Color is so influential that even changing something as basic as the hue or saturation can evoke a completely different response. Similar to transcreating language (see our post by Wilson Camelo of Camelo Communications), color has a similar power in its ability to resonate. A color can hold a significant meaning in one culture, but something completely different in another.

There is much to consider — so much so, that careers exist on the art and science of colors alone. Knowing how colors may influence your audience is valuable intel when selecting the color palette for your brand.

Below is a color cheat sheet to reference when considering colors.

Need a professional opinion on your brand’s color palette? We’re here to help at 203-776-1323 or amy@elementsdesign.com

—Amy

The post Color in Design appeared first on Elements.

Content marketing continues to be a primary way brands promote the benefits of their products and services. How can you ensure your new website has compelling and relevant content to meet the needs of the many types of users of the website?

One effective way is by – in the very nascent stages of website design – beginning with developing personas to represent those different types of desired visitors to your website. Web personas are essentially fictional depictions which encompass the characteristics, preferences and demographics of the various internal and external target users of your website.

Why are web personas important? Web personas greatly assist in the web design process to ensure that what we are creating will attract our target audience, be intuitive for the user to navigate and locate the information they seek, and that we present the information in the different ways that the end-user prefers to receive it. Web personas, put simply, are the basis for intuitive navigation and well-thought out design. When done well, you – the end-user – should seamlessly find and navigate through our website design.

When creating website personas, there are several considerations based on the intended audience. When creating a B2B web persona, for example, the persona’s may include the person’s title or role, sales process, and how purchasing is done. For consumer sites, demographical characteristics such as gender, education, income, family and marital status rise in importance. And depending on the service or product the website is created to promote, there may be a myriad of other important facts that may need to be included – anything from are they bird lovers? What are their eating habits? Do they practice yoga? Really anything to get into the mindset of your specific persona profile.

Here are some additional factors for developing website personas:

1. Identify Needs: Consider the audience’s reasons for contacting your business. What factors are they facing? It is for business or personal? What information are they seeking?
2. Behavior-Based Profiles: Is your audience social media active? What type of activities do they partake in online? Which of your products would they be more likely to research? What are their interests online? How much time do they spend online each day?
3. Identify Web Page Content: Based on this, identify what content you would like convey on your webpage. Areas to consider are: separate content in resource centers, segment blog content using tags, break out product content, and divide case study content.
4. Segment by Demographics: Start by researching your existing consumer base to target the most common consumers per product/service. Then use this information to develop of relevant persona based on the information found on similar consumes.
5. Create Custom Page for Personas: Creating specific pages for targeted audiences will allow marketers to feature certain languages, messaging, and video content to an intended consumer. This will also allow marketers to get an accurate reading of the effectiveness of each persona.
6. Calls-to-Action (CTAs) for Each Persona: To optimize your website design for lead generation, you need to put some thought into conversion. Create call-to-action buttons that correlate with your persona-targeted offers, and include them on the pages of your website that are dedicated to those personas.

If you have further questions or would like to consult about creating your own website personas, UX (user experience), website design or development, we would be happy to help. Drop us an email or give us a call. Meanwhile, for more information regarding our website services, take a look here at our website service page.

{image: via doug palmer on pinterest}

The post Here’s A Thought: Why are Website Personas So Important? appeared first on Elements.

The holidays are here! Which means shopping is at a high, and black Friday is right around the corner. Online shopping (especially on mobile) has increased dramatically over the years–it’s so much easier than fearing you’ll be crushed while in line at a store. But that means more traffic will be heading to your website. Here are a few tips to get your website shopping ready (and no crashing!).

1. Traffic Management
   • Contact your Content Delivery Network (CDN) provider to ensure they have planned for the increased traffic. If you don’t utilize CDN, contact your hosting provider to let them know traffic will increase. Make sure this is done before Black Friday to avoid any issues.
2. Image Size
   • The three second rule: If your website takes longer than three seconds to load, you will lose potential customers. The best way to avoid this is to ensure your images are sized properly. If you have a high-resolution image that is only sized smaller, your website will try to load the full image, therefore delaying, and possibly crashing, your site. Be sure to appropriately size images on your entire site.
3. Remove third party scripts
   • Scripts on your website from a service that you’re no longer using takes away from your load speed on your site. Talk to your IT team to remove unnecessary scripts.
4. Security and Trust
   • Shopping online often is risky for customers, and they want to ensure their information is safe. Noticeably display your security information, letting the customer know that your site is safe. It will create a better checkout process (and increase traffic).
5. Return Policy
   • Make sure this is clear and easy to find. Give the piece of mind that if they need to return the product, they can easily.
6. Enable Secure Sockets Layer
   • SSL technology encrypts the connection between your site and your customer’s browser. This confirms that the visitor’s personal information remains private throughout the checkout process.
7. SEO
   • Optimize for specific keywords on your homepage and key product pages. According to Hubspot, focus on including them in: titles, descriptions, headings, body content, alt text, and URLs to make searching for, and finding, your site easy.

