The importance of product photography

As consumers, we all fall victim to information overload daily. We all want info served up to us in the most straightforward and most easily digestible form. Enter the product image. Your product images give your viewer a look into your product’s quality and insights into your brand. In our online world, the product photography is everywhere. With Amazon, Shopify, and so many other online sources, we see it daily. The right product image that is well presented immediately creates your first impression and shapes whether the viewer stays with you or discounts your product and moves on.

A good product image carries a heavy load in the marketing funnel and can either engage and convert clients or take you out of consideration. They will nurture your customer and edge them along to the buy decision. Good photography can increase your conversion rate since they become a view of your product’s perceived quality and value. Your product images must be spot on for your brand and target market in quality, content, color theme, and tone.

What is product photography?

Most purchases come from an emotional response to how a product will make them feel.

A 2018 study reports that product images had the largest impact on digital purchases, with 83% of respondents saying product images and photos were “very” or “extremely “influential in their buy decision. Sounds like a good place to invest your marketing dollars, doesn’t it?

Product photography uses the best photographic and creative processes to evoke emotion and showcase your product online and in the print world. Product photography must speak directly to your target audience with relevance and quality. The images are one of the most essential elements in your branding and should present a consistent view of your products across your website, social media, and all other digital and print advertising.

What are the two main types of product photography?

Product only images 

Product only images are a clear view of your product against a simple white background. They often feature the product from various angles to highlight the features and showcase the full use of the product in the best possible light. They are often photographed against a white background so you can show consistency across various views and other products. Many times, a product will require 10 or 12 images to represent your product adequately.

Lifestyle photos

Lifestyle or in context photos show your product being used and bring your products and brand to life. These shots are often used to tell more of a story and work well in social media, blog posts, or other digital marketing channels. They can let the viewer identify with the people or places and activity in your shots. This is the beginning of creating an emotional connection.

Specialty Shots

There are several shots in addition to the main product and lifestyle shots that may be useful in showcasing your product.

• Scale shots – These shots help your user get an idea of the size of the product.
• Detailed shots – These are close up views that will highlight specific features of the product
• Group shots – Group shots show groups of products together. Often they are related products or your product in a range of colors.
• Packaging – This is an image showing our product’s packaging. Packaging can support the quality and value of your product and manage your customers’ expectations. In may cases, packaging can be a selling point or a competitive advantage.

The basics of good product photography

There are a few golden rules of the product photography that apply to professional and amateur photographers alike. If you’re hiring an agency and professional photographers, understanding these basics will help you be a more discriminating client and make the best choice for your brand. If you have basic photography skills, these basics will help you stage, shoot, and process your product images.

Pick the right camera for the job

If you’re limited on budget and access to equipment, a good smartphone can do the job. Professional cameras are always preferable, but with some research and forethought, you can make this work with our phone smartphone camera. A pro will no have a range of equipment and lenses and will be able to accomplish shots that will not be possible for you. You won’t have the range of options offered by a DSLR camera, but you still can create compelling and attractive images.

The main settings you will work with are ISO, shutter speed, and aperture. Your ISO is what controls your camera’s light sensitivity, so you’ll use a higher ISO on simmer lighting. Your aperture (or F-stop) controls your image’s depth of field or how much of the image stays in focus. A lower aperture will have a higher F-stop and keep more of the product in focus.

The third setting is shutter speed, which is how quickly the shutter opens and closes. Slower shutter speed can yield a very sharp image but is susceptible to blur from motion.

It’s all about lighting and focus. Use a tripos whether you are using a smartphone or a professional camera. On your smartphone, a setting you’ll use is autofocus, which helps direct the shot to feature your product. You will not use zoom and flash, since they will lower the image quality.

Filters should be avoided in your product photography but may be used later on social media like Instagram, Facebook, or applications where you seek special effects.

Setting up the right background

A good backdrop can highlight your product or add mood and style to the shot.

Your main options for a backdrop are:

• Lightbox – This is designed to produce soft light and background for your product.
• Sweep – This is a curved background that can be created at home with a sheet or poster board.
• Natural light or setting – Your product is highlighted in its natural setting. Lighting is perhaps the most essential element of your shoot. It impacts the visual appearance of your product.

Always consider your product and branding before making this decision

• Get your lighting right. 

Natural light is cheaper and easier to come by, but can be challenging with time constraints, the moving sun, and other elements. Artificial light is more consistent and easier to control

• Styling and composition

This decision will be based on your product and your brand. For example, food photography is often highly styled and makes use of overhead photography. They are styled with props and colors that will enhance the shoot. A professional photographer will bring this element to your shoot. 

• Editing

Editing is a big part of the process. Whether you are working in Canva, Adobe Photoshop, or using other tools to color balance, color correction, white balance, and do additional image editing to make the best of your photoshoot, there is only so much you can correct after the fact. 

Top pro hacks to look for in your product shoot.

Many photographers get creative and play around with producing unique images for you. 

Here are a few techniques we’ve seen used very effectively.

• Unusual Angles

Think outside of the box. It’s natural to place the camera at the same level as the product, but there are more creative ways to approach this. You don’t want an angle that will distort the image but experiment with shooting from below, offside, or from above. 

• Micro Shots

Get up close to feature detail and create an artsy image. These need the context of a traditional product shot but can add to the product’s emotion and branding.

• Interesting Backgrounds

A product rule of thumb is to use a plain background to keep the product front and center. But rules are meant to be broken. Find ways to stage unique background and props to add interest to your shot and separate your product from the pack. Backdrops can also be used to bring a sense of place to your shot. 

• Use a reflective surface to set our products on

Putting your product on a reflective surface can crate a stunning reflection that takes the interest of your shot up a notch. Lighting can be used to enhance the reflection further. Good editing will complete the effect. 

Do I need to invest in professional product photography?

Yes. If you can afford to hire a pro, you most certainly should. Your product and lifestyle images are some of the most critical elements of your marketing and will speak for you and your brand to clients who are not touching and seeing the product firsthand. They have a heavy load. 

Don’t underestimate the value of using good images in your marketing. Clear, crisp, and creative photos will improve your conversion rate and the performance of your marketing. Talk with a full-service agency like C&I Studios to see how they can tell your brand’s story and bring your products to life.

Why is content creation important?

Your social media strategy and social media content are among the biggest influencers. By incorporating these content creation tips for crafting engaging posts,  you can have on your audience, their connection with you, and, ultimately, their buying decisions.

Great content marketing can be the key to your success, regardless of whether your goals are growing your audience, increasing audience engagement, building your brand and brand presence, or driving sales.

Content marketing allows you to build trust and answer your audience’s questions. With the plethora of content available today on the web, your content must consistently bring value to your audience and be high-quality, devoid of poor writing and typos. In a word, you must produce killer content.

What is the goal of social media content?

• Social media content allows you to hone in on your customers’ needs and interests in a way that previously was not possible. Be that “fly on the wall” where they hang out, and to listen to what matters to them.
• Think of social media as a way to chat with your target people, engage with them, and then find more people like them. Engage. Listen. And, then create content that talks to their interests and problems.
• Create products that speak to their felt needs. Get the correct message out at the best possible time.
• Finally, an overarching benefit of stellar social media marketing and great original content is building brand awareness, brand voice, reinforcing your brand, and hone in on your target audience demographics.

In our guide to social media content and social media strategy below, we take you through content strategy basics, including content format, content analytics, and sharing content and some pro tips to help your social media content work for you!

What are the top benefits of excellent content marketing?

Build and retain your target audience

A steady flow of killer social content will be one of your business’ most important assets. Consistently create engaging, informative content relevant to your target audience, and they will be back again and again for more. Engage with them, make it easy for them to share your message, and you will build your tribe of fans. You are building more than a social network. You are building a community for your brand through your digital marketing.

Work to establish you and your site as an authority and trusted source in your niche.

Create content that is consistent in its messaging, that answers your audience’s needs and feels like you are speaking directly to them. Give them value without asking anything in return. You’ll soon be on the road to and audience that trusts and values you and your recommendations. That’s how a community is built.

Lead generation

Content marketing is an excellent opportunity to turn followers and fans into customers. If they like and trust your content, they will be likely to buy from you at some point. Create the funnel by offering free high-value opt-ins, or lead magnets in return for their email. You are now beginning to build a list of your followers. Add CTA’s in your content, on your hello bar, in pop-ups, or side panel. Be sure it is super simple for your readers to take advantage of your great extras. Lead readers to a landing page, where you can eventually upsell to an entry-level product known as a tripwire. The more relevant and powerful your content is, the easier to transition your readers to leads and customers.

