online marketing overview

Someone rightly highlighted the importance of digital marketing with these words, “Brands which fail to establish an emotional connect with the millennials will be outshone sooner or later by the ones that do.”

And it is not the big brands that are making digital marketing count. It is the smarter creed of startups and small-scale enterprises that have successfully cracked the code of digital marketing.

What can you as a business learn from them? Well, here are some of the key metrics that I’ve figured out. Take a look at them, and how you can succeed at the game of digital marketing -

Build your marketing plan in steps so everyone can see how their work adds up. Switch to ProofHub.

Content marketing

In words of marketing prodigy Seth Godin - content marketing is the only marketing left.

Take a look at the trends for the past few years. You will get to see that brands that have invested in creating top quality content have managed to create powerful presence in the market.

One of the examples of effective content marketing comes in the form of Leadpages, a company that deals in designing customisable, landing page templates, and also provides testing services. Thanks to their powerful content marketing efforts, Leadpages were able to get their customer lifetime value to customer acquisition ratios quite high.

In words of the company’s CEO Clay Collins, “A content team of four people could outperform an 80+ person sales team at most companies.”

Here’s what they focused upon as part of their content marketing strategy -

• Popularising their blog by creating beautiful, useful and compelling content
• Spreading marketing resources such as e-books, case studies, infographics and courses
• Conducting weekly webinars to build a community for spreading their content

And the results? Leadpages has become a multi-million dollar company, and one of the fastest growing companies in the US.

Video marketing

If we talk about the trends, video marketing ranks right up there in the present scenario. YouTube and live video streams have become the next big thing in marketing.

As per statistics, companies that leveraged video marketing to good effect were able to grow 49 percent faster than the companies that did not.

Just like content, you can leverage different types of videos in marketing. Starting from engaging and funny videos to creating tutorials - there’s a lot that you can do as part of your video marketing endeavors. And, thanks to the rise of live video streaming, it has now become easy to keep your community engaged and hooked by sharing live story videos and what not.

Lowes Home Improvement is one of the most prominent names when it comes to pocket-friendly, and successful video marketing.

Social media marketing

‘We don’t have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it.” - Erik Qualman

Social media keeps us connected to the world. Over the past few years, it has become a lot more than just something that people use as a pastime. In fact, studies show that social media plays a massive role in user’s buying choice, with customers being 71percent more likely to purchase a product based on social media referral.

As they say in the marketing world, ‘social today is not just a tick in the box, it’s bread and butter for a brand’s survival.’

The best example of cost-effective social media marketing campaign that worked really well - Know Your Lemons - Worldwide Breast Cancer! In this unique campaign, the organisation encouraged women to stay safe against breast cancer by checking their breasts regularly and looking for early physical warning signs. Using a standalone member’s page on Facebook, they were able to raise their fundraising target by 317 percent using just a smile ‘donate’ call to action.

As you can see, you don’t have to break your bank in order to succeed at social media marketing.

Search engine marketing

The good old SEO - you would have heard about it for sure. It is a mix of different practices that are used to get on top of results in search engines. How could a list of cost-effective marketing strategies be complete without SEO.

It is the oldest form of digital marketing, and still ranks right on top when you talk about getting results. With the right SEO tactics you can eventually gain limitless traffic to your website. And, it won’t cost you a dime. There are plenty of tutorials and online courses available that can help you master the art of SEO.

In fact, you can hire professional services for the same that will cost you much lesser as compared to any of the other services.

Remarketing

Lastly, we are going to focus on one area that’s fairly less discussed i.e. remarketing. Targeting users who have already visited your website, remarketing lets you tempt potential buyers who had left your website for some reason or the other.

It works based on cookies - the trail that users leave while visiting your website. With the help of these cookies, you can easily target social media accounts of users, or any other websites they visit, to display your ads and increase the chances of them getting converted.

