When popular social sites add features to their platforms, people’s heads explode – it was no different when Instagram launched their albums feature. Instagram’s earliest adopters, the Insta purists, were aghast that people would have the ability to post not just one, but up to ten photos or videos per album. Now that the outcry has dulled and people have had a few months to get used to the new(ish) feature, it seems to be a welcome addition – especially for businesses. How do you best use Instagram albums on your feed? It all starts with authenticity. Why are we always preaching about authenticity? Because like a stinky blue cheese, your audience can smell businesses that are trying too hard from a mile away. All of your social media posts should be authentic, meaning you don’t post unless you have a reason to, same thing with albums. Don’t take advantage […]
First Impressions Matter: How Graphic Design Will Define Your Success
In life as in business you only get one chance to make a first impression, whether you put your best face forward or not, people will remember. When potential clients or customers are searching the web for a specific product or service, it takes them .05 seconds to decide whether they like you or not. A huge percentage of your perceived value rests on what you bring to the table in that first encounter. If your website doesn’t stand out amidst the chaos, or worse, if it does stand out in the wrong way, you will lose those potential customers for good. So, the question remains: how do you capitalize on that traffic and ensure that the impression you make is a good one? The first step is finding a talented graphic designer that speaks your language. The next step is zeroing in on how you want people to see […]
Authenticity is key: Why You Shouldn’t Brand For The Masses
It goes without saying that if you want your brand to stand out you need to be different, but how do you differentiate your brand while still connecting to the masses? Easy, popularity shouldn’t be your focus. This does not mean you should disregard everything you know and have learned about good branding and graphic design, it just means that you should never compromise the soul of your brand to please the masses. If your brand lacks authenticity your target audience will smell it like fear and will retreat accordingly. No one wants anything that tries too hard. If you craft your brand with the hopes of becoming popular, or ‘going viral’ chances are you will experience quite the opposite. These types of attempts generally land flat and vanish into obscurity. If you want to make a splash and rise above the crowd, you have to build a brand that […]
How to Hashtag Like a Pro
How you look at hashtags depends on when you were born. Most of the generations that came before millennials see # and automatically think of the pound sign. Now, in the digital age where social media reigns supreme, we have co-opted the pound sign and turned it into a hashtag – Oxford even added it into the dictionary. Hashtags came into popularity with Twitter. There was a time when Twitter was all the rage for social media marketing because their innovative hashtag feature made it easier for the audience to both find and engage with businesses the world over. When Instagram exploded onto the scene it really made hashtags “cool” again. Hashtags have become so pervasive in our world that pretty much every social media engine gives you the ability to use them. That being said, each social platform has its own unique set of challenges and etiquette when using […]
Why You Should Invest in Your Logo
Close your eyes. Now imagine Nike, Apple, Pepsi, what do you see? Did you see a check mark, an apple, and a red and blue yin-yang? A brand is embodied by graphic design; the entirety of a company’s vision summed up in one image. A great logo cultivates the vibe of your brand; a bad logo does the same. Your logo is the face of your company, it is the first thing people see and the last thing people remember. If your logo falls flat, so will your company. The graphic design you choose to launch with, will either make or break your chance of survival in today’s ultra-competitive market. This is why choosing a talented graphic designer is one of the most important decisions a company can make. Here are four reasons you should never skimp on your graphic design budget. Your logo is the face of your company; […]
Rock Your 2017 Marketing Strategy
Goodbye 2016, helllloooo 2017! It’s a new year and you have returned to work all refreshed and ready to rock this year. Did you resolve to kick your marketing game up a notch? Before you run ahead full throttle with the new idea you had after a few bevvy’s on Christmas, stop. Slow down and start with a solid marketing strategy. Business owners and employees know that they need marketing, but many don’t have a solid strategy in place. To ensure the success of your super great marketing ideas in the year to come, start with your strategy – and no, replicating what you did last year probably won’t cut it. Marketing is constantly evolving and so should your strategy. So, what should your marketing strategy include? Well, it really is dependent on what your marketing goals are, what your industry is and so on. We do still have a […]
Boom! Our 5 Fave Ads From 2016
It seems as though 2016 was a really mixed bag. For us, business has been booming, our clients have been amazing and our service game was strong. However, it would appear as though 2016 was a bit of a shite year in general for much of the world. Between the war and strife around the globe, the Brexit vote going horribly awry, and the never-ending train wreck that was the U.S. presidential election, there just seems to be a lot of negativity in the world. Even the movies that came out were kind of – blah. Thankfully, commercials this year were on point! Marketing teams the world over seem to be fueled by the worst to tell stories that will make us smile, make us smile or just make us tear up. From commercials created in Canada to Australia and everywhere in between, short form storytelling through commercials have […]