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Tingalls Blog - Marketing Tips & Tricks

Are Native Ads a Good Solution for Your Website?

One of the current trends in marketing & web design is something called native ads, which is defined as “a form of paid media where the ad experience follows the natural form and function of the user experience in which it is placed.” This definition comes from Sharethrough, the world’s largest in-feed advertising exchange. What this means, in essence, is that native ads live within the content of a web page, as opposed to off to the side (usually in a right-side banner area) as we’ve grown accustomed to in web design over the years. Sharethrough’s opinion is that “native ads are more visually engaging than banner ads.” At Tingalls […]

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Posted in Advertising, Marketing, Website Design

Creating a Successful LinkedIn Page, Part 1: Your Profile

Are you on LinkedIn? If you’re a business owner, do you have a company page? LinkedIn can be a powerful tool for connecting with others, and for acquiring business leads — but setting up a page and connecting with a few colleagues isn’t enough. You’ll need to polish your page so it meet’s LinkedIn’s best practices if you want to achieve “All-star” status. In this installment of our LinkedIn series, we’ll take a look at how to populate the first two sections of your profile page — specifically your “masthead” at the top of the page, and the “Experience” section. This is relevant to business owners and individuals, alike. Populating […]

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Posted in Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Tips

The Importance of Your Website’s Title Tags, H1 Headlines & Meta Descriptions

Have you ever seen anyone using a metal detector on the beach? When they get close to a metal object, the device starts making noise because it can actually sense the metal. Search engines like Google and Bing function in a similar manner, but instead of looking for treasure, they’re searching for keywords. Two of the main areas search engines look for keywords are in your website’s title tags and “H1” headlines. If these areas are populated correctly, search engines have a better chance of detecting you, which can lead to higher page ranking on search results and increased traffic to your website. At Tingalls Graphic Design, part of our […]

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Posted in Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Tips, Website Design

Is Your Website Design Aimed at High-Context or Low-context Customers?

The answer to this question can be a deciding factor in whether your website design is creating raving fans, or increasing your website’s bounce rate (the amount of people that leave your site in under 30 seconds). The theory of high-context and low-context cultures is a concept that was coined by Edward Hall in his 1976 book Beyond Culture. Now you might be thinking, back in 1976 there weren’t even personal computers, let alone an Internet, so how can an almost 40-year-old book have any relevance when it comes to websites? Good question. The answer lies in the underlying principals of Hall’s theory, which supposes that the culture of a […]

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Posted in Branding, Marketing, Tips, Website Design

Keep It Short: The Benefits of Brief, Clear Content

In a world where we’re berated with information, the last thing most people want is long-form copy that’s more metaphorical than understandable. Don’t get me wrong, there’s always room for a brand’s personality & style to shine through. But we have to be as clear, brief & impactful as possible when broadcasting our messages — both electronically & in print — while making sure we connect on an emotional level with our audience. Some great examples of this are “Just do it,” from Nike, and “Think Different,” from Apple. Even this blog post is designed to be incredibly short. It’s a great exercise for our minds, which trains us to […]

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Posted in Advertising, Copywriting & Blogging, Marketing

Are You Running Your Business with Passion?

How much of your business is affected by outside forces, rather than by internal passion? I’m not talking about listening and responding to customers — this is a cornerstone of any successful business. What I’m talking about is our ability to be true to who we are as a company — even if that means potential rejection. Back in the mid 1990s, Apple was allowing Mac clones to be produced by third party manufacturers. When Steve Jobs returned to the company in 1997, he put that to an end. Steve wanted Apple computers to be made only by Apple. And he wanted them crafted with his vision in mind — […]

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Posted in Branding, Marketing, Print & Package Design, Website Design

Best Practices for Website Design

Whether you have a website you’re looking to revamp, or are in the process of creating a new one, there are some best practices you’ll want to be aware of to make sure your website design is the best it can be. Not All Code is Created Equal Coding, or the language on which your website is built, is an important component of website design. If your code is built well, it will make for a better user experience because pages will function optimally and load faster. How your site is coded also affects your SEO (Search Engine Optimization), which is critical to gaining more traffic on your site. Content […]

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Posted in Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Website Design

Make Your Marketing Emails Count

Did you know that email marketing can be as much as 20 times more cost effective than other marketing methods when you’re trying to reach your customers?  But how do you create emails that get opened, engage the reader, and build value for your company? Tingalls Graphic Design has gathered a few tips to help you draft better emails and reach your customers with cost effective marketing. Be Trustworthy. People don’t want to open spam and they’re afraid of opening anything that might look suspicious. This means you have to identify yourself with a recognizable name. Make sure the from line in any email you send clearly identifies your company […]

