Monthly Archives: June 2016

Why is Social Media Important for Toronto and Area Businesses?

Posted on June 23, 2016 by - Social Media

Social Media Marketing

Social Media Marketing

Attracting new customers is always important for businesses in Toronto and area. Companies spend a lot of money in an effort to gain new customers. Unfortunately, a lot of this money is wasted.

Measuring the return on investment (ROI) should always be at the forefront of every marketing campaign a company undertakes. Fortunately, online marketing affords some amazing measuring tools which can allow you the ability to measure your campaign’s ROI right to the cent. Many Toronto businesses are finding success with social media marketing.

Social media is no longer a luxury; it’s a must-have for any growth. It should be a core part of any marketing plan and should have a budget. Social media marketing not only increases the amount of people encountering your digital brand, it leads to conversions and leads. Hubspot now estimates that 84% of all American B2B marketers utilize social media to some degree.

Posts on social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, LinkedIn and various other services generate targeted and engaged traffic. It’s a great way to breath new life into older content buried on your website. People are engaged with their social media accounts and re-purposing content on social can really help gain some attention for your brand. Posting older content can also give your Search Engine Marketing (SEO) a jumpstart. Driving new traffic to old pages will help them gain ranking in search engines such as Google.

Ideally, your social media marketing will help your brand build relationships with your customer base. You can instantly have access to your follower’s feedback regarding your company and you can also learn more about your target market’s interests and daily lives by looking at their profile. This digital insight can help you tweak your marketing to cater to your audience’s likes.

Social media is real-time, this allows you to quickly reply to customer feedback and questions. When done correctly, social media can take your customer service to an all-new level. This creates loyal fans of your brand.

People view Facebook, Twitter and other tools as social networks, not marketing platforms. This can make your message more interesting and trustworthy. Good social media content encourages conversation, not selling and marketing. This can quickly lead to more traffic to your website and more online conversions. It’s likely that your competition is already present and doing this. It’s a lot harder and more expensive to catch up to social media competition than it is to lead.

Your brand’s personality can really shine. You know why your company is interesting; why not tell the world? Brands with cleaver and interesting content usually succeed, even with small budgets.

One of the reasons why social media is so interesting for marketing is the many advertising options the platforms offer. Facebook ads allow you to target very specific groups of people, this allows you to advertise to people that are more likely to become customers. There’s a lot of exciting things happening with Facebook retargeting ads. A simple Facebook pixel allows you the ability to present your targeted ads to people across Facebook. It’s not a surprise that when you stay in front of your customer base you’ll generate more business. Social not only gets eyeballs, it allows you the ability to constantly refine your sales message to an engaged audience.

The ROI for social media is usually very impressive. Hiring a Toronto social media consultation company (like us!) is typically a smart marketing investment. The average cost for a Google AdWord click is $1 to $2 and can increase dramatically from there. A boosted post on Facebook or Pinterest can produce similar results for as little as $0.12.

Social media and doing business in the new millennium go hand-and-hand. If your brand doesn’t appear on social media it simply does not exist to many people. Have fun with your social media, try new things and encourage audience interaction.

We love talking about social media and advertising. Every business has unique needs and goals. Give us a call or drop us an email and one of our experienced Toronto experts will help get you started.

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Brand Identity

Posted on June 7, 2016 by - Graphics, Online / Content Marketing

The Importance of Your Brand Identity

 

When people discuss branding the mind usually leaps to images of famous logos and the products they represent (note iconic logos above).  An essential strategic device for both businesses and individuals, branding involves creating a distinctive image and unique presence in the world.  Successful branding is essential for any company if they wish to succeed in their marketplace.  At Insiteful Solutions we have worked with hundreds of companies across the GTA and in Markham to develop successful branding campaigns.

While the images above are from recent memory, branding has been employed by tradespeople and craftsmen for thousands of years.  The modern era of branding coincided with the Industrial Revolution at the turn of the 20th century.  As products, services and trade flourished, company’s turned to rudimentary design elements to gain a competitive edge: the name of a company, claims of superiority and eye-catching design elements (note all encompassing Coca-Cola advertisement from 1905 below) were all employed in the days of modern marketing.

