Behind the Scenes
A look at the social media marketing strategy behind refreshing a boutique brand.
The Covid-19 Pandemic intensified existing small business problems and presented entirely new problems. For this client, getting online was their main goal. As a business with over a decade of experience in their industry, creating an online presence was still completely new to them.
It can be daunting to start fresh online, but getting off on the right foot—even if it takes a little longer—is the best place to start.
Client Goals
- transition online with zero previous online presence
- share resources and information
- brand awareness
- lead generation & attract clients
Marketing Solutions
- create a website
- setup Instagram & Facebook accounts
- design brand identity
- create and implement an inbound marketing strategy
Creating a visual brand and coordinating website for an established business has its pros and cons. In this case, we had a clear direction to go in and few hurdles to overcome when it was time to get online.
We started with some market research (don’t we always!). In a smaller niche, we wanted to make sure Totally Talking accurately represented Lisa, the service provider, while still appealing to her audience and standing out within her industry.
We opted for something minimal, clean—and just a little bit chic. After nailing down brand visual direction, we did some work for the content itself where we could hone in on tone and how we communicated.
Brand Identity
For businesses transitioning to online or preparing to update their brand, one of the first things that gets brought up is their logo—whether it’s creating one from scratch or updating the old one.
When logo design comes up, we always discuss a few things:
- a logo is not a brand
- a logo should represent your business and appeal to your target audience
- a logo should have variations that can be applied in different formats and mediums
- a logo is an investment in your marketing
There’s a lot of information out there for businesses when it comes to brand design and logos. We stand firm that a logo should be used as part of a larger strategy, not as a an after-thought during launching or revolve around personal preferences or trends.
Website Design for Professionals
We love a good CMS (content management system) debate. However, when it comes to building sites for professionals and businesses, there usually isn’t much to debate. A few simple questions guide the decision in choosing the right platform to build a website on:- Will you be selling products and/or connecting to another system?
- Will you be capturing payments?
- What tools do you want available on your website, such as booking appointments or member/client portals?
- Who will manage and maintain the website?
- What is your budget for website maintenance?
From there, we can go on to design and build a website on the appropriate platform. More often than not, we work on WordPress (.org), Shopify, Squarespace, or Kajabi.
The Brand Startup Package—For Established & new Businesses
In the case of Totally Talking, our Brand Startup service covered everything she needed:- Brand Design
- Website Design
- Brand Photoshoot
- Marketing Strategy & Planning
This transformed into our monthly marketing service where we continued to assist with website management, content creation, and social media.
Interested in creating or updating your current digital marketing strategy? Send us a message or follow along on our social media for small business marketing tips.