Category: Creative

How to Create Impressive Videos for Your Marketing Campaign

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Creating videos for marketing has become essential in the modern business landscape. Not only do they provide an engaging and visually appealing way to market your product or service, but they can also improve brand recognition and help you reach a wider audience. In this blog post, we’ll walk through some of the basics of creating impressive videos and using a thumbnail maker like Vista Create for your marketing campaign that will attract more attention, engage viewers, increase conversions, and create long-lasting customer relationships.

Step 1: Choose a topic that resonates with your target audience

To deliver the most effective message, it is important to focus on topics that are relevant to your customers and speak directly to their needs. Researching current trends and understanding the lifestyle of your target demographic will help you find topics that will engage them. With a well-formed topic, you can ensure that content reaches the right people, better serves the goals of any marketing campaign.

Step 2: Map out the flow of the video

At this step, it’s crucial to identify all of the parts the video will include and decide which elements should come first. This is especially true if there’s going to be an order of information you want to get across.

From there, you can start organizing each part and paying extra attention to transitions so your audience doesn’t experience any disconnect between one clip or transition and the next. Having a mapped-out plan that outlines the order and flow of the video keeps things streamlined and efficient during production, allowing you to stay on track as you move from each scene or part. A clear plan for presenting information makes for a much smoother post-production process too. With everything already planned out, editing becomes less overwhelming.

Step 3: Gather all the required footage

Collecting all the necessary footage for a video project can make or break it. Gathering a b-roll, interviews, voice-overs can set the overall tone of the production. Pay close attention to detail when sourcing such materials so that they match appropriately with the scene, theme, or story you are trying to tell. If done correctly, this process can add a professional outcome, make your footage stand out among others.

Step 4: Use software to edit and merge clips

Editing software can be a powerful asset in the video editing process. It allows users to combine, adjust, arrange separate video clips into cohesive, engaging pieces of content. Professional software offers users an array of features that make the editing process easier, more efficient.

Through tools like trimming and resizing, colour correction, video effects and transitions, you can craft creative work that tells your story while still looking professional. This type of software also provides collaborative opportunities with other editors or producers, which makes it possible to quickly share material between multiple professionals on different computers or across geographical locations.

Step 5: Add special effects, transitions, graphics, and animations

Adding special effects, transitions, graphics, animations helps to make the audience interested engaged. Besides, they can also enhance the information being presented. Utilizing visuals such as these allow a presenter to clearly show data or concepts in vivid detail. Whether it is a video clip playing in the background or an animation demonstrating how something works, these visual aids can make any presentation memorable.

Step 6: Incorporate background music and sound effects

Adding background music and sound effects can be an excellent way to enhance any multimedia presentation. Not only can it set the right mood for your audience, but it can also break up long sections of text, add important context to videos. Furthermore, using the same music or effect more than once will tie your entire presentation together.

To conclude

Creating an amazing video takes a lot of time and effort, but the result is definitely worth it. You don’t have to be a professional filmmaker to create compelling videos that resonate with your viewers. By taking the time to understand the topics, gathering footage, editing, adding special effects, transitions, incorporating music and sound effects, as well as testing it all before publishing, you’ll be well on your way to producing a professional video.

If you ever get stuck along the way – don’t worry – there are many online tutorial resources available to point you in the right direction. So, it’s time to grab your smartphone or camera and start exploring the wonderful world of video-making!

The Five Best Things We Can All Use in a Logo to Attract the Future We Want

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Why are logos so important for success? Brands spend millions designing, sharing and protecting them. And brands have made millions with their logo designs at the core of their business. I have helped many brands to design them and have since become curious about the power of these icons so precisely designed to attract a profitable future.

I analysed and dissected each element that makes up a logo, right down to the shape of serifs and letter shapes, the nuances of colour (Ferrari red is different to Aston Martin red) and symbols – quite frankly an infinite cornucopia of visual inspiration, from circles and triangles to elephants, starlings and planets.

I discovered two main facts. The first is we can be affected by logos even if we’re not looking at them. The second is that creating this effect is open to us all, whether we are a brand or an individual. Our ancestors have been using the same elements that make a logo, either singly, or in a combination, for thousands of years, to attract the future they wanted. Now, our brand experts, the marketing professionals and designers, have developed this into a sophisticated process to ensure success and profit. But this process is incredibly simple, and, as quantum scientists reveal more on our world construct, we discover the perception of separation between ourselves, others and the rest of the world is simply not true and everything is intimately connected. In turn it becomes apparent that logos have the power to help each of us to focus our connection with each other and manifest the life we yearn for.

Personally, I believe that we all inherently, and intuitively know the power of this connection but much of it was disregarded as we entered Newtonian physics which was rooted in the physical world. By expressing our intention in a specific design, we are able to share it with the world and spark the reality we want to create.

Design your logo, design it well, consider each element – the name, symbol and colour, right down to every detail while holding your intention (the vision/result you want) and then deliver it with heart. And remember:

 

Our thoughts and emotions are more powerful than we could imagine

Just thinking good thoughts about a person can make them feel better, the converse is also true. If we think badly of a person, this can be measured in the ‘victim’ via a Galvanic Skin Response. Imagine the power of creating and delivering your logo embedded with an intention of love. More importantly, what you send out also affects you.

 

Paradoxically we are all unique, but we are one and intimately connected

Brands like to group us into nice marketable chunks so we can be efficiently targeted. I like to question the edges of these chunks, they can be worth exploring so that we do not miss out on some effective delivery options. The global connection between every single one of us is being revealed by experiments conducted by, for example, Heartmath, where researchers study the human connectivity at heart level.

