any company property, the photos and documents you have should be used judiciously. A watermark is a common way of ensuring that your image cannot be easily stolen by others (and worse, used in bad memes), but you may also opt for reducing the size of the file instead. For documents, you can just give users a preview, and require them to sign up to be able to download the full document. A short but very understandable note about copyright and attribution can go a long way in making sure that your company files do not get used in ways aside from what you meant it for.

For advice on protecting corporate identity in today’s age, consult with a company that specializes in integrated marketing solutions.

5 Reasons Why Graphic Design Services Are A Must For New Businesses

Professional graphic design services are an invaluable part of the branding team. These companies can also help business owners save both money and team. Their experience and industry expertise make it possible for these entities to produce eye-catching logos and other graphics that will prove to be vital aspects of the marketing plan. Following are five reasons why these services are a must for new and developing companies.

1. Getting A Consistent Look

Professional graphic design services can help businesses to maintain a consistent look. When companies attempt to handle these efforts on their own, they often wind up using a variety of fonts, sizes, colors and design schemes. This makes it difficult for these organizations to establish recognizable brands that consumers can easily identify and connect with. Graphic design services employ professionals who have a keen understanding of how small and seemingly minor details can impact the subconscious mind and sway important purchasing decisions. Thus, the right professionals not only help their clients achieve consistent looks for their logos and other graphics, but they also ensure that these companies are getting the most effective looks for their industries and for their services or products.

2. Save Time

Companies currently have access to a number of fairly intuitive design tools that they can use on their own. Learning how to use these while taking advantage of all of the available functions and features, however, can prove time-consuming. Outsourcing logo creation to reputable design services will give businesses a greater opportunity to focus on their growing customer bases and other important aspects of their operations.

3. Make The Right Impression

No matter how innovative the latest design tools might be, these are not guaranteed to help companies get the same high-quality results that experienced graphic design services are capable of producing. Consumers can tell the difference between logos and graphics that companies have designed on their own and those that have been produced by seasoned professionals. Placing these projects in the hands of industry experts is vital for ensuring that new businesses are always making the right impressions on their markets.

4. Conveying An Important Message

Graphic design services are capable of creating very simply images that convey clear messages about businesses and about how these organizations stand out from their competitors. All companies must have a unique quality in order to remain valuable and desirable industry additions. This unique quality must be represented in the company logo in some way, whether this feature is immediately apparent or intended to appeal to the subconscious mind. In this way, good design services are essential for establishing a brand and for effectively branding the image of the business into the minds of the public. This is one of the many reasons that top-performing corporations throughout the world are heavily reliant upon graphic designers for their marketing, branding and reputation management campaigns.

5. Avoid Frustrating Problems With Formatting

Not only do graphic design services understand the best ways to appeal to targeted audiences, but they also have a comprehensive understanding of the formatting needs for these projects. A good logo will need to be placed on the company’s home page, on physical marketing materials and on a number of printed documents. Having designs in a print-ready format will make marketing and other projects far cheaper and much less time-consuming.

Ultimately, the costs of hiring professional graphic design services are more than worthwhile. Businesses can save money and time while making the best possible impressions on their markets. They can also look forward to having consistency in their graphics and the correct formatting for all graphics printing projects and other usage needs.

Tips for Designing Company Marketing Materials

Every business needs marketing literature that does an impressive job of showcasing its products and services. Catalogs, newsletters, brochures, product sheets, specification sheets, company letterheads, presentations, annual reports, posters, manuals and recruitment materials are all types of marketing material that a business needs to survive in today’s competitive environment.

Thanks to the widely available publishing software, businesses are capable of meeting many of these needs internally. While it is acceptable to undertake some of these activities in-house, there are certain requirements that are best met by a professional graphic design agency that specializes in creating marketing collateral for businesses.

Here are some tips in dealing with marketing materials for your company as you evolve and grow:

Get Company Logo Designed by a Professional

No matter how artistic you may consider yourself, it is strongly recommended to get your company logo designed by a specialist agency. Also, retain the company logo for at least 5 to 10 years as it is the primary identity of your company. The logo directly reflects the personality of your business, so it is essential to get it right. Also, you will need to use the logo across different marketing materials, and a personal effort at creating one may not always translate as well across different collateral.

Learn Fundamentals of Graphic Design

It takes a lifetime to become an expert in graphic design, but serious reading and a sensitive eye can help you pick up things sooner than you thought. Before working on marketing materials other than the company logo, get hold of graphic design books to educate yourself on the subject. In this way, you will ensure that all your printed materials are in line with the basic principles of graphic design.

• Keep a simple and clean look at all times. Do not overburden the reader visually. To align different elements together in an orderly manner, make use of a graphic grid.
• Guide the readers by using headers and sub-headers. As the reader progresses from one page to the other, an intelligent use of headers and sub-headers provides scanning points that help the reader in moving along.
• Avoid excess use of plain text. Break the copy using photos, cartoons, illustrations and charts to keep the reader’s interest.
• Use white space adequately. You may be tempted to use every inch of the space that you pay for. However, this only makes it more difficult for the reader to absorb the content.
• Stick to a standard format for print materials. This also makes it simpler to file the marketing materials for future reference. It also lends a consistent look to the work.
• Use captions with photos. The space can be used to describe the features and benefits of your products.
• Lend a Consistent Look to All Literature

While every marketing material doesn’t have to look alike, they must be designed as a compatible unit.

Use Professional Photos

Professional photography can set you apart from competition. Your customers also need to be assured of the quality of your product. Poor images can seriously damage your business reputation. Professional photography is an investment that pays off in due course of time.

