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Website Design Psychology

The art of using website design psychology

The art of using website design psychology extends beyond aesthetics. You may have heard about marketing psychology, using colour, designs and text to motivate a consumer to act. The colour red is said to make people feel passionately hungry and is the reason McDonalds, Hungry Jacks, Wendys, KFC and Red Rooster use red in their logos. It’s not simply because the graphic designer was in love with the colour red. The same marketing psychology principles can be applied to website design.

When hiring a website developer, it’s important they understand design psychology and use it to motivate your website traffic to take action.

What is website design psychology?

When it comes to website development, a beautifully designed website is simply not enough. It should take your website visitors on a journey, from the page they land on to funnelling web traffic to purchase products with easy navigation and clear calls to action.

Every colour choice, every smiling photograph of your team, the typography, even the white space plays a psychological role in triggering subliminal actions. Understanding the art of using website design to empower customers into making decisions is undeniably important.

Let’s take a closer look at using the psychology of web design

1. Branded smiling images
People connect with other people. So if you have photos on your website, your website visitors are more likely to connect with branded photos that include your smiling team members rather than stock photos or empty offices or buildings. Happy people near the call to action button subconsciously indicate that when you purchase goods or services from this company, you’ll be dealing with helpful, friendly team members.

2. Geometrical shapes
Did you know the elements such as geometrical shapes such as triangles, circles and lines are influential in helping website visitors ‘feel’ a certain way and help navigate through the website? Triangles are good for pointing to where you would like the customer’s eyes to focus. They also represent strength and power. While circles and ovals can highlight important text as well as symbolise commitment. Lines draw the eye to important text.

3. White space
White space gives the appearance of organisation and cleanliness. White space allows the website visitor to focus on one idea at a time. Clutter or trying to fit too many different ideas onto one page can be confusing.

4. Colour
As mentioned in the introduction, colour can play an important role for aesthetics and creating subconscious emotions. Renowned marketing guru, Neil Patel believes that the right colours can boost your brand recognition by as much as 80%. Colours can be associated with different brands. For example: Cadbury were allowed to trademark their distinctive purple wrapping (Pantone 2685C). Purple is associated with royalty, creativity and a lavish lifestyle. As a graphic designer or web developer, it’s important to think about the type of feelings you want to create.

5. Typography
The kind of font used for the website design is also important, not just to ensure it’s websafe, but that it’s easy to read, saving the fancier fonts for H1 headlines. San-serif fonts like Arial or Helvetica are generally thought to be easy to read. The art to good typography is also knowing how to structure the text. It’s harder for a person to read paragraphs in caps. It also doesn’t follow the natural eye movements if the text is centred.

6. Website content
Take a look at the content you have on your current website? Are you simply rattling off a list of services you provide with no context, or are you talking directly to your website visitors. Personalisation in website content speaks to your users. If well utilised it will highlight their pain points and provide simple solutions. Let’s take a look at the difference personalising your content can make.

Example 1: WRONG
In a digital saturated world, small businesses can get their brands noticed. Branding goes beyond new logo or catalogue design Sydney and Brisbane, XDesigns Advertising is ready to drive businesses to get maximum results from their advertising spend.

It could be safe to assume that as soon as a person who is an individual or a big business would assume this content did not apply to them. The copy tells them It’s for small businesses that XDesigns Advertising are talking to someone else. It may deter someone from finding a business better suited to their needs and they’ll be instantly less interested because you are not directly talking to them.

Example 2: CORRECT
In a digital saturated world, make sure your brand gets noticed. Branding goes beyond new logo or catalogue design Sydney and Brisbane, XDesigns Advertising is ready to drive your brand and get maximum results from your advertising spend. Are you ready to begin the journey?

It’s not a huge difference in content, but example 2 personalised the message and includes a call to action. If the customer isn’t quite ready to begin the journey, they may search out customer reviews or explore other parts of the website before thinking about what to do next. However, you can see the difference in personalising the website content psychologically.