 

There is memory in the quantum field

When we tap into our creativity we are connecting with a resource far greater than our logical mindset. Lyn McTaggart, journalist and best-selling author of The Intention Experiment, describes how our right, creative brain, is connected to the quantum field and unconstrained by time and space. When we are aware of this then we know we are tapping into thousands of years of ancestral memory, sometimes referred to as archetypes. Whether these are beliefs around a colour or sound, or a mother, or hero archetype, it is an extremely effective resource available to us all. Ask, for example, what red (for example) means, or provokes, in the world, and then what it means to you. Both are valid in your design.

 

Putting together the power of intention

Be absolutely clear on what you want. I think it is worth going deep to ensure your vision is bedrock solid and not, conversely, based on a flippant ego based, potentially shallow, gratification. When we are confident in our foundation our vision will be more effectively supported as we express and grow it through the logo. We can also use this baseline to check in that the logo continues to authentically express what we want and if not, adjust either accordingly to keep on target.

 

Remember my first point and be careful what you wish for

If just thinking good thoughts about a person can make them feel better then. we are also going to be affected by others’, as well as our own, thoughts. What you put out will surely come back in some form. Let’s be sure what we want before we begin our journey , because each of us holds the future of the world in our hands.

The connections between each of us is powerful. A logo, designed with a specific intention, enables each of us to direct this connection to create the future we want to see.

 

Lora Starling

Founder & Logo Designer

https://lorastarling.com/

 

Lora Starling is a trailblazer and experienced designer with over 30 years of experience having run her own corporate graphic design business in London. Merging conventional design excellence with spiritual wisdom she now creates logos that enable her clients to envision and attract the future they want using the same tools as global brands.

Having worked for clients including Lloyds Banking Group, AMEC, The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Boots Company, Lora has revisited and reshaped the principles of logo design since leaving her corporate role in London.

Now, Lora is passionate about working with brands, and entrepreneurs in the UK, Australia and USA to make a difference and deliver brand impact through successful visual logos. She believes that logos hold the imprint of the business spirit and conveniently and effectively build the world of imagination and our solid world of manifestation. These are imperatives for a successful business and also for everyday life which Lora achieves through helping her clients draw on everyday intuition within their lives.

Lora is also the author of three books (The Logo Decoded, Identify Yourself and Future You), with a fourth in the publishing process.

Lora Starling

How Digital Marketing Can Increase Your Business

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By SHALINI MITTAL

With rapid technological evolution, companies and business organizations must take proactive measures to keep pace with the changes. Modern technologies have made traditional businesses or brick-and-mortar stores move towards internet marketing. People are moving their businesses towards effective digital media marketing solutions to capture a profitable and fast-growing online market.

 

What Is Digital Marketing?

Using different digital marketing techniques and tools to help business owners experience success in their business and stay ahead in the competitive market is known as digital marketing. Digital marketing today is an indispensable tool for most business organizations and companies. When a business creates high-quality websites through digital marketing tools, it can reach its targeted audience, create high conversion, generate more profit and revenue, and even attract new customers.

 

What Is Online Marketing?

Digital marketing and online marketing both share a common goal. Digital Marketing tools and technologies include mobile phones and computers for business advertising so that business owners can expand their digital presence and reach their targeted audience. In contrast, online marketing uses the Internet to promote the goods and services of a business or brand.

 

How Can Digital Marketing Help To Grow Your Business?

Today any upcoming and growing business can derive benefits by creating a strong digital presence with digital marketing. A strong online presence will provide your business with a good opportunity to compete for sustainability and growth. Following are ways how digital marketing can help to increase your business.

 

Wider Reach

Expanding and moving your business to a new geographical place using a conventional marketing strategy is time consuming and tiresome. With digital marketing strategies and plans, you can expand your business reach to new geographical locations without facing terrestrial issues. The best feature of digital marketing campaigns is that they can be set up quickly and provide flexibility to reach your targeted audience without much hassle.

 

Build a strong Brand Name

If your business can deliver the best outcome to your targeted audience, you can build a strong brand reputation. Brand awareness is a strong element for every digital marketing campaign. Happy and satisfied clients with good experience will open up big markets for your business. Digital marketing solutions will help business organizations build a trustworthy and strong brand name.

 

Cost-Effective

Digital marketing solutions will provide your business with cost-effective and improved marketing solutions to communicate with your targeted audience more efficiently. TV ads are an expensive marketing medium not affordable for medium and small-scale businesses. Digital marketing solutions and plans do not require much capital for business and provide business owners with a wide target audience in a cost-effective way.

 

Better Revenues

Useful digital marketing solutions and plans will help you to achieve a high conversion rate and make your business successful. Digital marketing solution also helps to generate high revenue compared to conventional marketing channels. A business using digital marketing campaigns earns more revenue than traditional marketing channels. Digital marketing strategies can be easily monitored; therefore, you can measure your actual business results to know how much impact digital marketing plans have left on your targeted audience.

Hybrid Marketing: The Benefits of Combining Print & Digital

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A powerful marketing strategy is key to a successful business. This connects corporations and customers, both in person and online. But how do you know which strategy is right for your company?

Here, we will explore some of the main benefits of print, digital, and hybrid marketing.

 

What are the benefits of direct mail marketing?

We are living in the technological age, and latest gadgets have successfully replaced any written form of communication. This does not, however, render direct mail marketing obsolete. In fact, the Digital Marketing Association reported that the engagement of this strategy has actually increased from 91% in 2019 to 96% in 2020.

