5 Tips To Become a Social Media Guru

Posted on July 28, 2010 by joey

Continuing our discussion on building stronger brand, let’s discuss Social Media Marketing a little bit. Social Media Marketing has proven itself useful, not only to large corporations but also to small businesses. What makes it so effective is the fact that it provides you access to your targeted market in a cost efficient way. Since the listeners on your social networks have opted-in to receive your updates this could significantly increase your potential to get a response.

However, most small businesses often complain that they are not getting the response they expected from their social marketing strategy. In this post we tell you about some effective tips to reconsider your social networking patterns.

Social Media Tips

1. Find Social Networks in your Industry

Social Web is not just limited to Twitter and Facebook. Unfortunately, many people ignore the fact that social web is growing rapidly fast and there might be some other places too. In fact there are many Social networking websites with not as many users as Facebook or Twitter but significant enough to be joined. There are also Social Networking websites that are focused on common interests, activities and industries. For example there are social networking websites related to food and cooking, photography, health and fitness, automobiles, fashion and so on. You need to find smaller social websites that match your product or services.

2. Find Groups and Communities
Social Web Marketing

There are still some old fashioned groups and communities online. These communities may not be as cool as larger social networks but since they target specific interest groups you can use them to grow your social network. A common example of such communities is online web forums. Even though these forums do not portray themselves to be social networking sites but they offer the same benefits. In fact many such forums allow you to sign in with your facebook ID, and provide links to your other social networks on your profiles. You can connect with the people you meet on these forums and communities from your other social profiles. They key here is to target only the forums and communities in your area of business. Otherwise you will be wasting your efforts in vein.

3. Improve your Logo and Web Design to Facilitate Social Networking

An important aspect of a good social media marketing strategy is to create awareness about your brand. As we all know that a logo design plays a very important role in brand development. So it would be smart if you use your logo wisely on your social media profiles. While you are busy dealing with all your social networking skills, your followers might want to know more about you. So this is important that your website address is available on your profile pages. Also visitors coming to your website from other sources such as search engines, advertisements, or referral websites, should be able to easily locate links to join you on Social Networks. Yes, we are talking about Follow me buttons.

4. Become an Expert

Why should people pay any attention to anything you say or do on social websites? Seriously, if you are just going to beg them to buy your products or services then please stop now. However, people would listen to you if they know that you are an expert, a person who offers good advice and someone who is not forcing others to give up their money.
Be a good person and take genuine interest in your online activities. There are lots of good folks that you might be following. Take interest in their activities and see what they are offering. Comment, appreciate and share their content with your other contacts. Make your comments and feedback useful for them so that people can appreciate your time and effort and reciprocate your interest the same way.

5. Build Trust and Confidence

Once you start offering people advice and start building trust, you would soon realize that you are developing not just a contact list but a following. People would listen to your and visit the links you post. However, with such power comes great responsibility too. You need to maintain this trust level and confidence that your followers have in you, by not misusing your influence. It is very cool to be known as the person who offers good tips, or a person who is witty, smart, and clever. It is not very cool to be known as a spammer.

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Cancer The Crab – Symbolism of Zodiac Signs

Posted on July 22, 2010 by joey

In a previous blog post we discussed the Zodiac Sign of Gemini and how their properties are reflected in their zodiac symbol. In this post we are going to discuss the properties and characteristics of Cancer and how they are presented in their Zodiac Symbol. It is fantastic how thousands of artists have expressed the traits of a zodiac sign with their illustrations. Each one of them depicts the same symbolism but in different styles to reflect the similar traits. This is exactly what logo design is about. We represent logos for similar businesses but attempt to highlight their individuality and give them unique perspectives.

