For some of you this list may be obvious, but if you’re in the beginning stages of starting your business, it can be easy to overlook some important essentials until you need them. So here’s a list of the first five creative marketing materials you will need to get started.
Logo & Brand
You’ve heard it a trillion times because it’s true. You need a customized logo. Your logo is ideally the image people will see and immediately associate with your business. And your brand is the creative elements that make your business recognizable. This happens by repeatedly making your logo and brand visible when marketing yourself, which will create a distinction between you and other businesses like yours.
Website
A lot of businesses feel like a facebook or yelp page will suffice as an internet presence. Not quite true. While social media is important (and we’ll get to that in a bit) it doesn’t help your business project a professional image the way an actual website with a customized URL will. You need a space on the web to send people where they can get all the essential information about your business in one spot and, depending on your call to action, make purchase, set an appointment, schedule a meeting, etc.
Another way to level up on the professional image scale is to have a custom email with a well-designed signature. When you’re doing business with someone, your credibility drops a bit when they ask for your professional email and you give them something that ends in "gmail.com." It looks a bit amateur. Especially as a startup you need to give an immediate impression that you are the real deal. And having a signature that includes your logo and contact information will reenforce your brand.
Social Media
This is probably not one we need to talk you into, most of us have social media profiles before even starting our businesses, but it’s important that you have a business account separate from your personal account that will only consist of content related to the work you do. If you offer handyman services, you need an Instagram filled with images of your home improvement work, not selfies of you at the beach or cat memes. Your social media posts should stay within your brand in both content and appearance.
Business Card
A big part of marketing yourself is networking. But this isn’t restricted to schmooze and booze events in convention centers. Anytime you are out and about is a networking opportunity, which means you should be armed with business cards at all times. There are rumors that business cards are out of date…lies! Handing off a business card is still a lot easier than taking the time to enter someones contact info in your phone, especially if you're in a rush or crowded situation. Plus it's another opportunity to get your logo and brand in front of your potential customer.
There's a lot that goes into marketing a new business. That's why it's important to get help from a professional designer to create your marketing materials. 2nd Story has helped numerous businesses get their image out there through creative marketing. So if you're ready to start marketing yourself professionally, check out our New Business Creative Packages and contact us. We'd love to work with you!
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