5 Design Tools for the Non-Graphic Designer

Creating quality content is one of the ways of ensuring that you attract the intended online audience. With the advent of social media, great imagery is playing an increasingly significant role in the world of content creation. While relevant text content is important, images can help to entice your audience to click and read what you have created. If you do not have the knowledge and experience required to come up with quality images, there are several design tools that you can use.

Canva

Canva is one of the most popular design tools for non-graphic designers. The tool not only lets you make your own visuals but also comes with tutorials and teaching materials to help you develop and improve your skillset. Although Canva is not free, it has pre-made design layouts, pre-sized templates, and allows you to save your designs as well as to use the templates you have created at a later date.

Fivver

In case you have budgetary constraints, using Fivver will offer you the advantages you need to communicate using quality images. The tool lets you make custom logos within a very short period of time. With this graphic design tool, you will also be in a position to market the various products and services that you offer at an affordable fee.

99Designs

One of the advantages that place this particular tool ahead of its competitors is that it features crowd-sourced design services. You can create a contest for the specific project you have at a given time. This could be your business logo, a cover image for your social media account or website imagery. From such a contest, there is a chance that you will have many experienced designers competing for your project. This gives you an extraordinary chance to tap into some of the best talents in the industry.

Pixlr

This is a simpler and easy to use equivalent to Photoshop. The tool allows users to edit photos and create graphics. You will be able to choose your fonts, customize the size of your images and access it both on your desktop and mobile device.

PowerPoint

Although PowerPoint does not have as many features as those of the previous tools listed, it can also be used to make images. And since most people are familiar with the application, they can easily create the quality images that they need to make their content more attractive.

Having good quality images is a hugely important piece when it comes to creating your content, and just because you don’t have a degree in graphic design doesn’t mean you can get away with poor visuals.

The Importance of Relevant Messaging Both Online and Off

Whether online or offline, creating relevant messages to communicate to your audience is hugely important. These are messages that engage with people and add value to any campaign, marketing or otherwise. As you work to create your next campaign, ask yourself, “Is this message truly relevant to my following?”

What Is a Relevant Message, Then?

Relevant messages are a critical component to any online or offline strategy. They should convey certain themes and add value in some way. Here are some examples:

  • They are revealing.
  • They are informative and timely.
  • These messages can be challenging or empathetic.
  • They may be inspirational.
  • In some cases, they can be cautionary.
  • They should always be truthful.
  • In some way, they connect directly to your audience.

Why Does Relevance Matter?

Relevant messages convey more than just an announcement, a sale or a product launch. Rather, they help to create a unique bond between the viewer of that message and those putting the message out there. For example, the right message helps to show industry leadership thus creating a bond of respect. These messages create emotion in the reader. They appeal to the consumer in some way as well. Your message must impact your reader in a way that encourages them to take the action you desire. Without a relevant message, there’s no way for your reader to connect with your company. That leaves you without the return you want.

Pulling the Pieces Together

Every type of marketing you have should communicate a relevant message to your customer regardless of the platform. It should connect with them on some level to show them why a relationship with your company or organization should matter. When you create this connection, you build your brand, build your revenue, and create long-term connections with people who respect your team. Without a relevant message, your marketing will fall flat.

No matter whether you are creating a campaign in print, launching a social media campaign, or merely speaking out to the public one thing is for sure – make sure every word you add or any message you convey is relevant to the relationship you hope to build with your customers.

 

How to Stand Out in the Crowd on Social Media

Oh, the never-ending dilemma that is social media. Now, don’t get me wrong. It can be an excellent platform when used in the proper context. However, like a “stand” up comic, who has to engage the crowd to get them to laugh, social media marketers need to “stand” out in the scene online.

Therein lies the challenge.

When you have a passion for a product or service, offer personal testimony, this is helpful. However, if you can post a brief video demonstration that showcases your actual use and application of the product, that tells a whole other tale. Now you have a credibility factor and become more believable to buyers. We always hear about the need to create and post engaging content, and that is accurate. But, to create content that catches the reader’s attention, you may need to switch things up.