 

1. Direct mail is secure

First and foremost, direct mail is secure. In the last 12 months, 39% of businesses have experienced cyber-attacks. Therefore, customers may be more inclined to believe the information on a direct mailing service than a digital marketing campaign, such as an email.

 

2. Direct mail is memorable

Customers scroll past hundreds if not thousands of online advertisements every day. The constant influx of digital marketing can often lead to overlooking this material. In comparison, direct mail offers customers a tangible product. There is something much more memorable about holding something in your own hands.

 

What are the benefits of digital marketing? 

Digital marketing – a strategy that reaches customers online – is beneficial in more ways than one. For one thing, the market is extremely successful. In 2021 alone, digital advertisements were estimated to be worth a staggering £129 billion, and spending towards it increased by 9.6% from the previous year.

 

1. Digital marketing is precise

Digital marketing is more precise than ever before. This can be accredited to recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), which has allowed businesses to understand customer preferences personalise content accordingly. A social media advertisement, for example, can then be directed towards the relevant consumers.

 

2. Digital marketing is adaptable

In addition to its precision, digital marketing is also highly adaptable. If a particular piece of marketing is successful, businesses can change this to favour certain demographics. This can happen during a campaign, and digital marketers can produce multiple examples of the same advertisement rather than having a single piece of print.

 

What are the benefits of combining print and digital marketing? 

There are multiple benefits to print and digital marketing. To ensure your business is successful, you can make the most out of both resources. Here are two reasons why you should adopt a hybrid marketing strategy.

 

1. Hybrid marketing appeals to multiple demographics 

A hybrid marketing strategy will target multiple demographics, enabling your business to reach a larger customer base. Traditionally, a younger demographic might have responded better to a digital marketing campaign. This stereotype, however, is fast becoming incorrect. In fact, the DMA reports that the Gen Z demographic are actually 40% more likely to be influenced by direct mail than older generations. Therefore, combining print and digital can appeal to multiple audiences.

 

2. Hybrid marketing drives success

The nature of hybrid marketing drives success. A piece of direct mail, for example, can also be used to promote digital resources. This call to action (CTA) can be a modified URL or a unique product code. The direct results of these can then be measured to track any sales gained. So much so, the DMA reported that direct mail influenced 92% of people to visit online resources, and 87% made an online purchase because of this.

To summarise, a hybrid marketing strategy combines the best of both print and digital resources. This will maximise any promotional efforts made by your business. And knowledge of your consumer market will influence the degree to which you use both methods. Will you combine them?

8 Best Practices for Producing Online Content (Plus Useful Resources)

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Creating online content can be a daunting task. It requires time, skill, and effort – but it’s a task that cannot be avoided! So, how can you make your blog posts and messages stand out?

In this blog post, we will explore some of the best practices for producing successful online content. You will also be able to find valuable resources in each section.

Whether you are an experienced content creator or a novice in the field, the strategies below can help you kick your content up a notch. Let’s get started!

Know Who You Are Creating Content For

The first and most important thing to understand is who you are creating content for. And, here’s a hint: it’s humans, not robots!

Understanding what your audience cares about, who they are, and what problems they are looking to solve can help you create content that is interesting and engaging for your specific audience.

When done right, content tailored specifically for a particular audience provides tremendous value and builds relationships over time. So, don’t forget to know that all-important “who”: creating a customer persona can help you obtain a better understanding of your audience.

Get Better at Storytelling

Every day, internet users consume an average of 4 articles, 226 messages, and around 8,200. So, how are you planning to make your own content stand out?

Creating a story that resonates with your audience can help you empathize with them and boost engagement. For example, if we consider different types of writing styles like blogging or press releases, stories will help you keep readers hooked end-to-end. Stories also serve as effective metaphors allowing you to creatively explain complex topics in simpler terms.

Tools such as Grammarly can help you better understand the tone of your blog post.

Cite Your Sources for Facts and Statistics

When producing online content, it’s important to always give credit to your sources. This is especially true if you are writing a blog post or guide that aims to be of help to your readers.

Whenever you use facts or statistics in your writing, make sure to cite any sources so that readers can verify the accuracy of the information provided. Doing research is a key step in ensuring that the reader sees genuine authority behind what they’re reading. It also makes your work stand out as more well-researched and, in turn, more SEO-friendly.

If you are not sure how to add quotes, sources, and references to your text, a citation generator can help.

Provide Value to Your Readers

Creating content that adds value is key to succeeding in online content production. While it may be quicker to create medium-quality blog posts, you’ll want to find ways to help your audience learn and grow through interesting and engaging topics.

Share your experiences or insights that relate to the subject matter, answer their questions, and offer solutions to their problems in a way that engages them. By becoming a thought leader in your field, you can boost your reputation and even improve your sales – for example, by sharing tips on how to sell t-shirts on Amazon if selling is your business.

Add A Clear Call To Action

When creating online content, it’s important to include a clear call to action in the article to allow readers to engage with your brand.

For example, if you write about a new product launch, ask your readers to follow your social media accounts or sign up for email updates to get access to early bird offers. No matter whether you are trying to direct your readers to complete their check-out, take advantage of a promotion, or try out a new product, keep calls-to-action brief and make sure that they are placed strategically within each piece! After all, the last thing you’ll want is to make valuable pieces of content all about advertising, as this can cause your readers to lose trust.

Use Different Types of Media

When producing online content, it’s important to mix up your media to make your message more engaging for different audiences. For example, try using a combination of text and visuals to really draw in readers’ attention.

This includes using photos, infographics, or GIFs to communicate key messages throughout the post. Additionally, be sure to look into the potential of video marketing. Lastly, don’t be afraid to experiment and take advantage of new technologies as digital trends evolve over time!