Image: Cancer Zodiac Sign Crab

The zodiac sign for Cancer is commonly represented by the illustration of a crab. Originating from the constellation of the Cancer, people born between June 21 and July 21 come under this Zodiac sign and are called Cancerians. The consteallation of Cancer looks like a crab in the night sky hence the sign crab. According to ancient legends, greek goddess Hera sent a crab to aid Hydra a nine headed giant serpent. Hera sent Hydra to kill Heracles, but Heracles being the mighty warrior was able to fight the serpent so the Crab was sent to help hydra win the fight. However, Heracles killed the Crab and then the Serpent. To honor the crab Hera put its figure in the sky forming the constellation of Cancer. Sometimes the zodiac sign of cancer is also represented with this symbol:

Cancer Zodiac Sign and Symbol

The crab actually represents many common characterstics of the Cancerian inviduals. Just like a crab they are tough survivors and can strive to carry on under the most difficult conditions. Cancerians are also sensitive like crabs, they have a good sense of self preservation and often hide into themselves when hurt. Crabs are found in all oceans and sometimes inland water bodies too, they blend in their environment and so do the Cancerians.

People born under the Zodiac Sign of Cancer are generally considered emotional, intuitive, loving, cautious, shrewd and imaginative. They are very homely people and love the comfort of their nest. They do not care how their home or nest looks to others and just want to make it comfortable for themselves. They are considered natural flirtatious, but to them these flirts and romanticism is limited specially when they are committed in a relationship or wedlock. Due to their loving nature Cancerians are very loving, caring and devoted partners and parents.

Sometimes Cancerians could be a little too emotional and become difficult to handle. They could become touchy over the slightest issues and wouldn’t let it go. They are also very moody and change their minds more often than others but once they have settled on to some decision they could be very consistent to pursue their goals.

This post belongs to a series of posts, to read about other zodiac signs please check out our Symbolism of Zodiac Signs series.
 

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Social Media Menu – What’s on your Plate?

Posted on July 16, 2010 by joey

How many of us are overwhelmed about the social networks available? Which social networks work best with what you’re trying to market? How do you choose effectively?

Think of Social Media platforms like a menu when you walk-in to a restaurant. Each of the networks are categorized by your needs and the value you want to create for your business. Remember, the reason you are using social media is to purely engage your audience and gain awareness. The content you chose to engage is crucial, however the network chosen to display the content is even more important.

Eatery

For example, myspace is generally used to target people in the music industry, children under the age of eighteen, and to gather links that are shown through digg. Facebook is targeted towards businesses, students, and cause-related campaigns. Youtube focuses on video content and raises awareness through showing up on the top search engines. Flickr focuses on photo content and raising credibility through sharing photos. Now these are only a few off the menu, but they can all get linked up through social bookmarking sites and create the brand value for your business. As a result, this is when you know social media is in effect. When it is in effect your business will be shared through conversations and word of mouth.
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Today, the credibility of advertisements compared to the power of word of mouth has decreased greatly. Recent San Diego studies have shown: people are opt to listen to one another and make their decision, versus looking at an ad and buying the product/service. Social media allows you to show that you care about your customers and create that value for your business through raising awareness. When you engage with people you, there is no selling involved. You are simply raising awareness of your product/service and helping others with theirs.

When raising awareness it is crucial to not sell the product/service, but the experience. People tend to value experience, not the product itself. If you try to sell your product, you will be creating SPAM, and that will bring negative feedback to your business.

Social Media engagement takes time, however if it is done correctly you will receive positive results while create a successful brand for your business at the same time.

Now it is your turn to: engage, listen, and help others.

Author Picture

Sweta Patel is a consultant at Social Media Eatery which helps businesses achieve their marketing goals using social media tools.

 

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Symbolism of Zodiac Signs – Gemini The Twins

Posted on July 14, 2010 by joey

The symbolism of Zodiac signs, Zodiac Symbols and their logos tells us a lot about that particular Zodiac group. These symbols are often represented with illustrations and the same signs are used across the globe. Looking at these symbols we can learn alot about symbolism and delivering complex ideas into concise illustrations. This is why we have decided to run a Zodiac signs series on Logology, the logo design blog. Because, we believe that the illustrations drawn by thousands of artists from all over the world to represent these twelve signs are related to our discussions here. Consider for a moment that each Zodiac sign represents a brand, then look at these signs and how they describe that particular brand and traits and characterstics associated to it.

