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Since the invention of the internet, news websites, social media and the Kindle, word on the street is that print is dead. Some corporations have solely embraced electronic methods of advertising, but it doesn’t mean print is ready for the coffin lid to be lowered. There are distinct benefits for opting using print as a method of communicating with your prospective and regular client So let’s take a look some at the reasons you shouldn’t be putting the print method of marketing out to pasture before its time is up.

Print vs electronic

If you’ve ever received an electronic birthday card from a friend in lieu of printed one they’ve made themselves or purchased from a newsagent, you’ll know the feeling of feeling a bit ripped off. Despite telling yourself it’s the thought that counts, you can’t help but feel like you’ve been cheated. You can’t hold it in your hands, display it on your fridge or mantelpiece. You can’t put it in your shoebox of memories and pull it out years down the track to reminiscence. Print is tangible. You can touch it, hold it, smell it and keep it as a memento. When you think about print advertising for instance, a half page advertisement in Cleo magazine may sit around someone’s bedroom for years, while an advertisement on the internet, may not even be seen unless an individual types exact keyword searches into Google. And on the off chance someone gets your ad popping up on their computer screen, they may not even click on it for fear of inadvertently downloading a virus. You can’t infect your entire computer system by reading a print ad.

Reaching a captive audience

Print is a good way of making sure you reach your intended audience. For example: if you have a business specialising in home décor with magazines like House & Garden and Vogue Living, you have a captive audience. Independent studies have shown people pay more attention when they are reading printed material. The average person spends about 15 seconds scanning website material so unless they are actively seeking information, you’ve may have already lost their attention by the time they see your ad.

Less competition

With more companies moving to electronic forms of advertising can be advantageous to your company. With less businesses vying for print space in publications, it means there is less competition. Your ad will stand out more, and you will find that newspapers and magazines may even offer discount rates for ad space, if they are short of advertisers.

Printing is still alive and well

You can’t hand out a digital ad at a trade show, you can’t pass on an electronic business card for a customer to keep in their wallet. People want printed menus when they go out for dinner, magazines they can flick through on the bus when they don’t have wi-fi signal. You might think print has one foot in the grave, but there are plenty of options when print marketing is superior to electronic methods.

Talk to XDesigns Advertising today to find out how they can transform your business with print advertisements.

You’ve heard how content marketing is the way of the future, and while it sounds good in theory, you’re not too sure how to go about it. If this sounds like you, the XDesigns team have collated a list of practical solutions to revolutionise your content marketing strategies.

1. Be selective in your content

Don’t saturate your webpage or social media with inconsequential updates because you think the more content, the better. Be selective in the process. Ask yourself what will my clients really care about? Less content which is well thought out has more impact

2. Use unique blog posts

Think about features of your products and services or issues within your industry that haven’t been over-exposed and write a series of blogs.

3. Make use of Calls to Action

You don’t want your prospective customers to sit and think about what they’ve just read or heard, you want them to feel compelled to act, so give them a reason to pick up the phone or email. For example: The first 20 callers receive a free e-book.

4. Publish a book

You can’t give away a free e-book unless you’ve written one about your business. It doesn’t matter if you’re not a ‘writer’. You can outsource this work to a professional copywriter. You can always ask XDesigns to recommend someone.

5. Involve your staff

Content marketing is a team effort. If you are stuck for ideas, talk to your employees in sales or administration.

6. Answer questions

Make a detailed list of the top questions you receive from prospective customers. For example; If you are in the beauty industry, your clients might want to know about getting rid of unwanted back hair. This gives you the perfect opportunity to write an article and then post it to your social media sites and blog.

7. Re-evaluate your social media posts

At the end of the week make a point of looking back at your Facebook or Twitter updates to see how they are performing. What prompted your followers to engage? What was shared with friends? What didn’t perform at all? You may need to adjust your content or the times you post new content.

8 Host an event

It could be as simple as a free sausage sizzle outside Mitre 10 or an information night about the best time to sell their home.

9 Upload videos

With smartphones you don’t have to be a brilliant videographer. If you’re a real estate agent film your next auction. Maybe you’re a beautician, why not demonstrate how to pluck your eyebrows. Then upload them to your website and YouTube.

If you need help bringing your content marketing to life with graphic design or copywriting, contact the team at XDesigns Advertising today for a free, no-obligation quote.

How to use social media channels to their full potential with a quick 10-minute assessment.

