Facebook insights

At O2, we use social media for lots of different marketing initiatives. In particular, we use Facebook a whole lot. Part of marketing on social media and Facebook is learning about your audience and understanding who is following you. So how do you do that?

Well, Facebook is making it a little easier to gain insight from your audience with the aptly named “Insights” tool. To use Facebook Insights, look for the Insights tab located on the top left of your profile page above your cover photo.

Clicking on the Insights tab prompts a wide collection of data and interactive graphs about your Facebook page. You’ll first be presented a quick overview of your page insights, including likes, reach, and engagement (more on the engagement metric later in this post).

In addition to the overview, there are several other tabs you can click to gain more specific info about your page. You can gather data about your page likes, including paid likes, organic likes, and unlikes. You can learn about the reach of your page, which is basically the total number of people your page “reached” over a certain time. The Visits tab shows you the number of times your timeline and each unique tab on your page was viewed. The Post tab gives you insight into each particular post on your page. The People tab offers demographic information about your audience – gender, age, location, and so on.

But the insight doesn’t end there. Facebook also offers the Export option, which you’ll see near the top right corner of the Insights tool. This feature allows you to export numerical data about your page and download it as a spreadsheet (e.g. an Excel file). These spreadsheets include an extensive collection of data about your page – likes, reach, engagement, etc.

We could go on and on about each metric, though for this post we’ll just briefly discuss one metric in particular: engagement. The engagement metric offers insight into the daily or weekly activity between your page’s posts and your audience based on several measures:

• Likes: the number of likes each of your posts get in a particular time frame
• Comments: the number of people actually commenting on posts. This is a great way to gain insight as a marketer, since you get to read precisely what your audience has to say about your page and posts
• Shares: the number of people who share your posts. This is also great for marketing, since your fans are helping you spread the word about your page. Shares can exponentially increase the overall exposure of an individual post as well as your page
• Clicks: this is every single click your page received in a particular time – clicks for a like, clicks for a comment, clicks for a share, clicks on a photo, clicks on a link, and so on

This is just a brief overview of the Insights feature on Facebook. Give it a try some time to learn more about your own page’s audience. Of course, if you have any questions, or would like to further discuss more about Facebook Insights, or about social media marketing in general, contact us today!

To contact O2 Creative, call 970-726-8021 or email [email protected].

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Top 5 print products from O2

We at O2 are your printing specialists in Grand County, Colorado. We’re always designing new print products and using those products in all sorts of different marketing initiatives. We can create a virtually endless variety of print media for all sorts of businesses and campaigns. Here’s a quick list of some of our top 5 print products that we can create for your business.

Business Cards. We can create the coolest business cards for you, from clean and simple designs, to glossy finishes and materials, to even unique shapes and sizes.

Stickers. These print products really make you “stick” in the minds of your audience. They’re a great way to build brand awareness and establish an identity in your market.

Posters. Putting up posters around town is a good way to make your presence known. Whether you’re advertising for your business, campaigning for a specific cause, or promoting your event, posters can really communicate with your community. Speaking of which…

Banners. Like posters, banners really catch the eye of your audience. They’re especially effective at establishing your presence at a specific event, and can also direct traffic to your business within your physical area.

Stationery. This one’s sort of a catch-all, since stationery includes LOTS of different print products. Whether you want office supplies, greeting cards, postcards (direct mailers work!), envelopes, letterhead, brochures, invitations, gift certificates, or any other sorts of stationery, we can create it for you!

This is just a quick list of five of our most popular print products. Of course, the list really does go on and on, from business signage to vehicle wraps to promotional products to…you get the idea. So for all your printing needs in Colorado and beyond, contact us at O2 Creative today!

To contact O2 Creative, call 970-726-8021 or email [email protected].

Click here for our last blog: O2 on the set of a shoot

O2 on the set of a shoot

O2 Creative’s graphic designer Eric recently had the opportunity to work on a commercial shoot!

Eric served as a production assistant for the art department on the set of a commercial shoot for Blue Moon Brewing Company. The shoot took place at the nearby Devil’s Thumb Ranch in Tabernash, just down the road from the O2 office in Fraser. We’re all pretty excited to have a member of team O2 on the set of a shoot.

Eric has always wanted to work on a film set, ever since his parents took him to Universal Studios as a child. When he was offered a spot on the production crew for this project, he jumped at the opportunity.

As an art production assistant, Eric’s job was to set up each scene and make sure every little thing would look good for the camera. The shoot was incredibly detail-oriented, from minute elements in the background of a scene, to the placement and appearance of each prop. For instance, the glass of beer in each scene had to have exactly one inch of head, which had to begin just above the Blue Moon logo on the glass. If the head didn’t look just right, Eric and the crew had to “fluff” it back up before taking the next shot.

Eric was one of about 25 people who worked on the set. He really enjoyed the opportunity to contribute his own creative suggestions to the director throughout the project. Each person played a unique role in the production of the commercial, and everyone functioned as part of a greater team with a unified goal. Eric’s experience working as part of a creative team at O2 better prepared him to work on the set of the shoot for Blue Moon. Working on the set also helped Eric gain new insight on how O2 can work as a creative team more efficiently on future projects.

The commercial itself offers an artistic perspective into the similarities of craftsmanship between snowboard making, woodworking, gourmet cooking, and of course, beer. The commercial will feature the rustic spaces of Devil’s Thumb Ranch, as well as the mountain scenery of Colorado’s Favorite Playground. Keep an eye out for the commercial to air soon!

