Itʼs a topic that comes up pretty quickly when you talk to business owners – they arenʼt getting the engagement they want on social media, the cost of boosting all their posts is too high and they arenʼt even sure if anyone is seeing their posts at all. As a company who works in the space, we hear this all too often and we see it regularly. More and more, social media platforms are becoming a discovery platform or a portfolio showcase, rather than a regular engagement channel. They are no longer the key way to capture the attention of your audience.
Read MoreFOCUS
A new year is a time when most of us review the year that has been and take the opportunity to adjust our habits moving into the new year. Call it new years resolutions or intentions or your focus for the year, now is the time to be considering how you want your year to look, especially within your work or business.
Read MoreWHY BRANDS SHOULD WRITE BLOGS
Whether you call it copy, content, news, updates, articles or blogs, writing words that you share regularly with your customers is becoming more and more important for businesses. Blogs generally fall into one of the below topics: Product information | Service information | News | Corporate messaging | Industry education | Work reviews | Industry updates | Blogging was once considered the domain of young people who wanted to share their every thought, sort of like a diary online. Now, bloggers are major influencers online and writing a corporate blog has a host of benefits for your brand. Here’s why you should be putting pen to paper (or keys to screen) for your business. Become an expert voice in your industry or space Blogs provide an excellent avenue for brands to share insights on your product, service or corporate mission and culture – heck, it can provide you with an opportunity to criticise your competitors or call for greater legislation. A blog provides you with an opportunity to share your knowledge with your customer base and allows you to position yourself as an expert within your field. But with great power comes great responsibility – make sure that you have a clear, strong, correct message and take time to really consider what it is you want to say, who you’re targeting and what you want them to get out of it. Contributions to SEO – particularly with googles new changes Blogging contributes in a number of different ways to your search engine optimisation – it provides more keywords for Google to index from your site and updating content attracts users to your website in the first place. The Google algorithms are constantly changing, and in the latest update in June of 2018, Google announced that they will be giving greater search results to those brands who create engaging, regularly updated content that people want to read. So whether you’re publishing blogs on topics that people regularly search relative to your business, or whether you’re explaining concepts, strategies and processes, what you write will contribute more than ever to the discoverability of your brand. Forced consideration Sometimes, particularly with new products or services, brands just create these things out of a perceived customer need. The marketing strategy, the communication strategy, where precisely the product or service fits in the market – that can be a bit…
Read MoreDIGITAL ADVERTISING IS NOT A CURE ALL
I was once told an absolute gem of a fact that has really stuck with me through the years, so forgive me if you’ve heard this one before. You are more likely to complete Navy S.E.A.L training than you are to click on a banner ad. And yet brands continue to invest in and be disappointed by the results achieved through new ways of, and greater quantities of, digital advertising. Whether it’s the post that appears every 10 images in your Instagram feed or the onslaught of promotions you see in your email inbox or around your favourite blog, there are more ways than ever to target people digitally. Digital advertising should never be seen as a cure-all as part of a marketing mix. Simply launching digital ads, whether they are display, social, or programmatic, does not guarantee you business. It’s really as simple as that. I can completely understand in a small business that we believe, in the modern age, that there should be a magic fix, a simple solution to promoting your products to the right people. But its just not true. Those who make the platform (Facebook is a really easy example in this case, but all the platforms are similar in this regard) are trying to get you to spend more and more on digital marketing – and so they promise highly targeted, specific delivery to your ideal audience. The reality is that they can’t guarantee that – and even if the ad is served to the right audience, that doesn’t guarantee that the audience is interested in the product or service you’re trying to sell. In the days of print advertising, a print distribution of 50,000 units did not guarantee you 50,000 purchases. It did not guarantee you 5 purchases. It simply told you how many eyeballs would be on your ad, maybe, if they saw it at all. Im not trying to suggest that this is the right approach either, particularly if your brand has low marketing budgets, but we need to think more broadly about how to target our ideal audience and not simply look for the quick fix. The horribly unsexy truth is that the best way to capture your ideal audience Is to create content that engages them. It’s not as simple as “build it and they will come” but use the technology we have (namely social media,…
Read MoreREDESIGNING MY OWN LOGO
I have always maintained that one of the biggest issues in small business is that you, the owner, almost shouldnt have time to work on your own business – because when you do, that means there’s not as much work coming through the door. Like the mechanic who’s car is always falling apart, or the hairdresser who hasn’t had a colour in forever. It happens to us all. While I make a really active effort to make sure that my content is being updated, my website is fresh and my socials are looking great, there’s usually something that gives in these situations. And for me, it was my branding. I had simply out grown it. But the challenge and time it was going to take to sit down and rework was daunting. Really daunting! The problem with creating your own design work is that everything you touch must be the epitome of your work. You have no client to bail up and fall back on and cry about because they chose the wrong concept or gave you too restrictive a brief. This must be the pinnacle of what you can do, the hallmark piece that represents your style, your aesthetic and your approach. I know my lovely friend Kate from Two Wild Hands struggled with the same pressure when working on her own wedding recently, although hot damn did she pull it off. The aim was to create something simple, a mark that would stand the test of time but show creativity, multiple streams of service and embody the simplicity and clean lines that I truly love in good design. There’s some cute nod’s to things like responsive design and feminism there, but ultimately I have aimed to create a logo that encapsulates where I want my design to be, and I am proud of this design. If you’re feeling daunted by the idea of doing the hard work to get your own stuff up to scratch, here’s a cheerleader in your camp saying just go and do it. You will feel 100% better than if you didn’t. If you’re ready to overhaul your logo, your brand, your marketing collateral, social media or your product, I want to help you. All you have to do is get in touch and I will help make you something that YOU love as much as I love my new logo.