Are you using social media to its capacity? Probably not, if you’re like most businesses, you don’t have the time or you don’t really understand how to use social media to it’s potential.

There are four main aspects to social media.

1. Engagement – keeping a watchful eye on comments and posts and responding to
these comments in a timely and helpful fashion to ensure your business reputation remains intact.

2. Influence – Being a leading authority in your area of expertise by sharing valuable content. In turn you will create more awareness around your brand

3. Networking – Aligning yourself with leading authorities to earn media mentions and invitations to increase awareness of your brand at events.

4. Sales – Turning followers into leads and converting leads to sales.

You might be great at having social influence, but don’t have the time to follow-up on comments to your timeline. You may have a large number of followers who interact with your social media pages on a daily basis, but you’ve yet to convert the people on your page into valuable sales.

So how do you discover the areas you are lacking and how can you get the most of your social media network?

Try this quick 10-minute social media assessment

First list the goals you hope to achieve through social media. If you are in a bigger company you may already have a social media policy outlining your goals.

1. Take an A4 sheet of paper and divide it into three columns.
2. The first column should be titled Date and Time.
3. The middle column is titled Update Description
4. The last column should be Update Type.

In this exercise you will be looking at the last 10 timeline updates.
In column 1 write the times and dates of the last 10 updates
In column 2 write a brief description of each update. For example: Before and after photos of weight-loss success with information about wait loss.
In column 3 under update type list the type of update it is. For example: Is it encouraging engagement? Is it networking? Is it sales?

Repeat the process for each of your social media channels. Eg; Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linked-In.

After you finish this, take each sheet of paper and look at the update types. Is it too
heavily focused on sales, yet networking and engagement updates are vary sparse or
non-existent? Have you wanted to push sales on Facebook, but mainly focus on
influence on Linked-In?

Make this social media assessment part of your monthly routine to help you stay on
track. Our clients are located throughout Australia, Sydney, Castle Hill, Norwest, Parramatta, Ryde and Seven Hills.

Rebranding your business can be a big undertaking as there’s more to a brand than simply refreshing your logo or revamping website copy.

A rebrand requires you to evaluate your company’s positioning, the mission, the clear messages you want the public take away from your marketing collateral, as well as an overhaul of your stationary, signage, business premises, advertising, social network strategies, right down to how your logo looks.

As marketing professionals, we’re often asked the question “Do you think we need to rebrand?”

If you can answer yes to at least one of these reasons, it may be time to book yourself an appointment with the XDesigns team for a complimentary brand session.

Your business has never had a professional brand makeover

Often business owners who start out working from home and suddenly find their overnight their company has blossomed bigger than they could ever imagined have never sat down with marketing professionals to develop a consistent brand strategy. They may have a template website with free website hosting and logos designed by friends.

Your branding is dated

If your logo was designed back in the days when before the invention of MTV and when wearing rainbow leg warmers were still in fashion, it’s time to help your company transform into the 21st century.

Your current brand has adverse connotations associated with it

Perhaps your business has been dragged through the courts, associated with people who have ruined its reputation or received bad press from leaving behind a large carbon footprint; a fresh brand overhaul may help disentangle your company from any previous bad publicity.

In 1991 Kentucky Fried Chicken underwent a rebrand and changed its name to KFC. Their reasoning was to disassociate themselves from the negative connotations of serving fried food, given the public’s new focus on eating healthier.

You’re branching into different products, services or regions

Before we examine what digital branding is, you need to understand what branding is.

We searched Google for one definitive answer and here’s what we found.

“Branding is a promise delivered.” – The Marketing Donut

“A brand is who people think you are when they aren’t looking.” – Influential.com

“Your brand is what makes you different from the competition.”

“Your brand is what people think when they hear your name…your brand only exists in someone’s mind.” – Forbes Magazine

What we can take from this is branding is how consumers feel about your product. It’s what makes you stand out in a crowd.

Think about a brand like a person. Your first name and surname is your brand name. Your personality and the way you leave people feeling is your brand.

Now how do we apply this to digital branding?

In the simplest terms, digital branding is what the public associate with you in relation to your online presence. Don’t mistake it for being products that are only sold online. Your digital brand is your online personality.

It’s about the way people feel about you after visiting your website or interacting with you on you social media pages. Hard to navigate websites or not responding to followers questions via social media, are not going to win friends or influence potential consumers to seek you out online.

