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Once upon a time MySpace was the space to hang out on line, then there was Bebo. Fast on its heel was Facebook and Twitter. YouTube, Instagram, Vines….isn’t this social media networking getting a little out of control? It’s almost like a full time job just updating Facebook and Twitter. Then along comes LinkedIn, a website for professionals and business minded like people to network ideas.

When will the madness stop? And is LinkedIn really necessary?

While you can’t be blamed for thinking that LinkedIn sounds a lot of like Facebook for businesses, it can be an invaluable marketing tool. Where else are you able to meet thousands quality business connections as well as create awareness for your business online for free?

On Facebook your business is competing against hundreds of internet memes, the latest viral videos and “look at me, look at me” selfies. On LinkedIn, the newsfeeds are much more business orientated. Your posts won’t get lost in a sea of status updates from Facebook addicts who like to post photos of their half-eaten breakfasts. One of the main differences between Facebook and LinkedIn is the type of “friends” you have. Don’t add every Tom, Dick and Harry that sends you a connection request. It’s not a competition over who has the most contacts. Use your scruples and only add people who can contribute valuable knowledge which can help develop your business or give you a leg up in your career later on in life. While it sounds a little cut throat, sometimes that’s what it takes to succeed in the business world. After all, it’s not always what you know; it’s who you know that helps you get places.

If you would like to know more about LinkedIn or need XDesigns Advertising to give you a hand setting up your LinkedIn business profile, call the team today for a no-obligation, free quote.

Content marketing is producing creative and educational material pertinent to potential loyal clients. Through word of mouth these clients have the ability to influence friends and family potentially creating future business for your company. It’s a form of advertising which is steadily growing more popular and veers away from the more traditional approaches you might be familiar with.

The key to effective content marketing is to captivate your reader’s attention leaving them wanting more, while still being informative. This allows you to build your brand and promote what your company is about no matter what product you are marketing.

To give you an example of a very clever and unique style of content marketing is IBM’s ‘Cityone’ website – a place where thousands of gamers can from all across the world solve real business, environmental and logistical problems in a game format.

Another company that successfully uses content marketing is Colgate with their oral health and dental resource centre, while Kraft developed a website with recipes.

In a world where we are constantly blasted with advertising, on websites, social media, television, radio, even in our letterbox with a never ending collection of what we’ve come to refer to as junkmail, we have become capable of tuning out. So the idea with content marketing is to find something that appeals to your target audience, something ultimately they won’t be able to resist.

Now that you know what content marketing is, the hardest part is deciding how you can incorporate it into your advertising and how to do it well. Stay tuned.

If you would like to discuss ways you can utilise content marketing with your website, talk to XDesigns Advertising today about how they can help you.

Life is busy enough without having to constantly monitor your email. So how do you ensure you don’t miss out on prospective business without being glued to your computer? The answer comes in the form of innovative marketing software called ActiveCampaign.

Let’s take a brief overlook at how automated email marketing could help you work smarter, not harder. You’ll be surprised just how much work you do can be automated with the right software.

Automated campaigns

You can set up your campaigns to an autopilot function, Whenever you update your website with a new sales promotion or even just a blog update, Activate Campaign will automatically produce dynamic content which can be sent out to your database. You can also automate contact date, schedule follow-ups and even text messages.

Smart contacts that update automatically

No need to endless update your database content when Active Campaign can extract contacts automatically from e-commerce, CRMS and customer service software.

Email that does the thinking for you

Individualise your email content to reflect your contact’s social media data, search engine habits and their day-to-day interests.

Social media updates that don’t rely on your monitoring your Facebook timeline 24/7

Schedule social media posts to trigger when a contact shares your content and view all the interactions on your campaign as they happen.

Get notified when you have to take action

As the campaign automates itself you will receive real-time announcements when you need to to touch base with contacts and follow up.

Once Active Campaign is set up and you have a series of campaign strategies in place, you can now concentrate on more important things, while it works in the background.

If automating your email marketing system is something your company could be interested in call the team at XDesigns for a no-obligation free quote.

Alternatively if you have decided you can no longer function without this software and can’t wait until you’re not tied to your desk, XDesigns Advertising can help you with set-up, marketing campaigns and graphic design to take your business marketing to the next level.

With the arrival of 2016, it’s likely your marketing strategy has already been prepared. However this easy to understand guide will help you discover whether you’re headed in the right direction, and if not, help you tweak your marketing plan and refine it.

