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7 Tips for Combining Graphic Design Trends With Expert Photography

Author: Mario Diaz

7 Tips for Combining Graphic Design Trends With Expert Photography

Posted on by Mario Diaz

They say an image is worth one thousand words. But a really well-made image might be worth even more.

This helps businesses become more recognizable and successful. Over 250,000 people work as graphic designers in the US. As more businesses learn to use visuals in their marketing strategies, it only makes sense to learn to implement these techniques.

Integrating expert photography can really make a graphic design pop. Keep reading for seven tips and ideas for combining graphic design trends with photography.

1. Surreal Visions

Generally, graphic designs and images captured on film are viewed separately. There are cartoons and then there are live-action movies, right?

Likewise, graphic design and photography seem to be on opposite ends of the spectrum of visual arts. However, digital graphic designers can now seamlessly combine the two types of images.

This can result in a creative design with a dream-like or fantasy effect. 

2. Implement Text

Typography refers to the art of creating stylized, yet effect messages through text. It is is one of the cornerstones of graphic design.

When combined with photography, you can create an eye-catching message that also informs the viewer.

The text could be as simple as the name of the subject of the image. One idea is to creatively place quotes in a photo of the person who said them.

3. Larger Than Life Characters

Oftentimes, a graphic designer will create an image of a person for publicity. This can pose a unique challenge. 

A simple picture of a person might look mundane. It doesn’t always do justice to their artistic genius. There are so many ways to get the message across.

Add the angel’s wings to their back. Place them inside of a fantasy world. There are endless things you could do.

4. Rescue a Poorly Taken Shot

Generally, out of hundreds of images, photographers might only be satisfied with a handful. Some pictures are so close to being just right but have one fatal error.

A graphic designer can turn that miss into a big hit.

5. Less is More

When creating an image, it can be tempting to cram as much as possible. This is doubly true in this case. 

Some white space or blue sky can really make your image stand out. Don’t be afraid to go with a minimalist approach.

6. Find Inspiration

It doesn’t matter when you take things from but where you take them to. We’re not condoning plagiarism of course but there is nothing wrong with getting inspired by other artists.

If you look, there are plenty of examples that can give you ideas.

7. Get the Right Photography

Editing might be able to salvage a bad photo. However, editing a good photo is what truly creates a memorable image.

A Google Trusted Photographer has to earn their certification. Hiring one is a good place to start creating graphic design styles.

Staying Up to Date With Graphic Design Trends

The concept of combing graphics with photographs has been around for some time. However, we’re continuously discovering new ways to create magical images. 

Whether you are an artist, consultant, or a business owner, you need to evolve with the times. A visually appealing website, for example, stands out in the memory of your potential clients.

Wanna learn more? Check out the blog for more articles about the latest in graphic design trends before searching for ‘graphic designers near me’.

Modern Web Design Tactics Proven to Incite Digital Engagement

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Have you scrolled down an impressively branded website recently and thought, “Wow, that’s impressive?”

Do you have your own business or looking to start one and don’t know where to begin with modern web design?

You’re in luck because we will tell you why you should implement modern web design and the top tactics you can’t forget! 

Why You Need A Modern Web Design

A well-designed and creative website helps you secure more customers and strengthen your brand. 

There are several benefits to changing your web design, including:

  • Brand awareness and association
  • Optimizing customer experience
  • Improving engagement

DIY can be great, but investing in quality design professionally done right is the way to go. Check out these three tactics we think are essential for your modern web design:

Mobile-Friendly Experience

How many times have you gone to someone’s site and instantly get frustrated with how poorly it loads or how tough it is to navigate from your phone?

Exactly, we all have. The number one tactic to implement when discussing a modern web design is ensuring it’s mobile-friendly. 

People want to access anytime and anywhere. If your site doesn’t work for their smartphone, they may count you out going forward. 

One way to improve the mobile experience is through white space since it allows for text shifts from screen to screen. Another great way to increase mobile usage is by adding social sharing icons. Make sure your user can share or save in whatever means they desire. 

Content to Engage With

When a user scans your website, you want to have something that will catch them.

You know when you’re shopping, and it says, “virtually try these glasses on before you buy!” Or, “take this quiz, and we’ll tell you how we can help you!” 