SEO Ranking and authority

The more often you produce high-quality content, the more it will help your SEO efforts. Create content that is targeted to your niche, using well-researched SEO terms, and you’ll be paving the way to becoming a trusted authority in your niche and to great Google rankings.

Content Strategy 101

Good content flows from a solid content strategy. One or two posts that get substantial organic traffic can be a fantastic source of traffic and leads to your site and will allow you to embed your site link to a lead generating opt-in that will ensure list and audience building. Knowing what and when to publish is the key to a social media strategy that will connect with your audience, solve their needs, increase your reach, and build your brand visibility.

Content Creation Tips for building your content strategy

Before you start creating great content, you need a digital plan that includes a social media marketing strategy. Your strategy must be well planned out and based on your target audience, their needs, and their habits and how they will support your marketing goals and business objective. Think about the importance of evergreen content that can continue to bring your traffic, and the careful use of keywords to establish you within your niche and help your readers solve their problems.

If you already have created some sort of social media strategy, you should revisit it annually. Platforms change, the market changes, and your business goals will likely change. Competition changes, and your place in the market changes.

If you are active on social media, take the time to audit all of your channels. Which channels are active and growing and which are stagnant. If a channel is not performing well, is it because you have not been posting there, or is it the wrong channel for your target audience? Make the time to put together a solid content marketing plan to establish or maintain your relevance in your target market.

What is a content strategy?

A content strategy starts with establishing a clear picture of your target audience. Who are they, what do they need, and how can I help them? This data will help determine the optimum channels to focus on and what type of content will best engage them. From that, you will build a content plan that will serve as your blueprint. Did you know that in 2016, visual content was more than 40X more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content? (buffer.com)

What felt need are you solving for them?

Start here. If your target is too broad, a great first step is to survey your audience. When we try to serve everyone, we sometimes serve no one. Get clear on the problem your target audience and potential customer most needs to address. This information will help you niche it down and get very specific with your content. 

Sometimes, your content will educate your audience and help identify their problems. Other times, it may help them to address and work through their problem. Your content curation must be based on your ongoing engagement with your target audience. What works? What content are they engaging with? Use your social media analytics, google search volume, sign up rates, and other metrics to inform your content strategy as you move along. 

Why are you worth your readers’ time?

There are millions of blogs and information sources on the web. Your goal is to communicate with your potential customers as quickly and clearly as possible why you are worth your readers’ time. How can you help them? Will you inform, entertain, guide them through something that matters to them?

Pin down your unique selling propositions (UVP’s) and use them! You aren’t the only game in town. Tell your readers why your products or services are better than anything out there, or how you are different. Prove that you are worth the gift of your readers’ time. 

What formats will you use?

A complete understanding of your audience will help you in the next decisions. There are many ways beyond a blog post to reach and engage an audience. Think about the best format for your potential audience. Will you work mostly in blog posts, can you create short videos or populate your blogs with infographics to illustrate your key points? 

Facebook is excellent for text, image, video, and links, whereas Instagram is limited to images and videos. Twitter works for text, image, and video, while interest is great for image, video, and links. LinkedIn has its place with text and links. Take all of your findings into consideration as part of your plan. What’s the best way to tell your story to your particular audience? It is often a mix of media that best keeps people engaged, Experiment, and see what works for them.

Don’t overlook the competition. Where are they active? Do a search of each channel for your niche keywords and see who is active there. You may uncover some new competition. When you search on Google, don’t overlook both paid and organic. Set your Google Alerts for your keywords and review your competition’s social media presence, logging their friends, followers, posting schedule, and engagement and learning from them. Can you replicate, improve, or change their strategies?

Where do your people hang out? 

Audience demographics provide great insight into the next topic. Use your analytics from your website as well as your social platforms. Confirm your convictions about who your audience is. If your audience skews slightly older, they may hang out on Facebook. A younger group may be more Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. 

Don’t waste time being where your target audience isn’t. There are many platforms out there. You do not have to be active on all of them. Choose the social media channels that will be most effective for your audience and your product or service. Consider the use of both channels you own, like your website, blog, and email list. And work on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube are more. Do the research and find out where your people are. 

PRO Tips for Optimizing the Right Metrics

1. Ensure your content aligns with your social media metrics and goals. You need to understand the end goal before you can decide what to measure. 

• Want to generate traffic? Measure the unique visitors coming from social websites as a result of your campaigns.
• Want to build a following? Your key metric is subscribers and followers on your social channels.
• Are you looking for interaction with your potential customers? You should measure the quantity and type of commentary you see, such as Facebook comments, Twitter replies, likes, and sign-ups.
• Is revenue your end game? (isn’t it always eventually?!) Measure the dollar value of every lead generated from each social post. Follow the lead of big brands and measure and analyze everything. 

2. Find out where your customers talk and get in there! 

Do your research and find the best place for you to engage with your people. Look at what they are commenting on and engaging with and do that, but better! Don’t overlook the importance of groups as a great place to find your avatar hanging out. Create content that your people will want to talk about and share and make it super easy for them to share. 

Be “the fly on the wall” Listen in on your customers via social media and get to know them. 

3. When developing your content calendar, use the data from your social media channels and data from the marketplace. 

• What is the market mood right now? For example, COVID19 has changed the way we learn and the way we do just about everything. How about an online challenge or course?
• What are today’s relevant issues? Does your audience want to know about when they can next travel to your destination or create a safe staycation? Do they want to learn about homeschooling the kids or how they can find online work for themselves? Give them what they want. 
• Do competitive research. Why recreate the wheel? Research your competition and see if you can improve on what is working for them. 
• Where is your audience showing interest? Do you notice a topic that surfaces again and again? Does it look like videos always create more engagement, comment, and sharing? Look for the patterns and get ahead of the curve with your content and format. 

4. Don’t just talk about engagement. 

A great way to engage with your audience in a meaningful way is to be responsive in real-time with authentic and throughout responses. People love having a personalized reply. Be genuine and prompt in responding to comments and questions, and you’ll soon have a loyal fan. Others see it and read it too, so let your responses be your ambassador. 

5. Stay informed of what is happening on platforms. 

This means staying on top of Facebook changes. Set a Google Alert to be sure you know what’s happening and what it will mean to you. Get to know how to work with the New Google Analytics Social Reports. You’ll find lots of great insights into Data Hub Activity and Trackbacks. You’ll see how people are talking about your site content and what they are sharing. You’ll also see the sites that are linking to your content. Backlines rule, so try to build a relationship with others in your space, or complimentary space and be responsive to them.

6. Illustrate your content! 

Harness the power of infographics! An infographic is a graphic visual representation of information or data present information quickly and clearly. A picture is worth a thousand words. Infographics are shared more on the web, Twitter, and Facebook more often than any other content. They’re easy to read and consume, and people like to share them.

7. This one can’t be said enough. 

Your blog MUST be mobile-friendly. Mobile is king, so make your mobile content valuable and concise. Keep your landing pages simple, and make sure your site is designed for multiple browsers and provide a link to the full site. Focus on the mobile user experience and make speed your top priority.

How to Make Good Product Videos

Great product videos are one of the best ways to introduce, promote, or market your products and your message. Product videos are sharable, affordable, and according to Hubspot 2020, will increase the chance of a purchase by 144%. A high-quality video will let you compete across all platforms – Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and more, and can be used in paid, organic, affiliate, or social channels. Our tips will show you how to make a great product video that will help you inform, convert, and sell. 

Why create product videos? 

Video, in a nutshell, is an extremely compelling way to reach and engage your target audience. Video engagement on mobile is very high, and YouTube’s reach is enormous. According to SEO expert Neil Patel, Google loves videos, and they currently appear in 70% of the top 100 search listings. It may be time you got in the game with a killer product video. 

What are your product video goals?

Your first step in creating a killer product video is to be clear on your project’s goals. Product videos are used in various ways at different points in the client journey. Some ways a product video can be used are building brand awareness, introducing a new product, generating leads, education to promote usage and retention with past clients. This decision will often dictate the tone and type of video you make and the all-important call to action. 

The second part of understanding your goals is to be clear about who you are talking to. Remember, when you are talking to everyone, you are often talking to no one. Identify that one perfect customer, and use the tone and language that will most resonate for him to increase the relevance and effectiveness of your product video.

What story is your product video going to tell?

Storytelling is fundamental to any good product video. Use words, images, and sounds to harness emotion and take the viewer on a quick and precise journey. Make it personal and put your product into a context where a viewer sees a familiar problem, and your product is the star that solves that problem. Talk to them, not at them, and be clear on how your product will make their life better. 

Avoid the common pitfall of talking features! Your viewer wants to know what it means to them, and your job is to show them in an engaging and sometimes entertaining way. 