Appoint a Marketing Rep to Overlook Literature

Marketing materials need to be refined at all times. By appointing someone responsible for your collateral, you can adopt a more proactive approach towards this important facet of your business, allowing you to anticipate future needs and handle timely production of literature accordingly.

Corporate Branding Plays A Strategic Role in Successful Businesses

Businesses that lack corporate branding are similar to a single tree in the forest. Like a tree, a business without an identity, looks the same, is uninteresting and definitely not a leader in its industry. Brand a corporate business and that company will become powerful. It’s personality, qualities, associations, perspective and path will be recognizable to customers. Positive corporate branding creates loyalty, familiarity and is memorable to clients and customers. It also has the ability to give a business pricing flexibility and lower marketing expenses.

Brand Loyalty

When individuals feel good and have a positive experience with a company, they become loyal. They recommend the brand to others, and they frequently use the services or products of that business. Reflect on the area of retail for a minute, and you will find plenty of examples that show brand loyalty. T-shirts are bought by the hundreds of thousands that only have the name of a brand located on the front. The same loyalty is also seen in other niches such as vacuum cleaners, tax services, banks and other products, services or institutions. Identifiable brands are all around us, and a company that doesn’t recognize this and build their own brand will soon be put out to pasture.

Creates Familiarity

Corporate branding also plays another role in society. A person may have never used the services of a business. Yet, they will still be familiar with a company if its brand is well recognized. That person may even recommend the brand to others that are interested, and the only reason that they would do this is because of familiarity. When people see the ads of a company on television, the side of buses or in magazines, they soon become accustomed to the advertised brand and see it as a familiar part of their lives. Familiarity is a strong aspect to have if you are a large organization that has many competitors.

Pricing Advantages

People will pay a premium for a brand that they deem valuable. Products may not even need scientific evidence to sell well if a product becomes popular with the masses. Word-of-mouth and positive corporate branding can escalate the products or services of a company to top positions just by becoming viral. Many individuals are willing to pay more for the “in” brand versus the items of a competitor only because the leading brand is seen as a better investment.

Marketing Expenses Are Lowered

Once the positive effects of corporate branding are in place, a company will receive the benefits of loyalty, familiarity and pricing flexibility. The logo or mascot of a company may become familiar in the eyes of the public. Recognizable shapes affect the senses as well as sounds. A jingle for a product being advertised on television will probably stick in the heads of consumers. This type of branding can associate a happy feeling with a company and create new customers or keep current clients loyal. This aspect of corporate branding has a hidden effect of lowering marketing expenses.

It’s very apparent that corporate branding plays a key role in the success of a company. When customers become accustomed to a brand, positive effects trickle down to the bottom line and usually aid in more sales.

A Graphic Design Firm Can Help People Hear Your Business Voice

When everyone is talking at once in a crowd, it’s hard to get your voice heard. The internet is something like that. So many businesses are in competition at once, and all of them are advertising across the internet. The corporate chatter can be deafening to the consumer.

What is needed is something unique, something that will draw consumers to your corner to listen to your business alone. Graphic designers are artists who specialize in giving a unique voice to a company by words and images. A graphic design firm can work with your marketing department to give expression to the goals and ideas of your business, so that people will take notice of what you have to offer. Increased customer attention usually leads to increased sales.

A graphic design firm can work to design a new website or rehab an older one that isn’t having the desired effect. They will help to produce such advertising materials as brochures, invitations, posters, leaflets, and just about any other promotional artwork you may need. They will take your marketing ideas and either simplify or expand them with typography, effective photos and drawings, and stimulating color. Very much like the work of an interior designer, they can bring balance and extreme visual appeal to the many facets of your company’s preferred marketing strategy.

When looking for a graphic design firm, the internet is a good place to begin. Almost all expert graphic designers have their own website, where some of their best work is portrayed. Choose a firm that seems to be the right fit for your own company. Many graphic designers are willing to do at least an initial layout on speculation, so that you can decide whether they are right for your firm before you take the important step to hire.

Considering New York Web Design?

If you own a business in New York, then you understand that a web presence is absolutely essential for your business to grow and thrive. However, if you are thinking about cutting corners and designing a website yourself or hiring an amateur to get the job done, you will lose money in the long run. In order for customers to take your business seriously, you need a web site that is professionally designed. Fortunately, you can hire a New York web design firm to get your website up and running.

Your business’s website is an extension and reflection of your business. Customers in today’s marketplace are savvy and sophisticated and expect to see those same characteristics reflected in your website design. A poorly designed website will scare buyers away quickly, and they will leave your site without finding out additional information or making a purchase. However, a sleek, professionally New York web design will ensure customers stay long enough to make a purchase.

Did you know that customers will also leave a website that is not user friendly? If your customers cannot quickly find the information they are looking for or if they have to click through multiple pages to find what they need, they will ultimately leave your site and look on a competitor’s site that is easier to use. A New York web design firm will understand your customers’ unique needs and find solutions to ensure your customers have a good experience on your business’s website. This will lead to a higher sales volume.

Good New York web design will also be interesting to customers and get them talking to others about your site and your business. Word of mouth advertising is a great way to attract new customers. If customers are going to be talking about your products, service, website or business, you want to make sure they are relaying positive messages to potential customers. Imagine gaining new customers because of your phenomenal website design.

Customers want to make sure their financial transactions are safe when they buy online. They are not likely to trust poorly designed websites that look sketchy. To help customers feel safe about buying from your business online, you will need help from a New York web design company who will ensure your business’s image is professional and trustworthy. You will never have to lose sales to other businesses because of your website again.