Branding

How Effective Web Design Can Tell Your Brand’s Story

February 12, 2021 by K-Kom

Many brands are unaware of the importance web design holds when generating online traffic and telling your story to the world. Web design surely helps tell your brand’s story, but only if you use it the right way. Living in a digital world, it is crucial to use your website’s design to communicate your brand’s story. To help you out, we have mentioned below a few effective ways web design can narrate your brand’s story to everyone.

1. Create a Bold Logo

Your brand’s logo distinguishes you from others and helps people recognize your products or services whenever they see your logo in an ad or on social media. You’ll want to keep your logo as simple and unique as possible (Not easy, we know). Make sure people can easily see and understand what’s written if you’re adding wordings within the logo to help eliminate confusion. A typical website layout dictates that you must place your brand logo on the top left corner of your website as this is the most common area on websites today.

2. Use an Appropriate Color Palette

Depending on the type of business you’re running, you must use an appropriate color scheme that complements the purpose behind your brand. For instance, if you’re a luxury brand, you would want to use bold colors like black, gold, and silver. Keep your audience in mind when selecting a specific color. If you’re advertising your brand worldwide, you must use colors favored universally. Colors help build a specific mood and vibe around your brand; hence, you need to make sure you choose the perfect one.

3. Keep Your Content Structured and Direct

The first thing a visitor wants to see on your website is your brand’s purpose and the services or products you offer. Hire a content creator who can provide you with easy to read and concise information regarding the products and services, its uses, and unique selling proposition.

4. Add Images and Videos

You need to get as creative as possible with your web design so that you can perfectly tell the story of your brand. A good way to keep your visitors engaged when they see your landing page is by adding images and short video clips. Some people find it easier watching short clips than reading through a whole paragraph. You can also make a mascot for your brand and feature it on your website. This mascot can direct your visitors throughout your page and may even talk to them through short video clips.

Final Thoughts

By using these tips mentioned above, you can take your brand to places you never imagined it would reach. Web design may look relatively easy, but it requires a lot of planning and thinking. Make sure to hire an expert to get a visually compelling, easy to navigate web design that tells your brand’s story.

Marketing Ideas for Home Builders

June 14, 2018 by K-Kom

The housing market is at its highest point since the crash, and seems likely to keep rising for the next few years. As of April 2018, the US Census Bureau announced an official number of new residential construction for the year, April 2017 – April 2018:

1.35 million building permits
1.29 million housing starts
1.26 million housing completions

This can be compared to the year 2005 – 2006, which accounted for:

2.07 million permits
1.93 million starts
1.95 million completions

So it appears we have a long way to go. Another bit of good news is that mortgage costs are only 17% of the average income, which is far below the long-term average of 24%, so much opportunity is still left to be had! How can small home builders compete with big national brands that have plenty of marketing budget and a reputation to match?

Many of the following strategies can also be utilized by other small businesses that have a budget to watch.

Search Engine Optimization

SEO encompasses many topics which are all related to how your brand looks to search engines like Google and people searching on the internet. Google has put a lot of rules in place for the purpose of ensuring their users are seeing the best possible search results for whatever they type into Google. So within that tenth of a second when you hit “search” and see the results, thousands of calculations have taken place to bring you, ideally, the answer you’re looking for.

So what determines if your website will be one of those 10 links on the first page of Google? This includes technical elements within your website like title tags, meta descriptions, internal and external linking. The number of reviews out there on Facebook or your Google My Business listing also has a major impact. How active you are on relevant social media channels is also an important aspect that builds trust in your brand.

If you want your website to show up for certain words or phrases such as “custom home builder Wisconsin” (or whatever location is in your service area), it’s your job to make sure that phrase is on your website at least a few times (including the homepage and in titles), plus other words related to that topic, that are related to your business.

Quality Content

This is a major part of SEO. Blogging, article writing, or simply compiling quality content that your website viewers may be interested in, is the best way to get into the good graces of Google and other search engines.

As well, continuously adding to the website and being consistent about it helps with search engine rankings. Compile case studies, company news, and detailed descriptions of your service offerings to start. Copy the reviews people have left for you on other websites to build website visitors’ trust.

Be the Expert

Your website is your showcase, not only for high-quality photos of your best homes but also your expert knowledge. Talk about your previous projects, what went very well, how things could be improved, new and better materials you’d like to try, etc. Remember, potential clients are not the only people who will find your website. Investors, lawyers, consultants, and your competitors will also be stopping by. So, what is your next big project that requires a few investors? Blog about topics that prove to them that you’re worth their investment money, and don’t forget to write speaking to the audience you’re looking to target.

