Here at Suite 4, each team member plays to our own strengths. Our graphics and video people are experts in eye-catching, beautiful visual marketing. Our content team can write compelling copy for any audience. Our analytics guys keep us all on track with statistics and hard numbers about what works. Each of these strengths combined forms Suite 4 and goes into every marketing plan. That’s why we’re focusing on our strengths this week and bringing them to you.
Carrie’s Favorite Video
If you’re thinking about creating or redesigning a logo, it would be wise to watch this video. In a brief 48 seconds, Wasp Barcode Technologies delivers the crucial factors in logo development:
- Classic vs. Trendy. Just like the bad hairdo you rocked in high school that you wish wasn’t documented in your yearbook, design trends come and go. Think about the logos that haven’t changed much after decades of existence, like Coca-Cola. A good logo is timeless and will remain recognizable for years.
- Clean and Streamlined. Make sure that your logo is as simple and clean as possible. There is no need for extra words or graphics that make your logo busy and unpleasing to the eye.
- Translatable Size. No matter what type of business you have, your logo will appear in a number of locations. Therefore, it must be prepared to look great on your website, business cards, product packaging, etc.
- Colors Should Follow Website. Most businesses start with designing a logo and choosing the colors for it and other branding materials and then create a website. Either way, the point is your brand’s colors must be consistent wherever they are featured.
- Details. The last bit of advice the video offers it to be detail-oriented. Take time to think about your logo before it’s finalized and sent to the print company to appear on all of your letterheads and business cards.
If you follow this advice, you will save yourself a lot of time and energy from completely rebranding your business every couple of years. Also, with an awesome logo, you’ll attract new customers and build lasting relationships with the ones you already have.
Devon’s Favorite Blogs
I have a confession to make: I love emojis. I use them frequently in texts and even internal office communications. It turns out my love isn’t that unique. As emojis are becoming more and more popular, they’ve developed into a language of their own. So, as a fan of both words and weird smiley faces, I found this article from Wired extremely interesting.
As a small business owner, you can use emoji into your own online marketing and messaging. Be very aware, though, of three important factors.
- Where the message is posted.
Twitter is a natural place for emojis and a good platform to start with if you’re just getting your toes wet. Eventually, you might consider graduating to more “attention-grabbing” places like email subject lines (I know it sounds weird, but it works!). Avoid strictly professional platforms like LinkedIn where a goofy smile would be out of place and inappropriate. - Who your audience is.
Messaging without a target audience in mind is useless. Do they use emojis in their daily communications? You want your messaging to seem natural. It’s crucial you never seem like you’re talking down or pandering to your audience. Many brands and organizations seem to forget this when using emojis, especially when their audience is younger. - What the emojis are saying.
I love this article from New York Magazine because it explains common misunderstandings for the same emoji. No one wonders what a simple smiley face means but others have more room for interpretation. Before you release your message into the world, make sure there won’t be any unintended meanings.
Chase’s Favorite App
One of my favorite parts about my job is the fact that I get to look at a lot of numbers and graphs and figure out how to use that information to optimize a marketing plan. But there are some times when I’m not able to use my desktop or laptop and I only have my phone on me. I’ve already talked about the Google Analytics App in a previous blog, but today I’m going to go into a little more detail about how you can use the app.
When you open the app, you’ll be able to select your website and scroll down to Behavior overview. For me, this is one of the most important sections of Google Analytics as it tells me how long visitors are staying on my site, how many pages they’re viewing, and where they’re going afterward. With this information, I can make informed decisions about which pages are engaging and which landing pages need some work.
The app is available for free on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.