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Recently, I had the fun assignment to create an avatar for a professional speaker. Here’s the process I followed.
1) The client gave me a photograph taken at her last speaking engagement (courtesy Wendy Hauser Blomseth):
2) From the photo, I created a line drawing sketch. I scanned in the sketch and used it as a guide in Illustrator to create filled shapes:
3) Next, I reduced the amount of information in the drawing—by eliminating fine details—so it would translate well to a smaller size used for online icons. Then, I created for color schemes from which to select:
4) Finally, I presented the client with the final concepts for her to use in her various social media profiles:
Lately, my email inbox has been flooded with invitations to networking opportunities around the topic of social media: Marketing groups are wondering how to use social media to enhance their client’s campaigns and reach younger markets. Small business groups are looking to social media to keep in touch with their client base. And graphic designers are contemplating their new role in providing a whole new suite of branded products for social media applications.
Attending these events, I’m discovering the following themes among the participants:
Resistance. “I just got a website after 14 years of having nothing! Why do I need to do more?”
Reluctant Acceptance. “Yeah, I’m on LinkedIn and have a Facebook account, but I really don’t get the Twitter thing.”
Integration. “Social media is just another part of my overall marketing strategy.”
When it comes to my business, I’m definitely in the “Integration” category; I use several forms of social media as different points of entry to reach my current network and extend my company to future contacts. Beyond my own marketing, I’d recommend embracing social media to my clients as well. Here’s why:
1) Staying top of mind. Applications like Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace all allow for easy, constant updates about the work you’re doing, the events you’re attending, articles you’re reading, and specials you’re offering. So, when an opportunity does come up for someone to need your services, you’re the first person they consider.
2) Reaching younger audiences. A recent Star Tribune article (”Voice Mail Calls, But Do We Care?“) reported on the decline of voice mail as a mode of communication for younger professionals, who are instead turning to Twitter, Facebook, texting and email to keep in touch. The lesson? If your company is intending to reach younger audiences, you ought to be saavy in social media.
3) Increasing your search results/controlling your brand. Think about it. If someone does a web search for your company, wouldn’t you want the pages that come up to be ones that you’ve crafted with your brand images, your messages, and your products? Utilizing social media multiplies your search results, supporting your website with branded blogs, custom icons on Twitter, designed Facebook pages, and crafted LinkedIn profiles. Here’s a hot tip: check out the new Google Profiles page to control your search results: http://www.google.com/profiles.
4) And finally, integration. Consider that on average, a typical amount of time users spend at your website is from 1-3 minutes. Now consider that you get a blog. You update it with content and post the link on a Twitter update. Twitter followers click the link to your blog entry to read it, and while they’re there, they see a link to your website/LinkedIn Profile/Facebook page, etc. Maybe they visit your website and click a link to sign up for your e-newsletter. You’ve successfully kept people engaged with your business, and if you post again tomorrow, the process can begin again.
In closing, social media doesn’t appear to be going anywhere soon, and smart businesses will embrace opportunities to use it intelligently to promote their business and stay in touch with their networks.
As a designer, I’m frequently challenged by clients supplying a logo that is too small, too fuzzy, the wrong color, or filled with white in the background. This isn’t to rip on my clients—I love you guys! No, I place the blame squarely on your designer (sorry folks), for failing to communicate the proper use of your logo files.
First and foremost, the preferred format of a logo file for providing to a graphic designer is a VECTOR file. This is typically in the form of an Adobe Illustrator (.ai ) or .pdf file. Vector means that there are precise mathematic equations describing the placement of every line and curve in your logo. Because of this, the art has some unique properties:
It’s scalable. No, not as in Mt Everest. As in: we designers can stretch the logo to any size and the cool mathematical equations will redraw the art in real time, making the logo just as crisp at 30′ as it is at .25″.
It’s editable. Again, since the art is still “live”, your designer has the freedom to say, change it from a color logo to an all-white logo (for seeing it against a dark background), with just a few clicks.
It’s transparent. Nothing’s more frustrating to a designer than placing a logo into a layout and seeing a big ugly white box surrounding it. With a vector logo, all you get is the logo art, not the container that surrounds it.
It’s crisp. Because the vector art is the original design file, it has ALL of its information available to print. Saving a logo file as a raster file changes the nice, crisp mathematical lines into dots called pixels. Often, those files are then RE-saved as .jpg, .tif, or .gif files, which progressively loses even more of the original file’s information. The result? Blurry logo.
Of course, the danger of sending your original vector logo file here and there is that the risk of plagiarism or tampering is quite high. Also, when it comes to uploaded a logo file to the web, vector art won’t cut it. It’ll need to be converted to a raster format (typically a .jpg or .gif).
Here’s my advice: when you commission a designer to create a logo for you, make sure you get a vector version of the file for your records, just in case your designer skips town or changes careers on you. You or your designer should use the vector art to save the logo as the right size and resolution on a case-by-case basis. As a general rule: for print, send the .pdf format and for web, send a high-resolution .jpg or .gif format. If you’re not sure: ask your designer—that’s what we’re here for!
Susan Boyle isn’t the only one making a splash on YouTube! We’re excited that our client is using this free social media format to promote their site, www.connectionconcierge.com. Take a look:
Last Wednesday evening I had the opportunity to attend at MetroIBA Teach-In, titled: Surviving the Economy. This panel discussion, led by Dan Marshall of Peapods Natural Toys & Baby Goods, featured local and small business owners including:
Panelists suggested tips for adapting their business in the face of changing consumer habits. Here are some highlights:
Hold events to reach your target market. For example, Peace Coffee holds coffee brewing workshops, in part to respond to the rising trend of people saving money by brewing their coffee at home. Electric Fetus hosts in-store local music events to educate listeners about local artists and drive traffic to their stores.
