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Tag Archive: graphic-design-26
I never really used Foursquare and had heard about it only briefly. But a few weeks ago, I decided to start using it and see what it is all about and how it can help out your company.
In a nutshell, it is a “Check In” application that you would install on your phone. Each time you are literally anywhere, you “Check in.” I am still very new with the lingo and am trying to just use it from a “user” standpoint right now. I haven’t been on their website to learn about all the business pro’s you can get from having customers “check in” when they are at your establishment. What I am liking and quite frankly getting addicted to is “Checking In” everywhere to see what specials if any that business might have. It’s like a little added bonus to walk into Hy-Vee and get a deal on something that you wouldn’t normally.
I have built up my following of friends who are also using Foursquare and I can pretty much tell you where they are at most days. That being said, I don’t think I would allow too many people to follow me if I don’t want them to know where I have been! I have earned badges based on my check ins and I am already the Mayor of my own home. I have checked into there the most so not surprising I am the mayor…
You also have the option of connecting your Foursquare account with your Facebook and Twitter account. If you wanted, every time you check in somewhere, it will post it on your Facebook or Twitter accounts. Great free marketing for those businesses!
If you haven’t used the app, I think you should. It is a fun little free addiction and sometimes you can find good deals that you otherwise wouldn’t get!
Every week I go to a networking meeting and have been doing so for almost a year now. I speak about my business very brief each week. I had the opportunity to speak about my business one other time, for about 10-15 minutes, before today. Many of these people have even met me for coffee. Today however, I REALLY got a clear message in regards to my business.
No.one.knows.what.I.do.
There, I said it. I realized that I work my tail off and am struggling to find new business leads because I am not educating my potential clients or my potential clients referrals. That is big problem given that I run by almost 95% referrals. So this post today and the many going forward are going to be geared to help you understand what it is I do.
Although my company is called Graphic Design 26 (also realized I maybe should change that today… another blog post though…) I do so much more than just graphic design. I graduated with a Marketing degree from ISU (Go Clones!) and my main love and passion is and will always be marketing. I get marketing; it is natural for me. I am also a salespersons dream customer as I can be suckered into almost anything! That being said, I can also sell almost anything to anyone. You just have to figure out how that product can help them. Many times that will be in ways they didn’t even realize they needed.
I create logos and illustrations, brochures, mailers, newsletters, sales collateral and pretty much any other form of marketing materials for companies any size. The difference with me is that I am going to take that piece you want created and am going to make sure your idea is the best idea to get you your end result! That is Marketing 101. I want to make sure that what you are creating (and paying for) is going to work for you. Perfect example… How many people are heading to Homecoming parades in the next couple weeks and will get the “flyers” from businesses and really, truly, read them? Not too many of us unless they are colorful and real flashy! We are going to spend more time on the pieces that we are given that we have something to do them. A bracelet, a tattoo, a magnet… The flyer is going to go in the bag with the candy and will probably just get thrown away with the candy we don’t like.
Along with the physical marketing pieces that companies need to promote themselves, they also need to be marketing themselves with some form or forms of social media. I too was in the same boat as many people and had no idea what all these different mediums of social media were or how they would benefit me. The more I have dug into them and thought about ways they can help my clients, the more educated I have become. And the more I have realized I need to use them for my own business. It is hard to not promote a business to use them, after all, many of them are free marketing! You just need to determine which ones are going to be the best fit for your objective and for your clientele.
I have created websites and maintained them for smaller companies from templates. It is how my own site was created. I have designed the look of wesbsites for bigger companies too. I don’t write code but I know a great local company that does and I work with them to make the site look and function just like I envision it.
Here is a piece that I have created recently to hand out about what I do. It is very basic but it at least lists everything I do. I hope this helps the many of you who have always wondered what I do or what a graphic designer does. I am now going to call myself a Graphic Designer AND Marketing Consultant. I think it just sums up what I do best. The good part is that once I give you those ideas, I can then do them for you. We don’t need to look further!
It is small business week and the blogs that I am reading this week are packed full of great useful tips for me and many of my clients. The one that is on my mind right now is regarding how to choose you business name.
When I look back at choosing my companies name, I can honestly say, I started with just my name being business name. Then, I moved on to my initials. Pretty common moves so far… Then, I added 26 (my anniversary date) to my initials. It was starting to feel better but we were still not there. Then, my husband called one day and said, “I got it, Design 26!” I loved it right away. It sounded catchy yet creative yet it was going to require someone to think “I wonder what the 26 stands for???” For me, I felt that would bring my customer closer to building a relationship with me. They would reach out and ask what the significance was of the 26.
My company name stayed that way until I re-organized my website. In that process, I was consulted to add the word “Graphic” to my name. Design is a very broad word and adding the word graphic to it would give my customers that much more knowledge in what I offer. It also would help Google find me when that customer searches for a graphic designer as opposed to just a designer.
So, my name has been changed now for a little over six months. My business cards haven’t changed yet. They will once this stack runs dry. I would love to hear your thoughts regarding my process. Recently I had someone ask me what a graphic designer even did. That made me think again about whether or not I had chosen the correct name…
I recently listened to a conference call over the internet put on by a lady who is literally obsessed with folding! I have to admit, I haven’t really given folding so much thought but listening to her really changed my mind. Her first piece of helpful advise was to mock up your piece and fold it the way it is going to be folded. Then, watch your audience member view the piece. Are they catching the key points that you are wanting them to see in the order you are intending? Sounds like a novel idea, but I don’t think we always find ourselves doing that.
After seeing her many examples of amazing work (very jealous designer here…) where the items are designed around a particular fold, I have to admit, they caught my attention. Let’s be honest, how many tri-fold brochures really capture our attention and make us want to “Read more!” Just turning your tri-fold horizontal is enough of a change to capture the audience’s attention.
My favorite fold has to be with the double gate fold. I received a small piece that came folded down to a 4×6 size. But when I opened it up, it was so captivating and I couldn’t help but read more!
Check out her site for some interesting info on folding – www.foldfactory.com. Confirmed to me that there really is someone obsessed about EVERYTHING!!! My wheels are turning with ideas on how to fold that next marketing piece!!!
A double-duty business card can be a good thing or a not-so-good thing. Below are two very specific examples of this.
- The good double-duty business card - Using your business card for more than just telling who you are and what you do. Print a coupon or special offer on the backs of your cards. Include them with invoices to current customers. If you offer a referral incentive, print it on the card.
- The not-so-good double-duty business card – Use your business card to focus on one business, not multiple. Someone whose card indicates they ‘do it all’ might be perceived as the infamous “Jack-of-all- Trades, Master of None.” This is especially true if you use the same business card for two or more different businesses (such as your part-time real estate business and your part-time computer repair business).
If you are trying to break into a specific specialty within the same business (such as newsletter design or Web design), design a separate business card to give to your target market. Depending on your business, you might want to have a fun card and a serious card.
Hang tight – I have been working hard to get my site looking and feeling the way I want! I hope you like this new theme that I have recently downloaded. It is so user friendly and I am finding with a few extra tips from my brother, I am able to actually do most of this on my own! Who would have thought I could do such a thing. Hopefully it will be finished real soon. Let me know your thoughts.