What Makes a Great Logo?
I get this question a lot… “What’s the difference between BRANDING and a LOGO?” I wanted to clarify it a bit for you.
As we said last time, a logo is a symbol for your brand. It can help people to remember you, using images, text, shapes, or a combination of all of those to depict the name and purpose of your business. BUT it should be more than just a way to identify you.
If you do it right, it can capture the whole story of your company in a meaningful way.
That’s all great, but one thing I’ve learned from the internet: if you really want people to hear what you have to say, it’s gotta be in a TOP 5 LIST. OK – you asked for it:
Top 5 Things a Logo can do for you:
- Creates a positive first impression
- Gives you a brand identity
- Helps you stick out from competitors
- Fosters brand loyalty
- Makes you memorable
Now that you know why it’s valuable, what are the key elements of a logo? Here you go!
Top 5 Elements of a Logo:
- Color – like the visual mood music of a logo.
- Typography – a fancy designer way of saying “font.”
- Image – as the saying goes, a picture is less boring than 1000 words.
- Tagline – “Your slogan can change everything.” (according to people who write slogans).
- Meaning – Hopefully all of the above reflects some deeper values of your company that will resonate with your target audience.
Awesome example: the Nike swoosh. When you see it, you don’t just think of Nike – you think of the grit and determination required to JUST DO IT (side note: if you haven’t seen this, it’s one of the best commercials ever)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA4dDs0T7sM).
One last question – how can we make a logo stand out? Yep, we’ve got a top-5 list for that too! Coming in at number 3 on our list of Logo-Related Top 5 lists…
Top 5 Ways to Make your Logo Stand Out:
- Know your Audience – once again, branding is not what YOU say, it’s what THEY say.
- Be Clear – don’t be like those weird personalized license plates that no one understands.
- Be Unique – “You are totally unique, just like everyone else.” –Margaret Mead
- Be Versatile – Scalable across any newfangled social media platform.
- Last but not least: Be in touch with BOS Media Group.
The truth is, there are a ton of variables in the creative process, and it can all feel pretty subjective. Plus remember, the logo is just a small part in the big picture of your overall branding. If you think your branding and logo design could use a makeover, we would love to support you however we can – give us a call today!
Branding
Hope your week was amazing! Mine? Well, while other people may have spent last weekend enjoying a BBQ, or watching Netflix, I was doing a deep dive on BRANDING. Most companies don’t realize how important branding can be for their business, but don’t worry – we are here to pass that knowledge on to you.
The first thing you need to know is, there are a lot of misconceptions about branding. So let’s start with what branding isn’t:
- Branding is NOT a LOGO. That’s just a symbol of the brand.
- Branding is NOT a TAG LINE. Although those can help make a brand memorable.
- Branding is NOT a PRODUCT. There are lots of products – branding is what makes someone pick one product over the other.
We all want a well-defined, attractive brand, but the biggest thing I learned is:
Your brand is not what YOU say it is,
it’s what THEY say it is.
Branding is the gut feeling someone gets when they think about your company. It’s your business’s reputation that lives in the hearts and minds of your potential customers.
People experience the reliability of your products, or whether a service interaction was pleasant, and little by little it all shapes the picture they have of you in their minds. This is why branding matters – because ultimately, whether or not people choose to do business with you is based on one thing:
TRUST.
So, how do you build a successful brand for your company? Great question. It starts with a strategy to map out how you are different, how you are trustworthy, how you are memorable, and how you are likable by your ideal client. This is critical and foundational for building a successful brand. Do not overlook this and just jump into design and marketing.
Maybe it’s time to start thinking through what your current branding is saying to your clients. Take a minute to brainstorm some ideas about what you want to come to mind when people think about your company. Here are some questions to consider:
- Why do you exist?
- What makes you different?
- What problem do you solve?
- Why should people care?
Let’s start there, I will send out some more information next week. Until then, I hope you can start taking a step back and looking at your company from a different perspective…to see your customer’s point of view.
Let me know if you have any questions, I would love to dialog with you more
Digital Marketing Package
Today, I want to start out with a little activity – you’ll need a pencil and a piece of paper. I’ll wait for you to grab it…
OK, now – two steps:
- Write your signature using your dominant hand.
- Below that, sign again, but this time using your non-dominant hand.
You can probably see a pretty massive difference (Or if you’re ambidextrous, repeat the exercise using a hand for #1 and a foot for #2).
Here’s the point: the first signature represents the work you do every day. You’ve spent years honing your craft, and learning how to put your uniqueness into the job you do. It comes so naturally that now, you don’t even have to think about it – you’re an expert.
The second signature represents digital marketing. You know it’s important, but it’s not the job you’ve studied and trained for… but WE HAVE.
At BOS Media Group, making you look good online is our signature work. It’s all we think about. And it brings us tremendous joy to FREE YOU UP to put more of your energy into stuff you’re good at.