What style of product video are you making?

Three basic types of product video formats are commonly used. An on-camera demonstration might feature you or an actor and is a great way to show your product in action, such as an exercise machine or cooking product. Remember, context is everything. “How does it help me?”

Voiceover videos are also a very common way to showcase a product, as are videos that use titles and captions. Your decision will be driven by the nature of your product or service and your budget. 

Tips for creating a great product video

• Planning your video

The planning stage includes clarifying the project goals, deciding on the budget, production timeline, and video format. This is the time to brainstorm ideas and think about how the video will be used moving forward. You’ll want to have your overall marketing of the video in mind before you move forward. 

Now is the time to work with your video production company to decide the best way to increase trust, engagement, and conversion with your target audience. 

• Scripting your Video

Your script and your storyboard will happen hand-in-hand. A good creative team will need to understand your product, the unique value your product can bring, and how it will transform a user. They will know the goals of this project and how the video will fit into your marketing plan. A talented team will weave these elements together into an engaging, concise, informative, and persuasive way to tell your story.

Be sure you have clearly explained the product and what it will do for them. Use captions, messaging, and other cues to help tell your story. Don’t assume they know anything about the product and break it down, so it is super clear. Tell the story, tie it up, and then tell them what to do next. What do you want them to do? Contact you, buy a product, visit your site? That is your call to action.

Your script is the backbone of the video. Think about it like a movie. Create conflict (the problem your product solves). Set the conflict up in a way that is relevant to your target audience. Present our project as the solution to that challenge. Be sure your unique value proposition is front and center. 

Depending on your video’s purpose, you may want to add a unique value or discount for the viewers of the video. Consider adding that at the end where you can later easily remove it. It can be something of value to the viewer or a special rate specific to those who have seen this offer. 

This is not a place to be longwinded! Pare it down and stick to the essential points to tell your story. Pare it down!! Be sure the language, the tone, the imagery, and the feel of your video are consistent with your brand. Make space for logos, standard imagery you may use, and any other pointers to your brand. 

• Shooting your product Video

Once you have agreed in concept with the script and the storyboard, the shoot will take place. A good video production company will carefully pick the best location and video for your format. They will shoot extra video footage to allow for choices in the editing room to help you get your story told perfectly. Remember, engagement is everything, so be human and have a conversation with your potential customer. 

• Sound

Music or other sound elements can transform a video project. An upbeat song with happy music certainly creates a different vibe than what you may want for more serious products. If you are using voiceovers, don’t add music that is going to compete with the content. Beware any ambient noise or soundtrack instructions. If you are using Facebook, remember that Facebook required the viewer to click for sound. Will your video get attention without sound?

PRO TIP – Your production company will ensure they acquire rights to any music used in the video.

• Bring your brand forward.

Bring the personality of your brand forward. Your brand must be consistent in all of your marketing platforms and showcase your brands look and feel. Use proper logos, consistent language and, and maintain a tone and style that your fans will recognize. 

• Call to Action 

Once you’ve told your story, it’s time to wrap up. We need to tell your viewer what we want them to do now! This is called providing a call-to-action. 

What do we want them to do? You need to tell your viewers if you want them to download, buy, subscribe, call, or visit your website. There are several ways to show your call to action. You may want to choose one method or combine several.

• Title cards can be added to the end of your video.
• A voiceover on camera can be added and can bring continuity to what they have heard during the spot. 
• You can add a call-to-action button on the video so the viewer can click on it. (This option is not going to be available with all platforms. 

How to create a video marketing strategy

Your video is only as good as your promotion of it. Be sure your video is produced with SEO in mind. It should have a well-written description that is tagged with relevant keywords and help boost it. 

Create a great title and promote it everywhere.

Once your video has been perfected, get the most out of your investment by using your video to tell your story across all platforms. 

• Include your video on your website homepage. 
• Create a landing page that sets up the video and point any ads from there.
• Syndicate this out to Facebook and other social media using ads and organic promotion and taking them back to your landing page. 
• Many people host their videos on YouTube. Remember, this will take them off your page, though. 

A well-produced video can be the key to taking your digital marketing to a new level. Video is an amazingly effective way to tell your story, but it needs to be well done. That means the casting, the scripting, the production, the music, and the location all need to work together to tell your product’s story. 

Your marketing video needs to be responsive to mobile devices and of high quality. Invest in an experienced video production company like C&I Studios to bring your product to life!

We see companies making videos and investing heavily in video marketing, where companies facilitate them with an end-to-end video production process. Why is this video production process so important?

A Process Improves Accountability

Having a process in place helps assign ownership pockets that make every stakeholder responsible for the elements involved in the production journey. This makes them accountable for their actions and improves the quality of the process. 

For instance, if a person is responsible for scouting the location, they will note whether the location fits the script, is easily accessible for the shoot, and works for all the members of the shoot. 

Creates a Timeline

Video production is not a ‘said and done’ activity. With so many steps and elements involved, it requires time. Having a process defines an approximate timeline for every part, which helps the team achieve their goal without succumbing to the haphazard monopoly of guesswork. 

For example, a time set for arranging the equipment can help maintain the deadline for the shooting process, which in turn ensures that editors also receive ample time to cut and polish the actual footage. 

Fewer Revisions and Fewer Back & Forth

The process for producing a video will be drawn out, which means that the business owner needs to be in the loop. Since you are now aware of the objective of the video, see if it matches your concept. This way, there are likely to be less revisions at the end of the process. 

Not following a process can result in a confused state peppered with heated discussions, incessant revisions, and missed deadlines – not to mention a mountain of frustration.  

A Clear-Cut Pricing

Generally speaking, production rates are hourly based. Having a process helps determine the number of hours that will be required for the project. However, keep in mind that some video production companies may give you the option of set-rate packages. 

Conclusion

Every video production companies workflow and process are slightly different. However, these are the basic points that you can keep in mind while scouting for a video production provider. This will help ensure that the final result is effective and cost-efficient.

Imagine giving your friend your home address without the street name. They might reach the area but likely wouldn’t find your home. 

Similarly, writing content can deliver the message to an audience, but without SEO optimization, you might find it difficult to deliver it to the right audience. 

Are you still wondering if SEO copywriting is important for your website?

What is SEO Copywriting?

In simple terms, SEO copywriting is enriched writing where there is a fine blend of readability and marketability. It is about improving the quality and value of content with the right keywords, making it useful for your audience and helpful for your brand.

SEO copywriting:

• Comprises keywords that your target user is most likely to enter into a search engine.
• Optimizes your content to be of value and attract relevant traffic to your website. 
• Helps improve your position/search ranking on search engines (the most relevant being Google).

Having said that, using the right key phrases is not enough. How and when to use these phrases also determine the quality of your content. 

• Say no to ‘stuffing’ and instead weave keywords naturally into your sentences.
• Use these keyphrases across your content, instead of sticking to the first paragraph for visibility. 

How does SEO Copywriting Differ from Traditional Writing?

SEO copywriting is peppered with key phrases, and traditional writing is focused more on the substance versus strategy. 

However, there is more to SEO writing than inserting keywords. This type of content is great for improving your site’s Domain Authority (DA); i.e., its strength among competitors. 

Google’s new BERT update checks into the content’s relevance and keyword strategy that provides readers a wholesome experience. If your content passes the test, it will be duly rewarded with a higher search rank. 

In a nutshell, your content needs to satisfy your readers in terms of engagement and information as well as Google in terms of right content practices and key phrases. 

This is where SEO copywriting takes the cake when compared to the traditional format of writing. 

Here are the 5 Must-Know Tips on SEO Copywriting

These 5 tips will help you rank on Google as well as improve your conversion rate. Blend it with on-page optimization, and you shall strike gold!

Tip # 1 – Write Compelling Headlines to Rank in Search Engines

As per Copyblogger, 80% of your visitors will read your headline, but only 20% of them will ever go beyond reading the whole article. 

A good headline is a concise version of what your article will be about and whether they should be spending their time on your article when there is a ton of content to choose from. 

Adding data or stats can also pique interest and bring in a visitor. Of course, adding your focus keyword to your title is a given.

Tip #2 – Know Your Audience

We spoke about the BERT update that looks for content relevance. So, how do you determine whether your content is relevant or not? Simple! You undertake an audience analysis and tally it with what they are looking for. Do they complement each other?

Congratulations! You have an engaging and potentially viral copy in your hands. 

Having relevant content ensures that your reader does not leave your article midway because it isn’t what they are looking for. As a result, you have higher engagement, session duration, organic traffic, and aren’t too reliant on paid ads to get your word out.

