But accessibility doesn’t always equal effectiveness. 

When it comes to building a brand, the do-it-yourself approach often creates challenges that businesses don’t realize until it’s too late.

When Everything Looks the Same

Today’s design tools offer thousands of templates, icons, fonts, and layouts. While that sounds like endless creative freedom, we often see the opposite effect. When everyone is pulling from the same template libraries, brands start to look, well, identical. 

You’ve likely seen it before. The same minimalist logos, the same script fonts, the same color palettes, the same website layouts. Eventually, it all blends together. 

The purpose of a brand is to establish a unique identity. It should help your business stand out in a crowded marketplace. When your brand looks like dozens of others using the same template, that distinct identity disappears. Good branding isn’t just about making something that looks “nice” or “passable.” It’s about creating something that is recognizable and memorable.

First Impressions Matter

Your brand is often the first interaction someone has with your business. Before a conversation happens, a service is explained, or a product is purchased, people are making quick judgments based on what they see and feel. 

When branding feels pieced together or amateur, it can unintentionally signal that the business itself may operate the same way. Even if the service or product is excellent, that first impression can create doubt.

Strong branding, on the other hand, communicates confidence. It signals that a business is established, thoughtful, and invested in its presence.

Branding is More Than Design

One of the biggest misconceptions about branding is that it’s just a logo. In reality, branding is a strategic process that considers:

• your audience
• your positioning in the market
• how you want people to feel when they encounter your business
• how your visuals and messaging work together

A logo, color palette, font, website layout, and messaging should all reinforce the same identity. Without strategy guiding those choices, it’s easy for a brand to feel inconsistent or unfocused. Brand identity should be a company’s north star. 

General templates can produce designs, but they can’t replace intentional brand strategy.

Learn about our Brand Voice Workshops here.

Time Has Value, Too

Many businesses choose the DIY route to save money. What we forget is that DIY costs another very important resource: Time.

Hours spent scrolling through templates, tweaking colors, adjusting layouts, and learning unfamiliar platforms are hours taken away from running the business itself. In many cases, the time investment alone outweighs the perceived cost savings.

Invest in Standing Out

The tools available today are powerful, and they absolutely have their place. But building a strong brand requires more than assembling pieces from a template library. It requires clarity, strategy, and thoughtful design. Because the goal of branding isn’t simply to create something that looks acceptable. The goal is to create something that people remember.

And sometimes, the best way to achieve that goal is to bring in the professionals (cough, cough, us!) who do it every day.

Ready to get started?

The post Why Doing it Yourself Might Not Work first appeared on Coal Creative.

In 2026, video isn’t just something nice to have on your website. It’s often the first impression, the trust-builder, and the deciding factor between someone clicking away or taking action. But there’s a part many brands miss: Not all video content works, and more video does not equal better video.

The websites that are winning right now aren’t overloaded with flashy clips or noise. They’re using intentional, story-driven video that captures attention quickly, communicates clearly, and guides the user toward the next step.That’s where strategy comes in.

Content is King, but Strategy is the Crown

Attention spans are shorter than ever. Visitors decide within seconds whether they trust your brand, understand your value, and want to keep exploring.

Strategic video content helps you do three things exceptionally well:

1. Capture attention immediately
2. Tell your story in a memorable way
3. Compel action without feeling pushy

When video is treated as a strategy, not just filler content, it becomes one of the most powerful tools on your website.

What “Strategic Video” Actually Means

A strong video strategy isn’t about trends or viral moments. It’s about alignment.

At Coal Creative, we look at video through the lens of:

• Your brand story
• Your audience’s behavior
• Your business goals

That means asking the right questions before the cameras ever roll:

• What does someone need to feel when they land on your site?
• What barriers do we need to overcome?
• Where does video support the customer journey, and where might it distract?

The result? Video that feels purposeful, not performative.

Where Video Makes the Biggest Impact on a Website

We see the most success when video is used intentionally, such as:

homepage storytelling

A short, compelling video can immediately communicate who you are, what you do, and why it matters faster than any block of text ever could.

service or product explanation

Video helps simplify complex offerings and builds confidence by showing the products, people, process, or results behind your work.

trust-building content

Behind-the-scenes footage, testimonials, and founder stories humanize your business and establish credibility quickly.

calls to action

When paired with clear messaging, video can gently guide viewers toward contacting you, booking a call, or taking the next step without feeling salesy.

Why DIY Video Isn’t Enough Anymore

Smartphones and editing apps have certainly made video more accessible, but accessibility doesn’t equal effectiveness.

Poorly planned video can:

• Confuse visitors
• Dilute your brand
• Slow down your site
• Make your business feel less professional

Strategic video requires:

• Thoughtful scripting
• Intentional visuals
• Clear messaging

That’s why video works best when it’s integrated into your overall marketing and website strategy and not treated as just a one-off deliverable.

Coal Creative’s Approach to Video

Our video department isn’t siloed. They’re fully integrated into our in-house team of strategists, graphic designers, website developers, and copywriters.  This allows every video we produce to support a larger goal, not just a moment on screen.Whether we’re creating brand films, website videos, social content, or campaign assets, our focus is always the same. Tell your story. Create an emotional connection. Drive meaningful action.

