JohnA, Marketing Director at Elephant Creative Design

How do you find time to work on your brand?

by JohnA | Oct 27, 2021 | Understanding Branding, Brand Clarity, Brand Creative, Brand Strategy, Communication

Want to make space to work on your brand?

One of the most common complaints I hear from clients and colleagues is a lack of time to focus on branding and marketing.

• They’d rather be doing ‘what they do’ than working on their branding and marketing.
• They’re also avoiding it because they’re not too sure where to start.
• And mostly, they just don’t have time to think about it right now. Maybe next week, or next month.

Finding time is hard, I know. It’s very often one of the items put on the ‘it can wait’ list. But the truth is – it can’t. It’s something that should be addressed on an ongoing basis. You might be saying to yourself …
• I know branding is important but it’s not ‘urgent’ It’s OK; it can wait.
• I just don’t have time, I’m too busy working on client work – they’re more important.

If you don’t find the time to work on your brand – be it your identity, website or marketing or keep squeezing it in and doing it haphazardly, your brand is not going to keep up with your business and it’s likely going to be letting you down. Without focusing on your own brand, the trouble is that you’re only as good as your last job or last project. You’re not building equity, and you’re missing out on a whole lot of opportunities.
Your brand will work for you when you put the time into working on it. That makes branding important to a business.

How do you find time to work on your own brand?

So how do you put your own work on the to-do list and get it done without feeling guilty that you should be working on your clients’ work or just being too darn worn out to find the time?

You need to shift your thinking from ‘running your business’ to ‘building a brand’

Learn how to build your brand while running your business – integrate it into your weekly pattern of activities so that building your brand becomes part of building your business.

5 Simple Tips to Give Yourself Some Space to Build Your Brand.

1. Value yourself and your brand as much as you do your clients.
2. Get fresh incentive and motivation – Think about the future, what a strong brand will mean for you, your family and your lifestyle.
3. Put your own business in the ‘WIP’ (Work in Progress) list as you would a client.
4. Don’t push things ahead that relate to your own brand or marketing on your to-do list more than twice.
5. Make it enjoyable, rewarding and fun. Make space and feel good about building your future!

If you’re ready to start working on your brand read this article to get 2 simple actions you can start with. Article Link.

If you’d like some honest and impartial advice on your brand, we’re offering a free Strategy Session to kick start the process Contact Sandy now.

Content Development Process Simplified – The Best Digital Content Strategy

by JohnA | Jan 20, 2021 | Communication, Content Creation

If you’re like many of our clients, you may find the content development process a little overwhelming or intimidating. Where do I start? How do I know if I’m doing it right? Here’s a snapshot of the process to get you started.

The Importance of Having a Digital Content Strategy

Simply producing volumes of content will not do the trick. Producing well-defined results over time requires having an effective content strategy in place. Recent data released by HubSpot reveals that close to 70% of businesses actively invest in content marketing, and this is not without reason.

Benefits of Developing a Content Strategy

Developing a good content strategy helps attract and retain customers
It also plays an important role in boosting search engine rankings.
Having a clear strategy allows you to focus your efforts towards a defined goal to achieve measurable results.
And effectively manage all the media that you use, be it in the form of blog posts, social media posts, videos, presentations, or podcasts.

Now, learn about how to create a content marketing strategy below.

Laying the Groundwork for Content Development

Before developing a content strategy, you need to pay attention to a few aspects.

Look for the Target Audience for Your Content.

Who is and how big is your target audience? Does it include multiple demographics? How can you target each audience?

Show the Problem Your Business Solves?

What problem does your product or service solve? Address this in your content creation.

Identify the USP of Your Brand

In a typical sea of competition, what is the unique selling proposition (USP) of your offering?

Pick a Format for Content Creation

How do you plan to present content to your target audience? Would it be in the form of videos, infographics, or blog posts?

Select the Medium to Implement Your Digital Content Strategy

Which mediums do you wish to use to post your content? Moving beyond social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, your options for a content development platform also include a website with a blog, YouTube, LinkedIn, and more.

4 Steps to Get Your Content Development Process Started

Create Quality Content With Well Defined Goal

You need to define the purpose of creating content ahead of time. For instance, are you trying to increase brand awareness, generate more leads, increase conversion, or retain existing customers through your digital content strategy? Once you identify your goals, formulating a content strategy becomes much simpler.

Identify Your Target Audience

Identifying your target audience gives you the means to come up with suitable content strategies. You can get valuable insight by delving into the types of websites your target audience already visits, the types of content it engages with, as well as the social media platforms it uses the most. Using Google Analytics and Google Demographics can help with this aspect.

Write Content in Your Niche

The online world is awash with content that provides little to no value. To make your content stand out, it is important that you provide unique and useful content. Once you find your niche, sticking to it gives you means to establish yourself as an expert in your realm.

Measure The Results of Your Content Strategy

When you post content, you also need to analyse its effect. Metrics that need your attention usually relate to consumption, social sharing, lead generation, and sales.

