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Category: Graphic Design

How to Use Infographics for Marketing Your Painting Business

If you’re looking for ways to stand out online and build your painting company’s brand, infographics are a great way to do it. 

A powerful tool for communicating, Infographics provide complex information in a visually pleasing way that’s also easy to understand. When used the right way, they can be very effective at bringing people to your website and getting them to interact with you on social media, and they don’t have to be expensive or take a lot of time. And because they are so easily shared on social media, they’re a great way to boost your SEO.

So, what is an infographic anyway?

As a small business owner, you wear a lot of hats. You’re the CEO, the estimator, the team lead, and the marketing team all rolled into one. And while you might be good at a lot of things, there’s only so much time in the day to get your message out. 

Enter – infographics!

An infographic is a picture that shows information or data. They usually have both images and words and are used to show complicated facts in a short, easy-to-understand way. 

Plan to use infographics instead of spending hours poring over spreadsheets, making newsletters, or writing long blog posts. And the best part is, they’re fun to make! 

In this post, we’ll show you the best ways to use and make infographics for your painting business, but feel free to apply these tips to other markets, as well!

Make infographics about your painting services or products.

When creating an infographic about your product or service, be sure to focus on one key point that you want to communicate. 

This should be something that will interest your customers and help them understand what you do. Most of the time, less is more because too much information can turn people off.

Explain how your product or service helps solve a specific problem or shows off an interesting process you use at work. Use clear, concise language and make sure the visuals support the text.

For example, an infographic that points out the areas of a house that should be painted for the best return on investment is a great way to help potential clients decide which walls to paint when they are getting ready to sell their home. 

Or, do you have a favorite way to prepare a surface or a favorite type of paint that you use for different projects? Creating an infographic to share your tips and tricks about this topic, provides a new way for your audience to rely on your years of experience for their painting needs.

Create infographics about your company's history and personality.

An infographic is a great way to share the history of your business. 

Use it to talk about important people, important events, and even interesting facts about how your business got started. This is a great way to get potential customers interested in your business and show them what it’s all about. 

People LOVE stories! If people know and like your story, it builds trust, making them more likely to want to work with you in the future. 

Another example is an infographic timeline that shows the different kinds of work your business has done over the years. Again, this shows that you have experience and makes your business stand out as unique and likable to potential customers and employees. 

How to make an infographic.

Now you can start making your infographics! 

First, think about your values and your brand’s style. 

What is your mission statement? 

Check out this article on creating a brand style guide for more ideas, and take some time to brainstorm and write down everything that you can think of.

When you really understand your company’s values and style, you’ll be able to communicate with your audience consistently. Which makes sense and builds that trust again!

Also, be sure to think about your customers’ age, gender, location, and income level. 

What are they passionate about? 

What do they like to do in their free time? 

What are their buying habits? 

Answering these questions will help you create content that really speaks to your target market.

Once you have all of this information, you can start designing your infographics. Be sure to use visuals, such as charts and graphs, to make your infographic more engaging and fun to look at. 

Canva is a great, easy-to-use app that you can always turn to. It has infographic templates that you can use to get started quickly, and you can format them for many different social media sites.

Share your infographics.

Now, if you’re happy with your infographic, it’s time to share it with the world! Post it on your website, social media, and anywhere else your target audience is likely to see it.

If you need more ideas on where you should be posting your infographic, learn more about the social media platforms we recommend for your painting business here. 

By using these tips, you can create informative and visually appealing infographics about your company. This will help you attract new customers and employees and build a strong online presence for your business—and there’s no need to hire a professional designer to create them (although you certainly can if you want to)!

So what are you waiting for? 

Get started making infographics for your small business today!

If you need more help in this area, give IFTS, Inc. a call at 412.715.6266 for a FREE consultation!

How To Film A Video On Your Smartphone And Turn it Into Two Weeks of Social Media Content

If you’re running a small business, chances are you don’t have a big budget for marketing. 

That’s why it’s important to be creative and get the most out of the resources you do have! If you’ve been following social media and internet trends in recent years, you’ve probably noticed that video is taking over and can be very effective for your small business.