Learn more.

Looking Ahead

As we move deeper into 2026, video will continue to shape how brands are experienced online. But the brands that stand out won’t be the loudest; they’ll be the most intentional.

If your website doesn’t currently have a video strategy, now is the time to ask: What story are you telling? Are you telling it clearly? And are you telling it in a way that connects?

At Coal Creative, we believe video works best when it’s thoughtful, collaborative, and rooted in purpose, and that’s exactly how we approach every project.

Reach out today to tell your story.

The post Why Every Website Needs a Video Strategy first appeared on Coal Creative.

One of the biggest misconceptions about marketing is that it’s a luxury, something you do when business is good, or when you have “extra” money in the budget. But the truth is, marketing isn’t a splurge. It’s an investment that helps your business grow, adapt, and stay visible all year long.

While viral posts and overnight wins can happen, they’re rare. The brands that truly see results are the ones that commit to a strategy and stay consistent over time.

The Upfront Investment Builds the Foundation

When you start marketing strategically, it’s normal for the upfront investment to feel higher than what you’ll spend month to month. That’s because early on, you’re doing the heavy lifting, like building your strategy, creating assets, and setting up systems that will sustain your efforts long-term.

Think of it as laying the groundwork for a house: it takes time and planning upfront to make sure what you build can stand strong.

That’s why we encourage our partners to start with a Brand Voice Workshop. It’s the first step in your marketing journey, where we define your goals, target audiences, tone, and messaging. Once your foundation is solid, every campaign that follows is built on strategy instead of guesswork.

One Month Won’t Tell the Whole Story

Marketing is not a short-term test; it’s a long-term investment. One month or even one quarter might not be enough time to see what’s really working.

Some months are naturally slower due to seasonality or holidays, while others will surge with activity and results. When you plan annually, you can see the full rhythm of your business and build a strategy that makes the most of every season.

A year-long plan gives you the chance to analyze data, adjust your messaging, and improve your reach in a way that’s simply not possible with short bursts of activity.

Consistency Creates Connection

Your audience needs to see you show up again and again before they trust you. That’s where consistency pays off.

When you commit to an annual marketing plan, you create space for:

• Steady brand awareness that builds trust.
  
• Data-driven insights that guide smarter decisions.
  
• A sustainable rhythm that keeps your team focused instead of feeling rushed.

The result? You stop reacting and start progressing. 

One campaign, one message, and one connection at a time.

The First Year Is the Investment Window

You wouldn’t judge the success of a fitness program after one week. The same applies to marketing. You have to give your efforts time to compound.

By setting your marketing investment for the year, you’re not just buying content or ads; you’re building a system that learns, grows, and improves. You’ll see which months drive the most engagement, what content resonates best, and how to adjust for the next year.

Invest in Your Growth, Not Your Guesswork

When you start with a plan and the right partners, marketing becomes less of a question mark and more of a growth engine.

If you’re ready to make 2026 the year your marketing works smarter (not just louder), let’s start with a Brand Voice Workshop. Together, we’ll build your foundation, map your goals, and turn your marketing from an expense into an investment.

Start planning your 2026 marketing strategy with Coal Creative.

The post Marketing Isn’t a Luxury, It’s an Investment first appeared on Coal Creative.

Any social strategy is only as good as the foundation it’s built upon. Before you start posting, you need to ask yourself: how can my company’s posts offer our audience value? 

Before figuring out what you are trying to say, the best starting point is to figure out how you are going to say it. This is where a Brand Voice Workshop comes in. 

What is a Brand Voice Workshop?

A Brand Voice Workshop involves answering questions about your company’s mission, purpose, and values. At Coal Creative, we like to run these workshops with any company or business that is struggling with its social media presence, or with anyone who is about to start posting on social media for the first time. It gives us all a good starting point in determining: who is this company, and what are its goals?

During these workshops, we’ll delve deeper into a company’s mission, goals (on and off social media), and how everyone on the team envisions the style and tone of social media posts. We’ll look at target audiences and see what the competition is up to.

In our fast-paced world, a lot of companies never pause to answer these questions before jumping into creating content. This can result in disjointed, inconsistent, and ineffective campaigns that could leave your marketing team feeling burnt out. 

If your company has never done something like this, here are three reasons why you should:

1. Make Your Brand Voice Stand Out

In the sea of endless scrolling, how can your company’s posts even have a chance of standing out? It starts with establishing a unique brand voice. 

At Coal Creative, we define a company’s brand voice as a combination of word and emoji usage, punctuation, narrative perspective, and overall attitude expressed in social media copy. It’s everything that’s written in the caption and the tone and messaging visually communicated in your graphics, photos, or videos. 

Let’s start here: If your company were a person, what would it sound like? Would it be the life of the party, the educated professional, or the dependable friend? In other words, should your tone be entertaining, serious, or friendly?

During our Brand Voice Workshops, we get to the core of your company’s identity. This will help influence how all of your posts should look and sound. 