Tip #3 – Understand Search Engines 

SEO optimization heavily relies on search engines and the way they work. One of the best things you can do is write a concise SEO title and meta description to direct the search engine to your content.

Another way of achieving search engine favor is by segregating your copy into specific headlines, namely H1, H2, H3, and so on, which improves the reader’s experience and crawl-ability of your page. 

An additional element you need to understand about search engines, especially in the case of Google, is it understands keyword stuffing. Hence, make sure that your keyword placement across your copy is well-placed and optimized.

Tip # 4 – Call Your Readers to Take Action on Your Message 

As a part of your SEO copywriting process, it is your job to drive engagement through content, and a clear, concise CTA (call to action) makes a world of difference in converting your reader into a customer. 

Your content is most effective when it drives action on behalf of the reader. It can be a link to another article, a link to check out a product, a lead form, or inviting the user to join a newsletter – whatever the CTA maybe, an action by the reader is an absolute must.

Tip # 5 – Use Keyword Tools to Choose the Best Keywords in Copywriting

Using a reliable keyword search tool like Ahrefs, SEMRush, or even Google’s keyword planner will help you find great keyword ideas. These can be seed keywords or long-tail keywords that are based on your niche – those that can help you attract your audience to your copy. 

In addition to relevance, these tools also help you determine the keyword metrics that can optimize your content and rank it high in a short amount of time. 

The Importance of Keyword Research for SEO

Now that you have the five must-know tips for SEO copywriting, let’s take a deep dive into the world of SEO. 

This is where the story begins. Keyword research is the primary step you take while crafting an SEO strategy for your content. The origin story for any website, keyword research sets the foundation for your website/blog/article, based on your target audience’s search activity. 

Keywords are essential to add value to your content. Since all good things take time, keyword research also takes a lot of digging into the customer psyche, search engine trends, and your competitor’s ranking. 

Should you go for a long-tail keyword? Should you focus only on catchphrases? All this can be answered during your keyword research and can help you generate quality content and garner attention.

Essential Concepts of Keyword Research 

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of the process, let us understand a few essential concepts that will come up during keyword research. 

• Focus Keyword of Keyphrase: As we have discussed above, a keyphrase or focus keyword is the high target element that resonates with your business. It is also what your potential customers are searching for. Various SEO tools help you determine the right key phrases for your business.
• Keyword Strategy: This process revolves around taking steps to make your content more SEO compliant based on keyword research. When performing a keyword strategy, you will determine the type, flow, the need for visuals, and keyphrases (along with their positioning) you will be using in your content. 
• Long Tail Keyword: The idea behind using a long tail keyword is to encompass specific as well as remotely similar searches under one phrase so that the chances for your content popping up upon that word search will increase exponentially. With long-tail keywords in your copy, you can also gain an edge over your competition and gain greater visibility. 
• Search Intent: Simply put, this step goes beyond just adding keywords to your copy but also determining the tonality and the perception you want to convey to your readers. If you are looking to educate your readers, setting an educative tone with relevant information should be key.

How to do Keyword Research

Let’s dive straight into it.

• Study Your Niche: Once you know what you are looking for, it is easy to look for relevant keywords and strategize a vibrant content design. Once you have determined the niche, you can make a laundry list of keywords that resonate with your business and help build the foundation for your keyword strategy.
• Start with Seed Keywords: An extension to your business aim, seed words are the first step towards content development. They are the direct link between what your target audience is looking for and the copy you will be creating. It is great to define your niche, and your competitor’s as well. For instance, while music is your seed word, it is extremely competitive. You can extend from it to keywords like ‘music theme for Game of Thrones’, ‘music lovers group’, and so on. 
• Generate Keyword Ideas: Now that you have a list of keywords, the next step is to generate keyword ideas – the knack of knowing which keywords you should use to gain traction and how you can implement them into your copy for SEO optimization. See what keywords you and your competitors are ranking for, and cherry-pick ones you can use to bolster your growth. 
• Know Your Keyword Metrics: Metrics like keyword volume, keyword difficulty, clicks, organic search, traffic potential, and cost per click are some of the most important metrics that can help you determine which keyword you should go for. For instance, keyword difficulty determines how hard it will be to rank in Google and the number of backlinks you would have to create to bring it to the top. Going for less difficult keywords means a higher chance to rank and get more readers. Similarly, volume determines the traffic that keyword attracts.

What are the Three Phases of Writing an SEO Article?

Step #1 – Preparation

This involves preparing your text where you are planning your entire article. Even though you have a topic in mind, look for answers for the following questions for more clarity:

1. Why are you writing this article? What is your purpose behind crafting this copy, and what do you wish to achieve?
2. What is the main message of your content, and how would you like to convey it?
3. What questions are you looking to solve via this article?
4. What is the intent of your content?
5. Have you determined your target audience? Do you know the type of content that is normally consumed by them?
6. What will the structure of your piece be?

Step#2 – Writing

Now that you have your structure in place, it is now time to get down to business. It is surprisingly easy to write your piece once you are prepared with facts and flow. 

Do not think about how you will place your keywords or what should be integrated where. The key to SEO copywriting is to simply start writing! If you feel that the introduction is a bit tricky, leave that and work with the next paragraph. 

However, it is important that you stick to the structure that you drafted in your outline. Digressing will confuse your mind, and you will be back to square one. Sometimes, an abundance of creativity while writing will delay deadlines. 

Step #3 – Correcting

Proofreading and reading your content out loud is what you will be doing in this phase of your SEO copywriting process. This step is especially helpful for editing the unnecessary verbose and, of course, the dreaded grammatical mistakes. Don’t be wary of throwing stuff out if the piece is too wordy. This step will make your content more legible and crisp – both huge pluses. 

Conclusion

The best thing about SEO copywriting is that it requires constant innovation. Writers always find themselves breaking old rules and creating new techniques to help their articles get the crown. It requires writers to be vigilant of search engine algorithm updates and keep optimizing the content. But if you have content that can add value to the customer anytime they look for it; you have a goldmine. 

Always remember – Relevance + Value + Optimisation = SEO copywriting! 

Let’s talk numbers, shall we? Around 49% of SMBs consider graphic design to be an extremely vital part of a business’s success story while 31% do not have similar faith but are aware of its positive impact on a brand’s growth. Only 3% of the total goes ‘meh’ when it comes to graphic designing, which puts them in reverse gear, moving them away from customer engagement and a positive brand image.  

As per Merriam Webster, graphic designing is “the art or profession of using design elements (such as typography and images) to convey information or create an effect.”

Today, these designs convey visual information across devices as well as traditional media. You name it! Graphic design is everywhere and is adding visual appeal to everything we see, touch, or hear.

What is a Graphic Design Company?

Graphic design companies are the hub of this new art form. These are agencies that create designs and collateral for businesses and brands. These designs can either be logos, web interface, marketing materials, and much more. 

While these agencies function with creativity and art as their foundation, they also possess the business acumen of understanding the client demand, the target audience’s psychology, and the market trends, which will bolster the said campaign.

What is the Difference Between Digital Designers vs. Graphic Designers? 

Though the two may seem similar due to their fundamental understanding of creative arts, there is a significant difference between a digital designer and a graphic designer. 

Graphic Designer	Digital Designer
A graphic designer has the artistic ability with a focus on creating pre-print production collaterals like logos, posters, virtual images, etc. They are adept at using design-related tools like Illustrator, Photoshop, and much more.	A digital designer is, of course, creative but dives into digital tasks as well, such as creating the user interface and user experience, which helps brands convey their message via digital platforms like websites, social media, and a lot more.

7 Tips for Choosing the Right Graphic Design Company 

Now that you are aware of the standard terms and definitions, here are our expert tips for choosing a graphic design company for your business!

Tip #1: Check Their Portfolio and References

Research is the first step towards getting the right graphic design agency onboard. Not having a credible agency website and proper portfolio is the biggest red flag, and you should steer clear of that agency. 

If all is good, go through their design portfolio, and inquire, specifically which designer for the company executed said designs. This will ensure that you are assigned the right designer for your brand’s look and feel. 

That said, the overall design and quality can help you assess the agency’s experience and whether it is the right fit for you or not. Apart from online research, try connecting with their clients and ask them about their experience. 

Tip #2: Look for a Wide Range of Services  

A comprehensive agency with a wide range of services can score brownie points for your design goals. How?

This agency has experience executing multiple campaigns in both the traditional and digital space, which makes them experienced and intuitive. Such agencies have designated teams of experts who offer much more than just graphics. 

They can help you align your visual goals, choose better tools, have a better narrative for your brand, add points that are brilliant but may have escaped your notice, and much more!