Though it falls under paid marketing, the ROI is pretty good. Hence, you can expect to get a lot more than you are investing; making it an easy, quick way to boost your business sales with online marketing.

SMART target setting

smart goals example

Goal Examples | Writing a ...

SMART goals

Examples of Student Smart ...

Using your sketchpad to develop designs

Using your sketchpads to communicate ideas.

	1a)	2D mark-making: for example drawing, painting, photography, printmaking.
	1b)	Techniques: for example touch, control, style, method, stipple, blend, wash, etch.
	1c)	Recording: to consider for example primary sources, natural environment, made environment, secondary sources.

http://vle.chesterfield.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=4969


Communicate ideas:to consider for example response to themes, assignment briefs etc.

	1b)	Design ideas: for example sketches, thumbnails, plans, patterns etc
	1c)	Final design ideas: for example finished paintings, drawings, prints etc.

Select the best fonts for any project

Select the best fonts for any project

Six tips for better type

Regardless of the content, you can improve your designs by creating a consistent structure and adhering to the following tips.

Typefaces, or fonts as they are more commonly known, have been created by designers for different
purposes for as long as humans have been printing.

But with so many options available, it can be overwhelming to decide which fonts are best to use for a specific project.
Step outside the Times New Roman box and dive into the world of type.

​​​
Andrea Lesken explain how.

As Andrea explains, choosing the right font for a project is as easy as following these six simple tips:

1. Consider your audience.
​
Your choice of fonts should reflect the audience and the purpose of
the design. For instance, consider the difference in style between a skateboarding and poetry
reading poster. Fonts with rounded edges can be considered friendlier, while simple,
geometric fonts can seem contemporary, bold, or more serious. Serif fonts give a classic or
traditional impression.

2. Size and space matters
​
. Choose font sizes based on how the audience will view your design.
Use space before and after your text to hold elements together that need to connect and set
elements apart that need to be separate. Limit your spacing when you want elements to read
as one unit.

3. Pair type for hierarchy.
​
​
For instance, if you choose a serif type as your body type, you might
style your titles or subtitles in that same typeface but larger or in bold to set titles apart.

4. Limit your typefaces.
​
In general, use a maximum of two fonts and be consistent about your
use of different sizes and typographical emphases — such as bold or italics. Save the use of
decorative fonts for titles.

5. Create contrast.
​
Think of your design as a plate of food: If there are too many competing
flavors on your plate, nothing stands out. Choose one strongly flavored element — called the
“focal point” in design — and let the others sit back a bit, where they can support the focal
point.

6. Don’t stretch type.
​
Type designers work very hard to make sure every detail is considered.
The overall rhythm of the letters and the spacing is really important. Stretching type changes
the proportions and appearance of a font and is a big “no no.” If a font doesn’t give you theeffect you want, choose a different font

Design Trends for 2018

Design Trends for 2018

What it looks like

These sites have gone all in on the 90s tech theme!

01 | Balance between new and old There’s something calming about the combination of the past and future, which is exactly what this campaign from Etienne Godiard plays into. There’s no wonder it’s the first piece featured on the homepage! 02 | Quirky combinations When you land on the Station site, you’re greeted with a scene that may look like it’s straight out of the 90s, but with a video element that takes it to a whole different place! The interaction on this site is great, encouraging users to explore to see what happens next. 03 | Embracing old habits Remember all the quirky ways we used to interact with old technology? That’s exactly what Brandon Barber has recreated with his portfolio site. Typing in commands totally works, and it’s super fun to interact with.

Get the look

Adobe Illustrator Transparency and Blending Modes

Illustrator - 11 Transparency & Blending Modes

Adding Transparency

You can add transparency in Illustrator by lowering the opacity of objects so that underlying artwork becomes visible. Go to (top menu) Windows > Transparency to open up your Transparency Window. Draw and stack a few objects and set it to a lower opacity of 50% for the underlying color to show through.