2. Start Creating Content with a Purpose

Every social media platform has a different purpose and audience base. Likewise, each platform demands a different approach when it comes to creating content.

Before posting on social media, you need to have some discussions about why your brand is on this specific platform, or else it’s going to feel like you’re shouting into the void. 

Start by asking: 

• What platforms are your existing and target audiences on?
• What are your goals when you are creating content? Are you selling something? Trying to build brand awareness?
• How do you position yourself apart from your competitors?

When you think about the target audience for your company’s products or services, you may be tempted to answer, “Everybody!” Nine times out of ten, this simply isn’t true. Even if your company is selling bottled water, your target audience can be narrowed down by economic status or lifestyle. 

During a Brand Voice Workshop with Coal Creative, we’ll help you understand who you are creating content for, how to reach them, and what obstacles might stop them from interacting with your brand. 

3. Get Your Team on the Same Page

A lot of the time, multiple people will have access to a company’s social media accounts. This is great for sharing the workload, but it can get a little complicated when one person has a set strategy in mind and someone else goes rogue. 

Your audience can pick up on that. When your feed is cluttered with posts that don’t have a unifying purpose or voice, your brand awareness can suffer. 

The goal here is to achieve consistency across platforms and across every post. We want your target audience to scroll through their feed and know they are viewing one of your posts without needing to see who posted it. 

After completing a Brand Voice Workshop with Coal Creative, your company will receive a Brand Voice Guidebook. This document will contain the standard for how your company’s posts should sound, tips for reaching your target audience, and information to guide the style of your posts. It can be easily shared with and referenced by all team members working on your social accounts.

Discover Your Brand’s Voice 

If you’re interested in taking your social strategy to the next level, you need to do a Brand Voice Workshop with Coal Creative. We’ll help you dive into the heart of your brand, shape your voice, and create impactful campaigns.

Contact us today to get started.

The post 3 Reasons Your Company Needs to Do a Brand Voice Workshop first appeared on Coal Creative.

The biggest mistake businesses make is believing their product or service is for everyone. Unfortunately, it’s not. Paid ads work best when you narrow your audience. Who are your ideal customers? Where do they spend time online? What problems do they have that your business solves? The clearer the picture, the more effective your ad.

Different Platforms = Different Audiences

Think about how you use the internet. Google is about intent; people are already searching for something. Facebook and Instagram lean on lifestyle and storytelling. LinkedIn is about career growth and professional identity. YouTube combines search intent with entertainment. That’s why if you post the same ad everywhere, you’re missing the unique factors that make each platform effective.

The 3-Second Attention Span

People scrolling their feeds or searching online don’t have time to decode your message. If your ad doesn’t tell them in three seconds what you do, who it’s for, or why it matters, you’ve lost them. A simple, direct message almost always outperforms something overly complicated.

Budget Without Strategy is Just Gambling

You can spend $50 or $50,000 and see the same result (nothing), if you don’t have a strategy. Here’s the thing: sometimes it helps to spend a little to understand what works. Start small, test different messages, and track what works before scaling up. Think of it as paying for data first, results second.

Success Is in What Happens Next

An ad is just the door. What happens when someone clicks your ad? Does your website answer their questions? Does your landing page make it easy to take action? Ads don’t work in isolation; they’re part of a bigger journey. 

If a user lands on your website and can’t quickly find what they came for, you’ve lost them, and probably wasted your ad spend. A good landing page (or homepage, if that’s where your ads point) should:

• Answer their questions right away. Who are you? What do you do? How can you help them?
  
• Guide them to the next step. Whether it’s filling out a form, scheduling a call, or making a purchase, the path should be obvious and frictionless.
  
• Match the promise of the ad. If your ad says “Download our free guide,” the page should deliver exactly that.
  
• Build trust. Through design, testimonials, or clear messaging, your site should reassure them that they’re in the right place.

Think of it this way: the ad gets their attention, but your website earns their trust. Without that connection, your ad dollars are just noise.

Ready to Make Every Click Count?

Ads get attention, but clarity builds connection. Our Brand Voice Workshops help you define your audience, sharpen your message, and guide what happens after the click. Want to turn ad spend into real results? Send us a message.

The post 5 Things to Know Before You Buy Ads first appeared on Coal Creative.

At Coal Creative, we define marketing as something more thoughtful, more strategic.
Marketing is how you share what you do in a way that actually connects with the people you’re trying to reach.

It’s storytelling with purpose. It’s message, timing, audience, and medium all working together, not just to “get attention,” but to build trust and create results.

What Does Marketing Entail?

There are a lot of buzzwords people might sell to you about marketing, but we like to keep it simple: Marketing is the plan.

It’s the framework behind what you say, how you say it, and where it shows up.

That includes:

• Clarifying your goals
• Understanding your audience
• Deciding what platforms and formats make sense
• Crafting a message that’s worth someone’s time
• Executing consistently and adjusting based on results

In other words, if you’re doing “stuff” online without a plan behind it, you’re not marketing. You’re just posting.

Why Marketing Matters (Even If You’re Small, Busy, or Skeptical)

We’ve worked with clients of every size, from one-person teams to national companies, and here’s the thing we hear the most:

“We know we should be doing something with marketing, but we’re not sure what, or where to start.”