An agency with a wide range of services not only provides you with results demanded but also adds value to your overall business. 

Tip#3: Communicate Your Concerns 

There can be a disconnect between client and agency when it comes to creative concepts. You might have a few ideas concerning the design while the agency is viewing the concept vastly differently. 

Most misinterpretations boil down to unclear communication between the two parties. 

Have a clear communication plan with your design partner. Before choosing a graphic design agency, make sure that they have a process in place that works for you. Ask them what that process entails, as well as the tools used, and modes of communication.

Help them understand what you are looking for and if it helps support the explanation with references, tonality, the feel, and results that you are looking for. Ask questions if you do not understand design terms and jargon. This will only help clarify any confusion. 

Tip # 4 – Find out the Designer’s Requirements 

Granted, it is you who requires graphic design services for your business. However, you need to help your designer help you. 

Understanding your designer’s needs will smoothen the bumps throughout the journey. These needs can range from documentation, proofing concepts, or time-related tasks like briefings or feedback. 

It is stating the obvious, but you can also talk to them about freedom, flexibility, and other virtue-based requirements that the designer needs to deliver the best possible results for you. 

Tip # 5 – What Skills do You Want in a Designer?

Though you do not have to understand the nitty-gritty of graphic design, it is always a good idea to have some basic knowledge about the subject. 

If you are someone who wants to go for both traditional and digital campaigns, you need a designer with working knowledge in print design as well as virtual tools and processes. (This is especially important if you need collateral for trade shows etc. in conjunction with online initiatives.) 

It helps if your assigned designer knows how to work across platforms and tools as well. 

Tip # 6 – Consider a Trial Project 

Asking for a trial project is a great way to gauge the designer’s experience, their ability to align thoughts with your vision, and of course, understand their professional capabilities. 

These trial projects do not have to be extensive and time-consuming, but something simple that can be done in a couple of hours. 

However, make sure that you ask the agency if they offer limited-contract trial project options. 

Tip # 7 – Know their Time Constraints and Process

Last but not least, engage in open discussion and ask them about their design process. This will help you get an idea about what is being done for your brand and whether it is what you are looking for. 

Similar to the overall communication process, not knowing the actual design process leads to conflicts and repetitive edits. The incessant back and forth dampens creativity and also increases the bill. 

Understanding their timelines and deadlines will also help you plan your strategy accordingly. Allow the assigned designer and agency as a whole to talk about their time constraints, if any, and work around that to support the project.

What are Your Design Goals?

Now that you know how to pick the right graphic design agency, it is imperative to outline your design goals. Every brand has a different message and creative medium.

Let us try to break this question into simpler blocks. 

Customer Experience

Your product’s success has a lot to do with first impressions, and this is where visually pleasing graphic designs come in. The way the branding of your products look impacts directly how your customers are bound to experience them. Aesthetic pleasantry sometimes overrules minor usability flaws. Your primary design goal should be all about the customer experience. 

Setting the Theme

Graphic design sets the base for visual communication, which, in turn, sets the tone for your brand’s theme. The theme for McDonald’s is very different from Mont Blanc. Therefore setting the theme for your brand is an integral part of design goals. 

Brand Messaging

How you design your corporate identity has a direct impact on how your brand will be depicted to your audience. Setting a clear brand message beforehand helps the graphic designer chart different creatives relevant to your business. 

Customer Communication and Engagement 

While digital designers are instrumental for the user experience, graphic designers form the foundation of this experience. If you, as a brand, set customer communication and engagement as a goal, it automatically gives way for attractive designs and visualization, which your designer will digitally sketch out to help attract eyeballs.

What is Your Graphic Design Budget?

The world of design is full of colorful and aesthetic possibilities that can excite you like a kid in a candy store! However, not all design services are within your price range and can even exceed your budget. 

Have a detailed conversation with your design agency concerning your project and clearly define the monetary investment this project will demand. 

You can base your budget on these aspects:

1. The ROI you are expecting
2. The timeline of your project
3. The tools you might need for the designs
4. Number of revisions that might be needed
5. Are you more comfortable with flat rates or per-hour rates

In Conclusion: The Importance of Good Graphic Design

The graphic design company that you will be hiring will be responsible for creating a visual image for your brand that your audience will associate you with. It can be playful, serious, or minimal, but any theme requires someone with a good eye to interpret your needs. 

Many brands move from designer to designer until they find the right graphic design agency. This is often seen in the many rebranding activities brands endure. You can also spot the inconsistencies in their messaging. Therefore, it pays to be careful and detail-oriented while making your decision as to which agency to choose. 

It pays to take some time, work closely with the team, and establish a harmonious working process until you have absolutely nailed it. After all, with brands, the first impression is often the last. 

  

References: https://financesonline.com/graphic-design-statistics/ 

In this era of technology, virtually all businesses have an online presence. This has increased competition. Not only that, but businesses also need to appear in search results by potential customers looking for a specific product or service. This is where digital marketing agencies come in. They help you grow your business using various marketing strategies and tools. Phew!! You must be glad digital marketing agencies exist, but how do you choose the right one?

The right agency will customize a plan of action tailored to your industry and business and effectively track and measure the results. The right firm will also develop an effective strategy for meeting your goals. With the right agency, a company will prosper with amazing results. 

Choosing The Right Digital Marketing Agency

Are you confused as to which agency is the right one for you? Well, it is indeed a big decision and has its own sweet benefits too. Not only can a good digital marketing agency help generate revenue for you, but it can also transform your business. Take a look at some of the points below that can help you to choose the right agency for you and your business. 

1- Budget:

The last thing you want to do is spend all your money on a marketing agency and marketing activities and receive no results. It is advisable to have your budget ready before you approach an agency. It’s all about how much you can afford.

2- Goals:

It is important first to determine what your need is. You must answer questions like: Why do I want to run digital campaigns? What do I need from a digital marketing agency? What is the goal of my business?

It is important for you to be clear about your business model, strategy, and objective. Digital marketing agencies promote your business across multiple channels, and there are different activities involved. However, these activities are completely based on your goals and requirements.

Take our advice: Sit back, relax, let’s go a little traditional with pen and a paper (or tablet) and start to jot down what your business is about, who your customers are, what your expectations are, and more.

3- Credibility

Once you’ve shortlisted the agency, it is now essential to check how advanced and worthy they are to run your marketing. Be aware to check reviews and vet them fully. There are a number of ways to check the credibility of an agency. A few of them are:

• Team
• Awards
• Client List
• Media Presence
• Testimonials
• Footprints in the industry

4-Technology

This is ideally another supreme aspect. Advanced tools and technology for marketing help an agency to promote, manage, and grow your business. A digital agency must be equipped to handle your business type, and if a problem occurs, they must be updated with the latest technology to resolve the issue.

5-Marketing Tools

As mentioned in the above point, there are a number of tools that the agency must be updated with. You must ask the agency to demonstrate the list of tools which will be used to help you with your requirements. For campaigns like inbound campaigns, it requires an end-to-end experience and, having the right tools is extremely important. You can check:

• Are they using Mailchimp or SendInBlue or something else for email marketing?
• Are they using MOZ or Ahref for tracking keywords?
• What are the communications tools used within the agency? One popular communication tool is Slack.
• How much access will you have to the agency in terms of calls and support?
• What are the tools or project management software used to track the progress of the work? 
• What are the tools used for graphic related tasks? 
• What are the tools used to handle social media? 

Common Marketing Tactics Used

Now that we’ve gone over tips on how to choose the right digital agency, are you on the verge of making a jump to hire a digital marketing agency? There are plenty of tactics used by digital marketing agencies to boost the business of their clients. Let’s take a look at some commonly used tactics used by agencies.

1-Paid Advertising

Paid ads can be expensive. Chances are, you can end up spending a lot of money on paid ads like Google Adwords, Facebook, YouTube. There are numerous ad platforms for your business; however, before you decide on any platform, it’s important to understand more about them.

Google Adwords: This type of advertisement appears on Google search. Businesses pay to get their ad shown on Google. Ads show as sponsored search results; versus organic listings. 

A Word About Ad Extensions:

This option adds additional information about the business, like the contact details, about the company. Clicking on these links will lead the users to the specific page on the website for further details. This helps to improve visibility and get more clicks.

Important!! The type of advertisement chosen to promote your business will be based on your business type and goal. 

Facebook Advertising

Facebook ads have become one of the easiest and fastest ways to reach the desired audience.

First things first, you should know what the goal is for using this type of paid advertising. Facebook offers various objective options, from brand awareness to lead generation, and more. 

Secondly, It’s important to narrow down your audience over a broad one. There are billions of users on Facebook, and choosing your audience is critical. This can be done based on audience interest, age, demographic, behavior, and much more.