For instance, as opposed to just writing an informative piece, hit the insert button and add a: Frequently Asked Questions section. You may even create a “Contributor’s Corner” platform. In this manner, readers, your followers, will feel that:

  1. They have a voice, and you value their feedback.
  2. It creates a budding relationship and establishes a trust factor.

When that occurs, trust can translate into dollars, if you have a service or product to offer. If you are merely focusing on increasing your presence, trust is still critical. When followers believe you, two things happen: They will advocate for you on social media, and they will direct others to your page as a source which provides reliable and sound advice.

Another means to make your social media presence known is to upload photos of yourself; include outside interests, so to become relatable to your readers. It shows that you are accessible and very much in touch with the current culture.

Remember, this is not designed to overwhelm you, but put you over the top, in a sea of seekers online.

Here are some other things to consider:

  • Address people of various ages and stages, even if it is foreign to you. In doing so, the element of sensitivity comes into play. With millennials, Snapchat and Instagram are essential. It doesn’t have to be controversial, just conversational.
  • Invite readers to sound off on current events.

Hopefully, this helps.

How to Incorporate Storytelling into Your Content

Everyone loves a good story, right? And with content marketing gaining prominence, it is important that your work stands out. This goal can be achieved by including storytelling within your pieces. There are several ways to include storytelling in your content. One way is to tell a story that gives your audience a reason to engage with you regularly. Have a good narrative, one that includes multiple parts fed out at changing times. This gives your audience a reason to keep coming back; they are interested in the next piece of the saga.

Another way to incorporate storytelling into your content is to tell tales showing how your brand relates to your audience. The stories, even though they are fiction, can help provide another perspective on your brand. They can give more of a backstory around the feelings and culture of the company, conveyed in a thoughtful, entertaining way.

You can also tell a story about a topic to make it easier to understand. Sometimes, a complex problem is more easily explained via a narrative. If you can remember Schoolhouse Rock, you know what I mean.

But, why do this? Stories are not only memorable but also shareable. People can tell others about them. What better way to show how word-of-mouth advertising can work. A person reads a good story on your site, tells his friend about it. That friend goes to your site and reads that same good story. She then tells another friend of hers and so on and so on. Think of the potential power in that.

By telling a good story, you show your audience that you are not just trying to sell them something, that you are trying to connect with them at some deeper level. Give them a reason to like you, maybe just a bit more than a competitor.

4 Print Campaign Examples Millennials Love

With so much advertising being thrown at millennials, it makes sense that it takes an original message to cut through the noise. And with the rise of digital media, print ads have to work twice as hard to convey a message to tech-savvy millennials. Millennials want print ads that cut to the chase and utilize attention-grabbing, direct visuals to convey their message. Here are some examples of print campaigns that speak to millennials, as well as to the young at heart.

Boredpanda.com has a list of ads that are chock-full of millennial favorites. Let’s pick out and discuss some highlights:

1. Volkswagon: Precision Parking

If there’s one thing millennials love, it’s cuteness. This Volkswagon ad features a cute hedgehog parking between goldfish, just the kind of image millennials enjoy.

2. Reading Campaign: Face-A-Book

Millennials love social media, so this reading campaign ad is sure to turn their heads, turning social media giant’s logo Facebook into a pro-reading message. Good advice for millennials, and everyone else.

3. Oogmerk Opticians: Get the Respect You Deserve

When people think millennials, they think hipsters, and this ad for Oogmerk Opticians shows how to turn anyone into a hipster by giving them a pair of trendy glasses.

4. Lego: “Imagine” The Simpsons

Many millennials grew up watching The Simpsons and playing with Legos, so this ad combines the best of both worlds, with The Simpsons characters built out of Lego blocks. All that’s missing is Homer’s pink donut. Maybe there will be a circular Lego in the future?

What makes these ads stand out in the minds of millennials? Not only are they all creative and well thought out, but they are simplistic too. Most people don’t have time to sift through wordy, overbearing direct mail pieces. Keeping yours creative and to the point is a great way to catch the eye of not only millennials but other generations as well.

Is Blogging Right for Your Business?

A blog keeps you engaged with your industry and your community. It can position a person as a thought leader—in any business.