Following these seven last minute tips will help your website handle the influx of traffic for this popular day. Have a great holiday!

Source: Hubspot: “Is Your Website Ready for Black Friday? 7 Last-Minute Tips to Prepare.” Jeffrey Vocell. Nov. 17, 2015.

Image Source: Shopping Now.

The post Here’s a Thought: Black Friday Website Tips appeared first on Elements.

The four most popular and frequently used social media sites that bloggers influence are Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. According to the AdWeek article “The Blogging Boom”, people that are interested in Do-It-Yourself (DIY), fashion, food, lifestyle/home, parenting and travel all follow different social media platforms to find their information. Through these platforms, bloggers post their opinions about the different industries, and the information they find out from their experiences.

According to the article, food bloggers overall have four times the number of followers than any other industry. Good news for food industries–they are the most shared! People enjoy watching how to make simple recipes while scrolling through Facebook before dinner, or when preparing for a party by searching Pinterest. Food blogging ties into our ‘DIY-culture’ with recipe videos and links, thereby influencing two industries with one stone. How fantastic is that?

In the below infographic, you can see where the industries with the best blogging influence lie. With this information, we can see that bloggers are impacting the way people use social media to find insight on industries that interest us. What’s great for these business categories is that it’s free publicity. You just have to know the right blogger to target!

Source: Bloglovin

AdWeek

http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/infographic-how-microbloggers-leverage-their-influence-through-social-media-savvy-173272

The post Here’s a Thought: The Power of Bloggers appeared first on Elements.

1. 72% of U.S. adults said they preferred companies to communicate to them via email, followed by postal mail at 42%. {PRNewswire}. Why not follow-up an email with a postcard mailing?
2. 91% said they would like to receive emails from the companies they do business with. {PRNewswire}. Do you have a way to capture new customer data to immediately add them to your next email list?
3. If you want to reach the majority of your audience, email marketing is the way to do it – more reach than social media. {entrepreneur}. It’s okay to send some of the same great content (as long as it is great!) again in a recapped email since not everyone is on social media or it may have passed many by.
4. Transactional emails (which is an email where a user took some action which generated a response such as signing up on your website, for example) open rates are much higher than promotional emails. {marketingprof}. Think about how you can engage your audience in your next email effort.
5. Incorporating better creative quality emails results in higher conversion rates. {marketingprof}. Hiring an agency, such as ours, not only helps aesthetically, but we can help strategically to ensure success.
6. Super-targeted, location-based email marketing is here using the technology of integration of proximity and geolocation applications into emails. {entrepreneur}. Are you taking advantage of this technology?
7. The use of video in email marketing is emerging. Be ready.
8. Email marketing is incredibly cost-effective. According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing has an ROI of around 4,300% – practically paying for itself so it’s worth adding it to any other marketing effort as part of your overall marketing plan.
9. According to Copyblogger, “Good email content deepens your relationship with your audience through effective subject line writing (which get your messages opened); your distinctive voice (which gets your messages read); and delivering quality, niche-specific content your prospect needs and shares with others (which inspires referrals and word-of-mouth).” We can help you there, too, should you need copywriting, strategy or content ideas.
10. How do you get interested prospects to sign-up for your email list? You reward them with great content. Give them content that is valuable, entertaining, useful and on-point. King Arthur’s Flour is one fantastic example – by giving away delicious recipes, I (as a baking enthusiast) look forward to receiving their emails. They are interactive with their readers by having their own #bakealong to inspiring bakers to try a new recipe each month and post on Instagram using that hashtag. They offer discounts, course information, and news. Be King Arthur’s Flour with your email campaigns.

I’ll end with the famous words of Steve Martin, that also happens to be hanging up at my desk, “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” Keep that phrase in mind every time you compose your marketing emails – give something of value and know exactly your intended audience is and what information they are looking for. Do that consistently and you will have great results.

~Amy

The post Here’s a Thought: 10 Quick Facts and Stats to Stay Successful with Email Marketing appeared first on Elements.

Fall.

It’s my favorite time of year.

As the days are getting shorter, the air crisper, the leaves change color and fall from the trees, we start to feel that sense of urgency to get things done before winter sets in – just like the squirrels, we dash around madly before the end of the year.