Last but not least, Facebook gives you an option to set a budget for your ads daily or on a lifetime budget. There’s also an option to optimize the price by opting for bidding for clicks or impressions. 

YouTube Advertising 

This platform is the second most popular and widely preferred media platform because it has a huge audience. However, the truth is that it takes a lot of time, effort, and money to run ads here. It takes time to learn the various features and how to utilize them in order to get good returns. You have the option to choose from the below types of ads:

1. Skippable ads: Viewers have the opportunity to skip this ad after 5 seconds. This ad is usually played before or during a video.
2. Non-skippable ads: Viewers will not have the option to skip these ads. There is no skip button available. The duration of this type of ad can vary from country to country. Depending on the country, the limit is 15 seconds to 20 seconds.
3. Video discovery ads: Viewers will be able to see these ads in the search results. It consists of text ads and thumbnails. When these ads are clicked, it redirects the user to the YouTube channel.
4. Overlays and banners: These just display ads that occur on the right sidebar on YouTube. They are not videos however as the ad has a website link.

With YouTube having billions of views every day, it opens the gate for businesses to reach a maximum amount of people nationwide and all around the world.

2-SEO

After all, everyone wants to rank on Google. Here comes another tactic to help you rank.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a process used to improve your website ranking on Google and to increase quality traffic to the website through organic(non paid) search results. 

SEO factors to make the website rank:

On-Page SEO (Technical)

The technical SEO aims to:

• Improve the crawling of the website so that Google can rank it
• Speed up website response in terms of the load time of the pages. It includes all the activities except the content of the website.
• Make the website look visually pleasing
• Introduce a neat URL structure of the website

    In a nutshell, technical SEO is everything but the content of the website.

On-Page SEO (Content)

The process of On-Page SEO includes:

• Improving the content of the website
• Develop new content
• Remove any irrelevant content of links

On-page has a pretty straight forward goal where if the content on the page is bad or irrelevant, the website will not rank.  

Off-Page SEO

This activity makes a major impact on whether the website will have better authority in terms of ranking. It includes:

• Relevant and quality inbound links
• High-quality citations 
• Brand mention in media or press 

This process includes all the activities carried on to improve the website authority by getting quality links and backlinks from other websites.

Final Thoughts

Last but not least, once you’ve moved ahead to sign and close the deal, carefully go through the contract and ask questions if you have any before you commit to the terms. You should collect all the necessary information about the digital marketing agency’s policies, its do’s and don’ts to avoid problems down the line. If any of the agencies are not clear about their terms and conditions, it might be troublesome in the future.

 

References:

1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2018/07/02/how-to-choose-the-right-digital-agency-for-your-business/#131a7fdbe120
2. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/digital-marketing-tools
3. https://www.singlegrain.com/res/digital-marketing-agency/
4. https://moz.com/learn/seo/what-is-seo
5. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/facebook-paid-ad-checklist

Brand Building on Social Media

Social media used optimally is a powerful way to build your brand awareness, engagement, and to bring traffic to your brand.

So what does “used optimally” look like in 2020?

It still means getting the right messaging in the right format to the right customers at the right time. But the best way to do that continually evolves. Platforms change, audiences change, and product and service offerings change.

What doesn’t change?

Every post, follow, tweet, or like is extending your presence and telling the world something about your brand. Your brand remains the key to your success and is sometimes more important than your services or products. It informs the world at a glance, sometimes in a word, who you are and what you stand for.

Once your brand has matured and is defined to the point that you have detailed brand guidelines, you can harness social media to help your brand take flight! This means you have a logo, color palette, brand vocabulary, and standards that express your brand effectively and consistently across any platform.

(PS- If you don’t have brand guidelines, we can help you out with that. –Give a call!)

Here are 5 proven brand building strategies to help you effectively attract, engage, and build your digital audience across your social media accounts.

 

1- Picking the right platform.

Today, most companies don’t have the resources or the time to play full tilt across all social media platforms. And frankly, not all platforms are going to be right for your brand anyhow. The secret to optimizing your online presence lies in choosing the platform(s) that allow you to best express and promote your brand identity and share your brand POV.

Start with your audience.

Where do your customers hang out?

What platforms will let you most effectively engage with that target audience and best showcases our products or services?

Every channel has its own set of opportunities and challenges. Let’s start with the Big 5.

• Facebook is perfect for promoting brand awareness due to its enormous size and the heterogeneous nature of its audience. Facebook’s audience is the largest in the world and crosses all ages, with a slight skew to female. Heads up! If your product targets Gen-Z, this may not be where you want to put your time and effort. Teen usage is down, and this is not where the cool kids are. Trust me. But for any other age group, this is a great place for brand building on social media, running promotions and discounts, and engaging with your base. Facebook rocks in most spaces, with some limitations in terms of medical products.
• Instagram is becoming essential to visually focused products and services such as design, gardening, home design, or fashion and is very popular with brands and influencers. According to Statista, 35% of US teens consider Instagram their favorite social network. The Instagram live video and story features are unique and growing in popularity. Their audience of age group 13- 29 is significant, with 47% of 30- 49-year-olds using it. Usage drops off at the age 50-64-year-old group to 23%.
• Twitter has more than 336 million monthly users globally, with 22% of US adult using. Twitter lends itself to time-sensitive content and conversation and is a great place to have industry interactions, build industry contacts, and share news about your brand. Surprisingly 44% of 18-24-year-olds use Twitter.
• Pinterest is increasingly used as a visual search engine and is likely an excellent place for you to invest. Pinterest is an ideal social network for brands that rely upon visuals, and for graphics, to share information, showcase products or share inspirational content. Their audience of 300 million people spreads across the ages of 18- 64.
• LinkedIn clearly leans toward professional career content and has less frequent daily usage. LinkedIn remains relevant for B2b content and making corporate connections.
• YouTube – YouTube ranks higher than Facebook for US adult usage and now has more than 1.9 billion users. It is a great way to share your brand and engage with your audience. Video is emerging as a leading format, and YouTube is one of the most widely used video platforms. YouTube skews toward men.

Demographics are going to help you choose the best channels for your brand and how best to engage with them. For a deeper dive into demographics, including where the respective audiences live, how often they are online, gender, income, and education, check out these 2020 metrics. Recent demographics for each network that are readily available. –https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/

 

2 – Be true to your brand!

Remember, your brand guidelines are your bible and should be your final litmus test on anything your clients or potential clients will see, hear, or experience.

If communication is not in sync with your brand, don’t do it. Period.

We’ve all seen examples of the seemingly innocuous posts or memes that have taken down the best of brands. Social media is forever, guys.

Your digital presence is vital to your brand. It must be curated, brand forward, consistent, and current. Your images and your content must ooze of your brand. Your customers should be able to recognize your visual brand in your posts before reading a word.

Over time, you will develop a “brand voice” that is unmistakable. Let your tone and brand personality develop until your audience views you and hears you as an old friend.

3 – Content

Give your audience a reason to follow your social media accounts and remind them to do so at every opportunity. Make it simple for them to follow, comment, engage and share.

It all starts with content.

Your content must be valuable, engaging, or entertaining, current, and relevant to break through the plethora of content available on the web today.! Your readers don’t care about your dog’s antics.

Make your content fresh and memorable, and attractive by using compelling images.

Make your content visually appealing by creating lots of paragraph breaks and avoiding long sentences. Use headers and subheaders. Nobody wants to scale a wall of  copy.

Adding graphics and illustrations if a great way to make your content shareable.

Once your epic content is posted, remember to stay active on your platforms. Reply to any comments promptly, letting readers know that they matter.

IMPORTANT!

Each platform may have a different strategy, which is another reason to focus on the ones with the most juice for your brand.

Every platform has a different audience, and it is essential that you understand them and create a marketing persona for each platform.

Repurpose your content, so it best resonates across each specific platform. Pin down who you are talking to on each channel and adjust your messaging and voice accordingly. Recycle, repurpose, share.

 

4 – Aim for consistency on your social media accounts

The end game of social media is exposure and engagement.

Post and stay active on each social media account.

Connect continuously with your customers through your social media accounts.

 

5- Leverage influencers in your space

Find the influencers in your space and follow them, comment on their posts, and even post about their work.

Mention them or tag them on your site. The influencer will likely get a Google alert.

Email them if you mention them on your site or reference them.

Get on their radar in a respectful and way.

Your goal is to get them eventually to share a piece of your content with their followers. Working with influencers is a long game and it will take time to build a relationship, but it will happen if you’re consistent, and your content is fantastic.

 

Are you ready for your brand to take off on social media?

