Marketing Manner

Just as there are best practices, there are also things to avoid in designing and printing brochures, catalogs, postcards and all sorts of marketing collateral. Enumerating some of the best tips in design isn’t tantamount to listing down these said design no-no’s. So we’re giving you a heads up in this short list of four things to avoid in print design:

Clashing Headlines and Images

In designing print media, there will always be a focal point, a central image or message that the audience’s eyes will naturally gravitate towards. This focal point will also be the starting line – the first point of interest that pulls in your audience. Sub-central points would lead your audience’s attention to other elements of your design until they can fully digest the whole message your design is trying to relay.

The Coca-Cola’s brand text and trademark bottle shape are two powerful elements – one text, the other graphic. Here, they don’t clash but work with each other.

The problem is, sometimes a headline or tagline is just as strong as a main image or graphic element, and instead of one helping the other, they clash. Don’t ever let two main elements fight each other for attention. If you really need a strong image to go with a strong headline, merge these two elements for greater effect. Use typographical styles or even infographics.

Bad Font and Color Choice

Explicit adverse reactions to disastrous font and color choices are obvious, but the more subtle impacts of font or colors that seem okay but may in fact have some negative effect are harder to spot.

Color and fonts play huge roles in your design. Choose which of them to use wisely.

To illustrate this point, studies of the most common advertising elements have found that attractive women tend to make men impatient. This in turn sets a male audience’s mind into a sort of short-term way of thinking. In effect, while attractive women may seem like great all-around marketing elements, they are actually detrimental to marketing long-term products and services such as insurance.

Widows and Orphans

Dangling and lost widows and orphans get tuned out because people have simply gotten good at tuning out unwanted advertising. Or in this case, unwanted elements. They will be neglected and thus your entire message won’t push through. Worse, your entire print media might be neglected.

No use, no excuse.

There is no good use for widows and orphans in print design. And frankly, with the power of modern desktop publishing technology, there really is no excuse for still being unable to get rid of these unwanted elements.

Jumbled Layouts

Appreciate the fact that your modern audience lives in a fast-paced and dynamic world of technology and innovation. There’s less time to do everything we want to do and we can’t waste too much time on just one thing.

It’s plain to see which layout is smoother to the eye, and kinder to perception.

Bad design takes up 50% more concentration than good design. This means 50% more effort and 50% more time. The bottom-line is that people simply won’t waste 50% more of both because of the perception that they can’t afford to on poorly designed . As much as possible whenever you get into brochure, catalog or postcard printing, use clean layouts and simple designs that aren’t hard to navigate with the eyes.

Why must there be a rift between print and Web media? Especially in endeavors of marketing a business, won’t a unified approach be ideal? At first the differences between print and the Web may seem irreconcilable, but upon closer inspection, using one to compliment the other is as simple as keeping to a few key concepts, one of which is consistency.

Consistency builds trust as well as expectancy. Don’t worry, being consistent across all marketing media, be it offline or online, is easier than you think:

Consistency in Image

While the brand and the logo of your business are the most important points when it comes to consistency in image, sticking to an overall motif is also necessary. To illustrate this, consider one of the most influential brands of cola: what brand do you think of when you glimpse red and white? Coca-cola has done extremely well marketing their image and their colors across all media they employ in advertising. Just take a look at a Coke poster then visit their website and it will be plain to see. Their consistency in image and color scheme has come to make people expect to see their brand name wherever they glimpse a dash of a red-white combo.

Consistency in Information

The key bits of information that need to be unfailingly consistent are a tagline or slogan and pertinent contact information. Depending on the medium of marketing, some extra information may prove to be superfluous. But some lines and details always need to be there: in business cards, postcard printing pieces, posters, giveaways, websites, banner ads, and even flash animated ads. Details like pertinent contact information need to be consistently available in business cards, flyers, websites (or at least “About Us” or “Contact Us” webpages), and other media with a touch of professionalism.

Consistency in Message

The main message of an entire marketing campaign needs to be intact and consistent across all media it is conveyed from. As different marketing media have different restricting limits and formats, some information may vary from one medium to another, as would the sense of urgency, but the core message should be left intact. More than to preserve the actual idea, keeping the core message the same helps keep the impact and impression across all media the same too.