Real life example
Let’s take a look at the art of using web design psychology on our very own website XDesigns Advertising. The selected colours are generally associated with friendliness and happiness. The large X in the banner drives your eye from the top of the page down to the first call of action – Get Started. If you’ve landed on our website, you can already tell from a glance what we are, so if you’re in a rush, you can quickly contact us and get on with your day! Scroll down a little further and you’ll notice with our icons, they’re contained by a circle and surrounded by plenty of white space.

Colour is also used to segment the website, as you get to the bottom, you’ll see that there’s another call to action with a reminder of what we do again. If you need more convincing, the next step will clarify two simple decisions—what kind of graphic design you’re looking for and highlighting the fact that there are retainer packages available.

Now take a look at your website design and apply the top 6 points mentioned above. How does it stack up? If you have any questions on how to improve your website and incorporate design psychology, contact us today on 1300 881 204 or reach out online.

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2022 Marketing Trends by XDA

Marketing trends for 2022

The surprising 2022 marketing trends you should not miss.

A new year, a chance to reevaluate your marketing strategies. 2022 has taken on some surprising marketing trends you should not miss. After extensive research based on leading global experts, we’ve compiled a list of things you can do to improve your marketing and you’ll never guess what’s making a comeback.

The most surprising 2022 marketing trend experiencing a resurgence is Direct Mail—driven by nostalgia and a desire to return to when life was simpler, as well as a secondary way to back up an email campaign.

With everyone fighting for digital marketing space, an integrated campaign using direct mail could very well be the best point of difference you could choose to help COVID proof your business in 2022.

A survey conducted by Australia Post discovered 90% of Australians read their mail. 60% take the time to sit down and read it thoroughly and more than half save their mail and refer back to it. It’s been proven that brand recall is 40% better when a direct mail campaign is followed up by an email. Personalised mail evokes an emotion. With most mail these days being bills, a personalised envelope can be the perfect way to pique curiosity. It’s still only the early days of 2022 but we’re seeing a resurgence of brands wanting to draw on the power of direct mail through trifold brochures, postcards, catalogues and flyers. A return to print offers a chance to reconnect with audiences who are removing themselves from social media.

In addition to direct mail, there are a number of different ways you can level up your digital marketing in 2022. Here’s what’s forecast to be popular, so it’s important to start thinking about ways you can integrate these into your digital strategy.

1. Dynamic Emails

It’s important not to underestimate the power of Electronic Direct Mail marketing. Emails are one of your most powerful marketing weapons. Using personalisation in conjunction with accelerated mobile pages that allow users to interact with you directly without leaving their email platform is the key to driving your business. The industry benchmark for open rates cites 12-25% as a successful open rate for emails. However, companies across the globe are reporting a rise of 20% in open rates since the beginning of the pandemic. In fact, at XDesigns Advertising, our December EDM saw an open rate of 41%, well above the industry standard and a trend that is set to continue as people continue to social distance and shop online.

2. Membership Programs

It’s natural to want to be part of a community and feel special, especially in a society where you are becoming increasingly disconnected. The rise in private Facebook (Meta) groups, VoIP platforms like Discord and apps can provide a sense of belonging. In a world where we are more isolated due to an increase in working from home and socialising only within our family circles, brands across the world are discovering the power of membership programs.

It allows users to feel like they are part of a community with exclusive rewards such as free shipping, exclusive discounts all year round and access to virtual and IRL events. Some membership programs provide chat features where community members can interact and make new friends, talk to customer reps or seek word-of-mouth recommendations from others who have used the products or services.

Companies like Catch.com.au and Amazon already have membership programs in full swing and guarantee express/free shipping and exclusive product deals. With app development becoming increasingly popular, this marketing trend you should not miss.

Membership programs can be integrated into your website by setting up an exclusive portal or as an app that can be downloaded.

3. The Rise of Video Content

Towards the end of last year, Head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri announced that Instagram would no longer be a square photo platform, moving towards becoming an edutainment hub where video would be key to a successful marketing campaign. It’s been no secret that the algorithm is giving preference to video content. You only have to look at the explosion of Instagram Reels to see the potential reach of video marketing.

Tik Tok continues to be king of the social platforms with 1 billion active monthly users and proof that short-form video content will continue to trend for digital marketing in 2022. At XDesigns Advertising, we can help you devise a digital marketing strategy that integrates video content that can be repurposed for EDMs and social platforms, so you don’t have to miss out.