These are perfect examples of engaging content on sites that users will remember.

The Content Marketing Institute noted that 75% of users agreed that non-gated interactive content provided a taste of the brand, which resulted in a higher degree of lead nurturing.

Interactive content can be intimidating, but when you work with the professionals, they’ve got you covered. 

Effective Graphic Design Choices

Have you ever heard of white space? White space, as defined by Enfuse, “is the area between design elements, or within individual design elements such as letters.”

This can include any section of blank space, not strictly when it’s the color white. White space provides the following benefits to your graphic design strategy:

  • Declutters page
  • Helps direct the reader’s focus
  • Makes your text easier to read
  • Improves mobile experience
  • Creates sophisticated tone

Make sure your navigation is clear and concise, so they know what is clickable and what is a hover-able menu. You don’t want your users to get confused. 

So What Do You Think?

Have you kept track of the boxes your website already checks off, or do you need some help?

Is your site mobile friendly? How about engaging and designed well? Oh well, don’t worry because the best part is you have modern web design resources at your fingertips. 

When you’re ready to take your website up a notch, contact us today!

5 Tips for Creating an SEO Strategy for Small Businesses

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Did you know that Google accounts for 75% of all global search traffic? As a small business owner, you might be wondering what you need to do for your website to show up at the top of Google’s results.For starters, you need to figure out how to improve your SEO strategy.

Read on to get started with only a few simple tips.

1. Create Quality Content

One of the sure ways to get Google and other search engines to notice you is by creating quality content. When search engines look at the type of content on your site, they want to see relevant and quality content.

You need to ensure no matter what the content is, it adds value and relevancy to your site. For a small business, publishing content at least once a week can make a big difference.

To get started, perform an audit on your website and remove and outdated or irrelevant content.

For example, if you decide to blog posts on your website, it’s essential for you to measure which posts attract more viewers. Once you measure the trends, you will be able to learn which posts attract more visitors.

2. Local Citations

If you want your website to appear on top of the rankings, you should work on your local exposure.

You want to ensure your business information is ready and available whenever people perform a local search. Start by claiming your business on Google My Business, and ensure all of the information listed is as accurate as possible.

Start by making sure Google My Business has listed the correct URL, phone number, address, ratings, and more.

People trust more websites listed on Yelp or Google.

3. Long-Tail Queries

Although short keywords used to work in the past to help drive organic traffic. Nowadays, if you want to drive more traffic to your site, it’s time to create long-tail keywords.

These keywords are more than two words long and aim to create phrases. Long-tail keywords are less competitive and are more conversational than short keywords.

As a small business, you need to find keywords that are less competitive and will bring the most traffic.

4. Metadata Actionable Keywords

Think of metadata as the text behind the scenes, but it offers valuable information about your website.

By adding the keywords to the metadata, you will help Google notice your website from the technical side. Make sure you make the metadata actionable and to the point.

5. Make Your Website Mobile-Friendly

Because many people rely on their smartphone to perform searches, you need to work on making your website mobile-friendly.

You want users who view your website on their smartphone to have the same experience of those viewing on their desktop or laptop.

It’s Time to Step up Your SEO Strategy

Now that you know how to take your SEO strategy to the next level, it’s time you get to work. Remember to make your website mobile-friendly, create quality content, improve metadata, and create long-tail keywords.

Are you ready to take your SEO to the next level? Contact us today for a consultation.

Posted in SEO

4 Common Mobile Marketing Mistakes to Avoid for Small Businesses

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Mobile marketing is a crucial type of marketing for many businesses. It makes your website more accessible from the cell phones of customers all over the world. Although you may be using mobile marketing techniques to reach more people, you may be making mistakes. In this article, we’re going to detail some of the most common mobile marketing mistakes that have been made.

Continue reading below to find out everything that you need to know.

1. No Strategy

Before you begin a mobile marketing campaign, you must have got a plan before launching your campaign. Without having set goals in place, you may be doing more harm to your business than good.

Before launching your campaign, you need to ensure that your strategy aligns with your business mission and goals.

2. Not Choosing Customer-Centered Plans

When you begin your mobile-friendly website, one of the biggest mistakes that you can make is not taking into account who your audience is. The content that you post to your site should always be done with the customer in mind.