Having an online presence in today’s society is more important than we can stress. If you don’t have a website, can’t be found on any of the social media platforms, in the mind of modern society, you might as well not exist. It doesn’t matter if they can find your name in the Yellow pages. It sounds brutal, but it’s true.

Even if you are active in social media and have a website, in a media saturated world, it needs to be better than good, it needs to be great.

Stay tuned this month as we delve deeper into developing your digital brand.

It’s a terrifying thought, but we’re already on the slippery slope towards 2016. Scream all you like in protest, but it won’t be long before you need to re-evaluate your marketing strategies for the coming year. 2015 has been a big year for ensuring your website is mobile-friendly and has focused heavily on content marketing, so what can we expect for 2016?

We’re not psychic, but if the current trends are anything to go by, this is what you can expect to be popular.

The Customer Experience

Streamlining your complete customer experience will become a key focus. Undercutting your competitors on price simply won’t be enough. With prospective clients have access to online shopping across the globe, it’s essential your customer experience is fine-tuned to be simple, speedy and keeping the customer informed every step of the way.

A customer who has experienced unfaultable service will be more likely to recommend your products or service to friends and family, via social media or word of mouth, reviews online or even an unprompted testimonial on your social media page.

Content Marketing

The trend of content marketing is here to stay. It’s always been a highly successful strategy and been around a lot longer than you probably realise. It’s a way of providing information to enhance the customer experience, cultivate your brand and is a proven way of developing longer lasting relationships with your customer – long after they’ve purchased your product or service. If you are not sure you are using content marketing correctly or want to branch out into this marketing avenue, call the team at XDesigns, we’re happy to give your company a marketing makeover.

Images are key

The old adage ‘A picture speaks a thousands words’ is true, especially online. Most people want things fast…fast food, fast internet and the facts without having to read lots of text. The more images, infographics and video clips you use on your website, brochures and catalogues the better. The days of text-heavy content are gone, if people are interested in reading more provide links where they can discover more information on your website.

Automated email marketing

Many companies are still yet to get onboard with automated email marketing. You would be surprised at just how much time a software programme like ActiveCampaign or InfusionSoft could save you, but as we sail towards 2016, more businesses will be adapting to the advances in technology. Imagine being able to automate your marketing strategies to update your contact database every time a new customer emails you, or send an automated response when a purchase is made online.

Don’t put off until tomorrow, what you can do today. Pick up the phone and stay ahead of the marketing curve in 2016 . For anything else marketing or graphic design related, we are here to help.

One of our favourite quotes is: 
To change your circumstances, you need to change your thinking and subsequent actions.

As a business owner it’s so easy to blame the economy, the government, the budget – anything other than ourselves for our business performing badly. You can keep telling yourself business will pick up when the warmer weather comes, when the mortgage rates drop, when the country is run by politicians who know what they’re doing – or you can change your thinking and take the necessary actions required to get your business back on track.

It’s all too easy to stick to the tried and tested marketing techniques you’ve been using for years on the premise that they’ve worked before and telling yourself it’s better to stick with what you know, but there are 7 big marketing mistakes you company may be making which you need to change today.

1. Using the same campaigns and marketing methods you’ve used for years.

We can’t even begin to tell you how many business owners we’ve met that have insist on using the same marketing strategies they used over a decade ago and then have the nerve to wonder why they’re not getting the results they’d hoped for. Sure you’re marketing campaign might have been hugely successful in 2004, but it doesn’t mean those techniques will yield the same results 10 years later. It’s important to move with the times.

2. Believing that once the website is complete you can cross off your list.

Think of a website like an indoor plant, if you don’t regularly take care of it, inevitably it will die. Just because you’ve the added the last full stop and spell checked the copy, doesn’t mean your website is finished. It will always be a work in progress. You can add extra copy on current pages, revamp a page title, promote a new offer, and even remove sections that aren’t generating traffic. Your website will always be a work in progress.

3. Thinking social media sites is for people who have too much time on their hands

If you’re baffled by technology, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube can all be a bit overwhelming. It doesn’t take a lot to film satisfied customers on your smartphone, upload it to YouTube and then share the link of your website and social media channels.

4. Sticking to what you know

If you never step out of your comfort zone, how will you ever learn about new ways to expand your business or network new people from a variety of industries that may be able to scratch your back, if you scratch their back?