Paid Advertising

After giving yourself a solid foundation including all of the long-term projects listed above, running different kinds of digital ads on social media, Google search and display will give your brand a major exposure jump-start.

No time to do all this extra work?

K-Kom is a full-service marketing agency with an emphasis on your digital success. Let’s grow your home building business, and let your focus on what you do best!

K-Kom Marketing Values & Factors for Success

February 20, 2018 by K-Kom

Every business that wants to thrive for many years to come will do so more successfully if values and goals are clearly written and understood by everyone within the company. If everyone knows the real meaningful reasons behind why the business exists, it will provide added motivation and purpose to the work being done. When the people care, it shows through to customers and the community.

The people of K-Kom Marketing live and work by certain values and we keep a few important success factors in mind while we do what we do.

5 Factors for Success

1. Integrity

Always be honest. Period.

2. Discipline

Utilize and hone self-control.

3. Hard Work

Work, not necessarily harder, but better and more efficiently, and constantly gain new skills and improve existing abilities to be better this year than ever before.

4. Social Skills

Work easily (and pleasantly) with others while also effectively communicating. Take time to learn how to improve communication skills.

5. A Supportive Team

This is important at work, and especially at home. A supportive environment is crucial for anyone to do and be their best everyday.

9 Important Values for Marketing & Branding

Be Unique

Be somehow different from your competitors and make sure it’s in a way that is relevant and important to your clients.

Be Consistent

Do what you do, but be consistent about it. From service or product quality control to posting on social media, to customer service. Be that company that people can rely on in an unreliable world.

Be Focused

Determine the focus of your business, while not boxing yourself into a tiny niche without the ability to logically expand products or services later.

Have a Personality

There’s nothing worse than a business that is just that – a business – untouchable by customers and voiceless. If customers feel you’re above them or unreachable, all personal touch is gone and so is any reason to be loyal to your brand.

Be True to Yourself

Ie. what your company stands for. If you say one thing and do something contradictory to that, people will lose respect for your brand, see you as inconsistent and will more likely move on.

Respect Branding Boundaries

Don’t cross categories. Expand your products or services in a way that makes sense to the categories you’re most skilled in and which are most profitable.

Word of Mouth

No matter how much marketing you do, word of mouth will always bring in the best customers. People trust people more than businesses, especially if they’re people in their inner circle.

Be Committed

This applies to you as a business owner most, but also to your employees. You all need to be committed to the business, motivated, and excited to see your goals come to fruition.

Branding is Discipline Not a Science

Stick to your guns, especially if you know what you’re doing will work in the long run. If you’re tempted to take the business in a completely different direction, step back and think about it. Sometimes pivots are 100% necessary for a business’ survival, but changing an already successful business model can potentially destroy it.

SEO Content Strategy Tips to Massively Increase Website Visits

December 19, 2017 by K-Kom

Content strategy makes up a large portion of your SEO needs. The top three ranking factors as of today are reviews, links, and fresh, quality content. It might be tempting to throw together a few articles and share them on social media, but anyone (including your competitors) can do that just as easily. So planning out a strategic approach is not only important, it will set you apart from the crowd and place you as an expert in your chosen field.

A strategic content plan should start with:

Prioritizing topics and themes that will be easiest to rank for.
How best to link to other pages of your website within each blog article.
Using these topics as an opportunity to link to non-competing but respected individuals or companies and form relationships with these people.
Regular upkeep and maintenance of existing website content so it stays relevant.

Easy Keyword Ranking

First thing’s first – what topics do you want your blog or news section to cover? Write down as many ideas as you can to start. Then we will use some tools to determine where the best place to start is.

Using the Keyword Planner in Google AdWords, you can type in your first topic, and a list of related keywords will be generated. You’re looking for keywords or phrases that have a high search volume, will provide value to your audience, and have a low difficulty or competition rating. There is also a tool on SEMRush called “Keyword Difficulty” that can be used in the same way to find these “sweet spot” keywords.

You can also type them into Google yourself and see what businesses are ranking on page one. If you see nationally known brands, you’re going to have a tougher time than with keywords that have small or lesser-known companies on page one.

Internal Linking

As you write, it’s important to link to relevant pages within your website that talk about your products or services. The point of content is to eventually lead to more sales right? You don’t want to come across as pushy or salesy, but when it’s appropriate and makes sense, linking to those conversion pages is a must.