That’s a very normal place to be. But here’s why it matters: If you don’t tell your story, someone else will… or no one will.

Marketing gives structure to your communication. It helps people understand:

• Who you are
• What you offer
• Why it matters

And ideally, it does that before they need you, so that when the time comes, they already trust you.

Collaborate with Coal Creative to Optimize Your Marketing Efforts

Marketing is essential for getting your company’s name out there and connecting with potential clients. It’s also a complex process, however, and many organizations dedicate entire departments to their marketing efforts. 

Whether you have an entire marketing division or you’re the sole member of an organization, Coal Creative can optimize your campaigns and put you on the path to greater returns. We’re an all-bases-covered creative collaborator that can help you set marketing goals, conduct research, construct assets, steer your campaigns, and much more.
Consult Coal for a proposal—we’ll simplify and optimize your marketing efforts right before your very eyes.

The post What is Marketing and Why is it Important? first appeared on Coal Creative.

And, when your business really hits, your fans will be ever-hungry for more posts, pictures and creative productions. Luckily, there’s a creative agency in Northeast Pennsylvania that can help you deliver the awe-inspiring, engaging content your customers, clients and connections crave.

Coal elevates the essential elements that fuel your brand—from social media strategy to video production and graphic design, we’re your companion in creativity. And, when you become a retainer client with Coal, you’ll unlock some of the best benefits in the business—including unfettered access to all our services, consistent communication and collaboration and the confidence of knowing NEPA’s most capable creatives have your back.

#1: Keep the Keys to Coal’s Creative Closet

When you become a retainer client with Coal, you’re instantly invited into the family. As a close collaborative partner, you’ll gain access to every service we specialize in. And when we say every service, we really mean it. With Coal powering your creative engine, you can unlock:

• Catered social media content creation complete with graphic and video design, seamlessly implanted ads and other engaging elements that keep users on your page

• Website design and content, including powerfully penned blog posts that drive more traffic to your page

• Bold branding services, including impeccable logo design and messaging guidelines that distinguish your business from its competitors

• Bespoke ad design for whatever your business needs—from digital platforms to billboards and traditional print mediums like magazines and newspapers

• Email marketing campaigns that drive new subscriptions and effortlessly integrate new users into your website

• Videos and commercials coordinated into energetic over-the-top (OTT) and social media campaigns

Providing consistent, on-brand content across these different styles and mediums is critical, as customers no longer encounter companies at just one touchpoint—on average, it’s across six [1].

Furthermore, they expect a consistent experience on all of them. That means the same playful humor in your Instagram and TikTok ads, a recognizable color palette on your web and print ads, and a signature voice in all written correspondences. As a retainer client, Coal works to implement all of these creative forms and more to suit your personal desires and business’s direction.

But how do we ensure our content flows seamlessly into your branding and marketing strategy?

Let’s talk about it.

#2: Strategically Steer Your Ship with Consistent Communications

Retainer partners are invited to meet with Coal on a monthly basis—at a minimum—to review our relationship and collaborate on effective marketing strategies. While you’ll stay firmly at the helm, we’ll be your loyal co-captain ready to suggest a route or take the wheel when you need it.

Put simply, with Coal on retainer, we become an extension of your business, working carefully with existing marketing teams. Collaborating with external creatives has meant big boons for businesses as of late, with the market for such partnerships expanding by nearly 30% in 2021 alone [2].

More marketing masterminds means more resources to determine and accomplish creative and advertising goals. Whether it’s crafting a theme for your next social media campaign or reimagining your entire aesthetic, our creative team helps you achieve it faster and exceed your highest expectations. 

What’s more, as a retainer client, you don’t have to draft up additional contracts, proposals and offers for every piece of work. Your monthly budget can be put toward whatever services are most relevant at the moment (we’ll iron out the specifics over our monthly catch-up). 

#3: Rest Easy with Coal’s Capable Crew of Creatives On Every Job

While we’re not fans of tooting our own horn, we’ll gladly point out when others do it for us. Perhaps the most blatant benefit of becoming a retainer client with Coal is teaming up with an award-winning agency that has the skills and know-how to deliver poignant video, visual and written content. Don’t just take our word for it, however, take:

• The American Business Awards’ – In 2022, Coal took home two medals for outstanding videos, including first place for their epic Hocsocx spot that taught us all It’s what’s underneath that counts. 

• The American Advertising Foundation’s (AAF) – The AAF’s American Advertising Awards recognized Coal’s 2022 work on The Bench Project as the winner of the Brand Campaign category. We’d love for you to sit with us and see how we can craft an equally evocative campaign to suit your brand’s image.

• Times Leader Media Group’s – We were honored when, in both 2021 and 2022, Times Leader Media Group’s Best of the Best recognized us as its top Video Production and Ad Agency. We were also particularly proud when they named us one of the best places to work in NEPA not once, but five times running.

With Coal on retainer, you’ll never have to worry: Will my marketing agency be up to this task?

