What is graphic design?
Most people associate graphic design with design, which in theory is right! It involves giving shape and structure to something. When we talk about graphic design for digital purposes, it’s about fonts, logos, colors, and layouts. It can be very detailed and in-depth and it can be as simple as images and placements – it is the combination and interaction between all these building blocks that create a website, an advertisement, or the perfect landing page!
A graphic designer has the expertise to identify what types of designs, layouts, fonts, etc. look good and will be the most appealing to the audience. Thanks to a graphic designer, you can therefore achieve more beautiful campaigns and ultimately better results.
But if you are a graphic designer, how do you promote yourself and your company? How do you spread the word about your expertise and your company’s graphic design services?
That’s exactly what we’ll look closer at in this article.
With almost every company now using a website, the demand for graphic designers has increased dramatically. Work can involve everything from help with website design to creating appealing online marketing content. Before we dig into some of the marketing methods you can use to promote your graphic design company, such as creating a graphic design portfolio, let’s understand how you can help your customers. It is only when you understand how you can help your customers and the value you can bring to the table that you can promote it and explain to your audience why they need you via marketing.
Communicate with visitors
With the help of graphic design, people can communicate with their visitors. One of the key aspects here is what feeling they want their website to convey through different colors and shapes. Many times, when you visit a website, you can quickly see what type of page it is, what is for sale, and sometimes also the price range of the product that the page is about! It is the visual that you create with graphic design that often helps to sell a product, that creates a feeling of security or quality for the customer and that gets them interested.
Get people to choose your product
Creating a logo or building a brand visually requires a lot of planning and research. This is how you will communicate with your customers/visitors, to be recognized due to its logo, color combinations, or for example fonts is a goal for many companies. If you look at leading brands like Apple, IKEA, and Chanel, they are some of the world’s largest companies that have succeeded in just that! The recognition factor is incredibly valuable for brands, as we humans often choose the product they recognize rather than the one that is a little cheaper. Sometimes it’s a status issue, and sometimes it’s just about security and convenience. Regardless, it is the visual aspect that we always come back to, it is the colors, logos, or fonts that make people choose your product or feel “at home” on your website. All this is what your graphic designer will help you with!
According to the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA), graphic design is defined as “the art and practice of planning and projecting the ideas and experiences of the visual and textual content.”
Graphic design is important in the sale and marketing of products and is a critical part of brochures and logos. Graphic designers are therefore sometimes called graphic artists or communication designers. Graphic design is an important tool that ensures that you effectively communicate with your target audience and customers.
For a graphic designer, it is about carefully listening to the problems, goals, and ideas, then setting up a recommended strategy. Then you can deliver a marketing message wrapped in graphic design that combines intellect and emotion in a way that is unusual these days in web development, marketing, or advertising. Good graphic design in marketing is key to success.
To get the attention you want with your marketing, you can benefit a lot from a graphic designer to find the right melody to be able to deliver marketing that is interesting for those who see the advertisement. Without a graphic design in marketing, you will probably not get the effect you are looking for. In today’s internet world, graphic design has a place in both creating web pages and other materials that are used for marketing purposes.
Marketing strategies for graphic designers
Create an online portfolio
As a graphic designer, one of the best ways to build a client base and get more customers is by showcasing your expertise – showing what you can do for clients. And the best way to do this is by creating a graphic design portfolio. Showcase and highlight your previous work and show the expertise and experience that you possess. When you show potential clients what you can do and you impress them with your work, they’ll be more compelled to hire you.
Therefore, put great emphasis on building and establishing a portfolio of previous work that impresses people.
Build reviews and referrals
Regardless of the industry you operate in, reviews and referrals are extremely valuable. They work as social proof and show that people are satisfied with your services. If you’re just starting out in the graphic design space, it is therefore extremely important that you first focus on building social proof in the form of reviews and referrals.
There are many ways to do this, but if you’re struggling to get clients, a tip would be to offer your services for free for a period of time just to show what you can do, and to build referrals. The best part is, if you’re doing a good enough job, there’s a good chance that the companies or people that you are helping will continue to hire you in the future.