There are other measures you may employ in your content strategy, which include running regular audits, brainstorming for ideas, getting feedback from customers, creating a content calendar, and using a content management system (CMS).

If you would like more information or assistance with your content strategy we are here to help you with this, email me at [email protected]

If you are interested in digital marketing checkout this article 5 ways to approach marketing your brand now

Or you’ve found this information to be useful, please share it with others who might also benefit.

What type of website do you need?

by JohnA | Oct 12, 2020 | Understanding Branding, Digital Design

If ‘building a website’ is on your to-do list, before you do anything, you might want to review this list and get some clarity on exactly what type of website you need.

Identifying the type of website you need is crucial because websites serve specific purposes and are designed and developed in many different ways, and that means a very different approach and budget.

So, what type of website do you need? Here’s a snapshot of the various types …

Business websites

These websites are created to represent specific companies. They rely heavily on branding, while also offering insight into the products and services on offer. While all e-commerce websites are business websites, not all business websites offer online sales. Brochure websites also fall under this category. However, these are more like digital business cards, and typically have a limited number of pages.

E-commerce websites

Websites that include shopping carts and accept payment information from the customers fall into this category. Depending on the scale of a business, these websites can be extensive or basic. A good e-commerce website should make browsing for products across multiple categories simple.

Portfolio websites

Professionals from different fields such as art, architecture, designing, photography, and filmmaking use portfolio websites to highlight their best work. These websites tend to use unique layouts, and rely greatly on creativity.

Social media websites

Social media websites serve as online platforms where users share their thoughts, ideas, images, videos, and more with other users, while also connecting with them in different ways. In recent times, many internet users are turning to social media sites to get the latest news. This is basically because several media houses now use social media sites to deliver news.

Media websites

Media websites typically serves as online platforms for newspapers, TV channels, and magazines, although some are entirely online. These websites focus on collecting and reporting news stories. Some media websites also provide entertainment-related content.

Entertainment websites

These websites focus solely on providing entertainment. The slew of online audio and video streaming websites falls under this category. These websites aim to make money, either through subscriptions or through ads.

Educational

While several educational institutions such as schools and colleges have their own websites, some educational organizations exist only in the online world. Educational websites tend to provide information about various topics across different levels. The use of interactive tools such as quizzes and games in these websites is fairly common.

Community forums or wiki websites

Wiki websites give people the ability to collaborate and create content together. It is possible to create a wiki website surrounding just about any topic. As of now, wikis already exist for business resources, fan communities, and collating information from different sources.

Personal websites

There is no dearth of personal websites created by individuals with the sole aim of getting their thoughts, feelings, or experiences out in the open. Blogs fall under this category, as do vlogs and photo diaries. Depending on how popular a personal website becomes, monetizing it might be possible.

Blogs

Blogs began as online journals maintained by individuals to document different aspects of their lives. Now, blogs are used as effective marketing tools by small and big businesses alike.

Personal profiles

Personal profiles are typically created by professionals. They may be used for personal branding, job searches, promotions, and communicating with peers.

Membership portals

A membership portal works in the form of gated section of a business’ online presence, where only members get access to the content a business shares.

Landing pages

Landing pages serve as entry points that highlight particular aspects of your business or website. For instance, a landing page can help promote a new product or an ongoing discount.

Not-for-profit websites

What sets a not-for-profit website apart from a conventional business website is that the former focuses on promoting activities and services without the intention of generating profits.

Sales pages

A sales page has one specific purpose. It is used to highlight the benefits of any given product or service, with the aim of getting consumers to make purchases.

Directories

Online directories provide lists of individuals or organizations along with other relevant information. Data may be arranged thematically or alphabetically.

Knowledge base

A business may use an online knowledge base to store different kinds of information ranging from simple to complex. The stored data can be structured or unstructured. Access can be restricted based on different parameters.

Web apps

Web apps are typically created for mobile devices, although some are made available for desktops and laptops too. An app is software that a user needs to install on a device. Apps are typically business-specific and can be used to carry out various functions.

There is more to a website than it looking appealing. It should drive engagement by taking into account the needs of its target audience. Knowing what you need boils down to your business goals as well as what you want your brand to achieve. Before you invest heavily in your website, take time to answer these simple but important questions:

· What do you want your website to achieve for your business or brand?
· How much time, energy, and resources do you have to invest in your website?
· What are your business’ three short-term (two-year) goals?
· What are your business’ three long-term (10-year) goals?

Send us your answers and we’ll spend time discussing the options that might work best for you.

email us here

Please share this article with anyone who you think could benefit.

If you would like to find out more about digital marketing follow this link

Are you delivering your brand with confidence?

by JohnA | Jul 29, 2020 | Understanding Branding, Communication

Why a strong and clear brand will help you market your business with more confidence.

In meetings where we are discussing marketing, I often find that even though a business owner may be highly accomplished at what they do, and truly capable of delivering outstanding results, one of their core desires is to be better at marketing or more confident in delivering the key selling points of their business. They might be great at what they do, but they’re not so great at telling people what they do!