Our highly skilled, knowledgeable and imaginative creators specialize in a diverse range of skills. From corralling clients to fine-tuning special effects and writing emotionally evocative stories, we’ll combine our creative capacities to deliver salient, sizzling content that meets the evolving needs of your brand.

Reap the Rewards of Keeping Coal on Retainer

Whether you’ve worked closely with us in the past or it’s your first time experiencing our services (oh boy, are we excited for you!), any brand can benefit from keeping Coal on retainer. 

Having a marketing agency that knows your brand and can help you grow as a company facilitates smooth, satisfying workflows and results. Coal taps into the very pulse of your organization to learn what makes it tick. From messaging to aesthetics to strategy, Coal is the creative agency that understands your brand’s vision and has your back as you steer toward success.

 To see firsthand how joining the ranks of Coal’s retainer clients can keep you on top of your business’ growing creative needs, request a proposal. 

###

Sources: 

[1] “Modern Customers Expect An Omnichannel Experience, And Marketers Need To Rise To The Occasion.” Forbes. November 1, 2021. [Online] Available: https://www.forbes.com/. Accessed September 23, 2023.

[2] “Growth rate of U.S. agency revenue from 2009 to 2022, by discipline.” Statista. April 2023. [Online] Available: https://www.statista.com/. Accessed September 23, 2023.

The post The Bountiful Benefits of Keeping Coal on Retainer first appeared on Coal Creative.

If you already have a strong team of social media wizzes, web design aficionados, and graphics gurus on staff, you might not see the benefit of working with an outside marketing agency.

But even if your internal team is already crushing your goals, you’re still an excellent candidate for a partnership. Why?

In short, working with creatives from outside your organization can give you a leg up in the competitive landscape. Let’s dive into what an outside marketing team could bring to the table for your brand—even if you already have creative staff.

Why Hire an Outside Marketing Firm?

If you already have an in-house marketing department, you may be wondering, “What could a creative agency collaboration possibly offer me?”

As it turns out, quite a lot.

Expand Your Reach

In the marketing world, more is more. In terms of sheer numbers, more marketers dedicated to your brand means:

• More available human resources
• More bases covered
• More minds thinking up more ideas
• More time to devote to new channels and projects

If you’re already meeting your marketing goals, you simply might not have the bandwidth to take on any new endeavors with your existing staff. But what happens when your goals become more ambitious? When you want to grow, you’ll need additional resources—more marketers with more time and more ideas.

When you bring in an outside creative team, you can expand your reach beyond your current limits.

Discover New Ideas

Let’s elaborate on a statement we made above: more marketers equals more ideas.

When you invest in outside collaboration, you won’t just produce more ideas—you’ll discover new ideas.

Let’s say your internal marketing team hasn’t changed much in recent years. If this is the case, two things are likely true for your business:

1. You’re consistently meeting your marketing benchmarks—your team is performing well.
2. You’ve fostered a healthy company culture that limits turnover—people want to stay.

These are immense achievements that should be celebrated. But every team can benefit from a fresh perspective, especially cohorts that have been working together for a long time. When you partner with an outside marketing team, external pros can offer out-of-the-box ideas, new tactics, or a fresh strategy.

Scale Up

Though the industry has changed drastically in the last few decades, some traditional marketing “rules” still ring true, especially in conversations about scale.

More human resources and new ideas are the two essential ingredients you need to scale—to strategically grow your marketing efforts, build relationships with more customers, and unlock more revenue.

Bringing an outside creative partner into the mix can help you scale your marketing campaigns efficiently. While you can certainly scale your internal team, this takes:

• Time – Adding a new marketer to your team (especially if your department is well-established) is time-consuming. Time invested in the interview process and trial period might be well spent if your new hire is the perfect fit for your company’s culture and goals. But if a new internal teammate doesn’t cut the mustard, you’re back to square one.
• Resources – Adding a new team member to any department will impact your overhead costs, and it might take time for investments in training and onboarding to translate to improved marketing performance.

Although vetting external creative agencies also requires time (and certainly isn’t free), partnering with a digital marketing agency is likely to be more efficient for your brand than internal hiring:

• You’ll see results more quickly since outside marketers can hit the ground running—no training is required.
• When you invest in an external creative team, you’re only paying for marketing efforts—not adding to your overhead costs.

Which Services Should You Outsource?

Even with all of the above benefits in mind, you may still be wondering, “What could an outside creative team actually do for me in terms of marketing-related tasks?”

We’re so glad you asked.

Depending on your internal team’s skill set, you might consider collaborating with an outside team on:

• Social media – In social media marketing, scale is the name of the game. If you have a small team or limited access to automation tech, you might be missing out on crucial channels, as well as the positive impact that comes from regular posting and targeted social media campaigns. Fortunately, outside marketers can help with both.
• Web design – Web design requires specialized expertise. And, if you need a website overhaul, it simply might not make sense to hire a full-time, specialized staffer to tackle one project. External web design teams really shine in cases like these: once your website is done, you can close out your contract or move on to another marketing project.
• Print design – Like web design, print design is a niche skill in today’s marketing landscape. Depending on your priorities, you might not be maximizing your opportunities to capitalize on print media—and despite the rise of digital media, print media is considered more credible by most consumers [1]. An outside creative consultant can help uncover these opportunities and produce high-performing assets.
• Video production – Video production is another aspect of marketing that requires specialized skills (like camera operation and editing) and high-quality equipment (which can cost a pretty penny). Instead of investing time and ample resources to purchase equipment and make video content yourself, consider turning to an expert—a digital marketing team that’s already proficient and efficient.