Content Layering

Another helpful strategy is to mix it up between very specific, niche topics and more broad topics that pertain to a larger audience while still being relevant. Other businesses will be able to link to your articles more easily if they’re not so niche, and this could set you up to expand your services down the road.

Is Your Topic Linkable?

Google sees websites as more trustworthy and as an authority when other websites link to them. So, putting content onto your website that people will like enough to share is something to always keep in mind.

Does your topic receive a good number of searches per month?
Do the top results have a lot of other sites linking to them? (if not, you probably won’t get much action either)
If they do, what kinds of sites are linking to them? Would those link to yours?

Another thing you can do is look at the top ranking articles, find one you know you can improve on with better formatting, photos, or new research, then contact the people who have already linked to similar content and see if they would be willing to link to yours.

Maintenance on Existing Content

Keeping your existing content updated and relevant can add major value to your website. Even going back and creating a video based on the same content can attract more people and links to your business.

To see this strategy in more detail, visit SearchEngineLand.com.

How to Improve SEO With a Blog

December 12, 2017 by K-Kom

First let’s answer an important question: what is a corporate blog, and why does it matter for your business?

Corporate Blog Definition

A corporate blog is essentially a blog (discussions or informational-type articles posted on a website) created by a business for the purpose of educating clients, other industry professionals, or describing products or services in more detail. This can also include:

Sharing new ideas for product use
Explaining the advantages of a service for a particular niche in your industry
& more…

Really, this blog can be whatever you want it to be, based on what you think your target audience would find the most value in.

If your corporation has a number of employees, a section of the blog can be dedicated to these people for purposes such as:

Strengthening your brand name and values
Achieving internal goals
Creating a better team atmosphere

Encourage comments, questions, suggestions, and transparency with problems to improve the business as a whole.

Why It Matters For Your Business

The main purpose for having and maintaining an active blog is to provide additional value to your target audience. Ideally then, this:

Creates more trust between you and potential clients
Builds a stronger level of customer loyalty
Positions your brand as an industry authority or expert
Gives your company a voice that humanizes communication, allowing you to be more in touch with your customers (especially for large businesses).

How to Improve Your SEO

To improve your website’s SEO (search engine optimization) / ranking on search engines, Google likes content. This includes written articles as well as photos and videos, amongst other possible formats. Really anything that you can provide that will give additional value (for free) is great to add to your website and share across social media, forums, other relevant websites, etc. Doing this on a regular basis (consistently) will give your website and brand name more credence in the robotic eyes of search engines, and you will begin to rank on search pages higher, and for more search terms.

When writing a blog, it’s good to have a photo every 350 words or so, to break it up and increase the attention spans of readers. Aim for 350 words at least, and if this isn’t possible, don’t go less than 250 unless of course adding to whatever you’ve written would be fluff or worthless (remember: quality, quality, quality). Conduct keyword research using tools like Google Keyword Planner and SEMRush on the particular topic you’re writing about, to incorporate specific phrases that are searched frequently by your target audience.

Some people like to think of their website as a “once and done” sort of project, but unfortunately it’s not that easy. The website is often the first impression a potential customer has of your brand. It’s like a store which requires:

“Cleaning”: security checks, software improvements, similar to cleaning a store
Style updates
Additions (and subtractions)
Perks: free content or coupons, perhaps the equivalent to sales or complimentary coffee in a store / office
etc.

Some industries, especially B2B, are more difficult to write about, especially in a casual manor. If this is the case for your business, first research your competitors to see what they’re doing for content, and maybe you’ll need to work with your engineers to create some technical guides that would require a customer to give their email and other details to receive it. Or maybe your business would benefit from doing a video blog, and go behind the scenes to show customers something they would find impressive (especially if it’s something unique to your business).

The possibilities are really endless and up to your imagination. And if your imagination isn’t working too well, send a survey out to your customers and straight up ask them what kind of content they would find helpful. Maybe self-help guides or repair how-to videos?

Obviously blog management can take up as much time as you want it to, and not everyone has tons of free time every week. If you and your employees would rather focus on what you need to get done for the business, contact K-Kom today and see what we can do for your corporate blog and content strategy.

B2B Internet Marketing Strategies Part 3: Be Heard

September 19, 2017 by K-Kom

The last step in this series of B2B internet marketing strategies is all about being heard. Even if you’re reaching a good audience, are they reaching you and then leaving right away?

Create Commitment

Make it very easy for people to get in touch and stay in touch through the website, social media, or any way your audience prefers.

