For those who don’t know, a blog (short for ‘web log’) is a website (or part of a website) where posts are written in a reverse chronological order. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, web pages, and other media related to its topic. Most blogs are primarily textual although some focus on photographs (photoblog), sketchblog, videos (vlog), or audio (podcasting), and are part of a wider network of social media.

Blogs can commercially work better that traditional newsletters and news sections of websites. Incorporating a blog into a company website can be far more beneficial for several reasons:

1) For providing potential clients with up-to-date relevant information on a regular basis.

2) Blogs tend to use content management technology and can easily be updated in-house.

3) They are great for optimisation benefit, if implemented correctly the content can count towards a websites total content.

4) A user can opt for an RSS feed and automatically receive new posts direct to their email in-box.

5) Because posts tend to be short they can more easily be created and made more specific.

6) They tend to be more effective as they are written in a less formal manner and more like a conservation.

7) Best of all they are interactive, comments can be made by readers and made to appear by the relevant post enabling credibility.

If you would like to talk about adding a blog to your current site, improving the SEO of a current blog or branding an existing blog with consistent graphic design to match your current website please get in touch.

Last nights Apprentice, week 5, lead by Sir Alan Sugar, was all about selling photography. The teams had to choose photography art to sell. You may ask what the relevance is to the graphic design and the website services we offer? Well we too are in the business of using imagery that appeals to a particular audience to promote or sell goods and services.

It came of no surprise to me that the success of the last nights winning team came down to two things:

1) Target audience size
2) Quality of leads

At the end of the day the greater the audience the more products or services can potentially be sold. In this case the target audience of horse imagery was far greater than that of say the narrow audiences of lip images or seafood.

But the missing trick that the apprentices failed to realise while buying the art was to gain a current client list from their chosen supplier which they could use to sell to. Only one team did this and to me it too was the difference between success and failure.

For more information on the series visit their Website

In this day and age the possibilities for new media and its mix with traditional medium as promotion are endless, but however good your methods are at initially attracting the target audience the follow up is crucial.

Yes, I agree that instant new media methods such as email, pdf attachments etc can work well but more often than not printed literature cannot be ignored.

A well planned, designed, written and produced piece of literature is worth it’s wait in gold, especially when used to back up initial response.

I guess it comes down to good targeting and knowing your audience. It’s true to say that most sales processes still (and will for a long time to come) demand a postable response. Whoever your target audience is though, the confidence given by printed literature is hard to beat.

If you know what SEO means (Search Engine Optimisation) then you may be familiar with the terms ‘Organic Searches’ and ‘Pay-per-click’.

For those who are unfamiliar, an Organic Search is where a key phrase is entered into Google or similar search engine and the results are not sponsored or paid for, they come up due to the relevance of the search. Pay-per-click, however, is the opposite and are generally titled ‘Sponsored Results’ they appear according to how much the promoter wishes to pay.

My view is that both cannot be ignored or part of your target audience may be. However it goes without saying that organic searches are far more popular and effective. Particulary from a cost point of view as they do not cost per click and are generally user preferred due to their accuracy. Statistics show that Organic Searches are 6-8 times more likely to be chosen than Pay-per-click links.

At Titman Firth we tend to assess the required balance on a case by case basis as every business has different needs. Often though if a potential client’s budget for Pay-per-click is far higher then that for SEO/Organic Searches we aim to reverse the balance resulting in increased traffic and long term cost effectiveness.

Interesting topic this, once upon a time a company who wanted to promote itself on video would have needed a huge budget to shoot, film and edit a production, and that’s without the cost of putting it onto video or DVD.

Now following the popularity of blogs and podcasts your business can add video blogs to the list!

Some companies may find the informal nature unsuitable to their target audience and I agree, but to some (particularly those where their staff are their product like with consulting firms) the benefits of what blogs and podcasts offer is only made stronger by video. With this medium comes a unique honesty as the result tends to house less bells and whistles and is less polished. Furthermore, the content is open to comment which brings a natural verification.