Coal Creative: A Teammate You Can Count On

When it’s time to partner with an outside digital marketing team to supplement your internal resources, turn to Coal Creative. Regardless of whether you’re looking for help with social media, web design, print design, or video production, our team brings fresh ideas, keen eyes, and unrivaled dedication to every project.

We’re also able to meet and brainstorm with sole representatives or full teams. In either case, we take the time to get to know your company so that projects reflect and uphold your quality standards.

If you’re ready to partner with a powerhouse digital marketing team in NEPA, check out our full slate of services and drop us a line.

Sources:

[1] S. Emrich, “The Importance of Print Media and How It Can Benefit Your Brand,” Entrepreneur. June 6, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.entrepreneur.com/growing-a-business/the-importance-of-print-media-and-how-it-can-benefit-your/426749. [Accessed October 12, 2023].

The post Why Hire an Outside Marketing Team? first appeared on Coal Creative.

In fact, recent studies into product design reveal that customers are more likely to choose aesthetically pleasing items from brands even if they’re not as functional as their plainer counterparts [1]. Similarly, well-designed websites have been found to boost consumer confidence and inspire more sales [2]. 

Put simply, business aesthetics often outweigh function when it comes to winning consumer trust—and your brand’s creative assets are the primary way in which consumers experience your business. In this edition of Creative Juice, we’ll discuss the importance of crafting memorable, well-designed creative assets to boost your social media presence and, ultimately, your brand’s success.

What Are Creative Assets and Why Are They Important?

Creative assets encompass the content users see in your advertising campaigns, on your website and social media pages, and on your products. There is a wide variety of creative assets a business may choose to represent itself with, including:

• Logos
• Branding elements, such as signatures colors, and fonts
• A website
• Social media pages with well-branded graphics and video content
• Physical mediums, such as business cards or pamphlets

These assets are essential to your success because they speak for your business. Together, they help you tell your brand story and allow consumers to easily identify and connect with your brand.

How can you take advantage of these assets? Check out the following tips: 

Spice Up Your Social Media

Memorable creative assets are particularly important for bolstering your social media presence. 90% of users follow brands on social media and nearly 80% interact with businesses via their messaging services [3] [4]. 

In essence, social media is the primary way in which consumers engage with brands. Using memorable creative assets enhances the user experience and keeps your brand at the top of consumers’ minds—even after they’ve left your page. 

To keep your followers engaged and excited, utilize:

• An identifiable tone in your posts and client interactions
• An easy-to-remember handle across your different accounts
• Consistent aesthetics, such as a quickly recognizable logo for your profile picture

And we’re not just talking about photos or graphics, either. These days, video is king, with Reels and TikToks dominating the bulk of shared content. Having well-branded video content ensures you are telling the story of your brand—in the way you want. From scroll-stopping ads to heartwarming employee highlights, make sure that all your video content aligns with your brand’s tone, voice, and look. 

Lean on a Lovable, Laudable Logo

Think of a globally-recognized company, corporation, or brand. More likely than not, you’re already picturing their logo—especially if it’s a particularly memorable one. From the signature swoop to the golden arches and those coffee-curating mermaids, the world’s biggest brands have instantly recognizable logos.

This kind of instant recognition is key in a consumer market where logos are the true face of your business. Case in point: 75% of modern consumers say they identify brands by their logos—so pick something that will stay tattooed in their memories for years to come [5]. 

Stick to Your Signature Shades

Some of the world’s biggest brands aren’t only recognizable by their logos, but also their associated colors. The most famous sports cars and cola cans, for instance, come in brilliant shades of red—and we don’t even need to mention company names for you to recognize them. 

Other brands go all in on company colors by creating and copyrighting their own hues. Some of the most famous examples of this include [6]:

• UPS’s bespoke brown
• Barbie’s patented pink 
• Target’s robust red

These signature shades not only give brands their own unique flair, they also help boost recognizability. Once you have a custom color associated with your business, brand awareness and recognition can increase by as much as 80% [7]. So, to build an association between your company and its colors, consistently choose the same eye-catching shades for your social media pages, website, and other platforms.

Optimize and Stylize Your Site

Websites are essential for conducting business in our modern commercial landscape—though nearly a third of brands are missing this crucial asset [8]. Furthermore, it’s not enough to just have a website; it must be aesthetically pleasing and fully functional, too.

As mentioned, consumers place a higher degree of trust in websites they deem well-designed [2]. Additionally, users are exceptionally quick to form opinions about a website—taking, on average, just 0.05 seconds [8].

Because your website is often your customer’s first impression of your business, their image of your brand may be instantly sullied if something about your site is off. So, when designing your website, follow your brand’s style and aesthetic, but ensure it’s easily navigable and glitch-free as well.  