Use Your Content to Interact With Your Audience

Content marketing is critical to improving the visibility of your business. But when used right, it can also help you improve your relationship with your audience and interact with users.

You can use polls, surveys, and Q&A sections on social media platforms to get feedback from users. Or, you could encourage followers to comment on posts or write reviews on products you recommend. And, don’t forget to ask for their opinions so that you can tailor content that resonates more strongly with them.

Know How to Boost Readability and Accessibility

Good content creation is not just about creating great characters, stories, and visuals. It’s also about making sure it’s optimized for readability and accessibility. Keep in mind the needs of each person in your audience and create content material that can be accessed and easily consumed by all.

 

5 Exceptional Tips to Elevate Small Businesses

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As per reports, 80% of businesses end up before even completing their first year, which is true. Although starting a business is difficult, giving up is not an alternative. Most people establish their companies in the second or this time, which is also perfectly fine.

If you plan to have a business or already have one, you would require some tips to grow it further because a stagnant company won’t complete its first few months. A small business needs to expand its branches so that people get to know about it. This article will give you tips for growing and developing your business.

5 Advice to Expand Your New Venture

You have decided to start your venture, but taking the proper steps toward your goal is necessary. We have compiled some advice to benefit your business over time. Let’s discover what they are and how you can implement them.

Focus on the Retained Clients

Before going after new and big clients, try to keep up with the previous clients. They are why you have taken the step to start a business, plus you will need their support to grow. You can ask for a referral or give your old clients some discount or a loyalty program so they keep using your services.

It will show your new clients that you keep your old ones in special care, so they’ll also have difficulty leaving. This will increase your authority and build up trust towards new clients.

Beware of the Risks

When starting a venture, there is a distinct possibility of peril. You cannot escape it, so accepting and preparing beforehand is better.

The biggest issue that new businesses face is the fear of defamation. Many companies must do the same thing as you, and they would want you to fall before you even start so that you’ll never be able to compete with them. To avoid this, you must build trust among your colleagues and clients so they can testify for you if something like this happens.

Pay Attention to the Recruitment Process

You need your staff to help you achieve the goal that you have aimed for. For that, you must carefully choose the right people for your company. That doesn’t mean looking for a Master’s and Ph.D.; having a high degree doesn’t mean they will give you exceptional work.

Look for people who are dedicated to working and learning. You don’t need everyone to manage the company. A single person can do it. You need people who support you and understand the situation when bad times come. Try to appreciate them and give them incentives when they work exceptionally well. They will work harder and more confidently for you because of it.

Enhance the Client’s Experience

The client represents your business. They own the evaluations, which have the power to build or damage your credibility. If you want your company to grow efficiently and more clients to get attracted to you, then you should take extra care of your clients.

You should address them as a team member so they feel comfortable and quickly tell them their requirements. One important thing is always to set boundaries. You shouldn’t be available for your client all the time. But during your business hours, ensure the client gets the best treatment.

Automate Your Business

People were sceptical about cryptocurrency because of its fluctuating conditions when it first emerged. But later, they become accustomed to it because of trading bots like the crypto boom. They can handle multiple trades at a time now. If you want your business to run efficiently, try automated tools like chatbots and automatic replies so that you are always available for customer queries without being there.

Final Words

Don’t be intimidated about starting a new business. Just lay down your plans and set your goals accordingly. You will surely succeed if you have a clear picture of your dream. Also, make sure you take your clients and staff hand in hand. Both of them are equally important to you. Be a leader, not a boss. Try to understand your employee’s issues and offer the best available solutions.

Your employees will assist in the fast growth of your business if they are confident and pleased. Also, it will help you earn credibility and authority.

3 Ways to Promote Brand Values in Your Marketing

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Bright idea for business growth

by SUSAN FRIESEN

Establishing values is an integral part of the creation of any successful brand.

But why are brand values, something which can seem so insignificant, so vital to the success of your brand?

Well, when you promote brand values, it allows you to establish an emotional connection with current customers and potential patrons, giving you the opportunity to build much-needed trust, loyalty, and familiarity.

And if potential customers identify with the values of your brand, they’ll be more likely to choose you over the competition, as their connection with your brand goes deeper than just wanting your products and/or services.

If you don’t have a solid set of values, and you’re just sort of winging it, the process of building that emotional connection, and the trust, loyalty, and familiarity that go along with it, will be much more difficult, if not impossible.

At the same time, it’s also going to be way harder to maintain any sort of consistency in your branding and marketing, which will make your business less recognizable and could make you seem less trustworthy, as it may look like you’re not really sure what your brand stands for.

Now, if you’re reading this article, I think it’s safe to assume that you already know what brand values are, and you’ve probably already established some or are in the process of doing so.

That being said, in this article, I’m not going to bother to define brand values or explain how to come up with them.

For those of you who haven’t defined the values of your brand, or don’t even know what brand values are, you should start by reading our previous article, which explains Why Creating Brand Values Is Vital to the Success of Your Business.

It’ll tell you everything you need to know about what brand values are, why they’re so important, and how to start creating brand values of your own.

But if you’ve already defined your brand values, or you’re in the process of creating them, then you’re going to want to keep reading.

Because in this article, I’m going to discuss the crucial next step of promoting brand values in your marketing, explaining how to go about doing it, and offering some examples of how we’ve done this for our clients, so you can have a better idea of what’s involved.

 

How to Promote Brand Values in Your Marketing

So, you’ve finally figured out exactly what your brand stands for, turned that into a solid set of values, and you’re ready to convey them to the world.