4. Interactive content

It’s time to get creative with your content. Users want more than text-based blogs and these should not be overlooked. However, you need to supplement your blogs with engaging, interactive experiences that are entertaining, that start conversation. Augmented reality is increasingly becoming popular. For example; Kylie Jenner set the benchmark when her cosmetic brand allowed users to see what the different shades of lipstick would look like by simply using a downloadable filter. Alongside AR, you can expect to see a rise in immersive video (throw on a pair of 360 virtual reality glasses to be transported into another world), as well as quizzes, questionnaires and polls.

5. Automated Customer Service

We are used to getting things fast—Instant finance approval, express shipping, high-speed Wifi—so when we ask questions about products, pricing or shipping, we expect the same efficiency. New research published by Hubspot indicated that 82% of potential customers expect an immediate response while 92% say that a quick response can be the sole deciding factor when it comes to purchasing or not. One of the most time-saving digital marketing trends for 2022 is ensuring you provide responses in real-time This can be achieved through the use of automated chatbots, automated email campaigns and shopping carts. This eliminates the need for you to provide manpower to sit on the end of a computer

Most businesses miss out on using these valuable 2022 marketing trends due to a lack of pre-planning and strategising and that’s certainly one area, XDesigns Advertising can provide the ongoing support you need, especially if you are unable to afford an in-house marketing department. Follow us on socials to stay up to date with the latest news in digital marketing or contact us now to book your 2022 marketing trends strategy meeting.

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LinkedIn Profile stand out blog

How to make your LinkedIn profile stand out from the crowd

Power up your LinkedIn profile

Growing up most mums tell their kids just how special they are. “You are special. You are unique! There’s no one quite like you!” And then you grow up and log on to LinkedIn and discover there are people just like you. In fact, there’s quite a lot of them exactly like you; Degrees at University, qualifications in digital marketing, and sadly you’re only one profile amongst 575+ million on the LinkedIn network. So how can you stand out from the crowd with your LinkedIn Profile?

To get your LinkedIn profile noticed you need to have:

An eye-catching headline:

If you are lucky enough to have a more unusual surname like Goni-Mendez then you’re a little luckier than some. However, if you’re a Tony Smith or a Susan Brown, there are hundreds of people on LinkedIn with your name too, maybe in the same career, so how do you differentiate yourself from your ‘clones’? Get creative with your Linkedin Profile headline. Next to the photo, the headline is what grabs prospective clients or employee’s attention.

You can go the humourous route with headlines such as “I’m basically the Beyonce of Excel sheets” (this is purely an example. Don’t use it because, it’s already been done and while copying is a sign of flattery, there are hundreds of people who also thought it was brilliant too and have used it thinking they’re original). If you’re going to be funny, it has to be clever. Alternatively you can choose to highlight your qualifications. Maybe you were Young Entrepreneur of The Year or have a diverse range of titles, for example; Agency Owner | Story Teller | Keynote Speaker | Chief Taxi Driver

Punchy profile summary

Think of your profile summary similar to an elevator-pitch, you have about 30-seconds to give insight into your career and future aspirations. If you are job-hunting, this is the part of your LinkedIn profile potential employers will scan. The perfect summary can result in gaining new clients or being headhunted for opportunities you only dared to dream about.

When writing your summary, try to avoid using corporate buzzwords such as synergy or giving back 110%. Adopting a conversational tone and injecting your own personality is more likely to engage the reader rather than belting out a list of achievements and regurgitating your CV.

Utilise the LinkedIn Profile capabilities to their potential

LinkedIn allows you to upload video content and add links to publications, articles and blogs to add social proof to your profile. If you’ve been involved with creating marketing campaigns for blue chip clients or authored articles on the benefits of digital marketing specialists or field your work in, then this is the ideal place to showcase your talent.

Ask former colleagues or clients to endorse you for your skills

As you’ve probably discovered by now, social media is a channel where people can be anyone or anything they like. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to set up a fake profile, but with LinkedIn recommendations prove that you are who you say you are and have the skills you profess to.