Make Assets Memorable Across a Myriad of Mediums

While consumers will mostly encounter your brand via digital spaces such as social media and your website, physical mediums are still important for your overall brand experience and story. 

Business cards, for example, are still highly relevant to contemporary commerce. Approximately 27 million are printed every day and, when they’re creative and memorable, they can be incredible assets for your company [9]. Even simply adding color will make consumers hold onto them ten times longer than if they’re black and white—so bust out those signature shades once again [10]!

Business cards aren’t the only physical advertising medium to consider, either. Depending on your targeted demographics, you may also want to think about crafting:

• Pamphlets
• Flyers
• Ads for newspapers and magazines

Such mediums are particularly influential to consumers aged 65 and older, a majority of whom admit to making purchases directly influenced by print advertisements [11]. 

No matter what creative assets you choose to utilize for your business, however, remember to make them your own and tell a consistent brand story that consumers can instantly recognize across any touchpoint.

Crafting Hot Creative Assets For Your Business? Fire Them Up with Coal!

Dreaming up and designing memorable creative assets is key to telling your brand’s story. But not everyone has the visionary, artistic, or technical skills to create logos, websites, social media posts, and other key assets. 

If you need a helping hand with these endeavors, working with a reputable creative agency can facilitate bold and beautiful creative assets. At Coal, we can suggest designs, dream up prototypes, draw out drafts, and revise assets to your liking. 

So, if you’re looking for a creative collaborator, you know just who to call.

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Sources: 

[1] “Effects of Design Aesthetics on the Perceived Value of a Product.” National Library of Medicine. July 29, 2021. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8359925/. Accessed January 22, 2024. 

[2] “5 Trust-Based Web Design Choices To Increase Your Conversion Rate.” Forbes. June 1, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2023/06/01/5-trust-based-web-design-choices-to-increase-your-conversion-rate/?sh=7fd1ea9c715c. Accessed January 22, 2024. 

[3] “How (& Where) Consumers Discover Products on Social Media [New Data].” HubSpot. October 3, 2023. https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/social-media-product-research. Accessed January 22, 2024.

[4] “Top Social Media Statistics And Trends Of 2024.” Forbes. May 18, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/social-media-statistics/. Accessed January 22, 2024. 

[5] “20+ LOGO STATISTICS YOU NEED TO KNOW [2023]: FACTS + TRENDS IN BRANDING.” Zippia. November 2, 2022. https://www.zippia.com/advice/logo-statistics/. Accessed January 22, 2024. 

[6] “12 Colors So Synonymous With Brands, Their Colors Are Trademarked.” Yahoo! Finance. April 12, 2023. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/12-colors-trademarked-yes-just-221602729.html?guccounter=1. Accessed January 22, 2024. 

[7] “Color Psychology: How To Use it in Marketing and Branding.” HubSpot. July 11, 2023. https://blog.hubspot.com/the-hustle/psychology-of-color. Accessed January 22, 2024. 

[8] “Top Website Statistics For 2023.” Forbes. February 14, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/software/website-statistics/. Accessed January 22, 2024. 

[9] “Business Card Statistics.” CreditDonkey. July 20, 2022. https://www.creditdonkey.com/business-card-statistics.html. Accessed January 22, 2024.

[10] “How to choose the perfect colors for your business card.” Vista Print. https://www.vistaprint.com/hub/business-card-colors. Accessed January 22, 2024.
[11] “Share of consumers who have purchased products after seeing a print ad in the United States as of September 2017, by age group.” Statista. September, 2017. https://www.statista.com/statistics/760080/us-consumers-age-purchasing-products-after-seeing-print-ad/. Accessed January 22, 2024.

The post Why Well-Designed Creative Assets Are Essential to Your Business first appeared on Coal Creative.

Traditional marketing mediums such as print ads, posters and pamphlets are tangible, trustworthy sources that consumers can feel confident about. In fact, with over 82% of consumers believing in the honesty of these advertising channels, they command more public trust than any modern digital format [1].

But in order for people to really notice your ads and offerings, you need designs that capture consumers’ attention—which isn’t as simple as you might think. From gorgeous graphics to perfectly paired color palettes and fonts, many complex elements go into crafting memorable design motifs. 

Luckily, with a creative agency like Coal elevating your aesthetics and serving up sizzling style across every traditional medium, you can count on always having beautiful, on-brand designs.

The Enduring Preeminence of Traditional Design

While digital spaces like X, Insta and Threads are important for connecting with internet users, they don’t necessarily reach every potential customer. Advertising on digital mediums alone, in fact, can mean missing out on the nearly 30% of Americans who wholly avoid social media and other similar online spaces [2].

