Your graphic design business is only as good as your marketing plan. The 21st century has presented a new set of marketing challenges for the graphic design business, but you also have access to the keys of a global market rather than a neighborhood to citywide business.
Global Thinking
With the options of online meetings, webinars and global shipping options, the world is literally at our fingertips. Whether you are just opening your business or are going for a growing spurt of epic proportions, step out of the box and go global. Hone your skills by increasing your proficiency in a new software or graphic design style.
Until now you may have dabbled in a graphic design business with a defined boundary in one industry. Today, you must see yourself standing in a cloverfield of 193 countries worldwide with a registered 200 million domain names on the Internet.
Cohesive Branding
No matter whether you are marketing online, with a magnetic sign on your vehicle, with a listing in the phonebook or by making a name in the social media circles, you will be successful if you have a cohesive message.
If you call yourself Exquisite Graphic Design on your web page but the listing in the phonebook is G-Man Graphic Design by Exquisite and your Twitter account is your personal name of George Brandon, the public does not know a consistent you as the owner of one passion, one concept and one brand.
Cohesive branding creates one business, one concept and one marketing philosophy named Exquisite Graphic Design within the social media, in the phone book, on your calendars, your flyers in Europe or in the United States. The graphic that you utilize will be married to Exquisite Graphic Design.
Cohesive branding also embraces specific market targeting. Your message and your image must be cohesive, but you may have a dozen different brochures in your creative file with a dozen different types of graphic design styles and specialties.
Viral Marketing
Viral marketing drives traffic to a website, particularly if it changes monthly. The 360-degree concept of marketing is to create visibility for you and your graphic design skills along with your ability to provide a valuable service.
Viral marketing can be accomplished by creating a video then posting it on your website to draw interest and show what you have to offer. The video can be you telling about your business or creating an actual design start to finish, be it a web page, brochure or commercial. You can make the video so it is downloadable or not. Your exposure will multiply as it spreads.
You can change the viral marketing video each month to drive repeat traffic. A second method of creating a video for viral marketing is to create a PowerPoint-type collection and put it together as a slideshow with added music. This video can show clips of how you would design, assemble, and present a cohesive marketing campaign from the marketing slogan to the flyers to be sent to a target market.