If you are frequently sharing great content on your site, make sure social links are easy to see so people can like, follow, and share it.
Create an email subscription form so you can reach out to people on a regular basis with a newsletter or coupons.
Make more robust content like white papers or eBooks “gated” – that is, require a trade of an email address, survey answer, or other info for the download. This gives you a quality list of leads (just don’t do too much of this).

Engage with People Online

It’s important to talk to your customers, listen to them – both compliments and complaints. Resolve their issues, talk to them about fun things related to your business. The purpose of digital marketing is not only to create more sales for yourself, but to revive customer retention rates, give each person a unique, personal experience, and cause an increase in referral customers.

If you really have a quality business, make this known to other people in a way that they’ll want to share it with all their friends. That model will give you long term growth and success.

Competing in the digital economy in some industries has become an overwhelming and sometimes difficult task. Focusing on these three essential B2B internet marketing strategies consistently will give you a great competitive edge and a strong, committed customer base.

If you’re like most business owners and know you don’t have time to keep track of these extra things, utilize the B2B marketing services offered by K-Kom, and we’ll work together with you to grow your business to the next level and beyond!

B2B Internet Marketing Strategies Part 1: Be Found

September 5, 2017 by K-Kom

The first step in achieving business success online is by first being found, and not only that, but being found by the right people (the ones that will do business with you of course).

A Great Website

The first place people will look online, or the first thing people will likely find especially while searching on Google, is your website. The first impression someone gets should be as positive, clear, and simple as you can make it. You want your best side to show through, what sets you apart from your competition, and why they should choose to do business with you, rather than the search result below or above you.

Is the information all up to date? Is the purpose of the site clear (the user knows right away to call, send a request for quote, buy from your physical or online store, or whatever you want them to do first)?

Great Content

This ties right into the website. Again is all the info accurate and clear? Is there too much to look at? How many things are you asking the person to do at once (ideally only one or two simple things to begin with).

Make sure to have good quality, updated photos and videos as well. People are highly visual and photos can easily explain something more effectively and quicker than a paragraph of text. It doesn’t hurt to also include that paragraph of text near the photo or as a caption for Google’s purposes.

A good brand video is also very helpful on the homepage, showing you the owner talking about the goal of your business, why it’s important to you, and why your potential customers should trust you over your competitors.

SEO Search Engine Optimization

Google and other search engines have a method for sorting websites based on what a person searches for, and which website seems to be the best and most relevant choice to display at a particular time.

Social Listening – Who’s Your Audience

Assuming you know your audience, really dig into what these individuals are saying on social media, especially when it comes to daily struggles, problems they have regarding your industry service or product. It’s also very important to listen to your competitors to stay on top of industry trends, and social influencers that have an impact on your customers.

With this first step in your B2B internet marketing strategy, you’ll be starting down the path towards a strong brand and an increased bottom line!

If you’re like most businesses owners and have a thousand other things to think about and do with your time, contact K-Kom and ask about our specialized B2B marketing services. We’re ready to grow your business with you!

B2B Branding: What Not To Do

May 23, 2017 by K-Kom

I think it’s safe to say that having a great brand is the goal of every world-class business out there today. So what defines a strong brand, and how do you know if your business is on its way to worldwide success or will be eaten alive this year by the local competition?

No obvious unique factor

You may think you’re unique compared to your competitors, and even if you know you are, is this apparent to your potential buyers? Without making it obvious, customers have a good chance of buying elsewhere, especially if another business makes their own uniqueness more obvious than you do. Get creative with this differentiator – great customer service and reliable products don’t cut it if your competitors can easily say the same. On the other side, don’t copy-cat other players in your industry. Always try to be recognizable.

Misunderstanding what a brand is, and how important it can be

Some think of a brand as a logo or mission statement, when it really has more to do with how visible you are in the marketplace and what kind of reputation you have with the outside world. With a strong brand, you will attract not only more customers but better employees, the ability to branch into other industries or services and give the new parts of the business some initial strength using that positive reputation.

Assuming you know your target audience and competitors

We all know what happens when we assume. It’s a good practice to periodically conduct research on these so you can keep growing faster than the businesses who neglect to do this.

Aiming too low or making false promises

To have a truly successful, lasting business, you must be genuinely interested in it and aim to be the best because you want to offer the industry something truly unique and beneficial. This will ensure success every time. On the other side, don’t offer things you can’t deliver. This will hurt the trust clients will have for you which can completely destroy a business.

Do some of these points sound familiar? If they do, you’re certainly not alone, not every brand can hack national or worldwide success. But, does your business have what it takes? K-Kom, Inc. is happy to rework your brand strategy, or your B2C or B2B marketing strategies as a whole and help your business grow!