It’s tempting to rush through fall without slowing down and taking it all in. But being the best season of living in New England, shouldn’t we?

So this year, although the light is fading fast and the sun sets a few minutes earlier each day, why don’t we promise ourselves not to give into that sense of urgency, but instead to slow down and take in everything autumn in Connecticut has to offer – from the amazing colors, the historic fairs, the harvest moon, the pumpkin patches and fresh milled cider, the bike trails, caramel popcorn and bonfires by the water.

I hope you agree and make a fall bucket list of your own before you have to hang up you bike and tune up your snowblower. Winter will be here before we know it, so I challenge each of you to soak up the last of the lingering light and embrace this beautiful time of year.

Here’s what’s on my bucket list for this Fall:

horseback riding  // visiting a local vineyard // READING A BUSINESS BOOK PER MONTH //  design elements 2017 postcards // go to a fall festival  //  CHEER LOUDLY AT A FOOTBALL GAME // give thanks by hosting thanksgiving // jumping into huge leaf pile with my kids //  FAMILY HIKE IN WOODS  //  baking an apple pie with apples we picked //  making and sharing pumpkin muffins // DESIGNING ELEMENTS HOLIDAY CARD + GIFT // running in the woods //  family holiday photo  // DAY TRIP TO PHOTOGRAPH // trying a new soup recipe //  trick or treating  //  MAKING KIDS COSTUMES //  fall bike ride // designing elements new website // FAMILY GAME NIGHTS // hayride // carving pumpkins // entering a 5k  // PLANTING ONE HUNDRED TULIP BULBS // crockpot applesauce // writing my marketing plan for 2017

Another ambitious list this year, but I love a challenge. I did fairly well last year and I’m going to work hard to beat last year’s list! I’ll keep you posted. {Link to 2015 list: https://elementsdesign.com/category/heres-a-thought/}

What’s on your bucket list for this fall? Please share!

~Amy

The post Here’s A Thought :: My Fall Bucket List 2016 appeared first on Elements.

From a recent data study by Epsilon marketing group published in AdWeek, 100% of consumers from four generations use the Facebook Messenger app. Of that 100%, 63% of people use it frequently. Therefore, connecting to a consumer through a medium they use frequently is obvious. Now the question becomes, what is your business doing about it?

“Over three-quarters of boomers are interested in making purchases via Facebook messenger using PayPal,” AdWeek stated in the article, “The Medium is the Message.” People enjoy having a simple, easy and productive purchasing experience, and what better place for brands to create this opportunity than an app that all generations use, and use everyday?

Additionally, consumers are also open to receiving advertisements and promotions through the Facebook Messenger application. That’s great news for marketers!

Social Media and instant messaging have become fluid in society. It’s time to make purchasing using instant messaging a part of that world for brands who wish to continue to grow. Epsilon chief digital officer of agency business Tom Edwards stated, “This shift from social media to social messaging will redefine how we, as marketers, will approach connecting with consumers.” Imagine the possibilities for your marketing. Now is the time to let Elements help your marketing effort by getting you on board with an Instant Messaging Campaign for your brand.

Facebook Messenger App

Source: Carrie Cummings. “The Medium is the Message.” AdWeek. July 11, 2016.

The post Here’s A Thought:: Merging Branding Into Our Instant Messages appeared first on Elements.

Snapchat is one of those hot of-the moment social media apps that many marketers still aren’t convinced how they can take advantage, or how it could be useful to their brands yet. But marketers should take the time to get to know Snapchat because it’s a great way to excel your brand into a new generation, and all it takes is to create a Snapchat account, filter or lens.

To get started, let’s address the “what is it?” question.

What is Snapchat?

Snapchat is a social messaging app where users can send images to other users. With these images, a user can: attach a geographical tag of a current location; send short videos; and write a short blurb on top of the image or video you wish to send. These images and messages can be sent to several users at once and can be sent to last between one and ten seconds. After that, the image is gone.

Another feature is the Story and News sections. The content for each of these features disappears after 24 hours. People keep coming back to use the app because it also encourages people to become part of a “Snap Streak” with fellow users, (the number of times you snap images to a user), as well as unlocking new features on the app itself.

How Snapchat Can Promote Your Brand

Now, let’s discuss how Snapchat can benefit your brand; one of the most recent trends is creating a lens promoting a certain product or brand. For example: a company can create a lens of a new movie being released, such as “Marvel Avengers,” for example. The lens could have imagery of the “Marvel Avengers” title, a tagline, and a small graphic. The middle of the screen would be blank where a person could capture himself or herself within a selfie. How fun is that? You’re now on a movie poster that you can send to your friends while helping the Marvel brand promote their movie.