When you take your time to create content for your customers, it’ll increase customer engagement and traffic to your site. You and your team should review every piece of content and ask yourselves whether your target audience will receive it well.

Another way to post content targeting your audience is to review the data analytics that you receive after posting content. You’ll know what kinds of posts do well and which ones don’t.

3. Not Interacting With Customers

Communicating with customers can mean increased success for your business, and when your customers feel that they aren’t being heard, it can cause issues. Part of communicating with customers means responding to customer complaints promptly and addressing issues that they may have.

It also means customizing your mobile website to ensure it shows the personality of the company.

4. Not Using SEO Techniques

Search engine optimization will make sure that your company site pops up whenever customers search the internet. When you don’t use SEO correctly, it could mean that your company doesn’t appear in searches as many times as you’d like it too.

If you aren’t sure how to optimize SEO, there are tons of resources available to your company to ensure that you’re making the most of each search that customers make. If you don’t have the time to learn about SEO optimization, you can always outsource and find outside people to increase your optimization.

Mobile Marketing Mistakes Avoided

Now that you’ve read the mobile marketing mistakes that we’ve listed above, it will be easier for you to avoid them. Avoiding these marketing mistakes will ensure that your campaign continues to be a success.

If you need help with search engine optimization or web design, you should contact us immediately. Let us put our experience to work for you and increase customer engagement and traffic to your site.

5 Mobile App Success Tips to Beat the Odds

Posted on by Mario Diaz

You can see it now. Your app is on the top of the “trending apps” page and is trending all over social media. You finally did it, congratulations. It’s a challenging task given that research from Gartner suggests that less than .01% of mobile apps are viewed as a success. So, how are you going to accomplish this great feat? You’re going to need to make sure you take every precaution necessary. Keep reading to discover five critical tips to ensure your mobile app success.

1. Know Your Target Market

When developing an app, it is crucial to know who will be using it. Knowing who will be using your app will give you insights into things like design, accessibility, features, and how to promote it.

Once you determine who your target market is, its time to reach out to determine what they want out of the app. This can be done through social media surveys, focus groups, and looking at existing data on the market.

You will want to consider certain things, including the consumers:

  • Age
  • Location
  • Gender
  • Income
  • Education
  • And occupation

And then dig even deeper to find insights by finding your consumers:

  • Values
  • Personality
  • Interests
  • And behaviors

Through finding this information, you will get a complete understanding of your target consumer.

2. Focus on User Experience

The user experience goes far beyond just design. User Experience (UX) incorporates how the user feels and reacts when using your application.

The user experience considers numerous things, including:

  • Interface
  • Accessibility
  • Design
  • Structure
  • Layout
  • Usability
  • Navigation
  • Content
  • And more

With a positive user experience, you are significantly more likely to be successful. According to insights from Forrester Research, a better user experience design can lead to an increase in conversions by 400 percent. A poor UX can be a significant factor in why your mobile app is failing.

3. Make Sure Your Team Shares the Vision

When everyone is on the same page, it makes everything run more efficiently. If everyone on your team is on the same page, everything from design to functionality will be more consistent with your vision.

Through collaboration, you will develop an application that is in line with your target market. Making it more marketable to your target market will only increase the value of your app.

4. No Bugs or Glitches

There is nothing worse than using an app and having it crash. Bugs and glitches will deter people from using it and will result in failure.

This is one of the biggest mobile app challenges developers run into. Hiring a professional app developer can help mitigate these problems.

5. “Be First, or Be Better”

A common phrase in business is “be first, or be better.” This is especially true when it comes to developing an app.

This is one of the most important mobile app success tips – make sure your app is a first or make sure it is better than the competition.

Ensuring that you are either A) first or B) better will give you a better chance at success.

Additional Tips for Mobile App Success

Developing an application is no easy task. It takes time and resources to create, and when it’s all said and done, most apps still fail. Following these five tips will give you the best chance at mobile app success.

For more information and tips for app development, check out our blog!

Brand Building Through SEO: 5 Ways to Do It Right

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Studies show that 75% of users online never click past the first page of search engine results. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is what allows you to build a brand worthy of the first page of Google. Brand building through SEO means increasing your visibility online and positioning your business as an authority in your industry.

Find out how the top 5 ways to start using SEO to build your brand.