Gemini Twins Symbol Sign Logo

The Zodiac sign representing Gemini tells you all you want to know about this sign and people born in it. It shows two twin children sometimes these children are facing each other and sometimes they are facing opposite directions. Sometimes, Gemini is also represented with Roman literal for two II. 

Gemini Symbol II

Gemini is said to be a two faced, full of contradictions, tricky, emotional, and complex sign. Represented by two children facing opposite directions, the sign of Gemini reflects the contradiction predicted in the behavior of people born into this zodiac sign. 

The characterstics of Gemini are often compared with characterstics of children. They are happy natured, carefree, restless, energetic, beautiful and charming. But they also have the qualities that one would not like to see in an adult. For example, they become too whiny when they don’t get enough attention, love, time and care. They also throw empty threats to their loved ones if they don’t get attention. Gemini are also said to be the unpredictbles they often face difficulty in making strong decisions. They even change their decisions in the middle and in a rush.  They could be very cunning, celever, deceiteful, and lying comes naturally to them. 

The good qualities of Gemini include attractiveness. They are the charmers, which makes them very good liars. But they are also very affectionate, caring, devoted, and kind. They are very generous in sharing these qualities with others around them as far as this sharing does not interfer into their lifestyle in any little or major way. 

The Sign of Gemini also tells us that Gemeni has more strength in upper body parts such as arms, shoulders, neck, chest, and backbone. However, Geminis are adventurous and love to take risks to seek pleasure and benefits. This sometimes leads them to a lifestyle where they can’t tell when is the time to pull off. 

Geminis like to enjoy life to its fullest. They like talking just for the fun of it, they like changes in their lives and get bored with routine, they like to read, and they love to ride many boats at a time. 

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Most Popular Fictional Logo Designs

Posted on July 9, 2010 by joey

No one understands brand development better than the Hollywood. What makes them really good at it is the options have they have when they are developing these brands. They are able to incorporate story lines, themes, plot and a whole lot of other things into their brands. Hollywood has always inspired artists from across the globe. Logo Designers are no exception to that. Some logos created, used and popularized by Hollywood are so famous that people from all over the world instantly recognize these logos and associate them with the brand or the movie franchise they represent. The popularity of these logos is a wonderful inspiration, as a tribute we decided to share some of the most widely recognized fictional logos.

Superman logo

This logo, or the emblem appears on the Superman’s costume. It is also known as the “S Sheild”. This logo was the first of its kind. It was an attempt to develop a brand image for a comic character. It was first introduced in the very first issue of Action Comics back in 1938. Since then there had been many variations to the original logo but the basic theme remains the same in all Superman movies, animations, tv series. The S in this logo obviously represents superman, the shield is the symbol of protection.
Batman Logo

Superman’s successful brand development inspired many other comic characters particularly super heroes to come up with a logo of their own, most notably among them is the Batman franchise. However the logo on the chest of the batman did not appear until 1964, when this yellow eclipse background with a bat emblem was first introduced on Batman’s costume.

Jurassic Park logo

One of the most successful movies of all time, Jurassic Park was branded heavily and the brand designers had really high goals in their minds from the first movie. The developed a brand that was not only representing a fictional zoo but also to be used on memorabilia, collectible items and Universal studios’ theme park of the same name.

Dharma Initiative Logo

Dharma Initiative was a fictional organization from the greatest television mysteries of all time, The Lost. Dharma Initiative was basically a research organization that set camps on the Island to research on the special properties of this piece of land specially the magnetic field that generated enormous amounts of energy.

