Inspiration…is One Helluva Drug

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I’m going to repeat that. Inspiration is one helluva drug and yes, I know that “helluva” is not actually a word (Hell-of-a). As a case and point, let’s look at Pinterest. It is an online bulletin board, where you can pin and collect ideas and inspiration. As of July 2014, there were over 30 Billion pins and 70 million users. How many of those users do you think “acted” on the pins they have collected? How many craft projects, recipes, decorating projects were actually done, compared to the number of those projects that were pinned and collected?

I myself, am guilty of this. I don’t think I have made one recipe or craft project from the ones that I have pinned. I had the camping itch, and I still do, but I have done nothing with the ideas that I have collected. Well, I take that back. I did start saving my empty coffee grounds canisters, but they are currently taking up space in a closet somewhere.

The point is, it can be fun and addicting to look for inspiration for something, but it is pointless if you are never going to act upon it.

In business, we entrepreneurs sometimes get stuck on collecting ideas and improving upon those ideas, but never launch or act upon them. I have a notebook that I keep in Evernote for business ideas. In that notebook is a running note/list of ideas, called “money generators.” The CED Store was one of the ideas that I had in that note to sell and design t-shirts. That idea was in that note for almost two years, before I finally decided to act upon it.

It had morphed from being stock vector illustrations to sell until I could find a wholesale supplier and printer; to being dropshipped fine art prints; to being t-shirts and other printable items. I kept being “inspired” to morph it into something else. All the while, I never created a single illustration to put on ANYTHING. I was too caught up in idea development to act on the one I already had.

Don’t let that be you. If you have an idea, you need to act upon it. In my case, I wasn’t coming up with some new product idea that didn’t exist. So I didn’t have to worry about someone beating me to market with my idea. That may not be the case for you. Within the past two weeks, I have had two friends get beat to market with their ideas.

One is a top-notch baker and cook that had a great and tasty concept for cupcakes. The other had a utilitarian style concept for a line of jewelry. I recently saw a write-up locally for a start-up with the same cupcake concept, and my jewelry designer friend sent me photos they found of another brand doing their concept idea. Does that mean that they can no longer act? No, but they may have to work a little harder to differentiate themselves and do it better.

Be wary of the inspiration drug. Collect ideas and inspiration, but put a cap on it. Know when to say, “Enough, it’s time to act!”

This is a public service announcement from Colleen Eakins Design. (Cue “The More You Know” music and visuals)

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Directing Traffic:: Orchestrate Your Digital Marketing Efforts

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Have you ever sat and watched a police officer direct traffic? Although we may become a bit impatient with them while they do their job, our part in the matter is relatively easy. All we have to do is watch and act in the way they tell us to. They on the other hand, have to pay attention to what is going on in each lane; know who needs to turn; who is going straight; and pay close enough attention to keep traffic flowing and not get hit in the process. If they do their job well, they are met with a successfully executed flow of traffic.

I feel that digital marketing is similar in this way. Customers are like the sea of cars at that busy intersection. Some are going to go straight. Some will turn left, but they are all watching and acting in the way we ask them to. As a marketer, we have to give them that direction, because if we don’t, chaos will ensue.

In order to successfully orchestrate and direct your digital marketing efforts, you first have to ask yourself what it is that you want people to do? Do you want them to sign up for your new service, buy a new product, read your blog, or join you on a social media network?

Make that your target goal and work backward. How do you get there? What digital channels do you have available to you? Take stock of each one and its specific needs. You will need to tailor your approach on each channel, according to the strategy that works for you there.

Directing with your Digital Media

It may be helpful to create a flow chart or mind map to help you visualize your strategy. You may have a mobile app, email lists, a website and a couple of social media accounts like Twitter and Instagram. Let’s just say that your goal is to create awareness and sales for a new product.

In this example, we will pretend that you have had great success in the past with give away contests on Instagram, but not on Twitter. Your email marketing efforts have seen a high click-through rate to your website, but not a lot of conversions into sales. Your mobile app allows for sales, but so far it has only been downloaded by a few customers.

You have two direct ways that the product can be purchased: your website and on your mobile app. You need to direct traffic to these two using the other channels that you have available.

Since you have established a working strategy with contests on Instagram, you can use a contest and give away to highlight your new product. Include the link to download the app in your bio. Downloading the app and creating a new account can be one way to enter.

Use your email lists to announce the contest that is being promoted on Instagram as a way to direct them and potentially follow you on that network. Use this email to make them aware that they may be missing out on something if they are not following you on Instagram.

Later, when the contest is over and the prize has been awarded, you can see if the recipient would be willing to provide feedback about the product. If it is favorable (hopefully it is) use it as a product testimonial in another email campaign promoting the product.

On your website, you can create a landing page that is dedicated only to the sale of the new product. This is the page that any links in your email marketing campaign and social media accounts should use when promoting the product directly.

Directing with your Design

Yep, you read that right! You can direct traffic with the design of the media. Our eyes naturally move from the top of a page to the bottom, and from left to right when reading. When placing elements like text and images, keep this in mind. Place the things that have the most importance or impact, in the beginning of that route. You can also use this to somewhat dictate what a viewer sees/reads first and in what order.