5. Neglecting to utilise past client information

Get on the phone and contact all those customers you’ve not touched base with in the last six months. Employ a telemarketer if you have to, but the best way to boost sales is through repeat business.

6. Trying to do everything yourself

Chances are as a business owner your background is in the goods or services you are providing, not graphic design, marketing strategies, branding or advertising. Concentrate on what you specialise in and for everything else – outsource it to a professional.

7. No involvement in the community

Community involvement through charity is a great way to promote your business in your local neighbourhood without having to advertising or use hard-selling tactics. You could organise to collect Christmas gifts for families in need during the festive season or have your staffs helping out by serving free sausages at a community event. The possibilities are endless.

If you’ve been using the same tried and tested marketing strategies or haven’t updated your business website for a while, talk to XDesigns Advertising about bringing your business into the 21st century.

Every time you go to the movies, pick up a magazine, discover a product catalogue in your mailbox, get an e-newsletter, buy a product with packaging, see shop signage or watch a TV commercial, graphic design is involved.

Take a look at your environment right now. Pick up a book, look at an insurance claim form, pull on a pair of jeans with a designer label or even read the TV Guide – graphic design is used everywhere.

As you notice the different ways graphic design can be used, you will get more of an idea of what a graphic designer will be able to do for you, particularly if you own a business.

Why do you need a graphic designer?

If you are a business owner, it can be tempting to use a friend or do-it-yourself to cater to all your graphic design needs. It might be cheap but is it wise? If you want your business to exude professionalism, you need to employ the services of a professional graphic designer, after all you wouldn’t go to someone who wasn’t trained to fix your teeth or cut your hair. You will need to hire the services of a professional if you:

Don’t have a logo for your business or office stationary

You have a logo but it looks outdated or you did it yourself using clipart

Nothing matches from your logo to your office signage and office stationary

You plan to launch a marketing campaign or a new product

You need a new website or your old website looks like it was designed in the days of Noah’s Ark.

What do you need to know about hiring a graphic designer?

Obviously, like most things in life, you pay for what you get. The cheapest quote isn’t necessarily going to be the best. Ask work colleagues or business associates for commendations. They will be able to give you the basic information – what they paid, performance and reliability. When you have a couple of recommendations do further research by checking out their websites and portfolio of work. Ask yourself whether you like their style, whether they have a variety of styles or all their work looks the same and whether it’s professional looking. Also check out online reviews and customer testimonials before phoning to organise a meeting.

If you like what you’ve seen on the XDesigns Advertising website, pick up the phone today and book a free, no obligation meeting to discuss your needs.

The humble tagline is not just a throw-away line to sum up your business in one short statement. Taglines can be used to communicate your company’s philosophy, point of difference and when used correctly, your business will be instantly recognised
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll immediately know the brands behind these famous taglines.

1 I’m lovin’ it
2 Finger-lickin’ good
3 Just do it
4 Priceless

How many did you get right?

The above taglines have several things in common.
They span generations. Finger-lickin’ good was used for 50 years before recently being updated to So good to portray a healthier option.

They span cultures. It doesn’t matter where you live in the world, the tagline identifies the brand.

They don’t say what the company does because they are catchy enough to stand alone. Imagine instead of Just do it, Nike had opted for something unoriginal like Manufacturing shoes since 1946 or certified shoe makers.

Spectacular taglines are adapted into the modern culture and used as phrases in every day conversations or as hashtags on Twitter.

When creating a tagline for your business there are variables you need to take into consideration. The following points should help you with your tagline development.

• What is the main benefit you consider your brand provides and what makes your brand different from everyone else in the same line of business?
• What do want your tagline to express about your expertise and what is the best way to do that?
• Brainstorm ideas. Remember during a brainstorming session — no ideas are stupid. Then evaluate the list and determine the phrases that describe the most valued aspects you think should be conveyed and compile a list of possible taglines from these words and phrases, keeping your objective in mind.
• Make a list of your top five suggestions that are concise, pertinent and simple

One of the most important aspects of a memorable tagline line is that it is relevant to the needs of your target market. Unfortunately a lot of smaller businesses owners or companies starting out might have solid backgrounds in management but lack the essential skills when it comes to branding and marketing and creativity, but still insist on doing everything themselves. That’s where XDesigns Advertising can help with have the know how and the necessary skills to transform your business. For a quote or to have a chat about the direction of your business phone the team today