1. Create Engaging Content

Content is one of the main pillars of SEO. Through engaging content, customers will spend more time on your site and understand that you offer credible products and services.

Google will also take your content into account when it comes to ranking. Pages with thorough, well-researched content are more likely to reach the first page of search results. The average word count for page-one content is about 1,900 words.

Engaging content can mean blogs, videos, infographics, podcasts and more. No matter what content you produce, make sure it aligns with your businesses and your customers’ pain points.

2. Improve Your User Experience

Web users have short attention spans, and there’s little tolerance for under-performing websites. Focusing on user experience and web design helps solidify your brand while improving your search engine rankings.

Google will take into account user experience by looking at your bounce rate and time on page. If users are hitting your page and immediately leaving, Google will penalize you.

Great SEO includes offering a user experience that’s educational, helpful and simple.

3. Build Your Backlinks

To use SEO to build your brand, you’ll also need to focus on backlinks. Backlinks are any link to your site from an external site. Backlinks signal to Google and users that your website is credible among other organizations or businesses.

Your backlink strategy might include guest posting. Guest posting means offering to write a blog for a website that links back to your site. Creating high-authority content for other sites means you’re getting in front of new audiences.

Backlinks also show search engines that you’re credible and worthy of ranking on the first few search result pages.

4. Build Your Positive Reviews

SEO brand building requires some effort from your customers as well. Building your positive reviews positions you as a credible brand for both future customers and Google.

These days, it’s hard for customers to decide what to buy without reading through reviews. They’re available everywhere from Google, Yelp, Facebook, Trustpilot and more. When you have excellent reviews, it shows that your customers trust you and enjoy your products or services.

As part of building your brand through SEO, ask each customer to leave a review. Not everyone will do it, but the more you get the more you can position yourself as an industry leader.

5. Speak to Specific Audiences

SEO should be a highly targeted strategy if you want to reap its full benefits. Focus on niche audiences through keywords, backlinking and more.

More specific longtail keywords might have smaller search volumes, but they’re easier to rank on. By ranking on more niche keywords first, you’ll be better positioned to rank on small keywords with bigger search volumes.

Get Started Using SEO for Brand Building

At Enfuse, we offer comprehensive SEO services to reach customers where they’re active online. By using SEO for brand building, you can develop a highly visible and successful business. Contact us today to learn more.

The Top 5 Best Mobile App Ideas for 2020

Posted on by Mario Diaz

The question continues to this day, “is there an app for that?”

App ideas continue to rise to meet the needs of smartphone users around the world. In the United States alone, 81% of adults now own smartphones. That’s a pretty big market that you could be tapping into if you had creative app ideas.

An app can mean putting your business’s logo in front of the user every day. It can be used to track certain behavior. It can even be set to give the user alerts throughout the day for whatever the app is centered around.

It all begins with a great idea.

We’ll explore five of the top mobile app ideas for 2020 below.

1. Dating or Social Meet Up App

One of the most influential app ideas out there is a dating app.

With the likes of Tinder, Grindr, Bumble, and Hinge sitting as the current ruling class of dating apps, there is likely to be a different angle to dating out there. People can use apps to find people to talk with and set up dates with filtered by location, profession, political party, and more.

Creating a dating app with a unique angle can be a great way to draw users in. It can also be a great way to sell advertising on the platform, allowing you to monetize and scale the platform.

2. A Wedding Planning App

With current events potentially changing the landscape of weddings in the future, offering different ways to plan and hold a wedding are a hot topic for 2020.

For example, a wedding planning service paired up with Zoom to host weddings virtually in Denver.

The wedding industry moves quickly, changing trends from one year to the next, so paying attention to the needs is critical as you develop your app ideas. Speak with those currently planning their weddings for the next year and find what they wish existed to make the process easier for them.

3. Driver Tracking App

Whether parents of new drivers would like to track their teenagers in their cars, or someone just wants to track the progress of their pizza delivery, a drive tracking app could be a creative app idea.

Creating a platform that other companies can use within their work might be a way to make the product more marketable. Insurance companies, in particular, may be interested if you have a unique take on the app.

4. Sports Score App

Sometimes you just can’t watch the game when it’s on, but checking Twitter feeds for score updates keeps you up to date on how the team is doing.

