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Tingalls Blog - Marketing Tips & Tricks

Marketing Your Message Through Social Media

A “GOLD NUGGET“ from the WWE Panel Discussion on “Marketing Your Message Through Social Media“.  Thank you to the Panelists: Cathy Yerges, PEAK PROFITS, LLC; Rena Ripp, Hummingbird Social Media LLC, & Barbara Samuel, ALL WRITE, LLC 1)  If you are going to be on social networks, be consistent on them at least once a week with a message. 2)  Have a goal in mind before you start your social media presence. Identify your target audience and what you want to share with them. It will help you choose the best social media platform to use and allow you to strategically craft your message. 3)  Be a giver. Be present and […]

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Posted in Social Media Marketing, Tips

How to Search on Google

While most people feel that they can confidently find the information they’re looking for on Google, they’re often doing it in a haphazard way that can waste valuable time. This is why we’ve come up with five tips on how to more efficiently search on Google. Exact phrase. Let’s say you are looking for a hair product you got at your salon. You can type hair salon into Google, but your results include hair care, hair products and nail salons along with your hair salon results. By putting the exact phrase you want, “hair products”, in quotes you insure that you get results for that exact phrase. Minus that. Let’s […]

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Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Tips

Create an Effective Social Media Plan

It seems we’re constantly barraged with social media today, from friends to corporate marketing strategies and everything in between. Because of the wide use and acceptance of social media it has become a very valuable marketing tool; so how do you take advantage of it to help your business? To create, develop and carry out an effective social media marketing plan there are three steps that you need to follow. The first step is to listen to what people are saying. Follow your company news, customers, clients etc on social media outlets to see what people are saying about you. Listen to both the positive and negative comments and try […]

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Posted in Marketing, Networking, Social Media Marketing, Tips

How Not to Use Social Media

Social media is becoming a huge part of company strategy and marketing, but it’s still a fairly novel invention, which means there are social media mistakes abound. So, just for fun, let’s take a look at some of the biggest social media mistakes companies have made. Kenneth Cole Using current events in your social media posts can be a great and clever way to promote your business or get people talking. But, as Kenneth Cole learned last year, good taste and common sense must come into play as well. During great unrest (and much violence) in Egypt, Cole decided to promote his clothing line with the following tweet. “Millions are […]

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Posted in Social Media Marketing, Tips

Tips on Planning for a Tradeshow

Too many companies sign up for a tradeshow and then forget about it until a month before the show when they realize they’re going to need some material. Some companies don’t even put that much planning into it. To get the most out of a tradeshow and have the best attendee response you need to plan for the event. The first thing to remember is that a tradeshow is a marketing event and this means it needs to be treated like every other marketing event. You need to define your goals and then identify the metrics you will use to see if you’re meeting them. Then, it’s time to create […]

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Posted in Advertising, Tips, Tradeshow Marketing

Social Media and Your Tradeshow

Remember the good old days of tradeshows; people approached your booth, you shook hands and met and exchanged business cards. Maybe you gave them a pen as a parting gift. Now, with social media  you can virtually meet the person months before the tradeshow, become Facebook friends, create a business circle on Google+, share business contacts and tips on LinkedIn, give them a virtual video tour of your company, and tweet them your every move; all before  you meet in person. By the time the tradeshow rolls around you can have a customized business plan and contract waiting for them at the tradeshow. So how do you go from one […]

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

How Pinterest Can Help your Business

Pinterest is quite possibly the hottest thing to come along in social networking since Twitter, or perhaps even Facebook. As with any new social media venture, marketers are looking at it to see if it can help their company gain new customers. Think of Pinterest as an old-fashioned bulletin board where you pin your ideas, recipes, notes and other information. Pinterest is a very visual medium, which makes it particularly useful to companies that are selling products that are visually appealing and even some services like landscaping or hair styling. But the visual element doesn’t mean that content driven “pins” aren’t successful, quite the contrary. Currently, Pinterest is an invitation […]

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Posted in Social Media Marketing, Tips

5 Ways for Businesses to Get More Fans on Facebook

Social media is changing the way people communicate, there is no question about it and it’s not going away. A decade ago we heard of people not having land line phones and only using cellular phones and many of us couldn’t imagine living like that. Now, we hear that teens no longer have email accounts and that they’re using social media instead. This means that Facebook, Twitter, and whatever comes along next, are some of the most important forms of communication. If you’re already ahead of the curve and have a company Facebook page, then it’s time to turn your attention to acquiring more fans so you can reach more […]

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Posted in Networking, Social Media Marketing