If you want something to catch their attention, use color. Color can help to evoke certain emotions and feelings and call attention to something. I wish I could say that there is a magic color that will make people buy all of your products, but I can’t. However, I have found that a contrasting color to the overall color scheme of the site tends to work well. Just make sure the color is not obnoxious or that your use of color is not obnoxious. Hint: It helps a lot if it is readable.

Speaking of color, I’m sure you have heard the term “white space.” Some people hate it; some people love it. I’m one that loves it. In general, I like really clean design. Design that is uncluttered and one that feels like it can breathe and not have an asthma attack. White space helps to direct traffic. Your eye is drawn to the areas that have content, when there is a lot of area or space that is empty (white space) surrounding it. It makes it easier for you to focus on what the designer, marketer, business, etc. wants you to focus on. Use this to your advantage in your design.

By utilizing the digital channels that you have, you can direct traffic to where you want it and reach the goals that you set. Once they get to where you are leading them, use your design to help further direct them to the action you want them to commit.

 

 

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Social Media Icons:: Are You Using the Correct One?

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Yesterday I received a marketing email from an eyeglass company that proclaimed, “Join the Conversation.”  This was followed by three social media icons for Facebook, Twitter and Google+.  All three icons were antiquated.  Completely outdated.

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My response to their invitation to join the conversation was in the form of a question.  “About what?  The plastic owl frame glasses I wore in the ‘80’s?”  As a marketer, I appreciated the use of email marketing as a follow-up to an order I had placed and received.  I appreciated that they were using this follow-up email as a way to keep me connected to them by joining them on their social media networks.

As a marketer, I hated their use of old and outdated social media icons.  I understand that the social media platforms are constantly making changes and refreshing their look, but these particular icons are probably circa 2012.  It is now 2014.

Using outdated social media icons gives the message that you might not quite grasp how to use the social media networks that you are on.  After all, if you were using them regularly, you would notice that’s not what the current icon looks like.  It dates you and makes you look like the parent that wants his kids to think he’s cool and “with the times.”  It’s also a pet peeve of mine to see, especially when larger brands like this eyeglass company commit this crime.

So, to keep you from committing this travesty, here are some resources to find free or low cost icons that you can use in your marketing materials.

Icon Resources:

…and in case you do not have a clue of what the latest iteration of each social media icon looks like, here are some links to brand asset guidelines for the most popular ones.

Social Media Brand Asset Guidelines:

 

 

 

 

 

How to Rebrand Yourself: The Miley Cyrus Way. Another Installment on @eZangaInc by Me.

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Where has summer gone?  It’s already August!

Back to the topic at hand.  It’s a new month and that means another new post written for the eZanga blog.  I have to admit that I have been having a lot of fun writing for them and the title of this post might just prove that.  This month’s title:  How to Rebrand Yourself – The Miley Cyrus Way.  Before you roll your eyes and start groaning, take a peek and hear me out.  I promise it’s not a post about twerking.  In fact, I think I only make use of that word once in the article…or twice.

Head on over to eZanga and check it out:  http://colleeneakns.me/1snNqsU

 

 

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Looking for Stock Photography? Try Solid Stock Art

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About a year ago, I was digitally approached by Taylor Hinton, CEO of Solid Stock Art, to try out his new stock photography site. Because I love supporting small businesses and start-ups (we have to stick together!), I obliged. Even though they were fairly new to the stock photography industry, I found that they had a pretty decent library of images and vector illustrations.

The biggest draw for using Solid Stock Art is their licensing. For designers, marketing and PR agencies and anyone else that uses stock photography for marketing campaigns, licenses can be a sticky area and a general pain point. In general, if you did not shoot a photo yourself, you are not the owner. Even if you did shoot the photo yourself, if there are people, buildings, branded items, etc. in the photo that you do not own, you may be restricted from using the photo. Most photography you see used in advertisements is licensed. Images are licensed for use and you usually pay for that license. So when you purchase a stock photography image, you are really buying a license to use that photo. You still do not actually own the photo, just a license to use it.

What some people do not know is that licenses usually come with restrictions. You may be restricted from using the image for commercial purposes (example: editorial photos) or you may be limited in the number of times the image can be reproduced and viewed (example: print materials). If you do not already know this or where to look to find this information on the stock photography company’s website, you will probably end up violating the license agreement for the image you purchase.

Solid Stock Art offers one license for all of their images and it is unlimited. Unlimited views, prints and reuse. They have a deep understanding of licensing because the founder, Taylor (I mentioned him earlier) was a stock photography artist/supplier AND found himself caught up in a legal battle for unknowingly violating a license agreement at his day job. That experience lead him to create Solid Stock Art.

So if you want to feel safe and secure in the images you are purchasing, try checking out Solid Stock Art. No fine print to read or searching through their site to find out what and “extended license” means. They have a great library, are nice people and I have found the customer service to be excellent. One time when I was looking for some images for a picky client, Taylor did just about everything he could to try to help me find the right image and add to their library. I thought that was pretty awesome.

Because he is awesome and wants you to see how awesome (have I said that too many times?) Solid Stock Art is, he has given me a coupon code to pass on to you. Use the coupon code “eakin” at check out to receive 25% off your purchase.

 

solid-stock-art-coupon

…and because I am the honest individual that I am, I must tell you that clicking the Solid Stock Art link in this post and making a purchase will earn me a small commission to buy images. My opinion on Solid Stock Art is real and honest. 🙂