Hitting refresh on a webpage or a feed over and over can be frustrating for super fans who can’t actively watch or listen to the game. Maybe multiple games are going on at once that they’d like to keep track of.

Having an app that consolidates a team or a sport’s stats in one space, with live updates, could be a home run with sports fans. Pitching this app idea to teams or team owners could be a great way to grow it with a business.

5. Social Media App

Everybody is looking for the next social media platform to engage with. Having a unique idea can lead to an app that catches on.

App ideas like TikTok and Snapchat might have sounded wild to someone before. Finding the next way for users to engage, and to sell marketing space to companies who want access to those users, can be an app idea that changes how people interact.

What App Ideas Do You Have?

Have any of the ideas on the list inspired you to start creating an app?

Great app ideas can come to you as you hear yourself utter “I wish there was some way to do this.” If you’ve had that moment, contact us. We are ready to work with you on your next project.

Mobile App Promotion: 6 Ways to Promote Your App

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Just like in any other line of sales, the hardest part of the mobile app business is the conversion process. Just because you have a great app, it doesn’t mean you’ll be successful. How can you get the word out and get people to invest in your product?

If you’re struggling here, don’t feel bad. Learning how to market effectively takes time, practice, and a lot of trial and error. More than anything, it’s about taking the time to understand your target audience.

We can help, keep reading for our top suggestions on mobile app promotion.

1. Create a Website for the App

Before you start looking at paid ads or using other mobile app advertisements, you need to think about user experience and customer service. The app needs to be attached to a website, whether it’s one specifically created for the app or a previously existing site. Here, potential customers can learn more about the app and ask questions if necessary.

You can also use your website for additional content marketing strategies to help encourage users to download your app.

2. Use Search Ads

Are you wondering “Where can app ads run?”

Why not in the same place where you go to download them? Mobile app promotion can take place in mobile app stores where you can bid for relevant keywords users might search for to find apps like yours. This will make your app come up first (or very near the top) to increase user downloads.

3. Use Landing Page Ads

Next, consider using landing page ads on your website and affiliate websites. Landing page ads are pop-up windows that can come up automatically or after a user clicks on a certain link. They’re used to offer exclusive discounts, encourage email subscribers, and in your case, mobile app promotion.

4. Market Through Social Media

You can also learn how to promote your apps through social media via paid and organic advertising. Organic app promotion can be achieved by posting engaging and relevant content on your social media profile. You can encourage higher levels of engagement by running a raffle or competition wherein the winner/s get a free app download.

You can also run paid social media advertisements where you can choose specific demographics of users who can see the ads.

5. Find Affiliate Marketers

Effective app promotion can be accomplished by creating affiliate relationships with other businesses and blogs. Reach out to relevant (but not competing) businesses to establish a mutually beneficial relationship where both entities can prosper. They can help promote your app and you can refer your customers to their services through ads in your app, on your site, etc.

6. Get Social Media Influencers to Endorse Your App

If you like the idea of social media but don’t have a large following, you can reach out to social media influencers to work with you to promote your new app. The goal is to get your product in front of their audience. You can offer them a percentage of the sales they refer to you, free apps, and more.

Looking for More Information About Mobile App Promotion and Creation?

The digital marketing curve is steep and can be difficult to follow. That’s why we’re here, we can help you get the word about your products to improve your mobile app promotion efforts. Check out some of our marketing services or contact us today for more information.

Amazing Advice And SEO Marketing Strategies To Expand Your Reach

Posted on by Mario Diaz

Thriving in today’s business world means knowing your way around Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This is what search engine sites like Google use to find relevant websites based on keyword searches. SEO is absolutely vital to driving organic and paid traffic to your website.

If you’re looking to build your customer base and create a dominating online presence, the importance of SEO marketing strategies cannot be overstated. But how can you use boost your website’s SEO to increase your reach? What marketing strategies are SEO- based?

Keep reading for some of our best advice on using SEO for expanding your company’s brand awareness, improving sales, and building customer relations.

1. Incorporate a Blog Full of Keywords

One of the best SEO marketing strategies is called content marketing. This uses content such as articles, videos, and other published content to sway users in the right direction. However, a blog full of articles is also a great way to significantly improve your SEO ranking.