Engage with your connections

It’s good to interact with your connections to stay at the forefront of their mind. Posting regularly (no more than five posts a week) between 10am-11am is a good way to get noticed. Keep in mind, posts should be original long-form content or industry-related, timely and relevant, best practices, how-to guides, presentations, lessons learnt and videos. This is not the social media platform to post funny cat videos or bathroom selfies.

By keeping your LinkedIn profile up to date you are ensuring you’re not missing out on any potential opportunities, while making sure you’re not just another faceless profile that fades into the background.

If you’re not sure your LinkedIn profile makes the mark, XDesigns Advertising can help you stand head and shoulders above the rest.

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XD Blog opt in

How do I create the perfect opt-in page?

From all appearances, an opt-in page, sometimes referred to as a landing page, looks straightforward and simple, but don’t be deceived. A lot of hard work and thought goes into creating the perfect page to create leads and build a direct marketing list,,

What is the main purpose of an opt-in page? 

Opt-in pages (or landing pages) provide free incentives in exchange for contact information. For example; win a night’s accommodation at the Hilton and then personal details such as names, phone numbers and emails are gleaned to build a database for customer contacts. Your incentive doesn’t have to be as glitzy as a night’s accommodation. It could be a free ebook or coupon codes for discounts.

In most cases, this could be the first time people are hearing about your business. You are strangers! You wouldn’t walk up to a stranger on the street and trying to sell them your service or product without an introduction. The internet is no different. An opt-in page is like saying “Hey, this is what I can do for you and if you like me and want to get to know us better, then let’s swap contact details.”

Landing pages are also idea if you are running Google Ad words campaigns and provide you with an opportunity to add more touch points to your prospects journey. After all, you don’t go from being random strangers to best friends the first time you meet someone. There are often conversations along the way, and soon you are more than just strangers, your acquaintances. Opt-in or landing pages are a great way to steer that journey from random to best friends (also known as loyal customers).

What does the perfect opt-in page need?

Does it really need your logo? 
Having a logo on your opt-in page is a bit like walking around a large shopping mall with a “Hello my name is…” badge. No one cares. In fact, it’s probably just filling in white space that could be used more efficiently. Remember the purpose for your opt-in page is to get people interested and these days you have about 2.5 seconds. You are dealing with people that don’t know you from a bar of soap, it’s it doesn’t matter whether you’re Wally Watson from Wally’s Super Butcher or Sid from Snap Fresh Meats—what matters most is the offer!

Do I need to tell prospect about my business?
Does your audience really want to know you’re a family-run business for four generations? No, not really. Do they care what part of Australia the goods you’re selling come from? Uh-uh! They’re only interested in the solution you can provide for them and the incentive to hand over their details.

Do I need testimonials?
One or two written testimonials may be beneficial, but it’s not going to entice someone to sign up for your newsletter. Further along the sales funnel video testimonials can be very powerful to convert website traffic into actual paying customers, but for the purpose of an opt-in page, the simpler, the better.

What about the lead magnet?
A lead magnet is a fancy term to describe the way you entice people to give you their mobile phone number or their email address. The rule of thumb is to keep your giveaway and sign up process as simple as possible. If a person has too answer too many questions about wage earnings or preferences or shopping habits, chances are they’re going to decides it’s too much effort. It needs to be fast and breezy! From looking at the page they need to be able to surmise what you are giving away and how to sign up with it. If it’s too complex…they’ll lose interest in a flash and move on to the next interesting thing.

Do I need a graphic designer to layout my opt-in page
Absolutely, no questions about it—YES! A good graphic designer or web developer with a design background can make the world of difference between a page that doesn’t clearly communicate your message and one that’s eye-catching. A good designer will also ensure the headline is the first thing on the page the eye is drawn to with a sub headline that elaborates on the headline.
Use one image which clearly shows what you are giving away, so your web traffic can see what they are getting for their exchange of details.

Your description of your giveaway doesn’t have to be over the top, as long as it adequately describes what is on offer and it includes the benefits of the product or service. Makes sure you understand the difference between a benefit and a feature.

1) Features are things the products or services provide.
2) Benefits are what enhancements is the product or service going to bring to your audiences life.
For example; Let’s say you’re giving away a free cookbook. The features might be Meatless recipes, 108-pages, large size font. The benefits are all your vegetarian recipes in one spot No more spending hours trawling the internet for vegetarian recipes.