Consistency in Communication Frequency

Trust and expectancy usually go hand in hand. When your audience expects you to distribute a communiqué or marketing release and you meet their expectations, you satisfy their expectancy and build further on their trust. For print media such as newsletters and mailed brochures it may be a bit easier to keep consistent timelines of releases of content-rich print media. For Web media where speed and dynamic interaction essential, fewer bits of content in tighter schedules may be acceptable.

Offline and online marketing media need not be separate advertising endeavors. If you’re consistent enough in your image, information, message, and frequency, a unified front of both Web and print media would work to your business’s advantage.

Cost-effectiveness is a pursuit for any company, especially when it comes to marketing. The Internet has brought about many forms of cheap advertising media, but cheap doesn’t equate to cost-effective. It’s time to remind the marketing industry of the role of advertising specialties, more commonly known as promotional giveaways.

Cost-Effective CPI = Greater ROI

Comparative information taken from Nielsen Media shows that promotional specialties have the most cost-effective average cost per impression (CPI) when compared to other forms of ads. This leader board scores the ranks (in ad to CPI ratios):

Ad : CPI

• Advertising specialties : $0.004
• Spot radio : $0.005
• Syndicated TV ad : $0.006
• Cable TV ad : $0.007
• Newspaper ad : $0.0129
• Prime time TV ad : $0.019
• National magazine ad : $0.033

A research survey conducted by the Advertising Specialty Institute (API) highlighted statistical data on the efficiency of promotional giveaways. Company logos and brands on printed giveaways are an effective reminder of the business to 84% of the people who receive them. Better yet, they also elicit a feeling of favorable impression on 42% of the people they are given to.

Numbers Tell

So more than three-fourths of the people you hand a giveaway to remember your brand, and half of them would acquire a greater appreciation for your business. Not a bad return on investment (ROI), right? But it gets better. Additional statistics from the ASI survey gives hints on how to capitalize on advertising specialties.

Here are more numbers:

• 62% of respondents do business with an advertiser after receiving a giveaway from them.
• Another 24% said they are likely to do business with the advertiser.
• Useful promotional items are kept 81% of the time.

You don’t need to do the math, what it all means is simple:

• Promotional giveaways are on average cheaper than most of the other effective methods of marketing,
• They produce the most favorable ROI, results for your money,
• They render high recall on as much as three-quarters of recipients, making them remember your business better, and
• Within the recipient group they effectively help promote intent to purchase or avail of the advertiser’s services – they are proven to increase the chances of a sale.

Effective Print Giveaways to Start With

Some printed giveaways  like catalogs, personalized calendars and custom notepads are among the most effective. If you want to try your hand at advertising specialties, start with notepads and calendars:

• A notepad is the perfect companion for a promotional pen. During the lifespan of these items, they will be passed on to an average of eight owners. That’s how long your promotional notepad will be advertising for you.
• A calendar is surprisingly cost-effective. As much as 94% of recipients are effectively reminded of the advertiser. A hefty 85% eventually end up doing business with the advertiser who gave them the calendars.

Promotional giveaways are time-honored marketing tactics that remain classic and effective regardless of modern innovation – capitalize on them now.

When it comes to online media, there are many metrics and means to measure the efficiency of any given website and the entirety of its elements in reaching its target audience. There are currently four media measurement standards: ad-centric, browser-centric, site-centric, and user-centric. Heated research and technical debate rages on about which of the last two more prominently used standards are best. Thinking about how much the Web and online media has evolved nowadays, it’s becoming somewhat of a challenge to pinpoint print media’s place in the grand scheme of things. What with the grand scheme revolving around fast-paced and dynamic technological progress.

Is Print Media Dying Out?

Even the minds behind The New York Times admitted to accepting the eventual disappearance of the printed version of the classic newspaper. One day, if our current trend of Web-related technological advancements continue, virtual media will replace virtually all print media, pun intended. But in the interim, print media’s role has shifted from being the primary means by which companies reach out to their audiences, to being one of two not necessarily competing means.