Create a market for your products. Jennifer from Smitten Kitten suggested focusing on creating a market where one didn’t exist before by educating consumers about their products and more importantly, the problem they solve. How to reach your markets? Networking (events and online social networking), attending trade shows, and speaking to targeted groups helps to get the word out.
Hit the road. Marge Christiansen remarked that ongoing face-to-face client communication helps to establish loyalty between suppliers and buyers, a key to weathering a weak economy.
Renegotiate. Several of the panelists mentioned renegotiating everything from lease agreements to vendor contracts to reduce costs. Other possible renegotiation items: gas for trucks, vehicle leases, cleaning services, media placement, and more. Smitten Kitten owner, Jennifer Pritchett, encouraged small businesses to not be afraid to negotiate—even with big distributors—commenting, “You don’t get what you don’t ask for!”
Stay the course for advertising. While the instinct may be to cut costs in marketing, Peace Coffee representative Melanee Meegan cautions against it: “We want people to know we’re still here!” Halting advertising could cause the misperception that your business isn’t doing well, or allow your competitors to fill the niche you’ve created in the market.
Boost company morale. With tough times often comes employee insecurity and poor morale. Panelists suggested setting an example by willing to roll up your sleeves and pitch in wherever help is needed, socializing at work with inexpensive treats, or even stepping out after work to bond over drinks. Solicit suggestions from employees and encourage creativity in ways to save money or make new customers.
Share costs. Jeff from Warners’ Stellian spoke of joining a buying group with similar businesses in your industry to increase your purchase power to get reduced credit rates and insurance, or discounts on products. Peace Coffee also belongs to a buying group—they are part of a cooperative buying group that imports their own fair-trade coffee beans. According to their website, “We have also changed the supply chain by co-founding Cooperative Coffees (www.cooperativecoffees.com), a coop of roasters formed to import 100 percent fair trade coffee direct from the farmer coops that grow it.”
Know your customer. Keith from the Electric Fetus said the best question you can ask a customer is “is there something you didn’t find?” Knowing your customers’ tastes and buying habits will help you selectively stock your store to keep the items the move and reduce overstock on less popular items.
Collaborate with other small businesses. Recently, the Electric Fetus participated with a number of other small, independent record stores to promote National Record Store day, which resulted in great PR for the stores involved. Electric Fetus also reaches out to local bands and labels, and has even featured Peace Coffee at their events. Owner Keith Covart encourages this type of collaboration as a way to strengthen the local economy and build relationships between like-minded businesses.
Distinguish yourself. The last tip from our panel was to distinguish your small business in the marketplace, from your brand (logo/design/name) to your products, your quality focus, your independent status, and even your principles and values.
A sincere thank you to all of the panelists and to MetroIBA for this forum. For more information about upcoming MetroIBA events or to become a member, visit www.metroiba.org.
What a cool idea! I just got this in my e-mail today and thought I’d share:
Offered by Printz.com, they provide a great opportunity to extend special savings to customers or people you meet at networking events. Get creative with the tear-off portion: they could be coupons, poems, samples of your work, quick tips, or even a fill in the blank “We met at _________event.”
If you’ve sent out an e-newsletter, you’ve most likely logged on to your mail service to view the response. If you’re like me, the first time you saw the percentage of people on your email list who actually opened it, you were flabbergasted: only 20% / 30% / 50%?
So what does the open rate mean, anyway? Here are a few facts I’ve compiled:
• According to MailChimp.com: 20-30% is a normal open rate; Clickz.com (a news and marketing resource for email marketers) says: “Average open rates for house lists are running in the mid-30s (34.3 percent, according to DoubleClick). The range I’m seeing, based on public sources and my clients’ performances, is the mid-20s to just over 50 percent.”
• Click rates, according to Clickz.com: Average click-throughs for house lists (calculated as a percentage of messages delivered, not the percentage opened) are running in the high single digits (DoubleClick reports 8.2 percent); the range I’m seeing is just over 1 percent to just under 20 percent.
• Reporting may be low due to people reading the email on their pda or offline
• Mail is not reaching the recipient, even though it is shown as “delivered” (corporate filters send emails right to the Junk mailbox, users haven’t added your from address to their address book)
• Timing: Most opens are within 72 hours, so you need to wait long enough to analyze the reporting results
Potential factors affecting open rate (outside of technical issues):
Subject heading: your subject heading may not be providing enough hook. Solution: send the next email with several different options and see what works best. So what makes an effective subject line? Describe the subject of your email. Simple, but direct. If it’s a newsletter, tell them in the subject line. Make the first 15 characters the most descriptive for Blackberry users.
Content: emails that are attempting to make a sale (and weren’t requested by the recipient) have the worst response rates. It’s good to use an e-newsletter format to build trust/value with your clients and your brand over time.
Your list: the biggest factor in determining performance. Issues with the list could include: not a strong enough connection between your company and the people on the list. You see a stronger open rate with people who willingly signed up to receive information, say if they signed up on the homepage for the e-newsletter
Some people just don’t read email. These are people who are more apt to respond to postal mailings or a phone call.
Calling all business owners, marketing professionals, graphic designers, web programmers, design students, and more!
Speak up about what confuses you about graphic design. Maybe it’s trying to understand what you’re designer is talking about (What the heck is PMS, and why does my designer keep asking me for mine?), submitting files to a printer (why did my margins get cut off??), updating your website (Why can’t I use my own fonts? or What’s CMS?), or even just trying to decide where to spend your marketing budget (Does anyone even print stationery any more?).
Here’s my invitation: ask us your burning questions about graphic design, and we’ll publish the question with an answer right here in this blog! Please keep the questions clean and graphic design/marketing related. And while questions are always appreciated, please submit questions for this column by April 28, 2009.