Developing successful brand identities is perhaps the most important task facing entrepreneurs after developing their actual product or service.  Branding goes beyond creating a simple logo to affix to your marketing materials; the best branding should encapsulate the values and aspirations of your company.  The brand identities at the top of this blog are so successful they no longer require their companies name to communicate the product they advertise.  A quick glimpse of these images simultaneously evoke the products they represent; moreover, they also communicate the emotional value and cultivate the image of the company.

The process of developing a brand identity can be a challenging exercise; it compels entrepreneurs to clearly identify the personality of their product and what niche it fills in the marketplace.  It requires business leaders to research their customer base and understand how they will be receiving their message. With the average North American adult seeing nearly 500 commercial images a day, your product (and its image) has more competition than ever.  Your brand identity should tell the story of your company and all of its aspirations. When people connect to your aspirations they connect with your brand on an emotional level – and an emotional connection can translate into a loyal customer.

As all entrepreneurs and business leaders know successful businesses require constant nurturing and attention. A brand identity is no different: as your product or service exists in a constantly changing and competitive marketplace your brand identity must be attended to and developed along with your company.  A successful brand identity will assist you in developing the messaging of your company and its values.

 

At Insiteful Solutions we work with business leaders to develop your complete branding platform. Throughout the GTA and Markham we have worked with individuals on creating and developing their personal brands and assisted established company’s to refresh and maintain their identity in the marketplace.  At Insiteful Solutions we have an incredible team of designers who work with you to create every aspect of a branding platform.  Our team consists of copywriters, designers, web design experts, content marketers and SEO specialists who will work with you to create a compelling brand identity.

Whether your brand is established or you are starting a new venture why not give us a call to discuss how we can be of help in creating or revitalizing your brand?

Insiteful Solutions – Celebrating 14 Years

Posted on June 7, 2016 by - Graphics, Online / Content Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media

Insiteful Solutions – Celebrating 14 Years of Providing Website Development, Design and Online Marketing in Markham, Toronto and Surrounding Areas

It really doesn’t seem that long ago. The Leafs were battling it out in the Eastern Conference Finals, televisions were turned to American Idol, and Apple was just beginning to make iPods. There were a lot of things happening 14 years ago, including the beginning of Insiteful Solutions.

The goal was simple. Provide professional Internet marketing, design and development services for big and small clients. We started serving businesses in our own backyard of Markham. Really, it was about relationship building. Provide excellent customer service, exceptional work and become partners in our client’s success stories. It’s a philosophy that worked out well, we still work with clients that were with us in the beginning.

There’s been many changes to our industry over the last 14 years. There’s almost too many to list: mobile websites, search engine advertising, social media, online video streaming, and dozens more. Something that hasn’t changed is the importance of storytelling and building a strong brand. It’s hard to build an online brand if you’re not doing anything interesting. The methods and tools are different, but everything we do is still rooted in strong branding.

“This is an exciting time in the online marketing world,” explained Jess Joss, owner and founder of Insiteful Solutions. “Every day presents new opportunities to expand our client’s digital presence. We have a strong team that’s able to provide our clients with all the development, web design and marketing tools needed to succeed.”

We’ve accomplished some exciting things over the last year. Our website was completely redesigned, we’ve gained some new and exciting clients, our team has grown and we’ve helped create some really great work that we’re all proud of.

“The relationships we have with our clients really separates us from anyone else,” said John Brown of Insiteful Solutions. “We take a lot of pride in the quality of work we provide to each of our clients and I think that’s why many of our clients have been with us for years.”

It’s been 14 amazing years of creative work and we’re looking forward to the many more projects ahead with both existing and new clients. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank the many clients that we’ve had the privilege of working with over the last 14 years and we value your business. It’s been a blast so far and the future looks even brighter.