Or perhaps you’re in the process of defining those values, and you’re wondering what you’re going to end up doing with all those lofty ideals.

Either way, at this point, you need to know how to actually communicate these values to your audience, and the world at large, by injecting them into your marketing.

From my perspective, there’s no better way to explain things than by example, so below, I’ve detailed a few of the tactics we’ve used to help our clients promote brand values in their marketing, so you can have a better understanding of how to go about doing this.

 

Why Brand Consistency (or Lack Thereof) Can Make or Break the Success of Your Business

When you’re presenting your brand to the world, you’ve got to make sure to maintain consistency.

Without that consistency, you could confuse your customers, make yourself less recognizable, and erode any familiarity and trust people already have with your brand.

So, if you’re working on your branding, and you want to learn more about how to ensure it’s consistent, then you’re going to want to read this article.

It explains what brand consistency is, why consistent branding is so important, how you can maintain consistency in your branding, and highlights some of the most epic failures of inconsistent branding.

 

Blogging

One of the best ways to promote brand values in your marketing is by blogging.

There are a number of ways you can go about doing this, with some being more effective than others.

You could be completely direct and actually publish blogs about your brand values and why they’re important to you, or be more subtle about it by making your values known through the voice you use in your writing, what information you choose to offer, how you provide that information, and what you have to say about subjects that are relevant to what you do.

Typically, we go with the latter approach, instead of beating the reader over the head with a heap of virtue signaling.

If I had to choose the best example of this in terms of what we’ve done for our clients, I’d have to go with the work we’ve done for Dr. Dheshnie Thangavelu, owner of a Vancouver-based medical spa named Deez Skin Rejù & Pain Clinic.

Dr. Dheshnie’s brand values include things like honesty, integrity, and trust, and we keep that in mind when helping her to create her monthly blogs.

Within these blogs, Dr. Dheshnie is not afraid to be completely honest about the questionable behaviour of some of the people in her industry.

For example, Dr. Dheshnie has called out other medical spas for doing things like diluting their dermal fillers.

Some marketers may have called this a particularly risky move, as it reflects poorly on Dr. Dheshnie’s industry as a whole, but from our perspective, it was the perfect way to differentiate her from the competition, while effectively conveying her brand values by showing that she’s honest and a woman of integrity who can be trusted.

Dr. Dheshnie is also not the least bit shy about divulging everything her treatments entail, both good and bad, and this also helps her to promote brand values in her marketing. She gets straight to the point and doesn’t try to sugar-coat anything.

The first paragraph under this heading warns the reader that this is a “painful procedure” before detailing a long list of complications associated with it.

Sure, she could try to downplay this stuff, or not even talk about it at all, but at the end of the day, that would erode Dr. Dheshnie’s credibility because it doesn’t align with her brand values.

So, if you want to use blogs to promote brand values, then you should follow Dr. Dheshnie’s example and make sure the content of your blogs aligns with your brand values at all times.

 

Website

In today’s world, the most important marketing tool you’ll ever have is your website, and it also offers some of the best ways to promote brand values.

A website will act as your brand’s main touchpoint, helping you to gain qualified leads, increase your customer base, and present your brand to the world in a way that showcases its values in the best possible light, ensuring you make a good first impression when people find you online.

Any website that’s worth its salt should do a bang-up job of promoting brand values, but if I had to think of a client’s website that’s most relevant to this, it would have to be Rose Marie Swanson’s site.

Rose Marie is what’s known as a spiritual coach, which means that she helps people get through issues in their spiritual life, similar to how a clinical counsellor would help a client with their mental health.

We created her first website back in 2015, and it looks pretty dated.

Then, earlier this year, she asked us to redo her website as part of a complete revamp of her personal brand, and as you can see, it looks a heck of a lot better than her old one.

Rose Marie’s new website does an amazing job of conveying the values of her brand, both through the imagery and the copy.

But I’m not going to go into all that here because there’s something more important that I want to show using this example.

At this point, many of you are probably wondering why I’m comparing iterations of Rose Marie’s website in a blog about how to promote brand values, but bear with me here.

You see, something that’s often overlooked when it comes to websites is the fact that people will make judgments about your credibility, and by association, your values, based solely on the look of your website, without even reading any of the copy.

This has even been shown in at least one scientific study, but it’s already blatantly obvious anyway.

 

So, how does this relate to promoting brand values?

Well, let’s face it – it’s going to be pretty hard for people to take the values of your brand seriously when they’re being communicated through a website that looks like it was designed by a high school kid or made 20 years ago.

So, if you want to ensure you can effectively promote brand values using your website, you’ve got to make sure that it looks professional.

Because if it doesn’t, you can promote whatever brand values you want, and people are still going to judge you harshly, regardless of what those values might be.

If you want to learn more about what we’ve done for Rose Marie over the years, you should check out our article on Why Building Trust is So Important for a Successful Rebrand.

 

Email Marketing

Another great opportunity to promote the values of your brand comes in the form of email marketing.

Whether it’s a newsletter, auto-responder series, or some kind of promotional message, email marketing allows you to consistently convey your brand values to potential clients on a regular basis and maintain familiarity with those who have an interest in what you have to offer.

That being said, it was really tough for me to choose a client to showcase for this marketing tactic, as we do a lot of email marketing for clients, and there are so many great examples.

But if I had to choose a client we’ve worked with whom I feel best conveys their brand values in the email marketing we do for them, it would have to be Kali Dayton of Dayton ICU Consulting.

Kali offers consulting services to help hospitals implement evidence-based practices for patients on mechanical ventilation. The values of her brand include things like compassion and dedication, along with her overarching mission of improving care for ICU patients and working conditions for ICU staff.