What calls to actions work best?
When you’re designing an opt-in page, the best call to actions (CTA) are buttons. Again, keep it simple like “Yes, sign me up” and have the contact form fields on a separate page so it doesn’t make your opt-in page look cluttered or clunky.
An alternative to contact form fields is a pop-up. It’s clean and simple and with one question like “What’s your email address?” It only takes a few seconds to fill in. You start losing people when you want their postal address, birthdate and personal details of that nature.

How do I write a good headline for my opt-in page
A good headline, even though usually only a few words, can be the hardest part of this process. If you are pressed for time, we suggest you hire a professional content writer. However if you are doing this alone, the headline should include what your potential client will get from opting in, how long it will take and list the one thing that’s been holding them back from achieving their desired goal.

For example; Make vegetarian meals in 30 minutes your family WILL eat.

Always make sure your free gift is sent immediately, or if your new leads has entered a draw to win, send a confirmation email of what they’ve entered.

Now you have their email addresses or phone number, the next part of the sales funnel is to explain the products or services you have for offer and how it will change their life.

If you are having trouble generating leads or designing the perfect opt-in page, talk to the team at XDesigns Advertising today.

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XD Blog digital advertising

Internet Advertising: The way of the future

Advertising campaigns—Sydney goes digital
The in-laws were bitterly complaining about their business wasn’t making any money from their latest advertising campaign. “Sydney used to be a profitable area and we walked for miles letterboxing flyers, but not even one phone call!” They grumbled.

Why don’t my letterbox flyers generate leads?
C’mon who reads flyers? Certainly not us. Every single day our letterbox is chock full of junk mail—scrappy bits of paper with ‘Call Brian for rubbish removal’, takeaway menus from the local fast food chains, countless catalogues and brochures. Newsflash! Unless it’s a letter containing money, our interest factor is zero. Junk mail is only good for one thing and that’s lining the bottom of the kitty litter tray. We’re not the only people who feel this way. Many households have signs requesting no circulars and according to NYU Law, 44% of junk mail is thrown out before it’s even looked at. We imagine the stats in Australia aren’t much different. Not to mention the toll it takes on the environment—the trees, water and power it takes to produce them.

The average household receives approximately one kilogram of junk mail each year. No matter how professionally designed or brightly coloured, your brochure or flyer is likely to be missed. Unless your advertising design comes with flashing lights and loud, honking whistles, you could be simply wasting your time. It’s time to start thinking about the future of your advertising strategy.

What are the benefits of online advertising?
Don’t let being stuck in the 1990s dictate the way you promote your business. There are many benefits to using the internet to boost your product or service. Automatically, promoting your company online opens you up to a wider audience. You’re not limited to pounding the pavements in your local area. Investing in online promotions is future-proofing your brand.

1. Gauge your return on investment (ROI)
It can be hard to determine the results of direct mail marketing unless your actively asking your clients, “How did you hear about us?”
It is easier to track your expenditure and compare it with your results. Google Analytics and the social networks make it simple to track what type of people are coming to your website, where they are from, what pages they are looking at, how long they spend on your website, even what type of device they’re browsing from and how they found your website.

2. It’s cost-effective
When you think about the time and effort that go into producing a flyer and delivering it, you can advertise online for a fraction of the price. Being active on the major social media networks costs you nothing. You get more bang for your buck on the internet. As little as $20 on Facebook advertising can reap the rewards, plus setting up a page Facebook business page or Instagram account costs nothing.

3. Brand awareness
No other form of advertising campaign can result in your business going viral. Until 2014, very few had heard of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association, then came ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’—to this date on of the world’s most successful campaigns. It consisted of dumping a bucket of icy cold water over your head and sharing it on the social networks to raise money for ALS. It really came into its own when celebrities such as Chris Hemsworth, Bill Gates, Dave Grohl and Ashton Kutcher got involved. The campaign raised over $220 million.

4. The ability to try A/B Testing
Which ad works the best? Don’t try and make the decision yourself. Run two ads at the same time. You can use the same content with different photos or video, or different headlines with the same image. Analytics will be able to tell you which advertising strategy works better based on how many clicks. Sound too complicated? That’s okay, because at X Designs our specialty is making the world of technology easier for business throughout Australia.