One way to produce some really good content for your social media is by filming informational videos that can be turned into two weeks worth of social media content!

In this article, we are going to help you save time (and money) when it comes to producing social media content for your business. You’ll learn how to film and edit your video, and use it to create two weeks worth of eye-catching social media content!

Filming Your Video

Filming a video for social media sounds like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be! If you have a smartphone, you have everything you need to film a great video. We have a full article that goes into the details on how to create and optimize a video for YouTube.

Here are a few quick tips to help you get started with filming:

  1. Use natural light whenever possible. This will help your video look more professional.  It will also help you look your best!
  2. Invest in a tripod to keep your camera steady. This will also help with the professional look of your video.  Here’s an example of a great starter tripod.
  3. Plan out what you’re going to say before you start filming. This will help you stay on track and avoid rambling.  If you are worried about not sticking to your script, try a teleprompter app.

Editing your video

Editing your video doesn’t take as long as you might think.

Canva is an awesome all-in-one tool that you can use to edit your videos AND create your social posts that we will talk about in the next step. Follow these quick tips when editing your video:

  1. Start by trimming any dead space at the beginning or end of your video.
  2. Then, upload the file to canva and add in any titles or text that you want to include. We recommend adding a title slide and ending slide that includes a call to action.
  3. Finally, add some background music to your video. This will make it more engaging and entertaining to watch.

Envato Elements is a great resource to download background music for your videos.

Posting Your Video

Once you have edited your video, it’s time to post it on social media!

The first place that you should post your video is YouTube. If you don’t have a YouTube channel, follow these 3 easy steps to set up a YouTube channel!

Another great place to post your full video is on your businesses Facebook page. This is a great way to get more views and engagement on your video.  You can check out our Facebook page for inspiration and ideas.

You can also create shorter clips of your video to post on Instagram and Twitter. These social platforms are all about quick, snackable content that is easy to consume. So, make sure that your video clips are short, informative and to the point.

Turning Your Video Into Two Weeks of Content

To get the most out of the video that you created, you’ll want to turn it into multiple pieces of content for social media.

This is where Canva comes in handy again! You can use Canva to easily create images and graphics with information from your video that can be used for social media posts.

We created a list of the Top The Top 18 Social Media Post Ideas to engage your online audience and save you time.

Creating content from your video will help you get more views and engagement on your video, and also help you reach a larger audience across many platforms, while saving you time.

Here are a few ideas on how to turn your one video into two weeks worth of content:

Day 1: Publish the video on YouTube and share it on your social media channels.

Day 2: Create a blog post about the video and promote it on social media. To make things even easier, use Otter.ai to transcribe your video and post the text as a blog.

Day 3: Create an Instagram story about the video and share it on your other social channels.

Day 4: Take a fun fact or quote and turn it into text with a picture that goes with it.

Day 5: Share some behind the scenes photos or videos on Instagram from when you were filming the video.

Day 6: Share a clip from the video on Instagram and link to the full video in your bio.

Day 7: Share a reminder to check out your blog post

Days 8-9: Create a social media challenge related to the video and encourage people to participate.

Day 10: Create a list post or promote free consultations, subscriptions, newsletters, or other lead magnets.

Day 11: Share interesting facts or comparisons as an infographic.

Day 12: Share another clip from your full video.

Day 13: Combine text and a visual image using a useful fact or statistic from your video.

Day 14: Share a reminder to watch your video on YouTube and link to the full video.

Schedule Your Posts Ahead of Time

Put your social media on autopilot by scheduling your content ahead of time! This will save you hours each week and help ensure that your content is getting in front of your audience on a regular basis.

We recommend using a tool like SocialPilot to queue up your content and post it for you automatically.

What Are You Waiting For?

Filming an informational video about your small business is a great way to create content that you can use for social media. Now that you know how to film a video on your smartphone, edit it, and turn it into two weeks of content, it’s time to get started! These tips will help you save time and money while still getting great results.

So, what are you waiting for?

Get filming!

If this process still sounds too time consuming for you, contact the social media experts at IFTS and we will get the job done for you! Call us today at 412-715-6266.