At first glance, the rift between online and offline media seems unbridgeable. In fact, since the Web boom, as much as 60% of new magazine titles don’t even reach their first anniversary. No print media can best Web media especially in the ease and convenience they afford.

New Focus: A Unified Front to Extend Reach

But don’t shed tears for print media yet, because though almost everything print media can do Web media can do and make accessible faster, easier, and even less expensively, statistics show that online efforts alone don’t achieve much.

The main concern for any sort of media is to reach out to its audience and deliver a message. Print media’s reach is consistent and isn’t drastically affected by any numerical increase in pages, inserts, or any additional printed material. In fact, only frequency can greatly alter the reach of print media. That is, the more frequent the media is released, the more it reaches out.

Web media can reach out more effectively not just with an increase in frequency, but in gimmicks and new tactics that go with the rise and fall of vogue. However, both the reach of print and Web media can’t compare to the reach of both of them used in tandem.

A New Mission: Expand Reach

Even in discussion of Web-based media measurement, print media is not left out. Only in understanding the metrics of Web media can print media better work to complement its Web counterparts. The converse is also true. If both versions of media wish to maximize a company’s or entity’s reach to better communicate messages to a wider range of audience, they need to understand and work with each other.

If you find that you have hit on a topic that cannot be covered in 300-500 words, then you are ready to create an article series. One of the greatest benefits of an article series is that it keeps your audience coming back for more. Just make sure to make yours a successful series by following some tried and trues techniques. Here are some instructions to get you started.

Create an Outline for an Article
Start out by creating an outline for an article. Your outline should have a title line and then several broad topics that define your paragraphs. Each broad topic should have supporting information to build the body of your article.

Research and Prepare to Write
Once you have your outline, you know what kind of research you need to do. Now is the time to hold interviews, read articles and news stories, and find supporting information. Gather all of your sources and begin writing.

Write the Complete Article
Write the entire article before you publish any part of it. Life tends to get in the way of writing when it is most necessary. If you have your whole article ready before you publish, then you will be able to follow through with your promised additions.

Divide the Article into Smaller Parts
Divide your article into 300-500 word posts. Smaller is better, but make sure that you have enough information in each post to make an interesting read. A three part series with great content is better than a five part series with empty fillers.

Create Introduction and Conclusion Lines
There is one feature that is unique to an article series that you don’t use in short blog posts. They are the beginning and ending sentences that connect the series. For your introductory sentence of the first post, let your readers know that this is the beginning of a series. The ending sentences should let your readers know what to expect for the next installment. Your second, and any following entrees, should review the previous posts. On the last part of your series, wrap up your entire series, making it clear that this is the final post.

Publish One at a Time
Some blogging services are set up to allow you to schedule future posts. If that is the case for you, schedule each post for separate publishing times. You can choose hours, days, or weeks apart. Add a sentence to each post of the series that lets readers know when to expect the next post.

Go Back and Link Articles Together
As you add each entree, go back to the previous ones and place a link to the new article. Every part of the series should have links that take the reader to and from each part so that they do not get jumbled about with unrelated blog posts.

Now all that is left is letting your fellow bloggers know about your newly published series!

The green movement emerged and has exploded during the formative years of the Millennial generation. Those who were born between 1977 and 2000 can scarcely remember a time when there was not talk of reducing global warming and pollution. We talk more about carbon footprints and emission reduction now, but the cause is still the same: save the earth. So, how important is it to millennials that the products they buy be green? Surveys indicate that they care, but their compulsion to action varies.

Those Who Know Care
Not all millennials are well educated on what the green movement really involves. Some know what it is but don’t know what to do about it. There are many who care about the concept, but they do not know enough to make an impact in the way they shop.

Millennials are the Green Generation
Some surveys indicate that 18-34 year old’s do care even more than those over 35. They are willing to pay more for green products, solely because they are better for the environment. Millennials are also slightly more willing to buy from companies that make an effort to be green than those who do not.

New Technology Competes with Green Choices
While Millennials show a desire to shop green, they are also very swept away with the newest mobile devices. iPhones and notebooks are hardly good for the environment since they are made of toxic substances and are short lived. If a company can create and market highly green iPhone competitor, more than likely they would have the uninhibited approval of Millennials.