She is extremely vocal about the positive effect these practices can have on both outcomes for patients and working conditions for clinicians, and this shines through in every aspect of her marketing.

At the same time, she’s also not afraid to call out the negative effect that a lack of evidence-based practices can have on both clinicians and patients, despite the fact that this is a very controversial topic in the medical field, not least because it has the potential to make hospitals look bad.

With that in mind, one of the most important aspects of conveying Kali’s brand values is to ensure she looks and sounds professional, while putting a focus on her expertise when it comes to this topic.

Right off the bat, the image of Kali in her newsletter header helps to show that expertise. As you can see, she made sure to have her photo taken wearing a white lab coat because this alludes to the fact that she is a clinician and therefore knows what she’s talking about on this subject.

Then, directly below the header, she’s speaking quite frankly about the brutal reality of ICU care for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome, so as you can see, she doesn’t hold back, and the passion she has for this issue is obvious.

Kali’s newsletter also includes her monthly article as a feature, which typically documents some of the best and the worst examples of the care patients receive when they’re on mechanical ventilation.

She doesn’t shy away from controversy here either, refusing to mince words about how things are for ARDS patients in the ICU.

Kali’s brutal honesty on these kinds of topics, which could make her a pariah in the medical field, offers more than enough evidence that she’s genuinely passionate about this issue, has great compassion for these ICU patients, and is dedicated to improving ICU practices.

So, if you want to promote brand values with a newsletter, or any other kind of email marketing, take a hint from Kali and don’t hold back. Be yourself, convey your brand values in an uninhibited way, and let the authenticity of those values shine through.

The Ultimate Guide To A Strategic Brand Refresh

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Branding is the foundation of a business. It helps shapes how people see your brand and sets you apart from the competition. Without a strong brand image, no matter how good your product is, you won’t be able to compete in your market. In other words, you won’t win new customers and retain the loyalty of the old ones.

However, growth can leave gaps between who you are and how you want the market to perceive you. One of the ways you can close these gaps is by revisiting and making strategic adjustments to your visual identity to remind your target audience who you are and why you’re still relevant. This is a process called brand refresh.

What Is A Brand Refresh?

A brand refresh is a process of revamping a brand’s visual identity—specifically by modifying the logo, colours, typography, and other surface elements—to keep up with the current market trends while retaining the brand’s core identity. Instead of completely changing a branding strategy, a brand refresh aims to make the brand look fresh.

There are many factors that make a brand refresh imperative and worthwhile. But it always starts with a deep dive into your customers, competitors, and industry trends. This means that you must clearly understand what your customers care about and why they should buy from you rather than someone else. The result of this research will help you create a fresh visual identity that reflects these values and makes them memorable.

6 Steps In Strategising A Brand Refresh

An excellent way to ensure your brand refresh is seamless and successful is by hiring a top-notch brand strategist, like Northwest Brand Design, who can help you with all aspects of your brand refresh, including designs of logos, website, interior, graphics, and digital content creation.

Once you’ve chosen a team of experts, you can work with them by following this five-step guideline:

1. Clarify Your Goals

Delineating your goals and motivations will help all the parties in the organisation gain a clearer understanding of all your goals with a brand refresh. Then brainstorming and strategising will produce better outcomes.

2. Conduct A Competitive Analysis

Analysing your competitors should also be part of conceptualising a brand refresh. Competitive analysis will help you identify what makes your competitors different, what they have in common, and how to differentiate yourself.

An excellent way to do this is by studying the competitive landscape, which will let you know whether you’re still part of the rest of the pack. A competitive analysis allows you to discover what similar brands are up to and find ways to differentiate your brand. This also involves assessing their value proposition, content marketing, taglines, visual elements, and online presence.

3. Assess Your Message Strategy

After researching and gaining market insight, it’s time to brainstorm critical messages highlighting your unique value. The message should invoke an emotional or logical response from your target market. That shows that you’re leaving an impression on a personal level.

Using this information, you can create a roadmap of how you want your brand to evolve. You don’t have to stress about who you are and what you do in the marketplace. Instead, pinpoint why you do what you do, what makes you stand out from other brands, and how you can help meet consumer demands. This way, the value you are offering stands out and you don’t risk sending the wrong signal that you’re too focused on promoting your brand.

4. Review Your Visual Identity

Once you review and rectify your brand message, you must consider redesigning your visual elements. This is crucial because you want loyal consumers to recall your brand even with a new look.  Revamping your brand visuals involves redesigning your logo, typography, or colour palette.

Your logo should be a compelling image and somehow reflect your organisation’s personality. For instance, to impart a regal and stable impression, you can go for designs with angular shapes. Smooth and curved designs, on the other hand, can show that you’re approachable and friendly. Your logo must be easily identifiable when printed on various company materials, such as business cards, letterhead, and T-shirts.

5. Promote Your Brand Refresh Launch

After successfully recreating brand visuals, craft a new marketing plan. This may include teasers to create a buzz around it before the official launch. You can post these teasers on social media and other platforms and begin conversations about the new design with potential customers. Consider partnering with influencers because they can make conversations with your target market easier.

You can also write a press release to tell a story about why you’re doing it and how it could affect your organisation’s future. This may include explaining the change in your brand and why it’s important to you. You may also share how this will benefit your employers and employees to create a sense of excitement around your refreshed brand image.

Key Takeaways

How your target audience perceives your company is mostly a product of your branding strategy. However, over time, it’s natural for a brand image to lose its appeal because of the constantly evolving market dynamics. So if you fail to keep up, your revenue may suffer, and gaining and retaining customers can be difficult.