A strong and clear brand will reflect your confidence and help you deliver your message more confidently.

Marketing is not something that comes naturally to many, but it is something that we all need to get comfortable with. We all need to increase our levels of confidence in our marketing … Here’s why:

Your customers need to believe in you and your brand.

These days, more than ever, people need to believe in you and your business. If you don’t come across with 100% authenticity and conviction, your audience will feel your doubt and look elsewhere. It’s fair to say that we’d probably buy from a person who is confident about what they are selling, over one who is not, even if it is of better quality.

If you’re not confident, there are plenty of competitors who are!

The worst part about this is that there are PLENTY of other business owners who ARE confident at marketing with only a fraction of your substance, quality and integrity. They’re winning the clients who should be choosing you.

It’s easy to get a brand looking good online, even if they’re not.

A website can be polished and launched in a week, yet the substance and integrity behind the brand is often not there. It’s not uncommon for a business that is highly successful, highly ethical and very good at what they do, to be settling for an online presence that does not capture their skills, strength or story whilst businesses with a fraction of the quality are taking the limelight!

Develop a brand you can deliver with confidence.

If you’ve got doubts about any part of your visual image, your website, your presentations, your logo or your messaging – you’re going to be constantly second guessing your actions and decisions. And so is your audience.

In our brand-building process, we always take the time to uncover the substance and strengths behind the brand, which means we can develop and design a brand to deliver their full story.

One of the most rewarding aspects working with clients redeveloping their brand is the turnaround in their ability and confidence to get their message out there, to be more confident in who they are and what they offer. With a brand that clearly identifies with their specific strengths, they also embrace a new found self confidence which gives them the ability to take their business to the next level.

The confidence comes from not only the outcome of a professional, clear and compelling set off designs and brand assets; it comes from embracing the process too.

Hearing honest feedback from their customers and clients in the customer research we do.
Getting complete clarity into their direction, visions and goals
Exploring more deeply what they’re good at and what they want to focus on

This brings a new sense of knowing that only comes from clarity – when you dive deeper into the process.

A lack of confidence comes from a lack of clarity.

Clarity around the value that your product or service has for your target audience.
Clarity around where your product or service sits in the marketplace, who your competitors are and where your point of difference is.
Clarity around what you stand for and what to say no to.

With clarity comes a sense of knowing …

clearly who you are at what you offer
where you’re heading and why
clearly who values what you offer
what makes you ‘YOU’ and aligns with what your audience needs and wants

Please share this article with anyone who you think could benefit.

If you’re interested in creating a brand you can deliver with confidence, we’d love to hear from you…email us here

Learn more about branding from our blog post Why is branding important

Five social media marketing problems that SME business owners face + simple solutions.

by JohnA | Jul 1, 2020 | Brand Marketing, Digital Marketing

The use of various social media platforms by SMEs in their overall digital marketing endeavours continues to increase. While many businesses seem to have figured their way around, others are still wondering what they need to do to get it right. Fortunately, addressing the most common problems might be easier than you think.

The Time Factor

Some business owners and managers complain that they don’t have enough time and have trouble prioritising. For starters, you need to treat social media marketing like any other business function. Determine how much time you can allocate to the process, and ensure that you make time on an every day or weekly basis. Learn to schedule ahead. Check your notifications regularly, and respond to them as quickly as possible.

Choosing the Right Platforms

Choosing the right platform requires that you familiarise yourself with your target audience. You also need to know which platforms give you the ability to reach out to specific subsets through targeting capabilities.

Effective social media marketing requires that you know the strengths of different platforms.

Facebook: Advertising, engaging with your audience, collecting reviews, and providing customer service
Twitter: Providing real-life updates and building industry authority
Instagram: Brand building exercises
YouTube: Highlighting company culture as well as providing tutorials or demonstrations
LinkedIn: Reaching out to B2B prospects

Knowing Your Audience

If you’re not aware about your target audience, there’s a good chance you’ll end up creating content that is not relevant. To identify your target audience, determine what problems your company’s products or services solve. Analyse existing customers and competitors. Find out why your customers choose your business over your competitors.

Once you know your target audience, you get to understand how to create relevant content that provides value. This, in turn, helps increase conversions.

Creating a Process you can follow through with

If you don’t have a process to follow, you’re going to struggle to maintain consistency in the delivery.

First of all, spend the time to develop a social media marketing strategy and then formulate a clearly defined process that is manageable for you. Use this to guide your actions as well as to measure the success of your efforts. The goals you set have a bearing on the metrics you need to monitor. If your business already has a social media presence, consider carrying out an audit to identify areas that can do with improvement.

Having doubts

If you’re doubting yourself, you’ll be second-guessing the impact of your activities online – and it won’t be enjoyable!

Doubts often arise from a lack of knowledge – so spending the time to educate yourself and staying abreast of changes will help. Keep to a few simple rules: Remain consistent. Be active in conversations. When disagreeing, be respectful. At all times, come across as a confident professional.

We’re offering a free Strategy Session to help you figure it out!

If you would like to engage in a free Strategy Session email us here

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