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Posted in Advertising, Branding, Email Marketing, Marketing, Tips

PR Is Not Dead … Just like Everything Else, It’s Evolving

Did your first mobile phone come in a briefcase-sized carrying case that you kept under the seat of your car “in case of emergency?” If so, you – like me – are old enough to call yourself a witness to the communications revolution of the last couple decades. As a public relations and communications professional winding my way through this revolution, I attend my fair share of seminars, educational events and networking groups. The content of these meetings and events has obviously changed over the years to address the domination of all things electronic, social, and mobile. And, as such, I’ve been hearing a frequent refrain: PR is dead. Of […]

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Posted in Advertising, Marketing, Tips

Creating an Effective Landing Page That Leads to More Conversions

A landing page is a web page that targets a particular audience and captures their information, typically through a lead form. A good landing page will be easy and comfortable to navigate and will quickly give visitors what they want. And, in theory, this will increase the number of conversions you have because the process is easier for them. Tingalls Graphic Design has come up with some suggestions to help you make a more effective landing page so you encourage more conversions. 1)      Be clear and concise both visually and with your content 2)      Make sure there is a value to them and that it’s clearly stated 3)      Keep your […]

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Posted in Marketing, Tips, Website Design

What Can You Control and Influence in Your Marketing?

The three circles above represent your marketing (digital or off-line) and your marketing’s ability to attract leads. Your marketing content – the actual messages you communicate and to whom you direct those messages as well as where you distribute them and how frequently — is what you can control. By targeting who it is you are creating your content for, directing your messages to, as well as where you distribute them and how frequently you create and distribute those messages all work to influence those who discover/receive your content and messages to the end goal of those folks inquiring further about your products or services, or even making a purchase. […]

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Posted in Advertising, Color, Email Marketing, Marketing, Social Media Marketing

Boost Your Business through Lead Nurturing

Getting a lead or a hit from a web visitor is a great first step in securing a new customer, but it is only a first step and certainly doesn’t guarantee you’re going to earn that person’s business. And beyond getting their business, don’t you want to keep their business or have them as a repeat customer in the future and then make them an ambassador of your company, spreading the word to their friends and family and turning them into customers too. Lead nurturing is something every business should focus on to get new customers, keep old customers, and convince them to refer others. Hubspot says that “78% of […]

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Posted in Advertising, Email Marketing, Marketing, Website Design

Direct Mail Brings Home Charitable Donations

Charitable causes that aren’t reaching out to their donors through social media and direct mail may want to reconsider their fundraising efforts. A recent study from Campbell Rinker found that a direct mail appeal for donations was more than three times likely to receive an online gift as a response than an email was. The study also found that among donors that were aged 60 and above, online donations as a result of direct mail rose from 18% just two years ago to 30%, clearly showing that direct mail is hitting its target. Thirty percent of the younger set, donors under the age of 40, said that they contributed to […]

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Posted in About Tingalls, Advertising, Email Marketing, Marketing

Are You Effectively Using Your Mobile Marketing Budget

The phone, or mobile device, has evolved so much that people now carry their photos, their calendars, their personal data with them at all times and constantly refer to it to stay connected with loved ones and the world around them. Obviously, this hasn’t gone unnoticed and marketing to people on mobile devices has become a huge business. In 2012 mobile ad spending in the United States is expected to hit $2.6 billion and by 2015 it’s predicted to be slightly less than twice that amount. But is this money being spent effectively? Many people are having a hard time adapting to this new technology and are approaching it as […]

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Posted in Advertising, Email Marketing, Marketing, Tips

Google Places for Local Businesses

I recently attended an SMBA meeting with representatives from the local Google office. The topic of the day was Google Places and why your business should register with Google Places. Google designed its Place Pages to help people connect to local businesses more easily and getting set up couldn’t be more convenient with representatives from Google coming to your business to walk you through the procedure at no charge. Why do you want to be listed in Google Places? One out of five searches on Google are related to location and by properly tagging your business to your location you can reach that audience who is searching for your company. […]

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Posted in Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Tips

How to Incorporate Social Media into a Print Campaign

A recent study by the Pivot Conference discovered that 37% of marketers plan to be more active in their social media campaigns in 2012. Why the push for social media? It appears as though people are beginning to grasp the benefits of a social media arm inside of their marketing strategy. There are a number of different ways to incorporate social media into your customer outreach programs but most of them are web based. How can you use your print marketing to boost your social media interaction? The easiest way to bring social media to your print materials is to include your social media information, Facebook web address, your Twitter […]

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Posted in Advertising, Marketing, Networking, Social Media Marketing, Tips