It is very essential that all of the photographs used are of high res quality. As you can see from the example above, it is obvious whether or not you have a high or low res image.

A common comment that we hear from past clients are, “It really doesn’t matter”. Contrary to popular belief, how your advertisement looks, has a huge reflection on you, your business, and the company responsible for your designs. Image and perception play a major role in consumers’ perception of your company. Another observation we’ve made is clients shopping on various search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Bing for their photos. While theses are excellent search engines, you must be mindful of 2 things–rights to the photos found and the resolution of these images. We warn clients all the time of risks involved in using images found on search engines.

Where can I get these high resolution images that you have been talking about? I am so glad you asked. You have 1 of 2 options to accomplish this. Option 1: you can purchase stock images online. A few sites that we have used are Big Stock Photo, Shutterstock, Fotolia, and Dreamstime. Option 2: have someone take the images for you professionally. Many times when our clients request particular photos, we will have our sister company (A. Renee Photography) take the photos for them in a high res format. The benefit of this is that it allows us to stage the photo in a manner that will be beneficial to the overall design.

At the end of the day you have to ask yourself this question: Are you willing to sacrifice the lens through which your clients view you and your company as a result of poor execution of your advertising materials? If not then you have to make sure that these things are covered when your advertisements are being created. I strongly encourage you to be mindful of the images being used in your advertisements, as they ultimately reflect your brand. The goal with any advertising piece is to make a positive, lasting impression in the minds of your future clientele.

Many people discount the importance of having professionally designed business cards. At C. Kinloch Media Group, we have a saying that business cards are “tiny walking bill boards.” Professional business cards are a very essential part when starting a company. You should be passing out business cards and networking with other individuals. Now I know that some may disagree that professional business cards are not an important part of their business, and I can agree with that for a very small percentages of companies. However, the majority of companies need a professional business card. Why?

Having a professional business card makes your company stand out from the rest.  Everyone now-a-days has a business card, so in order to be effective you have to have a business card that is unique. There are a plethora of business cards being passed around that are of average quality. No one remembers mediocrity. By investing in your business cards’  design and paper selection, you can give them a unique appeal with a lasting first impression. As tempting as it may seem, be mindful that your design  isn’t cluttered with information. Business cards are small and should be very simple, easy to gather information, convey the name of your company, the services provided, and how you can be contacted. When having your business card designed, try and utilize the front and the back of the card to space your information well.

A Few Things You Shouldn’t Do with Your Business Card:

• In today’s day and time people are involved in multiple types of businesses. It seems very economical to place all of your information about all of your businesses on one business card. However it would be more professional of you to have two professionally designed business cards. The benefit of this is that you don’t confuse others with all your many business ventures. A business card shouldn’t be complex. When someone looks at it they should be able to gather the information about that 1 service or product that you are offering, not all of them at one time.

• If you choose to put your picture on your business card, there is one very important key, you have to make sure that the picture that people see is exactly what they see when they meet you. There’s nothing worst than false advertisement.

• Finally, make sure that all information provided are updated and accurate, including phone numbers and e-mail addresses. If you list your web address make sure that the site is live or that there is a “Coming Soon” memo on your site.

At the end of the day there are millions of business cards floating around. The question that you should ask yourself is what makes my business card unique and stand out from all of the others (especially cards in your industry).

It is our goal that throughout this blog we will offer effective tips, hints, and tricks that you can start utilizing immediately. We want to help and educate others on ways to making sure that their advertising looks professional, unique and polished. We hope that you enjoy reading. If you have any questions about anything pertaining to our post, leave us a comment or email us at info@ckmediagroup.com

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