In a world of Twitter and Facebook, it seems strange that companies would start blogging when they could simply send out short blasts in tweets or posts. But businesses have found that those short blasts don’t allow them to say everything they want to say. Blogs offer them the forum they need to communicate ideas with their customers.  And like us, some businesses have A LOT to say!

With more and more companies turning to blogs, it’s the perfect time to incorporate one into YOUR marketing mix. Blogs are simple and aren’t as time-consuming as you think. Just pick a topic that is important to your company or that you want your customers to know. All it takes is a few short paragraphs and you’re done!

Blogs also allow companies to post expert articles about their business. Useful tips and industry trends are just a few things that can be included in expert blog posts.  It’s really a win-win situation. You get to show off your smarts and your audience gets some helpful information. Sounds good to us!

You may be wondering how your audience is going to access your blog. Well, that’s easy! You can easily link your blog to your website and your social media profiles. When you update your blog, you can update your social media as well.  Just make sure you have a super-interesting title so all your friends and followers will be dying to find out what you say next.

The updating of your blog is also important. You don’t want to update your blog too much and clog up your website and social media pages, but you don’t want to leave your blog barren, with updates only every few months.  The goal is to achieve a perfect balance.

If you need inspiration for your blog, look at other companies’ Facebooks and Twitters for ideas.  Or just look at all the great blogs Hype has done! If you need some help getting into the swing of things, we have some great ideas that can get your blog started. Good luck and happy blogging!

First of all, having email set up on a free account looks somewhat unprofessional. Sure, joescoffeeshop@yahoo.com makes sense. But joe@joescoffeeshop.com looks even better.  Some customers may have the perception that if you’re using a free email service, you must not use the Internet or email to contact your customers very frequently.  And, if you have a website, using your URL is another way of branding!

Secondly, these free email services sometimes have problems delivering messages to an inbox.  Thought you sent that client an email saying you’d have to reschedule that meeting? It may turn out that the message never really sent, leaving your client waiting for you to show up for that meeting.

Customer service for free email accounts like Hotmail, Yahoo or Gmail is, well, pretty much non-existent. Since you don’t pay for the account, the company has no obligation to help fix your problem. You can send an email to customer support, but how are you supposed to do that if your email is down? This can pose a problem when you need your mail back and running ASAP.

You should take every step possible to be accessible to your customer. You might think that purchasing a domain name and email service to go with it may be ridiculously expensive, but actually they’re pretty affordable. Having a domain name and email account show your professionalism as well as dedication to serving your customers.

Not to mention, Hype Creative designs super-cool websites equipped with email service that can be used with Outlook or Mail. It’ll always look more professional to your client if your email is joe@joescoffeeshop.com, than joescoffeeshop@yahoo.com. So, what are you waiting for? Make it happen!

Now, we have several good reasons why you should use a professional printer to print these things. You can argue that printing from the office or home printer is soooooo much cheaper and that it’ll create the same end product as a professional printer. We’d beg to differ.

We know you’d say that the image your home or office printer is just like the one a professional printer could create. Ha! The truth is, a professional print job will yield sharper images, more colors, and a more vibrant product than anything your home printer could ever pull off. Even the fanciest of personal printers could never match the quality you’ll get with a professional print job.

Ever notice that things that you print from your office printer usually have a white border around the edges of the page? Well, if you didn’t, you will now. Something personal printers can’t compete with is the full bleeds that professional printers offer.  Full bleeds are when the images and text are printed to very edge of the page, i.e. no white border. Even if you don’t think full bleeds are essential for your print job, they still look more professional and higher quality than no bleeds.

Still not sold?  What if we told you that professional printing lasts longer than inkjet printing? Well, it’s true. Professional printing keeps your business cards, postcards, flyers, or any other piece looking brilliant and beautiful for much longer than any home or office printer ink could. That means your company looks better for longer, and that’s a pretty good thing, right?