How to Create a Brand Style Guide for Your Business

Are you making a good first impression with your potential customers?

As your business grows, you’ll have more and more opportunities to make a good first impression. People should have the same experience with your business, whether they see your logo on your company vehicle or go to your website to learn more about your services. 

Your brand is more than just a logo and color combination, though. It’s what people expect from your company and how they talk about you when referring others to your business. 

-And making a brand style guide is a great way to help you stay on track!

What a Brand Style Guide is and Why You Need One

A brand style guide is a document that outlines the specific fonts, colors, images, and styles that you want to use for all of your marketing materials. It can help to create a cohesive look across all of your branding, and it will make your company’s overall look more professional. 

Creating a brand style guide can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be!

If your business doesn’t have a mission statement already, you should think about what makes it unique and take the time to put it on paper.

What’s your company’s voice and personality? 

Who is your customer? 

What would they expect when interacting with you?

Answering these questions is a great place to start shaping what the heart and soul of your company looks like visually. Then, choosing the right design elements will help you achieve that goal. 

Remember, the intent is to create a guide that will help you maintain a consistent look and represent your brand’s voice and personality. So, don’t be afraid to get creative and have fun with it!

How to Create a Brand Style Guide

When deciding on the overall tone and voice of your brand, here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Start by creating a mood board. This can be as simple as cutting out images from magazines that reflect the look and feel you want for your brand, or you can create a digital mood board using Pinterest or another online tool. 

It may seem unnecessary, but having this in place first is a helpful way to keep your thoughts and ideas organized.  It also gives you a visual representation that may help you make connections you wouldn’t otherwise have seen.

2. Once you have a good idea of the overall style you’re going for, it’s time to start thinking about specific elements like colors and fonts. Make a list of 3-5 colors and choose 2-3 fonts that you’ll use for all of your marketing materials. Don’t forget to do your research on color and font associations and continue to go back to your mood board for inspiration. 

You’ll want to include things like the color names, CMYK swatches, and hex codes (the HTML version of color names) in your guide. 

Also, be sure to find out if there is a cost associated with the use of the font or images you use in your marketing. Some fonts and images have specific copyright rules, and you will want to make sure that you are following their guidelines.

3. Your logo is one of the main things that people picture when they think of your business, and it should make it easier for them to remember your brand. It’s a good idea to put your logo and a description of what it stands for in your brand style guide. 

You can put as many different versions of your logo as you want in your style guide, but make sure that each one has a purpose. Outline as many parameters as you’d like, including dimensions and color selection that show exactly how your logo can and cannot be used.

If you haven’t put much thought into your logo design, you will want to check out why that’s so important in our previous blog post.

4. Now you are ready to create your brand guide to keep on hand or as a digital file that you can easily share with others. 

Include all of your chosen colors, fonts, and any other elements like photos, images, or wording that you want to use and circumstances or exceptions for any changes and a detailed list of those examples.

5. Finally, make sure to review and update your brand style guide on a regular basis. As your business grows and changes, so too will your branding. 

By keeping your style guide up-to-date, your branding efforts will always reflect your business in the best light.

Examples of Brand Style Guides

This page, taken from Scrimshaw Coffee’s brand guide, is a great example of how to showcase different colors and logos and how they can be used in marketing.

Njord Organic Restaurant shows just how detailed a brand style guide can be.

To see a wide range of the types of brand style guides different companies use, visit issuu.com.  

Saving You Time and Money

Your company’s style guide should be created early on in the branding process and updated as needed. Having this document on hand will make putting together promotional materials much easier.  It should also make it easier to bring in an outside marketing team if you get to that point.

With a list of your preferred fonts, colors, and styles, you’ll be able to save time, energy, and money by ensuring that everyone on your team is on the same page when it comes to your design standards. 

Again, the importance of making your business more memorable to customers, and therefore building more trust and customer loyalty, can’t be stressed enough.

If you’re ready to create a branding style guide for your business, our team at IFTS Inc. can help! Contact us today for a free consultation at 412-715-6266!