But you can turn things around quickly through a brand refresh. A brand refresh is a facet of branding that involves revamping a brand’s physical image to make it feel new and relevant without losing its core aspects and values. A brand refresh is ultimately an effective, timely approach to market dynamics.

Marketing 101 for Students: Tips and Tricks for Building Your Personal Brand

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As a college student who strives to achieve your biggest goals in life, you’ve likely seen a handful of people who command the attention of millions regardless of what they do. There are a lot of influencers and leaders who are experts in their respective fields. They have a lot of followers who always want to know what they have to say about various topics. If you want to have such an influence in a particular field, the first thing that you need to do is create a personal brand. While this might seem like a complex thing to do, it is not a new concept. It became popular with the rise of social media. And during the pandemic when most study and work tasks were being done online.

Defining a personal brand

A personal brand is an identity that an individual or organization creates. While most people consider branding to be similar to marketing, they are not the same. Marketing revolves around employing tactics and tools to introduce a brand and keep your audience engaged. On the other hand, branding is everything you do to connect with your target market. Building a brand requires work and time. As a college student, you have to stay on top of your essay writing tasks and find time to work on your brand. This can be quite difficult. If your tutor requires you to write a ”Freedom of Speech” important essay introduction, you should consider getting essay ideas and essay help online. Branding is much more than logos and colours. You have to build relationships with an audience who are genuinely interested in the products and services that you are offering.

Benefits of a personal brand

Here are some of the benefits that you’ll enjoy by having a unique brand:

Standing out – Branding is not for influencers only. If you want to create a business that will thrive or progress in your career, you have to have a personal brand. As long as you get noticed, you can easily get what you want.Get more opportunities: Being unique enables you to stay a step ahead of your competitors. When you do everything right, people will remember you long after you are gone. Establishing authority in an industry can lead to successful partnerships.

Creating a personal brand

Here are a few steps that you should learn about if you want to establish authority in your industry:

Discover your purpose

While most people develop their personal brands to land their dream jobs and advance in their careers, there are many reasons why you should develop one. You have to think of what motivates you every day. Do you have specialized skills or talents? What excites you? Think of your role models. What do they have in common? Your purpose is the one thing that will make you smile every day. Your answers will change over time. However, knowing what you love is. And how you want to change your world will play an important role in this process.

Know your target marketYou need to discover the best ways to communicate with people. To do this effectively, you have to know your target audience. Focusing on niche areas will enable you to have a huge impact. Your niche has to align with your brand. Understanding the problems that your target market is facing will help you create a brand that covers their needs. After all, you want to establish authority to get noticed by others and make progress in life.

Be present on social mediaYou need to create social media profiles on platforms where your target market can easily find you. If you are a business person, having a profile on LinkedIn will help you connect and interact with other professionals and potential clients. This platform has been growing rapidly over the years to help people establish themselves as experts.

Conclusion

Building a brand and establishing authority in your respective field is one of the most important things that you should do today. If you can access the internet and social media platforms, you can easily position yourself as an expert and build an audience. By establishing your authority, you’ll stay a step ahead of your competition, attract potential clients and achieve your goals in the long run. Discovering your purpose and knowing the needs of your target market will help you create a brand that aligns with your long-term goals.

The Future of Video Production

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high tech video cameras

Tampa Bay company, CROOW, is disrupting the video production industry by offering high-quality, studio-produced video at a fraction of the cost. The company’s collaboration and project management software has earned CROOW our Best Collaboration Technology Solutions Provider – 2023 award. We catch up with CROOW’s lead developer, Aaron Lipkin, to find out more.

Since the dawn of the digital age, the demand for high-quality video images has been on the increase. Filming an occasional TikTok or Instagram reel on your phone is fine. But when it comes to marketing and promoting your business, there’s nothing better than a professional-quality video. With the costs of video equipment and studio time out of reach of many, CROOW is streamlining the process of creating and editing video to provide an accessible service.

CROOW, pronounced ‘crew,’ is a collaboration platform that makes the process of producing your video, faster, easier and more affordable. The platform features two products. CROOW Studio offers studio-quality video at a fraction of the usual costs. By creating a project with CROOW Studio, clients can access studio-quality video recording and editing at a fraction of the normal cost.

CROOWpm is project management software that enables stakeholders to collaborate on projects throughout their lifecycle.

Aaron explains more about the service, “Our software makes video production seamless and stress-free. Clients want videos that match the presentation standards of their brand. Our automated templates and efficient processes help them get that. When they buy a video package through CROOW, they enjoy a production experience that meets all their needs. Our pre-production process is unique and painless.”

Working with clients including Savills, CFO Alliance, Tampa Bay Chamber and Spoton Digital Media, the company’s goal is to help customers take their video production to the next level through its products and services.

Popular options include digital short films to engage with the client’s audience via info sharing, interviews showcasing business leaders to build trust, and longer films sharing a company’s brand history, mission and vision.

The team at CROOW are flexible and can visit your office if you wish. Or, visit them at one of the company’s fabulous studios to get the full VIP experience. The CROOW video team is on hand to ensure a smooth process. There’s even a library of title card logos, animations and icons to choose from.

After the shoot, CROOW encourages clients to submit their comments via an automated system. This makes sure nothing gets lost in translation. CROOW’s smart workflows and advanced tools make creative collaboration a breeze, getting projects to delivery in a fraction of the time.

