Peter Shankman wrote a recent blog post presenting his reasons for not hiring a “Social Media Expert”, which I found very compelling. As someone who is in the initial stages of starting a firm that wants to assist small business owners in their own social media marketing efforts Peter’s article provides a litmus test for which I can gauge my own branding and marketing efforts.

I love the following quotes:

“Being an expert in Social Media is like being an expert at taking the bread out of the refrigerator. You might be the best bread-taker outer in the world, but you know what? The goal is to make an amazing sandwich, and you can’t do that if all you’ve done in your life is taken the bread out of the fridge.”

 ”IT’S ABOUT GENERATING REVENUE THROUGH SOLID MARKETING AND STELLAR CUSTOMER SERVICE, JUST LIKE IT’S BEEN SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME.”

As I build my own business I have the perfect opportunity to practice what I preach by making sure that my own social media marketing efforts generate revenue and serve my customers by providing transparent, relevant, and brief content that will, in turn, help them to move their marketing and customer service efforts to higher levels with resulting increases in revenue.

May I take your order?

In order to effectively communicate your marketing message you must first know who it is you are trying to reach. Single Moms? College Students? Married Female Professionals between the ages of 18 – 24 without children? The more specifically you can target your message the better Return On Investment (ROI) you’ll realize from your marketing efforts.

Advertising Age recently released the following infographic showing the breakdown of users on the most popular social sites. This information can be very valuable for the small business owner trying to determine where to invest in social media marketing.

For example, 69.3% of female Facebook users indicate an interest in cooking. Therefore, it would be wise for companies that specialize in appliances, cookware, recipes or cooking instruction to target a portion of their marketing efforts on Facebook.

What ways are you gathering information in order to better target your audience?

 The image to the left shows the basic design parameters that need to be considered when designing a document to bleed. These same guidelines apply whether you’re designing a business card, flyer, postcard, brochure, poster, magazine or other document.

The image below shows a business card layout. Notice how the image extends past the trim line.

Extending the background image past the trim line ensures that, when the cards are trimmed, there is no white showing on the edge of the cards. No matter how accurate of a trimmer is used or how skilled the operator, if the artwork isn’t setup to bleed there’s always a chance of white edges being left on the document.

When it comes to setting up a document to bleed not all software programs are alike.

InDesign
If you are using InDesign the bleed area can be specified when creating a new document. Simply enter .125 in the Margins and Bleed fields of the New Document window. InDesign will create margin and bleed guides similar to the guides in the first diagram above. Just make sure to “use document bleed settings” under the Marks and Bleeds settings when exporting to a PDF.

PhotoShop
If you are using PhotoShop to design your document you’ll need to set your margins and bleeds manually. Just remember to set your document size 1/4″ larger on both dimensions when starting a new document. You’ll then need to set guidelines in the document indicating the trim line and safety zone so that you’ll know how to place you’re design elements on the page.

Providing your print provider with files properly setup to bleed will save you and your print provider time and ensure the final printed piece will turn out as expected.

I’ll be honest, one of my biggest social media pet peeves is when someone uses a logo for an avatar but part of the logo is cut off. If you were Pepsi you might be able to get away with it. Unfortunately, most small businesses or individuals don’t have the logo recognition that Pepsi has so it is important that your avatar’s be simple and easy to understand.

If it’s a personal avatar use a current photo of yourself. It doesn’t have to be a professional headshot but should be something that will make it easy to identify you. Especially if you are at a social or networking event. Whatever you do don’t use one from last season’s tailgate showing your skills at the keg stand.

If your creating an avatar for you business make sure the logo is clear and easy to read. I’ll be honest. If I see an avatar on the Fan Page of a business or organization that’s low-resolution or poorly cropped it will make me question what kind off attention to detail that business/organization will provide me as a customer. You don’t have to be a graphic designer or computer wiz to produce a quality avatar. Here’s an excellent reference for making sure your avatar is the correct size for various social media platforms.

Make sure your avatar represents you and your business well. Take the time to choose one properly and make sure it works across the various social media channels you’re using.

Do the Work Review from Kevin G. Hart on Vimeo.

If you’d like to hear more check out this interview from Pam Slim at Escape from Cubicle Nation.