Email marketing – Build an email list
Every year, someone claims that email marketing is dead. Although so many companies, analysts, and individuals claim that email marketing is on the verge of collapse, one can not doubt its low but stable effectiveness. All major e-shops and online retailers launch and maintain their newsletters.
Do you not agree that they would not do so if the newsletters were ineffective or even dead?
In fact, email marketing campaigns and newsletters are not that expensive to run and they almost always pay off. Although the click-through rate rarely exceeds 5%, and usually revolves around 2-3%, it is almost always a guaranteed result and never a disappointment if you do not do away with it. It’s easier to make mistakes when you post ads on social media, launching other campaigns.
The best part is that you can also see your email newsletter as a way to demonstrate your expertise. A lot of companies need help with creating stylish and appealing newsletters themselves, and when they receive newsletters from you that are appealing, they may be intrigued to hire you to help them do the same.
The bottom line is, when you have visitors to your website, you don’t just want people to visit and leave. You want to get them into your sales funnel and keep them coming back. Building an email newsletter is a great way to do just that.
Build your website and work with SEO
Your website works as your company’s storefront. It is often the first contact that people have with your brand and business, so naturally, you want it to look appealing. But a good website won’t do anything if people aren’t visiting it. And this is where SEO comes in.
As the saying goes, this type refers to marketing activities that are carried out on various search engines, such as Google and Bing. SEO is one of the most effective and popular ways of digital marketing because it does not have to cost anything other than your time and effort, and it is extremely targeted.
For example, when someone searches for ”Graphic design services”, you can be fairly sure that they are looking for exactly what they are searching for. In other words, this marketing strategy is extremely targeted and makes sure you reach the people you actually want to reach.
The target group thus tells you what they are looking for, and you can tailor the message accordingly. This possibility did not exist at all before the search engines existed.
Search engine marketing is usually divided into two subcategories:
SEO / Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization or SEO (Search engine optimization) aims to improve the organic results, ie those that are no ads. For this, there are a plethora of technical details and strategies. This form of marketing is good to start with if you have a content strategy in place where you can create content that ranks well on search engines. Creating content for SEO purposes is yet another great way to showcase your expertise and show how authoritative you are within your area.
Through search engine optimization, you can eventually get your site to act as a marketer for you, by driving organic traffic on your own without you having to spend a lot of time on it. This strategy also has the advantage that you only need to invest your time – and not your money. However, keep in mind that you need to have a little patience – it may take some time before your efforts start generating noticeable results.
SEM / PPC
Search engine marketing or keyword marketing, SEM (Search Engine Marketing), or PPC (Pay per click) all refer to advertising on Google Ads or equivalent on Bing and other search engines.
Here it works so that you bid on which keywords you want your ads to appear on. The size of the bid determines where your ad appears – the more you pay, the better position you will get.
An important detail to remember; The bid you place refers to the cost per click of your ad. So it is important to have a budget before you start.
Social media
Social media has taken the step from just being a pastime to becoming an important part of online marketing. It is effective for marketing the company, attracting new customers, and deepening existing relationships.
Every company should be on social media because it is where your target audience is. This is why it can be one of the most effective marketing strategies today.
Social media is also great for getting feedback on your services while giving you the opportunity to convey interesting offers and information. It opens up to reach existing customers’ friends and family, which quickly expands your online network of contacts.
There are today a very large number of different social media platforms and it is difficult to say exactly where you should invest, it depends on where your customers are and what type of industry you work in.
The largest social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin are very popular and it is in these networks that I recommend you start researching where your customers are.
A good starting point is to understand which platforms your target audience uses the most, and then use these platforms most actively.
Interact and engage
When it comes to marketing your graphic design services, it has a lot to do with showcasing your expertise and experience. People are constantly looking for help with their graphic design, but you need to convince them that you are experienced enough to help them achieve the results they are looking for.
A good way to do this is by interacting and engaging with your target audience. There are many ways to go about doing this. Social media platforms, online forums, and other places where your target audience discusses the topic of graphic design is a good place to start. By interacting and engaging, you can reply to questions people have and show that you are an expert within your area.