Over the past month, we’ve shared the secrets of what makes a Landing Page so effective for your business. We’ve shown how three key elements work together – the landing page campaign –> the lead capture –> the email drip = Business growth
But we also know: even with all these tools available, many of you probably haven’t been able to make it happen. Don’t feel bad! At some point, maybe it’s time to stop using your left hand for this, and let BOS Media Group be your right-hand man.
We would LOVE to help you get this all set up for your business. We will customize a campaign that is specific for your target audience around a problem they face and the resolution that you’ll provide for them.
Click on the button below to take your next step in growing your business – looking forward to connecting with you soon!
Drip Email
As we talked about last time, not everyone is ready to buy the moment they get to your landing page. But ideally, that’s just where the conversation begins.
If you do it right, your landing page will offer people a valuable solution to their problem, in exchange for their contact info.
So… WHAT NEXT?
Once their email is captured through a “lead magnet,” you now have a few more chances to prove yourself worthy of their business.
In other words: Keep Giving, one email at a time. That’s the magic of what we call The Email Drip.
Your landing page made a great first impression; the email drip is where you make a second impression, a third impression -– as many impressions as it takes!
Don’t get me wrong – we don’t believe in spamming people. It’s about building trust through COMMUNICATION. Taking time to be thoughtful and share meaningful information, including your own personal secret sauce about how to be successful. Pretty soon, people will have learned and gained so much from your insight, they’ll want to work with you.
It actually reminds me of back when I first met Maria. At first, she just wanted to be friends (the dreaded friend zone…) But I liked her so much, I was willing to be patient – I even wished for her to have the most amazing future spouse, whoever he may be! For years, all I could do is keep showing up and giving her a chance to know who I really am, like tiny drops of water dripping on a rock.
27 years of marriage later, I can tell you: however many impressions are needed, it’s all worth it in the end.
Please let us know if BOS Media can help you in this process – here’s to email drips that help your business live happily ever after!
Casablanca
For your business to thrive, it all comes down to connecting people.
But how do these connections happen? Where do you begin? At BOS Media Group, we answer that question in one word: Giving.
It may seem counterintuitive at first: how can giving help a business grow?
Once again, this is why a landing page is so important. Like we said last time, a landing page is a place where you identify a problem for a potential customer and offer them a solution. And the best thing you can do is GIVE THAT SOLUTION AWAY.
Wait – shouldn’t they have to PAY YOU for the solution? The problem is, they don’t even know you yet. How can you expect them to hire you when there’s no relationship?
Instead, take the first step and make a positive first impression. You just met, and all they know about you is: you’re one who helped them without charging a thing.
PLUS (this is HUGE, hence the ALL CAPS) it’s not exactly for free – there is a small, but very important exchange. You give them the solution, they give you… their CONTACT INFORMATION.
The reality is, most visits to a landing page don’t immediately translate into new business. People see what you do, and hopefully, experience the value that you offer. At this point, the goal is just to be the one they think of at some point in the future when they’re ready to do business.
And when that moment comes, they won’t have to search for you – because of lead capture, you’ll already be there waiting in their inbox.
Stop letting new customers slip through the cracks! If you do this right, in the iconic words of Casablanca, “This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” At BOS Media Group, our passion is creating lasting relationships where it’s actually a joy to give to the people we serve – we’d love to help you do the same.
For more on the magic of giving, we strongly recommend the book Give and Take by Adam Grant – it’s one of our favorites. (in fact, we even did a podcast about it – check it out!)
You are one click away from taking your business to the next level – let’s get to work!
Moth Landing Page
As we talked about last time, at BOS Media we believe the most successful digital advertising starts with a landing page. But WHY?
Because according to studies, digital ads that lead traffic to a homepage rather than a landing page are actually less effective.
The homepage of your website has to serve a bunch of purposes – it’s meant to make a positive first impression, show off your brand, and let people explore all the services and products that you offer (Note: if your website doesn’t do this, please call us immediately). Having such broad objectives means the site has to speak more generally to give multiple audiences an overview of your company and its values, as well as the different personalities who make up the culture. For a new customer, it’s easy to get lost.
But a landing page is totally focused on one thing: to generate leads for your business. It removes all the other noise and focuses on defining one problem and offering your customers a single solution.
Watch My Video “Landing Page vs Homepage” Below Explaining this Further…
Which brings us to moths. If you’ve ever seen a moth meme, you know they’re only interested in one thing: LAMPS. The world is full of distractions, but as soon as a lamp turns on, the moth mind is extremely focused.
Wouldn’t it be great to hold a potential customer’s attention like that?
Landing Pages = Lamps
Seriously, you have no idea how much the above sentence would slay in digital marketing to moths.
But for humans, let BOS Media help you out – we use the researched, studied and proven method introduced by Donald Miller in Story Brand and further defined in his latest book called Marketing Made Simple. We’ll implement these concepts to create a perfect lamp landing page for you.
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Digital Marketing
Over the past month, BOS Media invited you to get creative – to take an idea, good or bad, and start thinking about the small changes your idea could inspire. We believe if you know the problem you’re solving and you’re in touch with your customers’ needs, you can unlock new opportunities for your business.
Today is about implementing all that into ACTION with a proven digital marketing strategy.