Transparency with 33% Opacity
(the bottom image should write "ON LIGHT BACKGROUND")

Blending Modes for Objects

Blending modes in the Transparency panel, creates some different color effects of overlapping objects. Blending modes let you vary the ways that the colors of objects blend with the colors of underlying objects. Some example of blending modes setting and effects as shown below in 2 different background.

Transparency, Blending mode - Multiply
(the bottom image should write "ON LIGHT BACKGROUND")

Transparency, Blending mode - Screen
(the bottom image should write "ON LIGHT BACKGROUND")

Transparency, Blending mode - Overlay

Transparency, Blending mode - Different

You can experiment all the settings available with difference colors of background, and see the effects.

Button Reflection Using Screen Effect

Screen blending mode is one of useful effect to create reflection effortlessly. Shown below is a popular technique on creating a button reflection using Screen.

 

1. First draw a circle and apply a Gradient Fill of light to dark orange to it.

 

2. Draw another circle on top and apply another Gradient Fill from black to white.

3. Finally, select the black to white circle and change the blending mode to Screen. And you’re done!

You can see the black portion in step 2. being 'transparent'.

Communicating using digital marketing / sales channels

Communicating using digital marketing / sales channels


Understand how to plan the use of digital media for a specific message, audience and recipients

		Explain the selection of the organisation’s targeted customers Once you have determined your business’ products and services, you must identify your business’ target market. The target market is the actual customer group, or audience, in which your business will attempt to sell its products and services. Although it is impossible to capture every customer within your target market, gearing your services toward the identified market will make sales much easier.
		Describe expected target audience responses to different electronic media communication methods What does your audience use to look for products Facebook, Twitter, instagram, google, search engines, Google + Linkedin, snapchat...etc Facebook: On Facebook we expect the audience to ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ the conent we put out and also to interact with us. we expect them to tell us how they feel about it and what they want to be reading instead. We expect an emotional repsonse, it’s about creating a relationship with our audience. Twitter: Similar to Facebook in that we expect the users to interact with us, but it’s less about discussion and more about distribution. through Twitter we expect our audience to ‘Re tweet’ the content and increase its reach. It’s more about business and less personal than Facebook. This will depend on age and what your audience feels comfortable using.
		Describe the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of different software packages for presenting marketing information
Facebook: This is the largest social network with over 128 + Billion users. You can post status's with photos, videos, etc. You can schedule posts, as well as creating apps, groups, pages etc, if you're a business. Pros: A lot of people use it and it gains a lot of interest and sales from marketing. It also contains advanced ad targeting compatibilities for massive audiences. Good, powerful analytic insights. Cons: Low organic reach. Saturated by brands so it's difficult to stand out. Twitter: 271 Million active users. Post tweets, photos, gifs, etc. You have a 140 character limit. Pros: Strong customer service tool and strong analytics. Cons: Expensive limited ad platform. Short lifespan of posts. Instagram: Post images and short videos mainly using hashtags. Primarily a mobile app. 200+ Million users. Pros: Untapped audience by many brands. Great potential as it's owned by Facebook. Cons: No links, scheduling or analytic capabilities. Not a lot you can do with advertising. Linked In: Network of over 300+million users. Mainly for company information, information and recruiting. Pros: Best used to establish your brand as an industry. Valuable recruiting tool. Cons: Unlikely to drive sales unless B2B. Pinterest: Online collaging resource for posting links and pictures. Audiences and users can share inspiration and bookmark links. 70 million users. Pros: Strong, receptive audience with buying power. Cons: Not effective for brands with limited web-prescence. Audience is mainly female. Google +: Niche social network with over 330+million users. Pros: Great SEO benefits, as it is owned by Google. Links to Google Adwords and Youtube. Cons: Uncertain future. Largely interactive user-based. Other software packages include: Spotify, MailChimp and Newsletters.
		Explain the requirements of using multiple digital marketing technologies