Consistency

More so than previous years, consistency is critical. In a world saturated in big brands trying to forge their way globally, the key to expansion is being instantly recognisable. This can only be done through having a consistent brand. Does your website reflect what’s on your Facebook page? What’s being seen in press ads, is it replicated on your website? If you are the CEO of a franchise – are you sure all your franchisees are following the brand guidelines? Many global brands including Google have recently revamped their logos to remain consistent with what the public have learned to associate with their business and ensuring it is the same across the board.

The use of video

Did you realize almost 75 per cent of the world owns a smartphone? We live in a media-rich world where information is now available at our fingertips, almost anywhere in the world. For those on the go, reading screeds of information takes too long, they want their information fast and in bite-sized pieces. That being said, it’s important to allocate some of your marketing budget towards mobile advertising and create video content for social media.

Navigation around ad blockers

Ad blocker programs are great if you don’t want annoying pop-ups; not so great if you’re the advertiser. With Apple upping the ante on ad blockers with the release of iOS9 and extensive apps available to ensure the at-home user doesn’t get bombarded with advertising, now is the time to start contemplating ways to beat the system. While there’s no need for widespread panic just yet, one of your marketing strategies for 2016 should brainstorming for ways around ad blocker – creating advertisements, which defy the normal realms of what ad blockers determine as ‘advertising’.

Even though Facebook was launched in 2004, it’s still a fairly new method of marketing and reaching potential customers. A fairly common comment business owners are making is “Does my business really need a Facebook page?”

If you’re one of these company director’s that think Facebook is just a phase or sounds like too much hard work, ask yourself this question – “Where else am I going to find an audience of over one billion users aged between 18 to 70?”

Having a Facebook page for your company is one thing, knowing how to use it to its potential is another. Here are 5 important ways to ensure you are getting the most from your company Facebook page.

1) Create a profile page. Choose a banner and profile photo that reflect your company’s branding. For example; your Facebook banner could be a photo of your commercial premises, your employees in action or even your branded company vehicles. Use a logo for the profile page.

2) Invite as many people as possible to join your page. You need at least 25 members before your commercial page will be granted a Facebook website address. Getting your page out into the wider Facebook community relies on your friends liking and sharing your page in the hope their friends will like it and share it with their friends.

3) Keep it interesting. Post regular updates keeping your fans updated on what’s going on with your business. It could be anything from special offers for Facebook fans to competitions, even photos of staff giving back to the community or Friday funnies.

4) Design a landing page for newcomers. A landing page is a specially designed page which links to your Facebook page but allows you to ask new visitors to your page to like it, and may be an opportunity to glean information from the users through use of a short survey.

Learn more about Landing pages >> http://www.xdesigns.com.au/x-designs-blog/landing_pages_part-1

5) Try to encourage interaction with your friends. Ask questions about what they think? Comment on current affairs which make provoke a reaction. Their comments on your site will attract the attention of their friends.

If you don’t know how to set up a Facebook page or have a Facebook page but struggle with content or perhaps you’d like a landing page, contact the team at XDesigns Advertising today for a no-obligation free chat on how to immerse your company in the world of social networking.

With so many freelance graphic designers and graphic design companies available to choose from, how do you choose the right one for you? We’ve put together a list of a few things you may want to think about before signing any contracts.

There are 4 major factors to take into consideration

1. Portfolio. Every good graphic designer has a portfolio on their website showcasing previous projects they have completed. Before you even phone or email to make an appointment with the designer or design team, have a look at a few different portfolios on line. Is there versatility in the work style? Is there a variety of projects? Be wary of designers that seem to stick to the same style of design. For example, if their portfolio consists of mostly CD covers or posters, you ask to see catalogue or magazine spreads.

2. Personality and communication style. Try to set up a meeting where you can interact face to face with the team before hiring them to ensure your personalities mesh well. It’s a good way to gauge their communication style and professionalism. Choose a graphic designer who is going to be proactive in letting you know how the project is tracking. You don’t want to be the one chasing them up.

3. Timeline of the project. Don’t forget to ask about turnaround times. How long is going to take them to complete your design work? If you want a 60 page catalogue and they promise to have the job finished in two days, this should sound alarm bells. It’s probably being a little optimistic and if it is completed, it won’t be to the best of their ability. Take the time to find out what the creative process is from start to finish.

Learn more about the creative process with XDesigns Advertising >> link to http://www.xdesigns.com.au/x-designs-blog/from-brief-to-beyond

4. Budget. It’s important to let your graphic designer know what your budget for the design work is. If you are a small company who doesn’t have a big budget allocated to marketing, your designer should be able to you what they can do for your available funds.

What makes XDesigns Advertising different >> Link to http://www.xdesigns.com.au/x-designs-blog/what-makes-x-designs-different

Now that you know what to look for in a graphic designer, check out XDesigns Advertising impressive portfolio of work and pick up the phone to discuss what we can do for you.