Each article needs to have a primary keyword and several secondary keywords based on the topic of the article. When customers search for information, products, or services related to that topic, your site will be more likely to come up in the top search results.

2. Anticipate Voice-Activated AI Searches

However, when it comes to designing specific keywords for on-page SEO coding, you need to put yourself in the mindset of the average consumer. Did you know 81 percent of Americans own a smartphone?

Smartphones and other devices with built-in AI (Siri, Alexa) respond to voice-activated commands. These voice-activated commands typically require the AI software to scour the internet (using a search engine) to find whatever information people are looking for.

Therefore, the keywords you use on your website need to resemble the way people ask questions to smart devices. For example, “Where can I find ‘x’ services near me?” versus “the best ‘x’ services in ‘x’ location.”

3. Use Multiple Forms of Media

Next, SEO ratings increase with a number of things, such as consistent updates to your website, internal and external links, and multiple forms of media. The best SEO marketing strategies put an emphasis on using images, photos, GIFs, videos, and text.

Moreover, these non-text forms of media can be embedded with metadata that strengthens your SEO.

4. Increase SEO Credibility by Getting Backlinks to Your Site

Earning backlinks from other websites is one of the most important things you can do to appear as an authority in the eyes of search engines. This means affiliating with other websites so they will publish links on their pages back to your website.

This boosts your credibility with search engines, which makes your website a priority on search results pages.

5. Integrate Your Website With Your Social Media Profiles

Finally, the integration of social media and your website is invaluable in terms of SEO marketing strategies. With nearly 80 percent of Americans owning at least one social media profile, it continues to be one of the leading platforms for improving brand recognition and signing new customers.

Make sure every post you publish on your website is being reflected on your social media profiles. This will help continuously revert traffic from social media to your website.

Looking for More SEO Marketing Strategies and Advice?

SEO is a complicated system that takes time, dedication, and consistency to master. As a business owner, you may not be able to devote enough energy to SEO marketing strategies and website management. But don’t worry, that’s exactly why people like us exist.

Contact us today to see what we can do for you. We offer everything from SEO marketing to website development.  We look forward to working with you!

Posted in SEO

How to Best Utilize Quarantine Downtime to Perfect Your Brand

Posted on by Mario Diaz

During quarantine, you may be tempted to catch up on all the binge-watching that you’ve seemed to miss while working. There is something else, however, that you can do to make the most of your quarantine downtime and this is focusing on perfecting your companies brand.

There are many ways that downtime can be used for perfecting your brand.

Continue reading to find out the ways that you and your company can make the most of the time you’ll spend inside to positively affect your business.

Quarantine Downtime: How to Make the Most of It

Whereas you’re used to working in an office setting now, your home has become the backdrop for all of your companies daily operations. It can be challenging to force yourself to do work when you’re in the comfort of your own home.

But, utilizing downtime efficiently can pay off in the long run for yourself and your business. Here are some useful tips to maximize your downtime.

Communicate With Clients

Just because your stuck inside doesn’t mean that you can’t reach out to your client base. Keeping an open line of communication with your clients lets them know that during this time of chaos and uncertainty, you’re still thinking of ways to check on them.

This may include giving them perspective dates to reschedule meetings or scheduling video meetings. Your business relationships with clients shouldn’t suffer just because you’ve had to move from the office to your home.

Use Social Media

Now is the time to increase your social media activity. With everyone being stuck at home, that means more people are going to see the things that you post to your companies social media pages.

You could find creative ways to interact with your followers. Methods such as hosting a live Q & A session so that they can ask you some of their burning questions. Or you could send a survey for them to take asking them what products they want most during the quarantine.

People want to forget for a little while that they are in quarantine, and interacting with them on social media will do just that. And using social media is a key part of marketing your company.

Revise Contracts

Since everything in the business world has been altered, for the time being, you must take this time to rewrite contracts and revise your rescheduling and cancellation policies.

This will protect your company from the legal side of things. You should also have a written clause for Force Majeure and one about the Safe Environment for Working. These clauses will keep you from perspective issues in the future.

The Resolution for Success

Following the tips given above will help you make the most of your quarantine downtime and get some essential things done to help your business continue to be successful.

If you’d like to find a company that can provide creative services that are beneficial to your company, we recommend that you check out our website today.