Now, let’s talk about paper size. We don’t know if you’ve tried printing your own business cards, but if you have, you know what a hassle it is. Trying to load the small pieces of cardstock into the printer only to find a smeared and ruined end product. Professional printers can use virtually any size paper, and any thickness. Glossy paper? No problem!  There are so many more options with professional printers. They even have custom sized paper to fit your specific needs. So, that huge poster you wanted to hang in the office but could never print on your office computer? It can be done easily at a professional printer!

We think we’ve made a pretty good case for using professional printing. For those of you who are still skeptical, mainly because of price, we have an answer for you as well. If you think of all the money you’ll spend on ink cartridges, paper, printing mistakes and all the time it takes to print everything, professional printers are pretty cheap.  We at Hype Creative offer print brokering services, so you have no excuse!

We love how professional and high-quality all of our brochures, postcards, business cards, and flyers look using professional printing.  We hope you’ll try it and love it, too! Plus, professional printing saves you the difficult and tiresome task of fighting with your printer…again

We practice what we preach. If you haven’t seen our professionally printed items, we’ll be glad to send you a sample. Here are just a few printing services that we can hook you up with:

• Metallics
• UV Coating
• Spot Color
• Full-Color (about the same cost as 1-color these days)
• Unlimited paper selection
• Die cutting

We know you’re intrigued now, so don’t hesitate! Give Hype Creative a call today and see what kind of printing magic we can do for you!

Of course, it’s pretty easy to figure out that Facebook leads to lots of exposure for your brand.  If you’re already on the site, you can already see how friends “like” something and it starts a chain reaction among their friends “liking” the same thing. Pretty soon, friends of friends of friends are “liking” Joe’s Coffee Shop.  Yes, it’s annoying that it clogs up your feed, but it does wonders for the business. This can work to your advantage, too.

Similarly, Facebook recommends fan pages that friends like on the right side of the users’ homepage. This way, if 30 of a users’ friends like your page, they will see the recommendation on their homepage. It’s another way Facebook helps you grow your brand without having to do a thing.

Despite all the ways Facebook can help you, you are going to have to do a little work yourself. We promise it won’t be too terrible. But, there are a few important things to remember when beginning your company’s Facebook page:

1. Keep the tone informal. You aren’t making a sales pitch to the CEO, you’re talking to the people who buy your brand. They want the message to be simple, not shrouded in fancypants terms.
2. Facebook is made for interaction, so remember to engage your fans. Like any relationship, communication is a two-way street.

A few suggestions to get your fans excited and interested about your company:

• Post questions in your status. Fans will be able to comment on the status with their answers and you’ll find out what they’re really thinking. This tactic might even beat market research!
• Post behind-the-scenes photos of something your company is doing so fans can get an idea of what happens on a daily basis.
• Post “sneak peek” photos of products or work you’ve done. Fans will get to the see these firsthand, so they may be more willing to buy said product.
• Tag clients or partners in your status updates. It gives them exposure, and they may return the favor down the line. This increases your reach to users who are fans of your client, but not you…yet.

As more and more companies are finding out, Facebook is your friend when trying to expand the reach of your brand. And now research is showing that all those fans that you collect have a worth. According to a study by Syncapse, the average value of a Facebook fan is about $136. A little surprised? We’re not! That’s why we use Facebook! Why would companies keep creating Facebook pages if they didn’t?

You may wonder how this whole worth thing translates into profit for your business. Well, it’s been shown that fans of your page will spend about $70 more on your brand than people who aren’t fans of your page.  68% of your fans will recommend your brand to family and friends, compared to 28% of non-fans. The facts are pretty clear: fans will spend more with your brand and recommend it more than if they weren’t fans.

Our advice? Start up a Facebook and start getting fans! Hype Creative can help you get your Facebook up and running, and we design custom Facebook pages that will wow all your fans.  Check out our page and see how it’s done. And remember, we’ll be your fan if you’ll be ours.