Star Trek Logo
Star Trek Logo that appeared on the chest of the Star Fleet crew members. Many variations of this logo are used throughout the broadcast and film history of the star trek franchise. The symbols represent space ships, orbits and protection that was the main goal of the Star Fleet.

Ghostbusters logo

Ghostbusters was a fictional company in the 1984 fantasy comedy of the same name. The organization was run by three parapsychologists turned ghost exterminators. It provided the services of repelling ghosts. The logo was used during the promotion of the movie and also in the movie as the brand logo of the Ghostbusters.
Cyberdyne Systems Logo

This logo was used for the fictional organization from the Terminator series of comics and movies. Cyberdyne Systems was responsible for the genesis of the supercomputer Skynet, the primary antagonist of the Terminator series, and its armies of machines. The term is a portmanteau of the common prefix “cyber-,” from cybernetics, and “dyne,” a standard scientific unit of force.

torchwood Logo

This is the logo of Torchwood Institute from the British Television Series Dr. Who. Torchwood was founded in 1879 by Queen Victoria to protect Earth from extra terrestrial threats.

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Five Simple Steps To Build a Better Brand

Posted on July 4, 2010 by joey

Building Better Brands

Small businesses everywhere are becoming conscious about how they are perceived among their clients, business partners, and competitors. It was a game previously reserved for the big players with resources to design elaborate plans, to project an image for the business and for the products. Today the field is open for anyone to play and succeed in building better brand image and a good reputation. These are the five simple steps that each small business must take when they are working on creating brand awareness, strengthening it and building dreams upon it.

1. Define Your Brand
Before going out and projecting it to the world, let’s first think about it. There are questions that you need to ask yourself.

• What kind of a business organization you are?
• What your goals are?
• How you are different from your competitors?
• How you promise better products or services?

Ask more and more questions that define your business, your products and future goals. Answer these questions and save them so that you can check them back whenever you want. Spend some time on that and write as much as you could.

2. Get a Logo Design

A logo is the visual identity of a business, their brand name and the people behind it. Your logo design needs to have certain qualities.

  • Unique – Your logo design should be unique, since it is your brand identity make sure that it stands out among other brands.
  • Visually Appealing – Use art to create an image that appeals audiences. Make it beautiful but also make sure that you stick to the document you created in the first step. If you want to define your business as an elegant, gracious and confident firm then perhaps you would like to avoid colors and styles that would make your logo childish.
  • Thought Provoking – Give people some reason to think about your logo. Make your logo design thought provoking; add something that gives a message which most people would find worth thinking.
  • Standardize – Make sure that your logo design follows the industry standards. It should be easy to print on different mediums. It should be readable in different sizes, noticeable even from distance.

    The canvas on which you get your logo drawn is as big as your imagination. Hire a professional logo design company and refer back to the document you created in the first step. Make sure your logo projects all the things that you wrote down when defining your brand.

    3. Get a Website

    Web has become a very powerful media. It is cost effective and its reach is global. Hire a professional web design service provider. We all know that it is possible for anyone to create a website. But we are not talking about creating just a website. Our ultimate goal is to use this website to promote our brand. So instead of doing it yourself or using readymade templates allow a web designer to do the job for you.
    Now when you are getting your website designed make sure that it has these qualities:

    • The color and style of your web design allows your logo to fit in perfectly.
    • Your website provides the information which you think that people would like to see on your website.
    • It is easy to navigate and usable.
    • It is easy to update and publish new content, so that you can update it on your own.
    • It is search engine friendly.

     

    4. Synchronize Your Designs

    When you design your logo, website or any other item that helps you promote your business; keep in mind that you are actually designing parts of a larger design. This larger design is your brand development design. Make sure that all other items are synchronized to project the same style, same colors, and similar elements. Stick to the document you created in the first step and make sure that all things you get designed for marketing, PR, packaging, or anything else, they should all follow a similar theme that helps you define your brand as you planned in the first step.