Green Marketing must be Honest
One defining characteristic of Millennials is their desire to hear the truth. They do not want to be fed fluff and they certainly do not want to hear lies. If you choose to market from a green perspective, be honest. Make it clear what makes your product environmentally friendly and how you are helping the earth.

Green marketing can put your business in favor with Millennials. However, green alone will not sell your product nor your brand. Building a strong brand using targeted marketing is still a must. Providing quality products is still important. So make the green changes in your products and educate your customers about those changes. Hopefully Millennials will feel moved by your message enough to do their part in making eco-friendly purchases.

A website without a clear call to action has no business being a website. Defining a clear call to action is easy if you understand what it is that you need for your visitors to do in order for your business to be successful. Without an action that your visitors need to take, you could be missing out on many conversion opportunities. If you don’t know where to start to make your call to action noticeable, take a look at the following steps.

Step 1: Define for yourself what it is you want your visitors to do
When you are trying to come up with a clear call to action, there are a few things to consider. For starters, there should only be one or two calls to action emphasized. Stick to emphasizing the most important one. Also, keep in mind that a call to action is not the same as information. Information might help you accomplish your goal, but it will not tell your visitors what to do. Lastly, your call to action must move your visitor closer to your final goal: to make your visitor a customer.

Step 2: Define for your customer what it is that you want them to do
Write your call to action as a command. “Sign up,” “Call now,” or “Ask for a quote” are all strong commands that will make it clear to your visitor what they need to do. Also, make your call to action very visible. Use large print and bold colors. Leave plenty of white space around your call to action so that it appears important. Repeat your call to action in several places so that your visitor will not miss it.

Step 3: Make sure you visitor will not be distracted
If your call to action is for your visitor to sign up for your newsletter or use the discount coupon on your postcard, make sure that is all they are being prompted to do. This is not the time to ask them to check out your merchandise or visit your customer satisfaction page. All of their actions should lead to signing up for your newsletter.

Step 4: Use landing pages for separate calls to action
Your website may have several great calls to action. Create landing pages that are dedicated to separate, single calls to action. Quick tip: make your landing page design consistent with the ad that brings your visitors there. That way your visitors will feel confident when they fill out forms that they are on the right page.

Step 5: Check on the success of your calls to action.
Periodically switch up your landing pages or calls to action. Measure you new methods against the success of the first. When you find a call to action that brings in a higher percentage of conversion, use that as your new standard.

The beginning of the year is always a great time of the year to renew your efforts toward making your business successful. If you need some suggestions to help you get started, here are some great resolutions for your online marketing in 2011.
Improve Landing Pages

These are the customized pages that your customers see when clicking on your ads or links. Make sure that all of your landing pages have a clear message and that they reflect your brand clearly.
Fully Utilize Social Networking Sites

Spend a little time on each site to look for current or updated features that will optimize your advertising.
Keep Learning from Others

Become a part of online communities in your niche. You can follow blogs and discussions on forums to keep up to date on the latest news in your industry.
Assess Your Cross-Channel Integration

Lay out all of your online pages and printed postcards and brochure ads together. Analyze the effectiveness of each element and eliminate those that don’t work. Make sure that your brand is consistent across the board.
Keep Up-to-date on Web Improvements

Search engines and browsers are constantly working to make web use easier and more enjoyable for the public. Google has made a couple of small but significant changes to Google Places. They now have a drop down box in PPC advertising that shows a map of the nearest location. They also have a drop down contact form that drops down from your PPC advertising. The more you know about changes such as these, the better you can take advantage of them.

Focus on Priorities

The fewer tasks you focus on, the more time you will have to enjoy your personal time. Spend more time on your loyal customers and put your cold leads on the back burner. Look for marketing avenues that are not really working for you and let go of them. Spend the bulk of your time on avenues that give you the most return with the least amount of work.

Rework Your Security

This is a great time to change all of your passwords and look into the effectiveness of your computer security programs. Start the new year out fresh to make sure all of your hard work is protected.