They are cost effective to do and place on line and when done right can reflect and enhance your brand while increasing traffic to your site. The Radio 1 Chris Moyles show launched Chris Moyles’s first video blog this week and from early reports has certainly made an impact!

To help sell goods or services is the overall initiative of any good sales or marketing campaign.

There are a variety of different approaches you can take, some being the more traditional such as direct mail or advertising. But the use of e-marketing is something that can really help increase the effectiveness of such a campaign and boost sales. (And that’s without mentioning the additional support that SEO can bring.)

Used successfully, e-marketing is a cost effective way of targeting tens of thousands of potential customers in an instant. It can have built in response methods that link to your website and aid the sales process way before a physical enquiry is made.

The success is limited to your target audience and like any campaign relies on effective targeting. Knowing your audience should determine the split between your usage of new media (e-marketing and websites) and print based promotion.

As a method of attracting new business I believe for certain sectors e-marketing can work well but the most important thing to remember is that no matter how may enquiries you may get, your company website and literature must be good enough to convert the enquiry into a sale. Good graphic design, website programming and print production all play their part.

Finally it’s worth noting that SMS marketing can also play its part, particularly towards targeting consumers.

All of the above services are available from Titman Firth.

A company’s website (assuming people can find it through promotion or SEO - Search Engine Optimisiation) is only as effective as its content. In recent years companies have tended to opt for their website to be re-designed or improved without any real thought into its continual development or its future.

Now more than ever websites are being used as the ‘convincer’, the place potential clients or customers go to before getting in touch. It is essential that the information presented is current and up to date. Not just for SEO reasons but to help ensure that as many website visits as possible are converted into sales.

At Titman Firth we have many clients who understand the value of continual web development and to maximise the potential of their website at acquiring new business have opted for us to develop their websites on a contract basis. This means that every month we put time into continually developing the design of the website, its content, the structure and size, photography and branding, together with many other SEO techniques.

I believe that the days of producing a site and then leaving well alone are gone. If you want to get the most from the potential of your site then please get in touch.

There are many terms that describe employee engagement, some call it in-house branding, employee marketing etc but the point is that the power of employee engagement is of great benefit.

Former GE Chairman and CEO Jack Welch when asked which measurements “give the best sense of a company’s health” replied: “Employee engagement first. It goes without saying that no company, small or large, can win over the long run without energised employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it. That’s why you need to take the measure of employee engagement at least once a year through anonymous surveys in which people feel completely safe to speak their minds.â€?

Marking planning therefore should not just focus on the external identity. A few years ago Titman Firth created an extensive identity by rebranding a B2B firm. New brochures, exhibition stands, leaflets, stationery and logo were the initial items to benefit from the new branding. The plan was to introduce this to the outside world (clients and potential clients) but in this case the opportunity was not missed to launch the new brand to the staff. I travelled from Peterborough to London to present the graphic design proofs in a bid to get buy in from the employees. The message was clear, with all the time and money invested in the new brand it would have been a shame if the staff did not realise the value of the work or believe in it.

It’s true to say that exhibiting at trade shows can provide an excellent opportunity for your customers to experience your product. But this opportunity is also true of your office. When clients or potential clients come to visit they are influenced by what they see around them, your firms identity. Whether you exhibit at trade shows or not it is a missed opportunity not to have some form of graphic presentation on display.

Display stands make that perfect medium. They are attractive and fail not to impress as long as they are designed correctly. Here at Titman Firth design quality is paramount and we never design anything without the target audience in mind.

The stands available vary greatly but we have a range of display stands and pop up stands available suitable for most office environments. We offer packages which include the graphic design of the stand, 2 PDF proofs and the printing and production of the stand itself.

Their are few things that come to mind that give such impact for such little investment. Plus, the beauty is that the stand is then there for whenever it might be needed.