    This consistency in all your designs makes a very strong impression on your clients. Your professional image improves, and the consistency points out to the fact that you are a business that cares about minor things and not the kind of business that ignores smaller things while rushing towards bigger goals. Such a professional image boosts customer trust and loyalty.

    5. Take Advantage of Social Media Marketing
    Small businesses have limited resources to spend on marketing. But, with the help of technology and creative ideas they can overcome this issue. Social Media Websites provide a wonderful opportunity to small businesses. Using social networking websites, small businesses can connect to their customers, potential clients and patrons. However, Social Web Marketing could be tricky. Make sure that you do not become a spammer. Take active interest in Social Networking and within a very short span of time you will notice that your connections are doing all the things for you. People would retweet your content, share your links, and comment on your status updates. But to make them do that you will have to take interest in these people.

    • Don’t just talk to yourself, listen what others are saying.
    • Take part in conversations and discussions. Don’t just sit there and watch, join in.
    • Show your human side. Don’t just become a person who only shares business offers. Contribute thoughts, feelings, tips, knowledge and have fun on your way.
    • Please do not add random contacts to your profiles. Make your contacts list, follower list, following lists, and your network relevant to your business and industry. People are more likely to respond to your social interactions if they share your interests.

     
    These are just a few steps that will get you started on your way to build better and stronger brands. But remember it is a continuously evolving process. You will get to learn from your mistakes and improvise your techniques on your way. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, they are a sure way to learn new things.

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Style Elements: Courier Companies and Their Logo Designs

Posted on July 1, 2010 by joey

Logos are not just cute images designed to lure people into buying more. Though this is one of the reasons but it is not the only reason. A logo represents the organization behind it and most organizations who start out with just an idea to develop a brand, later on fall in love with their own logo. This usually happens when they start thinking about how this logo helped them grow and how it reflects the kind of organization they are.

Each day an average citizen of a reasonably modern city goes through looking at hundreds of logos. Some of them more memorable than others, some are so common that they need not to be noticed and some are just too awful to look at and it is better to forget them as soon as possible. We usually do not think about how these logos were designed the way they are now. What the business behind this logo is trying to tell us. Well actually sometimes we do, though not with the popular logos or brand images those are part of our normal daily routine.

For example if you work in an office the logos of courier companies might be a common sight for you. You might receive mail and deliveries from FedEX, DHL, UPS, or some other courier company each day. Your brain would chalk that package up labeled “FedEx Package for XYZ” with the FedEx here the image imprinted on the package gets stored into your brain. You recall this image when you think of the package. In this post we will look at some popular logo designs for courier companies and try to see how these organizations present themselves in their logo design.

UPS Logo

UPS is probably the world’s largest parcel service. It was founded in 1907 so it has been almost 103 years for them in the business. That’s enough time to be number one in any field of business, and also enough to establish a brand identity. The brown and golden logo looks good the golden color represents a shield which represents Security and Safety. The curves in the brown color represent swift smooth delivery. Typography also uses golden colored letters embossed on the shield. Typeface is elegant and condensed to show efficiency. It is simple, elegant and charming. Please note that UPS is probably the only globally operating courier company that has “security” as an element in their logo. May be it’s because UPS was founded way back when people worried too much about the safe delivery of their packages.

DHL Logo

Deutshe Post DHL, commonly known as DHL represents it self with a red and yellow logo design. Recognized all over the world this logo is one of the most popular brand identities in the world. If you look at it or ask any designer what they think of it they would tell you how scary this logo is. Using red on a yellow background is a very bold step in terms of brand design. DHL took it and pulled it off with their hardwork and dedication. This logo again represents swiftness and speed. Unlike UPS logo DHL’s logo ignores the element of Security.

TNT Logo
Not popular in the US much TNT is one of the major courier and logistics delivery companies in the world. Their logo design uses three circles which represent three modes of transportation land, sea and air. These circles also represent the three continents where TNT has strong presence Europe, Asia and Africa. These circles also represent the globe and if you notice how they are joined together you get the message of TNT bring world closer.