Traditional advertising is forever evolving. If you’re technology-challenged and your business is being left behind, contact X Designs Advertising today for an advertising campaign. Sydney and Brisbane, ensure your company is ready for 2019 and beyond.

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XD Blog 5 8ways

8 ways to get fresh ideas for your blog

Content marketing is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to grow your business. There are many different ways you can generate content, but one of the most popular is blogging. Not only does blogging help your customers see you as an authority on a subject, it’s also a great way to drive traffic to your website, provides you with social media content and boosts your search engine optimisation.

One of the most difficult things to decide on can be what to blog about, but don’t panic we’ve put together a guide on how to come up with fresh ideas for blog.

1. Answer FAQs
Ever had one of those days where you’ve been inundated with phone calls from customers who ask annoying questions? Take each of those questions and turn it into an article you can post on your website. It might even reduce the number of pesky phone calls you get.
For example; How do I get my garage remote reprogrammed? Or What should I be eating if I want to become shredded?

2. Reuse old content
If you’ve got old blogs, repurpose them by giving them a makeover. You could update statistics, perhaps add a new perspective to it, or if the topic is currently trending add your opinion.

3. A Series
If you’ve ever watched Ozark on Netflix, you’ll know the feeling of wanting to know more. Pick a topic and write a series of blogs that leaves your customers waiting with anticipation for the sequel.

4. Instagram Influencers
Browse Instagram and check out what the top influencers in your field are talking about. Pinpoint topics that are being commented on and build a blog entry around that.

5. Become a sleuth
It’s time to get your Magnum PI on and do some investigating. Find out what your competitors are posting. Are they getting loads of interaction on their blog content? Use their ideas to inspire your own blog posts. Remember, don’t copy and paste. Google knows when you’re plagiarizing ideas and it will penalise your website for it.

6. Analyse Google Trends
Google trends explores what the world is searching for based on topics and locations. You may find a topic that relates to your business allowing you to ride the conversation wave.

7. Brainstorming
Some of the best ideas come from brainstorms and word association. This can either be done by yourself or with a group of people. Use a whiteboard or large sheet of butcher’s paper and write your product or service. Then write down everything that comes to mind when you think of this product or service—no answer is a dumb. There’s no judgement when brainstorming. You may end up with an entire bank of ideas that keeps you going for the next six months or more.

8. Answer the Public!
If you’ve never used Answer the Public before, you are certainly missing out. You list a topic and it compiles a list of all the questions people are searching for on the internet regarding the subject. For example; You might type in Xbox and the creepy looking website will spit out a whole variety of different questions such as; are xbox controllers rechargeable, where is xbox one made, can xbox play Fornite. Take each question and turn it into a blog.
It’s also a great resource for when writing content for an FAQ page for your website.

If you have the ideas but don’t fancy yourself as a writer, our team at XDesigns Advertising have talented blog writers who can magic up words for you. Contact us today to learn more.

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Events Brisbane 645x325 1

ACTIVE MARKETING Business Network Brisbane

JOIN US! MARKETING YOUR BUSINESS FOR GROWTH & NETWORK
Learn results driven Marketing strategies to get your business moving forward. Join us for our monthly Active Marketing Business workshops. Limited Spots available! Valued at $499 and FREE! With our awesome sponsor Servcorp

> ABOUT THE NIGHT:
Are you doing the same things, yet aiming for bigger sales this year?
Discover strategies that can give you a competitive edge and drive your marketing results!
Walk away with tips you can implement to:
– Optimise a landing page of your website
– Automate your marketing
– Learn marketing strategies to get you moving forward
– Network and connect with like-minded people

You’re invited to join us for this powerhouse workshop as Marketing Strategist Wendy Goñi Mendez shares top strategies, ideas and thinking to help your business marketing for growth.

You’re invited and please book in early – and please share it!

 

Book now

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XD Blog 5 content

5 Content Marketing Ideas You Need To Start Using

In this digital era, content marketing is your best friend. Firstly, it’s about half the cost of traditional marketing strategies such as pushy popups, unrelated web banners and ‘junk’ emails. Secondly, studies show it has the potential to triple your leads. Yet, many businesses are still failing to put strategic content planning in place.