Use of managing software like Hootesuite to pre plan messages at regular times and dates to post to multiple social media channels at a time. Can keep an idea and use several different social media channels in one program. What is Hootsuite? Hootsuite is an incredibly useful application for managing social media network channels. Often referred to as a social media management system or tool, it enables you to view multiple streams at once and monitor what customers are saying. You can post updates, read responses, schedule messages, view statistics, and much more. Many international brands—including Coca-Cola and Sony Music—utilize this timesaving approach to social media marketing. 7 Key Benefits of Using Hootsuite to Manage Your Company’s Social Media Presence: 1. Monitor Multiple Social Media Streams in One Place Perhaps the most compelling reason to utilize Hootsuite for your brand is that it allows you to manage multiple social media networks in one place. No more remembering pesky passwords or having to go to each website individually. With Hootsuite, you can post updates, review responses, and connect with your customer base on over thirty-five popular social networks, including: Twitter Facebook (including Profiles, Events, Groups, and Fan Pages) LinkedIn (including Profiles, Pages, and Groups) Google+ Foursquare WordPress blogs And several other platforms via third party apps (including Vimeo, Reddit, Via.me, StumbleUpon, Instagram, Tumblr, Evernote, Flickr, MailChimp, Slideshare, Storify, Edocr, Get Satisfaction, and others) 2. Schedule Posts in Advance Another important reason to use Hootsuite is that it allows you to schedule messages across all your favorite social media platforms in advance. This enables you to create a solid social media strategy that encompasses crucial times when postings are most often read and get more followers to notice your content. Simply pick the day and time that best suits your needs. You can then view scheduled posts in an easy-to-read calendar format. 3. Easily View Analytics Data Hootsuite’s unique analytics feature gives you an in-depth view of how well your social media strategy is working. The tool tracks clicks across all of your favorite platforms, delivering them in an easy-to-read series of charts. Furthermore, Hootsuite provides other extensive monitoring and reporting features that allow you to create professional-looking, printable reports on your business’ social media progress. 4. Hootlet Plug-In Allows You to Share Information Easily Hootlet is a terrific bookmark plug-in that allows you to easily share content across the web with your followers. This special add-on tool to Hootsuite sits atop your browser toolbar for easy access. When you find something online that you would like to share with the world, simply click the Hootlet button. The application shortens the URL with Ow.ly and inserts a small snippet of prominent text from the site into your social media message. Hootelet is just one of the many plug-ins that make adding Hootsuite to your social media arsenal worthwhile. 5. Social Media Listening An excellent way to connect with your customer base is through social media listening—noticing what others are saying and bringing your company’s value to the conversation. Another great feature of Hootsuite is that it allows you to track key phrases and terms across other user’s posts to determine when your expertise could be beneficial. This can be an excellent way to bring in new clients, simply by being highly in tune to their needs! 6. Manage Customer Service on Social Media Efficiently One reason many companies shy away from social media platforms is that it can be difficult to manage customer service effectively on them. With Hootsuite, you can view customer questions in one single place without having to check multiple social media sites. You can also store draft messages to post when a client asks a frequent question, such as store hours or directions to your business location. 7. Team Collaboration Effectively manage your team with Hootsuite! This tool allows you to add multiple team members to the social media accounts of your choice, allowing you to see first-hand who is posting what information and who has scheduled posts. You can also control the ability to assign tasks, add collaborators, and edit posts as you see fit. This is where you look at your company, and specifically target your information to your product and service and your targeted audience 2.1 Confirm the sales and marketing objectives for the digital communication, including response rates and sales generated return on investment 2.2 Identify the criteria to be used in selecting recipients in target audience 2.3 Source and acquire targeted lists and databases of recipients in accordance with the plan 2.4 Confirm the range of electronic media best suited to communicating to the target audience in line with the sales and marketing objectives 2.5 Agree with relevant people the marketing communications message designed to engage the customer and which is appropriate for the media selected