Read MoreRhonda’s Branding gets a refresh in Terrigal
The 80’s have a lot to answer for in terms of graphic design. Random triangles on everything, squiggly backgrounds and flourescent colours abound. And while we can continue to be inspired by that look, sometimes its nice to go for clean white, natural textures and pops of colour that are inspired by the true colours of food. Not everything needs to be neon! Terrigal darling and 80’s enthusiasts Rhonda’s Bar has recently had a complete brand refresh as part of an overarching relaunch of the restaurant. Long gone are the psychedelic walls, strong 80’s vibe and sticky floors. Instead, Rhonda’s has grown up and brought together branding to match. Their previous branding was wholly and solely inspired by the 80’s, and they owned it. This restaurant was known for its look, its theming, and was incredibly popular with the locals because of it. But now? It’s time for something more. The mid-century inspired shapes in Rhonda’s logo itself are a clean and fresh departure from their former logo, inspired by lipstick writing on the mirror and neon. The colour palette has changed, from being dominated by fluro pink, black, white and the glow of a neon sign, to be more relaxed, more mature and absolutely more coastal through the use of soft turquoise and grey, while keeping the strong signature black and white. Pattern is used sparingly but boldly – their social media and menu showcases the use of a black and white chevron that is elevated and obviously inspired by current interior design trends, while bringing in a fun repeat print through the menu and on imagery really gives you the vibe that this is a place to have a good time. Thankfully, this more mature and elevated approach extends not only from their branding but across their menu and drinks offering too. Crisp woodfired pizzas, modern tapas and sharing plates and classic spritz and cocktails mean that now Rhonda’s has become a place to start the night, share a great meal and have a good drink, rather than a place to end the night. With a sleek new website and beautiful new branding, I’m excited to see what’s next for Rhonda’s – seasonal menu’s, new drink offerings and delivery options are apparently all on the cards. Welcome to the brave new world Rhonda.
Read MoreKAYLA + LEWIS WEDDING STATIONARY
I love working on weddings. As a graphic designer, normally something I produce is the first indication of the style of the event that guests are invited to, and that’s a pretty special thing. It is an incredible opportunity to be part of someone’s dream day, whatever that looks like and to help alleviate some of the stress around weddings.
Read MorePeople who tell you starting a business is easy are lying to you.
I had a fairly in-depth conversation with a good friend the other day about life and business and everything that is going on, and she made a fairly sweeping statement – “It’s so nice to hear from someone who is doing cool stuff but didn’t just fall into it.” Maybe it’s that others wrap it up in a fairy-floss coating, but I cannot believe that anyone in business for themselves, whether its full time, part time or a side hustle, could have “fallen into it”. It sounds too much like that stupid idiom you see plastered on Pinterest and Instagram “Love what you do and you will never work a day in your life”. It’s just not bloody true.
Read MoreYou have to want to be in Business.
I am very lucky in life that I have been raised by two people who have run their own businesses. My mother has run multiple businesses over the past 40 years, most notably when she ran a plant hire business in Wollongong, employing 5 staff and with plants placed in all major hotels, pubs and clubs; her most recent endeavours The Secret Garden and My Productive Backyard and when she conned my sister and I into selling veggies for her in our neighbourhood (we were cute sales people and made more money that way). My father has run his own financial planning practice, Innovus Advice, for the past 10 years but ran someone else’s practice for years before that as a partner and managing director. Why am I telling you all of this?
Read MoreHAIR BY PHD WEBSITE AND BRAND REFRESH
If you have been hanging around these parts for a while now, you would know that I have worked with the team at Hair by Phd for the past 4 years, managing their social media accounts and blogging, growing their platforms to showcase their amazing colouring and style work. When Sarkis from Hair by Phd approached me about a complete overhaul of their website, I absolutely jumped at the chance to redesign their site and refresh their overall digital presence, bringing it more in line with the premium service that they provide to all customers.
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