To that end, traditional marketing channels offer a dependable means of connecting with this large swath of consumers. Print ads are front-of-mind when it comes to traditional advertising mediums, and some of the most common ways consumers encounter them can include:

• Spreads in magazines, newspapers and other print media
• Through brochures and pamphlets
• On posters and flyers

If you’re not capitalizing on these forms already, you’re forgoing the chance to meet consumers on mediums they trust. While traditional print advertising can bring a boon to any kind of business, Forbes identifies 11 fields where it’s projected to deliver an enticing return on investment in 2023 and beyond: [3]

• E-commerce
• Pharmaceutical 
• Luxury
• Interior design 
• Real estate
• Elder care and senior services
• Wealth management 
• Tourism and hospitality
• Fast-moving consumer goods
• Niche travel services
• Service-based businesses

Whether you’re shipping out shirts, redesigning rooms or guiding graveyard ghost tours, print ads and other traditional design mediums are worthwhile investments that can help you expand to new clientele. That is, of course, if they’re aesthetically enthralling, expertly designed and bespoke for your brand. 

How Can Impeccable Design Help Brands Connect With More Consumers?

Whether we like it or not, books are judged by their covers (literally), and brands, products and ads are gauged by their aesthetics. Impeccable design is essential when it comes to influencing consumer behavior and luring in more clientele—and that’s a scientific fact!

Recently, a top team of neurologists and marketing experts answered the age-old question: What happens to our brains when a company’s offerings are visually appealing?

The answer? We’re neurologically overcome with a wave of positive emotions that subconsciously compel us toward the aesthetically appealing item. Bland designs, unfortunately, don’t elicit the same effect. [4]

This is all to say: An effective branding strategy pays close attention to catering awe-inspiring aesthetics across traditional design mediums. These aren’t limited to just products and print ads, either. They can include other mediums, such as:

• Printed presentations and sales materials – Samples and sales aides are a make-or-break tool that can help customers decide on your brand. Ensure they’re neat, well-organized and appealing to your target clientele.

• Billboards – While they may pass by in an instant during our commutes, nearly 82% of people can clearly recall a clever, well-designed billboard they’ve recently seen. [5]

• Business cards – Business cards are notorious for disappearing from customers’ wallets. But, with the right design principles—such as layering in some eye-catching color—you can increase the likelihood that they’ll be kept tenfold. [6]

• Other formats – From apparel to signs and menus, there are a plethora of traditional design formats that can serve as opportunities to both exhibit your brand and wow consumers with your unbeatable aesthetics. 

All of these different mediums speak for your business. Like different social media accounts, they’re all touchpoints where consumers can meet your brand and understand what you’re all about. 

Unfortunately, there are no cut-and-dry formulas for producing visually appealing designs. Each magazine ad, t-shirt and takeaway menu requires undivided attention and catered care. And, while we do have some suggestions for style principles, our best advice is to make sure your design elements tell your story with beautiful, bespoke aesthetics crafted by the experts at Coal.

Call on Coal To Boost Your Brand’s Traditional Design Elements

Striking visual design is critical to enticing consumers toward your products, services and brand. Furthermore, traditional mediums, such as print ads, booklets and billboards, present trustworthy opportunities to connect with some of society’s hardest-to-reach consumers.

And, when it comes to combining aesthetic design skills with in-depth knowledge of these mediums, there’s no more adept creative agency in Northeast Pennsylvania (NEPA) or beyond than Coal Creative. 

With close attention to detail and an eye for the flashy and fashionable, Coal delivers delightful designs across a variety of traditional mediums, including:

• Print ads
• Billboards
• Posters and flyers
• Printed presentation and sales materials
• Business cards
• Brochures & pamphlets
• Postcards
• Apparel
• Newspaper ads
• Menus
• Books and booklets
• Trail signs and informational signage

And, because we understand the importance of catered traditional design for modern businesses, we’ll work carefully alongside you to craft patterns, pictures and palettes that advance your brand’s image and capture the aesthetic you’ve always dreamed of.

Whether it’s a business card, brochure or book jacket, we can help you rethink the possibilities of traditional mediums and capture the attention of more consumers. Learn more about our services and request a proposal to kick things off with Coal today!

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Sources: 

[1] “14 Ways Print Advertising Can Provide New Audience Potential For Your Company.” Forbes. October 19, 2018. [Online] Available: https://www.forbes.com/. Accessed September 25, 2023.

[2] “Social Media Fact Sheet.” PEW Research Center. April 7, 2021. [Online] Available: https://www.pewresearch.org/. Accessed September 25, 2023.

[3] “11 Types Of Businesses Seeing Great Results With Print Ads In 2023.” Forbes. July 11, 2023. [Online] Available: https://www.forbes.com/. Accessed September 25, 2023.

[4] “Effects of Design Aesthetics on the Perceived Value of a Product.” National Library of Medicine. July 29, 2021. [Online] Available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/. Accessed September 25, 2023.

[5] “Billboard And Outdoor Advertising Global Market Report 2023.” The Business Research Company. February 2023. [Online] Available: https://www.reportlinker.com/. Accessed September 25, 2023.
[6] “4 Business Card Statistics that Will Make You Rethink Your Strategy.” Adobe. October 26, 2016. [Online] Available: https://blog.adobe.com/. Accessed September 25, 2023.

The post Elevating The Essentials: Trust Coal for Your Brand’s Traditional Design Needs first appeared on Coal Creative.