3 Key Components to a Good Website Design

Having a website is almost a professional prerequisite in today’s computer driven world, but there’s a big difference between having a good website and just having a website. While some companies need a huge web presence, other companies don’t need a lot of bells and whistles; for them simple is better. No matter what category you fall into, or if you’re somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, there are three key components to every good website design. Eye-Catching Design Everyone has heard the clichés about first impressions, but let’s be honest, they’re very important and oftentimes your website is your first impression on a potential customer. You want that […]

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Posted in About Tingalls, Copywriting & Blogging, Search Engine Optimization, Website Design

3 Ways LinkedIn Can Help Your Business

LinkedIn is a social media website that helps professionals connect with each other and it provides a forum for people to find answers from experts in the field. It does seem a bit overwhelming and daunting at first, but people are using this site to find employees, new companies to work with, information and to network. If you want to take advantage of every opportunity available to your business then LinkedIn is a must. Join Groups If you join groups that are interested in the same areas you are or are based in the same field as your company, you’ve instantly got a professional base from which to find out […]

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Posted in Networking, Social Media Marketing, Website Design

3 Reasons to Repeat Your Contact Information

Having contact information on every page of your website might seem redundant, especially when you’ve got an entire contact page, but you want it to be as easy as possible for customers to reach you. But beyond this reason, there are some search engine specific reasons why you should include your contact information on every page of your website. Location Searches Local searches have become very important to search engines lately as they’re trying to tailor the user experience. You can contribute to the latest trend by including your address, making it easier for users to instantly know where you are located, no matter what page they land on. *Boost […]

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Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Website Design

3 Key Components to a Good Logo Design

If you’re considering replacing your company’s logo or you’re trying to come up with your first logo design, there are three key components to a good logo design that will help you find a logo that best suits your company image. Simple Logos In a very practical sense, a complicated logo isn’t easy to reproduce. What may look great on a sheet of paper becomes a bit more blurry when printed on a small business card and suddenly resembles a smudge when printed on a pen. A complicated logo is also more difficult for your customers, current and potential, to remember. Think of the most famous logos that instantly pop […]

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Posted in Advertising, Logo Design, Print & Package Design

Outsourcing Can Increase Your Bottom Line

Have you ever considered outsourcing your marketing or design projects to a freelancer? Did you know it can actually increase your bottom line? By outsourcing, your business can continue marketing in tough economic times and avoid the expense and commitment of hiring additional staff. Remember, the best outsourcing arrangements are partnerships. Ideally at Tingalls Graphic Design, we work with you, not for you. It’s a win-win relationship for both of us. As a business owner and/or decision-maker, consider the following benefits of outsourcing: Controlled Costs Cutting costs may not be the only reason to outsource, but it’s definitely a big one. By outsourcing, money is more readily available for use in […]

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Posted in About Tingalls, Advertising, Copywriting & Blogging, Logo Design, Marketing, Tradeshow Marketing

Link Architecture and Your Website

Link architecture is the way you link internally within your website.  If your goal is to create a website that is search engine friendly and easily found by people doing a search on Google, Yahoo, or Bing then your link architecture is important. You may think the humans that visit your site would prefer a search box to navigate around your site, but the search spiders that crawl around your site do not stop to type in a search query. And ultimately you want those spiders to find your pages and rank them or you’ll never get human eyes at all. This means that your most important pages are either […]

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Posted in Search Engine Optimization, Website Design

SEO Kernels of Wisdom from Tingalls Graphic Design

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a dynamic field designed to make your website more appealing to both human searchers and search engines. By following the guidelines listed below you’re website will establish a firm SEO foundation and help you tap into the power of the internet. Link building boosts your authority with the search engines. Base keywords/keyphrases on viewer search terms, not technical jargon. Don’t overlook your title tags – make every character count! Do you have a flash website? Recode to be found by search engines Images are invisible by search engines unless they are tagged. Ask clients to review you on Google Places. Add a blog to your […]

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Posted in Google, Search Engine Optimization

The Importance of Font

You put a lot of thought into your company colors, the images or icons you’ll use to represent your company, the placement of elements on your website and print materials, but did you stop to consider the font style you’d use to convey your message? Font selection is just as important, if not more important, than all of the other elements combined. The wrong font and your company message (or even the name) could be confusing, even downright unreadable. Sometimes the font choice is pretty obvious, a construction firm won’t be represented well by a font that looks like a calligraphy master created it. Likewise, a wedding planner probably won’t […]

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Posted in Advertising, Branding, Logo Design, Print & Package Design, Website Design