If you are reading this, you already know that the dynamics of doing business has changed. Advertising has changed. Today’s clients expect companies to engage them. Blogging provides a straightforward entrance to the world of online engagement.

Keeping your website reader-worthy makes it into something more than the modern version of a phone book listing. And it will rise in search results through blogging. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is vital for businesses today. If your potential client seeks your service on the web but finds another provider first, you have a problem! You can turn this around with quality blogging.

Setting Up Your Blog

Your website might enable a blog already. As it helps bring in clients, you may seek writing support, so blogging goes on in the background while you handle your professional responsibilities. Consider it part of your marketing budget.

To start, it’s important to establish desired return on investment (ROI). Are people finding your updates, and sharing them with their friends and colleagues? Do readers locate the content of your posts worth returning to? A useful service shows you stats on the time users spend on your blog and how your posts are shared.

Of course, you also want information on how many readers explore your services or place orders. With statistically measurable goals, you can see if your efforts are working, or if it’s sensible to get pros involved with your marketing.

When to Post?

Blog weekly. You can schedule the posts so that they don’t go out at 3 am when you finish writing. Again, if time’s an issue, hire quality writing support. Give your readers material that is valuable to them.

You will want to update your blog about upcoming events where your company will have a presence and about any special promotions you are running.

Community Engagement

The best return from your blog will involve engagement. Enable people to sign up and be alerted to your new blog entries. Allow reader comments. And yes, set up a Facebook page as well as other social media platforms suited to your business. Make sure the word is getting out about your company.

Need inspiration? Watch a big company, one you’ve known a while, using social media. Pick out some ideas that would work for you. Then set a timeline to implement them.

Common Website Mistakes to Avoid

Websites are the modern equivalent of a business card. They’re necessary to stay competitive. If you don’t have a website, the chances are that your competitor down the street does.  And you can bet that customers will go to that business in a heartbeat if they can’t find out anything about your business online.

These days, an online presence confirms your legitimacy as a business.

With that being said, you don’t want to waste people’s time when they do come to your website. They want readily available information that gets straight to the point of what they need. Wading through useless, peripheral information will only frustrate them and send them clicking over to your competitor before the web page has finished loading.

Website mistakes which can cause that situation to happen more quickly include:

1. Talking Too Much About Yourself Instead of What You Can Do for the Client

Your website is a marketing tool. It is not a one-sheet for your personal or business biography. Your “About” page can give some relevant background about your business’ origins or mission statement, but when people visit your website’s homepage, the focus should be on how they landed on the right website to get exactly what they need. The “who” is not as relevant in this case as the “what” and “how fast.”

2. Forgetting to Add a Search Box

If all the things that you offer can’t fit on one page, then people will probably want to do a quick look up for what they need. The emphasis here is on the word, quick. People are used to doing web searches, and they will look for a search box if they don’t immediately see what they are looking for. That search box should be in a highly visible place because if your visitors have to search too long for it, they’ll just as soon go to Google and search for another business that can deliver whatever it is they’re looking for.

3. Allowing Links to Other Sites to Open in the Same Window

The goal is to keep your website visitors on your site for as long as possible. The longer they stay and engage with your content, the more likely they are to become a customer or at least a subscriber. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to link to third party sites for such things as reading source material or to complete a purchase. No matter the reason that they leave, you always want your visitors to come back. Make it easy for them to do that by having all of your outbound links open in a new window. This way, your website remains present and available as a reminder for visitors to take another look whenever they’ve finished doing the offsite tasks.

By having a website for your business and avoiding these three common mistakes, you can create a better online experience for your prospects and customers.

4 Ways to Get Creative with Content Marketing

What is the absolute BEST way to get your website content seen? People consume content all over the internet in many different ways.  Think of various websites like Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, or Facebook.  The popularity of these platforms lies in the fact that people can choose how they consume information.  So, how can you make use of this when creating your own web content?  Here are four ways to get creative with your content marketing strategies and help encourage more website engagement from your viewers:

Video Blog with Transcript

Video blogs are exactly what they sound like… a video of you (or someone else) speaking on a topic; and they are becoming increasingly popular.  However, you should consider taking that video a step further by including a transcript of it on the same page.  By doing this, you will optimize both the written content as well as the video content for search engines.