According to Bloomberg Technology, Snapchat has a reported 150 million daily active users meaning millions of users snap themselves onto these filters or lenses and share them with their friends, who share with their friends daily. This kind of sharing is fun for users, and garners great reach for the brand, especially if a lens becomes viral.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that these lenses come at a pretty hefty price. According to AdWeek’s article, “Not Just Silly Kid Stuff”, The Peanuts Movie filter that was posted on Halloween day for 24 hours, cost $750,000. That’s fairly unobtainable for most of us.

For smaller brands hopping on the Snapchat trend might not be realistic yet. Tim Villlanueva, head of media partnerships at Fetch, questioned if costs will drop significantly enough for smaller brands stating, “Our concern is how do you scale this? It’s going to be difficult to manage it in-house but [Snapchat is] pretty bent on doing that still, and they’re not worried about scalability issues.”

The high prices work better for those brands in entertainment and film that have large budgets, but for smaller brands it could be a bit of a squeeze. Let’s hope smaller brands will get their chance to get in on the Snapchat trend soon!

Sources:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-06-02/snapchat-passes-twitter-in-daily-usage

“Not Just Silly Kid Stuff” AdWeek. July 11, 2016.

The post Here’s A Thought:: Snapchat’s Pitch to Brands appeared first on Elements.

Let the countdown begin – only 5 more days until 2016! With the New Year right around the corner, it’s time to start planning ahead for your 2013 marketing goals. Here are some initial steps to take when preparing your marketing plan for the New Year:

1. Evaluate 2015: What were your goals for 2015 – did you achieve them? What strategies worked well for you and what didn’t? A new year is also a time to evaluate your business and your target client – has it changed? Are you hoping to grow and expand? Knowing the types of clients you’ll be targeting over the next year is crucial to the success of your new marketing plan.
2. Create and Update Your Marketing Budget: What were your costs last year – did you track them? If you did you need to review what you’ve spent and if you were on target. If you didn’t have one – you need to create a 12-month Marketing Budget which should include everything from new marketing collateral you’ll need, to updated photography, as well as promotional needs and advertising costs. Having a budget laid out in advance will help you track your progress over the course of 2016.
3. Follow-up on Leads: Do you have any outstanding leads that you’ve pushed aside until now? Clients will be looking to put their new marketing budget into place and following-up with a lead this time of year will put you front-of-mind for next year.
4. Update Your Website: While updating your website throughout the year should be a consistent priority – use the New Year as an excuse to update old dates, news, images and content. And, if your site isn’t a responsive site, make that your first priority in 2016!
5. Explore Search Engine Optimization for Your Website: If you’re not ranking high enough on search engines – the harder it will be for potential clients to find you.  This is where the importance of SEO comes in. If you’re stuck on SEO, Elements can help, give us a call or email us – we use the most up-to-date and effective optimization techniques to help get your company to the top of the search engines.
6. Create a Blog Content Calendar: If your company has a blog, creating a blog content calendar will to help keep your posting schedule on track and save you time. A content calendar can include specific topics for each day/week as well the person that will be posting and updating.
7. Set-Up or Update Social Media Profiles: If you’ve been dragging your heels on setting up a social media platform for your business – don’t wait any longer! If you already have a social media site, start updating the platform just as you would update your website. If there is an avenue of social media that you haven’t yet explored – Linkedin, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, etc., – start exploring and looking into these sites to determine which may be beneficial to your business.
8. Create a Social Media Content Calendar: A social media calendar is much like the blog content calendar. You can create weekly or monthly (or more) list of ideas and content for your social media channels. This calendar can include various promotions or topics that you will highlight that day/week/month. You should also make a custom list of hashtags and keywords to include on posts.
9. Start a Client Wish List: Write down a list of one or two potential clients you’d like to target each month. Then write down ideas on how you can approach them and what types resources you’ll need to achieve it. Keeping a written list of these names will help you keep them front-of-mind.
10. Build a 3 Month Marketing Plan: You can’t measure if you don’t plan – I live by this phrase. Creating a quarterly marketing plan will help you stay on target for your short-term goals. When creating this list have your “every month” goals and then also specific goals for each month.

Ready to get started? Don’t fear, Elements is here – if you’re in need of SEO, social media, digital advertising, website or marketing needs – Elements can help. We’re a full service agency that provides a full range of creative services for all of your marketing communications needs. Call us at 203.776.1323 or email us at studio@elementsdesign.com to find out more about our services.

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