Ever dealt with a huge corporate advertising agency where you feel like you are just another nameless face and they don’t really care incorporating your ideas or your business.

At X Designs, we genuinely care about our clients and do our utmost best to make sure they are happy with the end result, a business logo,  technical brochure or website with an entire branding makeover.

We take the time to sit down with you and discuss your needs, your ideas and do our best to make sure you feel like you are part of the creative process from the initial layout through to the finished product. And if you the whole concept of advertising materials and websites makes you break out in a cold sweat, we’ve got years of practical experience and innovative ideas we can share.

The team at X Designs have a very real passion for design which translates through to every project we complete.  Once the creative work is finished, it’s not the end of the road. We make sure you are happy with our work and if you’ve had a website design, you’ll walk away with peace of mind that you can update it yourself easily through a content management system (CMS).

It’s the little extras and 100 per cent genuine customer service that really matters – and that’s exactly what you get from X Design Advertising – a company that not only provides exceptional work, but cares about helping you take your business to the next level.

You can’t expect the marketing plan you had designed for you way back in the early 1990s is going to work forever. If you haven’t undertaken any changes to your business operation since its inaugural launch, chances are you are missing out on valuable revenue. There’s nothing like a rebrand to grow and breathe new life into your company. You’ll end up with a better understanding about what you want your brand to stand for as well identifying your prospective clients and how to reach them. With these five simple steps you can successfully rebrand your business.

1. Get to know your brand identity. Think of it like getting to know a potential partner. What sort of personality does your brand have? Is it fun, loud and flashy? Or perhaps it’s straight-laced, serious and straight to the point. If your brand was a person where would their favourite hangout be? What would be their favourite colour? What type of people would it mix with? What kind of charities would it support?

2. Hire a proven graphic design professional. You want your branding to be perfect so it is imperative you choose a graphic designer with experience in branding. This is one arena where you shouldn’t try to cut costs. Rule of thumb is you pay for what you get. If the price sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Ensure to share your vision and brand identity ideas with your designer so they can incorporate your ideas with theirs.

3. Make sure your brand is consistent and reflected on the website, blogs, social media pages, office stationary, merchandise, staff uniforms, and data presentations to car and front of shop signage. It all needs to match – no exceptions.

4. Never underestimate the power of social media. Prior to the launch of the new rebranding try leaving enticing teasers on Facebook and Twitter. Consider investing in a marketing strategy video which can you upload to youtube and repost and retweet on the day of your rebrand launch.

5. Plan an event to unveil your new brand. This is an important step as it will give you a chance to invite staff, friends, current clients and media outlets to attend the presentation.

A brochure is only as good as its content. The design can look fabulous, the text can read like a dream, but unless it’s making an impact on your sales, you might as well use it to wrap your fish n chips.

By ensuring you utilise these five essential elements, you can transform your brochures into highly successful sales instrument.

1. Attention grabbing headlines 

Attention grabbing headlines which focus on the benefits your company can offer will be more successful than slapping a company logo on the front cover with a tagline which doesn’t really say anything startling. Take for instance a weight loss company; a brochure which has “Lose 8kg in 10 weeks” is likely to have more success than starting with committed to excellent customer service. The headline targets a problem a potential customer might have and offers a benefit in a concise, clear manner.

2. Points of differences

Points of differences are unique benefits that set you apart from your competitors. What makes your company different? Why should a client opt for using your company instead of another? Think of it as a personal branding statement. A weight loss company might use something like Lose 8kg in 10 weeks or get your money back. A popular fitness company uses Earn $10 for every kilo you lose. Whatever you decide on it has to be snappy, clear and unique to your business.

3. Make your brochure educational

Make your brochure educational. Once you have the potential customer interested, they will want to know more about what you are offering. Try to be clear without overloading the text with industry-jargon only tech-savvy people would understand.

4. Back up your claims with hard evidence

Back up your claims with hard evidence. You can achieve this by using testimonials and quotes from satisfied customers, public figures, even celebrity endorsements. Short articles and pictures are also useful.

5. Make your reader want to take action

Make your reader want to take action. After reading the brochure from top to bottom, the prospective customer likes what they see, now comes the part where you want to encourage them to pick up the phone or call in and visit rather than filing the brochure away in a kitchen drawer. You might offer a money back guarantee, a trial period if they call before the end of the month or a bonus product.

Utilising all of these five essential elements into any brochure, be it small home based business or large international corporate company, will create a dynamic sales tool that works.

Whats next? Need help putting your brochure together?
For a complementary Brand session call us on 1300 881 204 and talk to XDesigns Advertising today.