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Thinking of starting a new business? Or are you well established and feel your branding might need a refresh and your marketing just isn’t hitting the mark? There are so many things to consider when offering your products or service to the market. Having a very clear idea of who and what you want to represent is the first step to a clear branding & marketing strategy. Grab a pen and piece of paper and jot down these branding & marketing checklist questions along with some basic bullet point answers. You’re not writing a masterpiece here – the purpose is to brainstorm and write what comes to mind. You can fine tune it later!  1. WHAT PRODUCT OR SERVICE ARE YOU OFFERING?
What exactly are you offering? What are your products or services? You may want to offer everything to everyone, but start with the top 3 – your core products or services. 2. WHAT'S THE TONE OF YOUR BRAND? How do you want people to feel when they interact with your brand? What do you want them to take away from you? Do you want people to be inspired? Calm? Energised? Jot down three brand “tones” to keep your message clear. 3. ARE YOUR BRAND ASSETS COMMUNICATING THESE TONES? Think about whether your logo, colour palette, fonts, etc. all represent the tone you're striving for. If you’re a yoga studio and your branding colour palette is bright red, you probably won’t convey calm and serenity! If you don't already have your branding design, have a chat to our designers about what you want your audience to take away from any and all interactions with your brand. 4. WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO REACH? Who is your ideal customer? Who is it that would truly benefit from what you have to offer? Jot down three to five characteristics of the person you want to solve a problem for or engage in conversation with. When you identify your ideal customer, you can start to determine how to go about connecting with them. It'll make marketing your product, service or message much more authentic and effective. 5. ARE YOU USING THE RIGHT CHANNEL TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER? Think about your ideal customer from Question 4, and research the best ways to reach them authentically. When you can speak the language of your audience, you'll resonate with them far more effectively. If you’re current marketing efforts are falling on deaf ears, it might be time to chat to a marketing communications specialist at Sharpe Creative. If you’re launching your new business, we can work with you to develop a communications plan that you can implement yourself or have us do it for you. Like to know more? Get in touch via 02 4333 6274 or email jody@sharpecreative.com.au
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2017 is the year of video. We're sure you've heard the hype... "audiences are 10x more likely to engage with video content" or "adding a video to your website can increase the chance of a front page Google result..." On its own, video won't magically grow your business. But if you use video in your content strategy to accomplish specific business objectives, you’ll see serious returns. But many small businesses baulk at the idea of video for two common reasons; time and money. We hear ya! At Sharpe Design Solutions, we’re making it our mission to create quality videos on your behalf, to suit your budget. We create dynamic promotional messages and marketing videos using a montage of still photography and live clips. Here's an example of a promotional video we created for H&H Catering, who provide wedding catering at Norah Head Lighthouse on the NSW Central Coast. You can use video to showcase your products, promote your business-to-business services, explain complex issues and build trust with your customers. Even better, Google LOOOOVES video! Videos allow you to increase the time spent by visitors on your site. Longer exposure builds trust and signals search engines that your site has good content. According to Moovly, you’re 53 times more likely to improve your position on Google if you have a video embedded on your website. If you'd like to have a chat about how we can create a customised video for your brand, email us or call 0423 252 855.
Here are 3 things you can do straight away to increase your organic reach on Facebook. VIDEOS Facebook currently loves video. Whether you upload a video from your iPhone, create a professional video and upload it, or use Facebook Live, Facebook will likely reward your post with greater reach. VERTICAL IMAGES When posting to your business page feed, try selecting the image option instead of just updating your status. Use a vertical photo and add the landing page url in the description. Why does this work? The image is bigger and longer, so it stands out of the newsfeed. It takes a lot more effort to scroll past it! CAROUSELS When you choose to “share a photo or video”, choose the carousel option and share multiple photos at once. This is different than an album. Having your photos in the carousel format entices more clicks and engagements and therefore increases your organic reach.  Where to next? If you need help with your social media marketing, reach out. We can help you with your content strategy and don't forget, we provide affordable video production services.
Like to know more? CLICK HERE. The most common question we get asked at Sharpe Design Solutions is "how do I get my website noticed in Google search results?". Whilst there is no magic formula, there are lots of tactics to rank well as a local business. One of these tactics is Google My Business, a dashboard for managing listings.
As small business marketers, it’s our job to follow digital marketing trends. We’ve been hyping video for a little while now, but if there’s anything we’ve taken away from the last 12 months, it’s that video is no long a marketing “option”, it’s a "marketing must-have" and a critical part of any successful content strategy.
We were thrilled to learn earlier this month that Sharpe Design Solutions were finalists in the Central Coast Business Excellence Awards in the category "Excellence in Small Business".
According to TechCrunch, daily video views on Facebook more than doubled during 2015. Like they say, "a picture speaks 1000 words"! and this is certainly true for digital content.
Great photography and well crafted short videos can make a huge difference in convincing and converting your potential customers. And if you think this only applies to retail products, think again.  We are thrilled to announce that we have been named as Finalists at this year's Central Coast Business Excellence Awards in the category of "Excellence in Small Business".
The Central Coast Business Excellence Awards [CCBEA] are the most prestigious and recognisable business awards held on the Central Coast. Receiving a CCBEA is an independent and prestigious endorsement of the projects, initiatives, service, products and achievements of local businesses. This is the first year Sharpe Design Solutions has entered the awards program and our first nomination. Our award submission was written by our very own Caroline Maxwell. Caroline has written several winning award submissions and tenders for our clients. This year she was able to turn her expertise in-house and secure SDS "Finalist" status! The Awards Gala Dinner & Presentation will be held at Mingara Recreation Club on 27th August and the team at SDS are looking forward to attending. |
AuthorJody Sharpe has over 20 years experience in marketing & branding and is passionate about helping local small businesses grow. Archives
August 2018
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