It boils down to one main reason—being time-poor.

If you don’t have a content marketing plan in place (or you do, but it’s a bit wishy-washy and you’re flying by the seat of your pants), here are some ideas you need to start using to get the positive results you’ve been wanting.

1. Professional images are worth a thousand words
Heard the old adage, don’t say it, show it? High-quality images are crucial. Studies have shown people only retain 10% of the information they are shown when it’s made up solely of text. The text is still super important, particularly for search engine optimisation (SEO), but having professional photos is also key. Images don’t simply have to be beautiful photos; they can be graphs, infographics or video.

2. Create shareable content
People like to share content that’s informative, funny, even a little out of the box. Whether it’s a video, image or written text, don’t be afraid to inject originality. The ice bucket challenge is simply one example of content took the world by storm. Celebrities, businesses from all across the world got on board and uploaded their content to YouTube. Motor Neurone disease couldn’t have asked for better publicity.

3. Reuse old content
You often spend so much time creating great content, it seems a shame to only use it once. This is called repurposing. The same information you used t write your blog can be used to create a webinar, video, and quizzes—just to name a few.

4. Write headlines that entice
The more compelling or shocking a headline is, the more likely you are to attract readers. Copyblogger reported 8 out of 10 people only read the headline copy, and only 2 out of 10 will bother to read the rest. To capture attention, headlines must intrigue the reader but be relevant to the content, otherwise, you will be penalised by Google for clickbait.

5. Expand your content horizons
If you tend to only blog, it’s not the only form of content marketing. To be successful you need to be using other content marketing strategies such as vlogging, guest blogging. Ebooks, webinars, FAQs, interviews, listicles (list-type articles), polls, podcasts, press releases—the list is endless.

Content marketing is key to your business’s success. However, you don’t have to go it alone. XDesigns Advertising has a dedicated team of individuals waiting to help you with your content marketing, whether it’s creating a content plan or providing content marketing for you. Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you.

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Automate your marketing

Automate your Marketing

Everyone loves a good shortcut and life hacks to make those daily tasks easier. That’s essentially what marketing automation is—a way to bypass those daily, repetitive marketing tasks. Using software technology to reduce time-consuming tasks such as social media, emails and responding to queries, frees you up to concentrate on the more important aspects of your job.

The aim of marketing is to turn website traffic into sales leads and convert those leads to loyal customers that spend money with you. This is where automation really becomes worth its weight in gold, during the final stages crucial to making a sale. Not only does the customer feel like they’re getting excellent customer service, you’ve already done the hard work, and the process become automatic.

At XDesigns Advertising, we will help you take your marketing to the next level. You can learn how to efficiently follow up on new leads, touch-base with existing clients to ensure feel more organised and in control.

With our help, being-time poor will no longer be one of your daily challenges. We will help you set up:

Drip campaigns also known as automated email campaigns—a series of automated emails that are fired off to clients dependent on specified times or determined by client actions. For example; should someone fill out a competition entry to win a prize you are offering, where they tick the box agreeing to receive information from you, an automated thank you for entering email can be sent in response with a pre-designed template listing other products they may be interested in. Two days later, you could send them an email that gives them an extra chance to win, should they share an entry link with friends.

One-time emails are very specific in content and broadcast to a selected audience from your contact list, based on their interests or location. It might target your audience to attend an event, or partake in a special discount for a limited time. Then based on each customer’s response, an automatic chain of events is sent in motion. For example; if you are offering a webinar and a customer responds with an RSVP. A confirmation email will automatically be sent out and then after the webinar, a poll asking how did we go, and offering up and coming courses or products your client may be interested in.

Automated workflows are the backbone to automated marketing. This is a map to what responses are required throughout the sales process. From the time someone signs up for your monthly newsletter or upcoming sales to months down the track after they’ve purchased a product or service.

We can suggest how to introduce the procedures, help you draft templates and campaigns; even manage your entire automated marketing system for you.

If you’re ready to make your life easier and manage your time more efficiently, contact us today.

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