We ask Aaron about the benefits of CROOW’s HQ base in Tampa Bay. He tells us, “We’re lucky to call Tampa Bay home. Over the years, we’ve filmed hundreds of videos in the Tampa/St Pete area. We’ve worked with some of the area’s brightest and most innovative companies, non-profits, and thought leaders. And we’ve been fortunate to work with the region’s most impressive and talented video production professionals.”

Today CROOW has expanded its operation and video production capabilities into Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Nashville, Orlando, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington DC.

Looking to the future, CROOW plans to add a creative network, CROOW Market, to the platform. This feature will provide teams and industry experts with a collaborative platform outside of individual projects.

For business enquiries, contact Aaron Lipkin (lead developer) from CROOW on their website – www.croow.com

4 Brand Awareness Strategies to Try

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Increased brand awareness should be a goal for any business. After all, the more people are aware of your business, the more likely they are to support you, which means your profit will increase. And since most businesses exist with the sole purpose of making a profit, this is a great thing.

Of course, it can be easier said than done if you aren’t sure how to actually increase your business’s brand awareness, so if that’s something you want to learn more about, keep reading.

Look into signage options

Having signs for your business is a surefire way of making sure that more people know about your business and what it has to offer.

The bigger your sign, the better, and you should also try to make the signage memorable. Keep in mind that you should try to place the sign somewhere where you think a lot of potential customers would be – for example, if your business is in the educational sector, having your signs put up near a school is a good idea.

There are loads of options, from signs on lamp posts to billboards and everything in between. You can also use signs in your business itself, so look into a sign company that can bring your vision to life.

Consider influencer marketing

While there are many different marketing options out there, there’s no denying that influencer marketing has been rising in popularity.

If you want to learn more about what influencers are and what they do, this post might be a helpful read. The important thing to note is that, when done correctly, influencer marketing can help increase brand awareness, improve your brand’s credibility, and attract new people to your business, so there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t consider it.

Host a giveaway

Giveaways or competitions are also great ways of increasing brand awareness, especially if done on social media. If you encourage people to share your giveaway on their social media platforms, the odds are that many new people will see it and find their way over to your business.

If you can team up with another company to host your giveaway, that’s even better, because your business will not only be exposed to your audience, but also to theirs, and vice versa. Just be sure that you know how to pick a giveaway winner.

Get involved in charity work

All businesses should be involved with charities, whether through doing volunteer work, donating, or hosting fundraisers. After all, if you are earning enough money, it’s the right thing to do to support a charity that you believe in.

That being said, charity work will also improve your business’s image as well as your business’s brand awareness, so even if you look at it from a business perspective, it’s a smart move. That being said, you should choose a charity that you feel passionate about.

If you have contributed to charity, you should click here for some information on how to record it for bookkeeping purposes.

Commercial Glow-Ups and the Benefits of Pop-Up Events

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Hennessy pop up store in Singapore

Pop-up events are a great way to allure new customers. It doesn’t matter if business is an international success of not, an event like this could be enough to boost brand’s visibility and attract unsuspecting clientele, including younger demographics. Exciting and innovative, pop-up events might be the commercial glow-up you’ve been looking for.

This article will explore some of the benefits of pop-up events. Whether you’re an entrepreneur eager to expand your market base or a welfare officer searching for ways to boost morale, this could be the next step for your business.

 

Utilising empty storefronts on the highstreet

There’s no denying it – online retail is taking over. According to the Future Retail Distribution 2021-2022 report, 28% of all retail sales will be online by 2026. As a result, more and more highstreet retailers continue to close throughout the nation. In fact, one in seven shops were empty in 2021.

To revitalise the world of in-person shopping, your business can consider taking part in a pop-up event. There are lots of different pop-up shops to choose from, such as seasonal or marketing event pop-ups. These can take place in shopfronts that were previously abandoned, bringing life back into a fast dissolving highstreets throughout the UK.

This is useful for a number of varying businesses, From a sole trader from the countryside looking to find a base in a bustling city centre to an established online brand experimenting with bricks-and-motor. Either way, a pop-up event could be the next best thing for your business.

 

Creating excitement for your online brand

The pandemic contributed to the change in online retail. Even as the world begins to resemble its former self, online shopping trends continue to dominate the market. In fact, 50% of everyday consumers still prefer to do the majority of their buying online today.

These trends are beneficial for online retailers. However, considering we can buy all nature of goods online in the technological age, how can your business stand out from the crowd and continue to entice its customers?

One of the best ways to attract customers is to create excitement for your brand. One of the best ways to do this is a pop-up event. Whether you sell bespoke chandeliers or vegan chocolate, you can hire a storage container and take the Sunday markets by storm. To keep the lights shining bright and the music playing all day long, an onsite generator might be the solution for you. Convenient and hassle-free, generator hire may be the best way your business to obtain one of these.

Pop-up events are normally a temporary alternative to bricks-and-motor stores. So, you may want to forewarn your customers of your pop-up event. To do this, you can create excitement on social media.

The number of people using social media in the UK is set to rise in the coming years. This includes over 61 million people in 2022 and almost 64 million in 2026. The power of social media is evident and ready to be utilised by online businesses, including yours.

 

Having fun as a business

Pop-up events are fun for the whole business. As well as attracting customers with something new and exciting, this is an opportunity to let your staff try something new – or yourself, if you’re a sole trader. After a worldwide pandemic, we’re all searching for enjoyment in everything we do, including our working days. So, mx things up and consider throwing your own pop-up event this year.

These are three reasons why your business should consider utilising pop-up events. They don’t have to be a grand or expensive affair. A simple shopfront or a sipping container for hire is enough to pull in your next clients. After all, something simple could be exactly what you’re looking for. When will your business have a glow-up?