Infographics

Many people love infographics, and for a good reason! They are incredibly easy to understand and can be reviewed quickly.  Infographics are nothing more than simple images that convey your message.  A Google Image search of the term “Infographic” will provide several hundreds of examples.  Best of all, with the right tool (like that provided by piktochart.com), creating a custom infographic can be easy.

Expert Interviews

Nothing gives you credibility like having a celebrity endorsement.  However, that is not always possible.  The next best thing is showcasing an individual’s expertise – whether that is someone within your company or outside of it.  Creating content using an expert interview is an excellent way to add credibility to your website.  You can even combine this concept with the video blog tip, above.

“A Day in the Life”….In Photos!

People love to see a story. Is your company having a business retreat soon?  If so, that could be an excellent opportunity to add a “human” element to your website and help your target audience connect with you.  Just a few pictures, each with a caption telling the story, can go a long way towards building rapport with your audience.

With so much content on the web, it is important that yours stands out among the crowd. Changing things up and throwing in something other than a blog or whitepaper every once in a while can make a world of difference for your business.

Do Catalogs Still Drive Sales?

The belief that print is dead is not only erroneous, it is a false mindset that can cost you customers. Catalogs and brochures remain very effective tools to reach customers and drive sales. Printed marketing materials need to be a component of a successful outreach campaign. Email and digital materials are easily dismissed with a click of a button, whereas print is tangible, vibrant, and imparts information in an effective manner. Catalogs make shopping a more interactive, tactile, and physical experience. Many customers enjoy a mix of print and digital information, and when making the buy decision, many tactile people would rather shop from a printed catalog.

Catalogs also make a perfect leave behind at the conclusion of a sales call; rather than state that you will email them material, you are able to put it in their hand during those vital moments when they are strongly engaged with you. Catalogs are also perfect for recurring customers with whom you want to keep in touch, by having your catalog on their desk, and making that visual impression, can help to keep your company, and your products, at the forefront of their mind. Printed materials that are vibrant, promote the company’s brand identity, and impart useful information will be an effective piece of any direct marketing campaign.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that your firm does not need printed materials, and that digital can meet all of your marketing needs. Catalogs continue to play an important part in driving sales and keeping repeat customers engaged in the sales process. Catalogs present your products and services in a straightforward, informative, and easily digested manner that is accessible to customers across many market niches. Make sure that your marketing campaigns contain all of the tools available.

The Color Of Your Mail Envelopes Can Effect Your Responses

How important is the color of the mail you are sending out to prospects? Consider that the envelope is the absolute first thing a person will see. Before they read the return address, before they open it and find out what it is, they will notice the color. On that one split second alone, their mind has now framed how they are going to frame the information. The person may have even decided if he is going to open it at all or toss it.

There is an entire field of study dedicated strictly to the responses people give to color. Color symbolism, for instance, studies the conditioned associations we make with color. This of course, is based greatly on where we are raised. Green, for example, is considered lucky in Ireland but unlucky in England.  Red is associated with danger in many places but not all.

Color Psychology shows the effects colors have on a person’s mood and behavior. Certainly a key piece of information when it comes to print and direct mail marketing!

So as opposed to the conditioned meanings we can give to colors, they also create a psychological response because of the way the wavelengths are received by our brains.  Red can create aggression, intensity and get the blood pumping. Green can relax and soothe.

If you absolutely want someone to open a piece of mail, a red envelop will do it.  On the other hand, it might also make them aggressive and potentially angry when they open it. They might feel the sense of urgency wasn’t worth it. So really, it comes down to figuring out what kind of reaction you want, what kind of mental state you want your prospect to be in when they receive your message.

It’s also important to make sure (and test) that it is not evoking the negative side of that emotion as described with Red. Yellow will bring up emotion and confidence, but can also evoke anxiety and fear.

Take some time to learn some basics about this concept and apply it to a split test. You’ll be amazed at what you can learn and apply from the results.

http://www.colour-affects.co.uk/how-it-works

https://www.fluttermail.com/colour-affects-email-response/