I know what you’re thinking: most small-business owners aren’t sure where to begin. You may not even know what digital marketing is, let alone how much impact it can have on your bottom line.
Don’t worry – that’s why we’re here.
BOS MEDIA Digital Marketing Packages:
At BOS Media, our passion is helping people like you to grow your business. It all starts with a landing page that will increase your credibility with new customers and give them access to you anytime, anywhere. This is our specialty – let us create the campaign, so you’re free to focus on what you do best.
Each of our digital marketing packages includes:
• Landing Page
• Lead Capture
• Strategy Session
• Drip Email to Leads
• Full Copywriting Service
• Full Email Content for Drip
• Lead Tracking
Pick Up Line
“So… how you doin?”
If you watched the show Friends, you heard this line from Joey many times, and you saw how unsuccessful it was with the target audience.
But what if your company’s marketing is having the same effect?
As a business, we are often too worried about our own self-image, our own self-interest, and our own capabilities that we forget about what our clients really need.
The key question is you need to ask is, how ARE they doing?
Instead of looking at yourself, become a student of your client. Find out their wants, their needs, their hopes, their fears. Take the focus off you, and figure out how you can create solutions for them.
The irony of great marketing is: It’s not about you. When you do it right, you’re not trying to make yourself look good. You’re just the guide to help others achieve their goals and dreams.
It reminds me of the story that Gay Zenola MacLaren shared in her memoir, about a chance encounter with Mark Twain:
He opened the door for me himself. As we said good-bye, he put his fingers lightly under my chin and lifted my head up so that my eyes met his.
“Little girl,” he said earnestly, “keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”
At BOS Media Group, we believe that’s how digital marketing should work – it’s about making others feel that they can achieve greatness.
Maybe it’s time to re-think marketing. Know your audience, position your company to serve those needs, and make them the hero.
Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to help you shine!
What Problem Are You Solving?
In my last blog, I challenged you to come up with your worst idea. Hopefully, that opened up your mind to some new creative possibilities, but as you may have noticed: bad ideas don’t just automatically become a business (with the exception of the Shakeweight, of course).
The biggest question you need to ask if you want to turn your creativity into business is:
What problem are you solving?
It sounds simple, but most people don’t know how to answer this. You might have a product or service that starts doing well, but if you don’t know why, you won’t know how to build on the success.
You should be able to state this in a few words, or as Donald Miller calls it, “a one-liner” – a sentence that connects a pain point that people experience, and how your idea could resolve it.
Take a second to think about it: Where do you see someone having a problem? How could you address it?
Whether it’s a small idea to implement in your current business or a big idea for a new business, look around – the next great innovation might be right in front of you.
And that’s where flossing comes in.
NO, this isn’t about how people want to work with BOS Media Group because of my clean teeth (although obviously, it doesn’t hurt).
This is about a principle I once heard about how to develop healthy dental hygiene: if you’re currently not in the habit of flossing regularly, start by just committing to flossing ONE TOOTH.
It sounds weird, but you might be surprised – by lowering the commitment level, it removes barriers in your mind and increases your chance of success. One tooth is so easy, we don’t mind doing another, and before you know the small changes are big.
Which brings us back to your business. Start small. Look for a problem to solve. And please, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you turn it into a business.
Worst Idea Ever
For many Americans, July is a time to appreciate our Founding Fathers and their world-changing creativity.
Obviously, I’m talking about watching Hamilton on Disney+.
This might sound weird, but the thing that stuck out the most to me is what a BAD IDEA it is. Translating a history book to Broadway through hip-hop should not work, and yet, here we are, living in Lin Manuel Miranda’s world.
I’ve had a similar thought about Pixar movies – I seriously wonder if some of their concepts were born from “What’s the absolute WORST IDEA we can think of?” (A rat in the kitchen? Trying to understand a teenager’s emotions? An elderly couple who can’t have children where one spouse dies without accomplishing their dream?) It’s like the more they corner themselves with a difficult concept, the more they’re forced to rise to meet the creative challenge – “Necessity is the mother of invention.”
This is especially important to think about at this time in history. As we continue to navigate a global pandemic and its economic impact, one thing is certain: business has changed, and it may never be the same again. How do we pivot and implement new ideas to take our business forward?
You may feel overwhelmed, but look around: what opportunities do you see? It could be in the way you’ve shifted your operation in the past few months, or in the adjustments required to work from home. Even on a personal level, pay attention to the innovative ways that you’ve managed home life, fitness, and nutrition, or online engagement – what do you see evolving around you?
At BOS Media, we believe that creativity is an infinite resource, where even the worst idea can end up opening new worlds. Our hope is that this ends up being a transformative time, as you dream big and experiment with imaginative ways to solve problems. We’d love to join you in that pursuit – please let us know if there’s anything we can do to help as you begin thinking and strategizing, and eventually as you take action to make it a reality.
In the meantime, the big question is: WHAT’S YOUR WORST IDEA? Honestly, we’d love to hear it – it really could be the gateway to your most creative work.