As we all know, business cards are a must for networking.  Handing out your business card is way more effective than telling a potential client to visit your website or find you on Facebook. It’s obvious that giving the potential client your information in a concrete way is going to yield better results than simply telling them to look you up online.

Business cards are, and always will be, professional. Future employers or potential clients will remember an interesting or unique business card.  And getting a leg up on the competition is always a good thing!

Some could argue that the address book on their smartphone or computer can serve the same purpose as a business card. But having a visual reminder of the person you want to contact is always more useful than a forgotten entry your address book.

Business cards are also useful when referrals are used. A satisfied client may hand your business card onto someone who needs your service or product.  We are fortunate to have clients that do this for us (by the way, thanks!). This kind of word-of-mouth advertising can do wonders for you and your business.

The times may be changing, but one thing that won’t change is the use of business cards. They are still an important way to promote yourself and your business, and are cheap to boot! You’ve heard “the more things change, the more they stay the same” and it’s true!

There are some things we want you to know when designing your business card. First of all, make sure it represents your business. If you’re a crazy-awesome marketing company like us, then you need to have fun, crazy-awesome business cards. The more memorable, the better! If your business is a little more subdued, then go for a style that reflects your tone. Whatever works for you! And please never, ever print your business cards on awful paper with perforated edges. We mean it!

To find out how you can get some of our fantastic ideas for your business cards or see some of the cards we’ve done in the past, visit our website at www.hype-creative.com!

Sure, everyone has some kind of New Year’s resolution. Eating healthier, implementing a new exercise regimen and cutting back on sweets or fast food (wow, why do all of the ones that come to mind involve losing weight?) are some of the most popular resolutions, but have you ever thought about a resolution for your company?

While having a personal resolution is great, you should also thoughtfully consider creating one for your business. The beginning of the year is a prime time to put a new marketing idea into action. You could (finally) begin that social media plan that you’ve been talking about (or at least update the one you already have a little more frequently!), update your website, create a direct mail campaign or optimize your website for the mobile web.

Whatever your resolution may be, we at Hype can make it happen! If you’re having trouble pinpointing exactly what your resolution should be, we’ve got some pretty amazing ideas that may be just what you’re looking for. We think that any step, big or small, is a step in the right direction to improving your marketing efforts.  And with the many services that we offer, we’re bound to have some ingenious marketing strategy that will strike your resolution fancy.

We’ll let you ponder your resolution for the new year and when you’re ready, we know you’ll give us a call. But for now, enjoy wrapping gifts, spending time with family and friends and listening to that never-ending Christmas music. From all of us at Hype Creative, we wish you a very happy holiday season and a fabulous new year!

After five years, we decided it was time for a change, so we did a complete makeover of our brand – from our business cards to our fabulous new website. (Of course, you’ll still find our signature color, purple, present in our new design.)  We’ve also added some new features, like Facebook and Twitter, so we can connect with all of our adoring fans and followers out there.

What does this mean for you? Well, the new Hype website is easy-to-navigate and displays our work for all to see. Our new business cards are pretty awesome and list our services, along with our new location in Troy. And we’re now offering customized Facebook and Twitter pages, social media management and personalized blogging services. Pretty sweet, huh?

While we’re at it, we should introduce ourselves to those of you who may not know us. We at Hype Creative are a group of creative geniuses that specialize in graphic design, web development and design, strategic marketing, event planning, public relations, advertising, social media management, signage, print collateral, advertising specialties, apparel and just about anything else you can think of!

We like rocking out to vinyl records while we work, using our Chief Cuteness Officer, Luna, the office cat, as inspiration and most importantly, creating amazing work for our clients.  We’re the most fabulous designers, writers and strategists you’ll ever meet…and we’d love to meet you! If you’d like to know more about Hype Creative, our services or the outstanding people who work here, visit our website at www.hype-creative.com, become a fan on Facebook, a follower on Twitter or give us a ring at 618.654.7748.  We’d love to help you EXPAND YOUR BRAND!