FedEx Logo

FedEx’s logo represents speed, reliability, trustworthiness and elegance. All of that with just three colors and cleverly put together typography. We have written a whole blog post on the Hidden Arrow in FedEx Logo.

A quick look at these logo designs tells us a lot about the business they are doing and how they promise excellence. The common elements of all these logos are speed, promptness, confidence and trustworthiness. Of course these are the things one might expect from a courier company. Or may be the huge marketing of the above mentioned brands has taught us to look for these specific qualities in a courier company.

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Why Small Businesses Should Avoid Crowdsourcing for Their Logo Designs

Posted on June 19, 2010 by joey

At LogoinnTM we strongly believe in creativity, professionalism, and high quality service. We support the No-Spec! Cause, and we would love to do anything to create awareness among small businesses about what they should and what they should not crowdsource.

Let’s first understand what Crowdsourcing is:

Wikipedia defines crowdsourcing as:

“Crowdsourcing is a neologistic portmanteau of “crowd” and “outsourcing” for the act of outsourcing tasks, traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, to a large group of people or community (a crowd), through an open call.”

We won’t go out of the way to blame crowdsourcing as an evil practice altogether. In fact, it has proved itself to be very useful in different kind of jobs. For example large amounts of data can be crowdsourced to people for processing, error checking, or entering into databases. One job can be divided into many parts and can be outsourced to many people around the globe.

Another good example of crowdsourcing is that an algorithm or any other kind of mathematical or scientific problem can be crowdsourced to people to work at and come up with many different solutions.

The good part for project organizers is that they do not pay everyone working on the project and even that payment is usually very nominal.
However, crowdsourcing for businesses is an altogether different practice and its ethical and moral issues are the cause of heated debate among those in favor and those who oppose this practice calling it an evil wicked way to save costs.

At logoinn, our major concerns are the design jobs. Since we are mainly a logo design business offering our services to medium and small sized businesses, these crowdsourced design jobs affect our business directly. We do not mind competition; in fact we are very good at what we do.

So this is what happens at these so called crowdsourcing portals or design contests. Businesses and organizations post a design job on these portals. Specifying their needs and setting a price for it. The job seekers on these portals can then design that logo and submit it to the job poster. Usually there are many people submitting their work for each job and the job poster only pays to the one that they like the best.
Now for a moment, think of yourself as a graphic designer looking for work on these portals. Would you be able to survive on this income, where you work without any guarantee that you will get paid for the work you are doing? Usually the graphic designers there then submit their work to as many jobs as possible. Sometimes several designs a day.

Now you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to guess the quality standard of these works. These designs are copied from other logo designs most of the time. The designers simply do not have the time to research and come up with a unique idea in this short period of time.
They use stock photos in their designs and sometimes they do not have the rights to use these stock photos or clipart in the trademark or business logo.

If something goes wrong it is not possible to you the job poster to go back and catch that designer and ask him to pay for the damages or fix the things that they messed up.

There are many other issues with crowdsourcing design jobs. Such as the language barrier, most designers on these sites are from developing countries in Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe. English is not their first language, and in most cases it is not even their second language. If you are lucky and you found someone who can understand you easily there are other problems associated with the distance.

One of the main problems with the distance is that these people do not understand the culture, environment, business values and other such issues associated with your targeted market and audiences. It is not easy for them to come up with an idea that is as inspiring to Americans as it is to Indians or Chinese. Some font and colors could be considered trendy in these regions and obsolete in North America and Europe.

One of our staff member once described these design contest portals, and crowdsourcing marketplaces as “modern day plantations”. The prize for these designs $100 USD may not be significant to designers in the US. But it is a very good price for designers in India and China. Isn’t this evil to take advantage of under privileged to do our jobs at nominal rates?

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