Maximize Your Pages for Mobile Users

You are probably well aware of the shift towards business done on mobile devices. Make sure that your website will load quickly and look great for your mobile users.

Focus on Relationships and the Customer Experience

Building strong customer relationships is one of the smartest strategies you can implement for the future of your business. Focus this year on making your customers happy and loyal. This means a lot of communication and a lot of follow up. You will find that more time with fewer customers will actually benefit you more than less time with more customers.

These resolutions are just a start. Add your own and make 2011 a great year for your business.

Understanding who you are selling to will affect your ability to sell to them. Your whole brand can be wrapped around the identity of your target audience. So, how do you determine who you are selling to? You will first need to know about yourself, what your product is, and what customers like about it. Then you will need to find out more about your target market. In this case, the more you know the better. So start with the most important questions and go from there.

Examine your product information.

The better you know your product the more accurately you can define you target market:

●     How much does your product cost?

●     What is the best thing about your product?

●     What sets you apart from your competitors?

Use surveys to find out about demographics.

Short surveys can be an excellent tool for learning about your target market. Ask questions about:

●     Age ranges

●     Gender and race

●     Marital status

●     Education level

●     Household income.

Ask these questions of your current customers to find out who you are actually selling to right now.

Ask questions about their spending habits.

You can find out some information online. Looking at competitors will tell you a lot. However, if you can get actual customers to give you information, then you will have the best idea of who you are targeting. Ask your customers questions like:

●     How often do you buy products online?

●     How much do you spend on various (your niche) products in a year?

●     Where do you shop?

Find out more details with questions about psychographics.

The information about your market that you may not think to ask fit into this category.  Questions like:

●     What are your beliefs?

●     Where do you live?

●     What are your hobbies?

●     What kind of movies do you like?

●     What kind of car do you drive?

●     What is your favorite kind of music?

The more you know, the better you can target ads specifically to consumers.

With a well-defined target market, you will be gathering better prospects and clients while spending less money. Your return on investment will be greater and your time will be better spent. The effort you put into gathering this information will be more than worth it.

Making your site more search engine friendly is a fairly simple matter. If you understand search engines and what they are looking for, then all you have to do is implement the right aspects on your website. Follow the steps below and you’ll be well on your way to a blog that captures attention from search engines and, therefore, web surfers.

Step One: Learn What Search Engines Want
Each search engine will work a little differently. They scan your website in different ways so it is important to learn as much as you can about the most popular ones. Google and Yahoo are the two you should be really concerned about; usually if your site follows their SEO (search engine optimization) requirements, the smaller search engines will follow.

Step Two: Write Good Content
Your textual content is what the search engines are scanning through. Colors and graphics make your website look nice, but they will not bring you up on a search. You should have at least 5-10 pages before you even begin a blog.

Step Three: Include Keywords
Learn what keywords will drive the right kind of searchers to your site and use them. Include them in the top portion of your pages as some engines don’t scan past the first third of the page. The more you use the keywords, the better chance you will have of showing up.

Step Four: Make Your Web Page Titles Unique
Having unique page names is imperative. This is a huge step towards optimizing your WordPress blog. Choose a different keyword for the beginning of each page title and you will increase the likelihood of being found. Also, make sure the url of each page is simple and if possible includes the keyword, such as www.blog.com/category/title-of-blog-article.

Step Five: Link Your Blogs Together
Whenever you reference a previous blog entry, you should link the two together. By connecting past blogs with current blogs, you increase the visibility of your blog. You will also increase the effectiveness of your keywords. You may also want to go back and edit your previous blogs so that they link to newer ones as well.

Step Six: Submit to Search Engine Directories
Submitting to directories with a WordPress blog is welcome by search engines. First check your site for errors and get a description ready. You may also need a list of your site’s url’s/addresses. Now you can submit, but do not do so too often. Once a month is more than enough.

A few last tips: keep in mind that your keywords should have their own page and that you should mention keywords 3-5 times for every 150 words or so of content. Also, don’t forget to place keywords in the Tags section of articles. And do not stop with these steps. Once you’ve accomplished the tasks above, do more research until your blog is at the top of the search list on Google and Yahoo.