We manage it all from branding and graphic design, video production, content creation, web design, social media marketing, SEO copywriting, and more.

The brand of every business is just as important as the products or services provided. Your brand is your universal representation.

Developing your brand requires an effective guideline to utilize. Knowing your audience and what they are attracted to is critical to each guideline during brand development. It is time to review the PERETTI brand and how developers created such an attractive brand for their customers. Below are six essential brand guidelines to review during your brand development.

1. Logo Specifications

One of the first things to consider when building a brand is the exact logo specifications. Logo specifications refer to the overall measurements associated with your brand’s logo. Considering the type of publishing materials where your brand will be advertised, begin developing your grey striped area. This area should be free from any additional texts or images that could destruct your brand image.

In the PERETTI logo specifications, the grey striped area is consistent between each letter of the brand. The specifications between the P and the E in the brand is equal to space before the P, and after the I. Each letter also has a radius of this around the name that eliminates room for other text or images to disrupt the brand. Ensuring that your logo is simple, yet effective, is the first step in brand development.

2. Typefaces Details

Each brand has different typeface preferences. Typefaces refer to lettering design and can come in a variety of options. They are a family of fonts that depict a certain style. Depending on the audience that you are seeking, you can choose typefaces that attract and related to that customer base. The typeface in each of these areas is critical to capture the attention of your customers. Keeping the same typeface in each area will wash out your information and cause your customers to lose interest. After you have decided on the typefaces for your brand, focus on three parts during your brand development :

• Headline
• Subheadline
• Body Copy

Your headline portion of the brand will be the most reflected in advertisements and various materials. That is why it is so important for brand development. The most preferred typeface should be used in the headline. It will be used in all representations of the brand. For subheadlines, you want to use a similar typeface, but the size will be smaller. Maintain a bold or italicized style on the subheadings to capture the attention of your audience.

With body copy, you can remove all additional style modifications such as bold and italicized. This typeface is similar to the headline but less bold and bright. It is much lighter and is used to fulfill the necessary information. With PERETTI, Avenir Light is used for the body copy while Avenir Medium is left for subheadings. The same font exists, but the weight of it varies because the medium is bold. Following font suggestions like these will significantly aid in your brand development.

3. Color Specifications

Once you know the specifications of your brand and the typeface, your brand’s essential color scheme comes into play. In fact, color is one of the most important parts of brand development. For PERETTI, their color scheme is a dark contemporary, but the right shade of white, black, and gray was needed. The way the color is perceived by your customers can be bright, flat, or a mix of the two. There are hundreds of shades of each color, so knowing exactly which shade you chose of blue or green is required to represent your brand exactly the same way each time.

4. Logo Styles

Logos are extremely crucial for brand development. Every brand will generate a number of logos over the course of its marketing. Each brand will develop a series of these logos that are categorized as primary and secondary. The primary logos are made available on any product from the business. In large publications, this is the logo that is utilized. It is the most recognized and usually found on any newsletters, emails, or other distribution that comes directly from your headquarters. Because it is the most recognized, it is necessary that time is put into your logo styling process of brand development.

For PERETTI, the primary logo spells out the brand name entirely, matching the proper space specifications for each letter. However, PERETTI also has a secondary logo that is used for social media thumbnails and other areas online where space is limited. This secondary logo maintains the same color specifications as the primary logo, but it includes an enlarged P instead of the entire brand name. Because it maintains color specifications and typeface of the primary logo, it is easily recognizable by customers.

5. Logo Best Practices

The digital age and use of social media have created a new market that requires smaller logos that are used for social media and online representation. The best practice is not to alter your primary logo for smaller spaces. Because these platforms dictate the size of the logo, many brands find that they need to alter their logo to fit in these areas and have their customers recognize them during a search. Per the PERETTI guidelines, there are a few things you should not do because they will hinder your brand development:

Utilize a Different Typeface or Font

Although a similar font may fit better in the thumbnail, it is not recommended to use a different font. Loyal customers will recognize the difference and may find this as a misrepresentation of the brand.

Alter Logo Size

If the primary logo will not fit in the required space, then do attempt to shrink it or stretch it. Also, this will appear as a misrepresentation to your customers and could keep them away.

6. Application

The final guideline for brand development is the application. Once your logos are properly designed, they need to apply to the right area. For a brick and mortar brand, the primary logo should be found at the entrance to the business. Most products or communication between you and customers should also reflect this logo. Your secondary logos are to be utilized for social media and mobile windows, making you recognizable and accessible through all mobile devices. A look at the PERETTI case study will reflect that their primary logo is found at the entrance to their store and full-page advertisements, while their secondary logo is found as the profile picture for their social media presence.

Brand Development

Your brand is the focal point to your business and is a constant for public patrons and customers. Ensuring that it is a solid reflection of your business is critical to remember when you are following these brand guidelines. At C&I Studios, we have representatives ready to assist you with your advertising and brand development needs. Contact us today for more information regarding our services. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

You’ve established a great business. You’ve got investors, employees, and a fantastic product. The next step is launching the business.

There’s just one problem. While you’ve listened to podcasts and attended marketing seminars that discussed the importance of inbound and outbound marketing, you’re still not sure how to go about creating the type of marketing tools needed to probably leverage your business and reach your target market.

That’s okay. We ready and willing to help. Our team has a deep understanding of what it takes to help a promising business take off. We’ve come up with five ways to help you leverage your inbound marketing and outbound marketing. Best of all, we’ve made the process simple, fun, and effective!

Create a High-Quality, Informative Website

It’s common knowledge that your website is a key component of both your inbound marketing and outbound marketing strategy. The problem we see happening over and over again is that too many businesses try to cut corners and reduce their costs by trying to create their own website. While we understand that times are tough and that you’re trying to reduce costs wherever possible, we strongly urge you to not sacrifice your website. Your website is your business’s virtual storefront. You deserve a beautifully designed site that is full of useful content your customer will respond to.

The better your website is, the better response your inbound links will generate.

Design aspects all high-quality websites share include:

• An attractive color scheme that is visually pleasing and suits your business’s brand
• The ability to load quickly, particularly onto mobile devices which is what the bulk of your potential consumers will use when trying to access your website
• Good resolution videos and photos which tie into your business’s brand
• Consistency in design throughout the entire website

When the website is complete, your visitors should have no trouble navigating the pages so that they can quickly and easily access the information they’re interested in.

The better your website is designed, the easier it will be to leverage both the inbound and outbound links you have incorporated into your marketing program.

Curious as to what an outstanding, website looks like? Check out the  Fresh First website. We feel that it is a gorgeous simplistic design that resonates with customers.

Beautiful Professional Photos Help Leverage Your Inbound and Outbound Marketing

There’s an old saying about a picture being worth a thousand words, but when it comes to using inbound and outbound links to leverage your marketing photos are worth much more. A good photo has the potential to add up to a massive amount of revenue.

Most business owners understand the need to add photos to their website, but they make the mistake of choosing commonly used stock photos that do little to represent their brand or that tell the business’s story. The photos fail to connect with the business’s customers. It’s a mistake you don’t want to make.

Unique, high-quality photos help leverage your inbound and outbound marketing efforts, but what really draws customers in are images that tell your business’s story.  We work closely with each of our clients, learning about their products/services/brand. We take that knowledge to our creative photography team who utilizes an entire team of artists who create stunning, in-depth images that are completely unique to your business.

Our professional photos aren’t just for your website, they’re also designed to attract attention to your preferred social media platforms. When you pair a good photo and a relevant link on social media sites such as Instagram and Facebook, you’ll enjoy the benefits of the image (and link) going viral, which drives a great deal of traffic to your website, which in turn leads to a lovely surge in sales.

Using Videos to Leverage Inbound and Outbound Marketing

One of the biggest changes to inbound marketing and outbound marketing is the sudden importance of videos.

Incorporating videos into your inbound and outbound marketing efforts has become increasingly important. A recent study indicates that approximately 54% of your target market uses videos to determine which business they choose to make purchases from.

Marketing experts predict that the number of consumers who rely on videos to make their purchasing decisions will increase in upcoming years. It shouldn’t take long for you to discover just how much videos help you leverage your inbound and outbound marketing. Businesses who have already incorporated high-quality videos are reaping some impressive marketing rewards.

Businesses report that:

• Videos resulted in an 83% lead generation increase
• Videos led to an 80% increase in sales
• Videos triggered an 87% increase in web traffic

There are multiple ways you can use videos to help you leverage your inbound and outbound marketing:

• Creating videos that provide special offers and placing them directly on your sales funnel’s landing pages
• Self-hosting your videos and posting them on your homepage in a manner that appeals to Google
• Creating a collection of highly informative videos that provide your customers with useful insight into your business
• Incorporating videos into your blogging efforts
• Using video in a way that you create animated retargeted advertisements

When using videos to help leverage your inbound and outbound marketing efforts, it’s important to have a goal in mind for each video you create, to make sure the video is concise, useful, and high-quality, and to make sure it’s properly incorporated into your website and social media platforms.

The last thing you want to do is use videos that look just like the videos your competition uses. Videos provide you with a unique way to really showcase every single aspect of your business. Good videos, the ones that really help leverage inbound and outbound marketing, don’t just show a short clip of a product. A good video, the type we create, shows every stage the product goes through before it reaches your customers’ hands.

We feel video marketing shouldn’t simply tell your business’s story, but that it should show your business’s heart and soul.  For example, if you’re a musician, we don’t think you should just post a few music videos, we want to capture each drop of heartache, love, hope, happiness, and fear that goes into writing each song you perform. If you own a pet shop, we want to showcase how much you love pets and the care that goes into choosing the food and supplies you decide to sell.

We have an entire creative team that includes directors, actors,

Using Drone Footage to Leverage Inbound and Outbound Marketing

Just a few short years ago, drones became the new must-have technology. People all over the world were getting their very own drone and using it for things like photography, videos, checking up on their neighbors, and getting a bird’s eye view of their favorite parks and monuments. Businesses and multiple government agencies quickly started using drones for delivering goods, construction, etc. Recently, it became apparent that drone footage could be used to help leverage both inbound and outbound marketing efforts.

Different ways you can use drone footage to improve your marketing include:

• Creating unique aerial shots of your business
• Live streaming events
• Providing behind-the-scenes footage of special events or even day-to-day activities
• Capturing unique and engaging shots of products/marketing material/employees

Just like with using photos and videos in your inbound and outbound marketing program, it’s vital that any drone footage you decide to use for marketing is high-quality and to the point.

Don’t want to post any video that puts your customers in a position where they are trying to guess what you’re doing. If you don’t have experience taking, editing, and turning drone footage into a story that helps promote your business, it’s in your best interest to work with an agency that has the experience and resources needed to take drone footage and turn it into marketing gold.

Using Branding and Graphic Design to Leverage Inbound and Outbound Marketing

If you don’t have a strong brand, your inbound and outbound marketing efforts won’t garner the results you’re hoping for. It doesn’t matter how strong your links are or how good a product you’re promoting, you need a solid brand image and graphic design plays a huge role in helping you create a strong brand image that resonates with your target market.

From your business logo to the images and graphics that you post on your website and social media platforms, the images need to bolster your brand and also tell your business’s story. We have a large and experienced team of design experts standing by who will provide you with the unique images you need that will resonate with your customer and help you generate high revenues.

 

C&I Studios

Here at C&I Studios, we provide a wide range of inbound and outbound marketing services that help you sell your brand and boost your sales. We’re dedicated to creating marketing material that beautifully showcases your business.

Contact us to learn how we can help boost your business’s visibility so that you reach more customers.

Resources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2018/06/23/4-tips-to-help-cmos-successfully-leverage-video-marketing/#659016802611

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2020/04/06/how-to-make-video-an-effective-part-of-your-digital-marketing-strategy/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/06/30/how-to-leverage-inbound-and-outbound-marketing/#60a57cc46bb3\

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ajagrawal/2017/06/10/5-ways-marketers-can-take-advantage-of-drone-technology/#781fd9c858cc

You are a real estate agent struggling with sales! How far would you go to sell that house and close that deal? Have you tried real estate videography?

The real estate market is one of the most lucrative industries today. It is also one of the most competitive. It takes a smart and creative marketing campaign to persuade potential buyers and get ahead of the competition. But what does a smart and creative real estate marketing campaign entail?

Of all the creative marketing ideas that real estate agents are applying, videography has turned out to be one of the most effective. Real estate video listings attract about 400% more inquiries than ordinary listings. They also leave a positive impression that wins clients over, which means more closed deals!

If done right, real estate videography has the potential to push your sales through the roof. But what is the right way to use videography for real estate marketing?

Let’s explore how you can use real estate videography to drive your sales through the roof!

Videography Sets You Apart

You love your home; safe, comfortable, warm, peaceful, and everything nice, ideally. Home is where everyone retreats to at the end of a long day. It is one of the biggest investments that anyone can make. To this end, buyers want to know what exactly they will be getting.

In South Florida, everyone shopping for a house or apartment wants it to be perfect.

In which part of town is their next home going to be? How is the neighborhood? Is it close to the beach? Are there palm trees, public pools, parks, and other good infrastructure?

These are just some of the questions on your potential buyers’ minds, wherever they may be.

Your clients will not simply take your word for it. Pictures of the house simply don’t cut it anymore. Many people also don’t have enough time to attend house openings. However, they will believe it if they see it on video – especially if the video is good enough for the big screens.

Trending Real Estate Videography Ideas

One of the best things about videography is that it is incredibly versatile! Your audience sees what you want them to see. You can bring your creativity to life, close more deals, make more money, and have your name at the top of the list of go-to real estate agents!

There is no limit to what you can do with real estate videography, but there are distinct styles and ideas currently trending.

Listing Videos

You may think of a listing video as a quick preview of your portfolio. It should show everything you have to offer at a glance. It essentially lays out the cards on the table for the customer to pick. Your listing video must be good, or else the customer will not bite.

So, what should your listing video show?

Answer: a little bit of everything, with a touch of a little style and glamour to entice the clients enough to pick their curiosity.

Start by introducing yourself at the start of the video – be fun and witty to gain their trust! You can also blow your horn and show off some of the houses you have sold and the happy couples living in their dream houses. The main part of your video, however, should be dedicated to showing the currently available listings. Be sure to use a persuasive marketing approach.

Live-Stream Q&A Videos

Nowadays, it seems that everyone is in a rush to get somewhere. Many people don’t have the time to attend house openings.

So, how do you sell to customers who cannot show up? Answer: live-stream Q&A sessions.

Live-streaming Q&A sessions are like virtual house opening tours. You give your audience a tour of the house in real-time. You move from room to room, filming every corner and making the same presentation you would if the customers were there with you – of which they are, but via video link. You can also take questions from your audience and interact in other ways – think of TV shows such as Cribs!

Meerkat and Periscope are two of the most popular real estate live-streaming apps. They integrate easily with Twitter, so any of your potential buyers on the platform (which is most, if not all, of them) can tune in.

Interview Videos

Information is the most valuable currency in marketing. People want answers to their questions, and they will only come if you have the right answers. Interview videos make for an excellent platform to market your listings, educate potential buyers, and help build trust between you and them.

Haven’t you always wanted to feature in an interview where you determine the course of the conversation? This is your chance!

You can base your real estate interview videos on any subject that raises questions among your potential buyers. You can interview mortgage lenders to answer all questions to do with financing. You can also interview construction company executives for the benefit of buyers interested in building from scratch of making renovations. There is no end to the types of interview videos you can make – just make sure that each one of them is informative and engaging.

Neighborhood Videos

No one can stand a bad neighborhood. In fact, when most people move, it usually is because they have found a better neighborhood. As such, it is important to give potential buyers a glimpse of the neighborhood. The best way to do so is through real estate videography.

What makes a neighborhood? Answer: the community, houses, businesses, infrastructure, and everything it takes to turn life’s wheels. As such, try to cover all these factors in your videos. For instance, try to get an interview with notable figures in the community. You should also take aerial footage of the area to get an overview of the layout and infrastructure.

Try to capture the brighter part of the neighborhood when making these videos. However, don’t do anything that will try to deceive your potential buyers, as this will eventually create mistrust. The idea is to give the buyers positive things that will compensate for any shortcomings in the neighborhood.

Get It Right!

A real estate marketing video should have a positive impression on potential buyers. However, it may have the opposite effect if the quality is poor. Poor lighting, design, production, and other aspects that go into making a video will reflect poorly on the listings, no matter how good they may be in person.

Making the perfect real estate marketing video takes more than just a camera. The competition is stiff! Everyone in real estate is turning to videography in a bid to get ahead of the competition, so you should invest in professional services if you want to stand out.

We Can Help!

C&I is an idea and advertising agency. We come up with innovative and creative videography marketing ideas for our clients. We would like to do the same for you!

How can we help?

For starters, we offer a variety of real estate videography and production services. We will develop the perfect videos for your listings, interviews, neighborhood surveys, and live Q&A sessions. Videography is our passion, and we invest in the best equipment, so you are assured of top-quality videos!

Get in touch with us to learn more about how we can help!