Do you have any cool experiences working on a creative project? Please share your stories with us!

To contact O2 Creative, call 970-726-8021 or email [email protected].

Click here for our last blog – O2 at Gears & Beers!

Winter marketing

Summer is gone, September is here, and the seasons are changing yet again in the Colorado Rockies. (Labor Day really just came and went?? How’d that already happen!) We even had a dusting of snow along the Continental Divide this morning.

With the summer tourist traffic winding down and shoulder season just around the corner, now is the time to think ahead to winter in Grand County. The snowy months mean skiing, snowboarding, and lots of other cold weather fun. They also mean some of the heaviest traffic of the year, which means the busiest time of the year for many local companies.

To be prepared for the winter season’s business boom, your business needs to begin planning its winter marketing today! Getting your marketing and advertising initiatives in place means you can be fully prepared to capitalize on the snowy season’s tourist traffic.

Good marketing takes time. There’s plenty of planning, research, and coordination that can go into a campaign, not to mention graphic design, production and printing that may be involved. Starting early also means you’ll have time to fine-tune your campaign; to get your marketing message just right. This will not only help you attract more customers once they start arriving this winter, it can also make your customers aware of your business before they even get here.

Want to attract new customers with some posters and flyers, or a social media campaign? Want to increase your brand awareness with promotional products? Want to improve your online presence with blogging and search engine optimization? To have these and other marketing initiatives ready for the winter season, start preparing today.

We at O2 are about to launch a little marketing campaign of our own: we’ll be sending out direct mailer postcards to our clients and leads.

These postcards are a friendly reminder to get your marketing lined up in time to make the most of the upcoming ski season. When you see them, remember to contact us so we can get started soon!

Whether you have something specific in mind, or you just need help creating some effecting marketing initiatives, we can help. Contact us at O2 to start planning your winter marketing today!

To contact O2 Creative, call 970-726-8021 or email [email protected].

Click here for our last blog: a year in the new office!

Writing tips from O2

At O2, we write a lot. We write blogs for clients, write content for websites, write copy for advertisements, even write creatively in our free time. We recently discussed a few practical tips and tricks that have helped us become better writers, and we decided to post a few of the writing tips from O2 in this week’s blog:

Create an outline. Determine how you want to begin your written piece, how you want to present the main points, and how you want to conclude your work.

Take notes. If you come across a creative thought, write it down. You may have a great idea right now, but unless you make a note of it, you may not even remember it by the time you sit down later to write.

Use the fewest words possible. Try to keep your writing economical and to the point.

Let your imagination take over. Don’t hesitate to let a creative impulse take your work in an unexpected direction, especially in the initial draft stages.

Write a first draft. Your first draft is the most important, since this draft determines the ultimate direction of your writing. With that said…

Don’t sweat the first draft. Your first draft will never be your best, so don’t get upset if it just isn’t where you want it to be. Allow yourself time to revise your writing.

Sleep on it. After writing your draft, don’t be afraid to leave it be until tomorrow. Many of your best revisions are the ones you’ll make the next morning with a fresh mind.

Use a thesaurus. Sometimes finding the right word can make the difference between good writing and superlative writing. (Yup, we checked the thesaurus for that one.)

Proofread, over and over again! In addition to proofing your own work, have someone else proofread as well. It’s important to get a second set of eyes on a piece of writing.

Think about your audience. Consider who will be reading your work, and try to write in a voice that will communicate with them. Sometimes it even helps to imagine you are writing to a familiar friend.

Read it out loud. Hearing each word out loud will help you really understand the voice of your writing. This also helps you proof your work, since you can often catch those hidden errors when you hear the writing out loud.

Don’t get frustrated. If you’re experiencing the dreaded “writer’s block,” don’t try to force it. Just step away for a moment. Work on something else, go grab a fresh cup of coffee, or just take a walk to clear your mind.

Have fun with it, most importantly of all! Think of writing not as a homework assignment, but as a fun way to express yourself. Once you can really enjoy the writing process, you’ll become increasingly comfortable as a wordsmith, and your creative voice will really start to shine in your work.

These are just a few quick writing tips we discussed. There are certainly plenty of other tips, but this post is already getting a little lengthy. If you have any other tips you’d like to share, please do!

To contact O2 Creative, call 970-726-8021 or email [email protected].

Click here for our last blog: D&M’s promotional products mix

D&M’s promotional products mix

O2 recently had the pleasure of working with Grand County’s own D&M Roofing Company on some design work. Specifically, we created a comprehensive collection of promotional products for D&M – shirts, hats, water bottles, magnets, even a big banner. To ensure consistency in branding, we kept the logo design consistent across D&M’s promotional products mix – same font, same blue letters, same recognizable red roofing hammer.

Once the designs were determined, it was time to get creative with the promotional products themselves. First up were the hats: we selected a high-quality New Era trucker-style cap, custom embroidered with D&M’s logo. Here’s Sophie the O2 office pug proudly modeling a D&M roofing hat for us:

Next up, shirts. We created cool V-neck t-shirts complete with D&M’s logo on both the front and the back. The shirts, as well as the hats, can be used as uniforms for D&M’s employees or as promotional items for their clients.

We also created branded water bottles for D&M Roofing. Promotional products such as water bottles are great items to give to potential leads. These branded items help your leads remember your business, which can ultimately turn leads into customers.

Branded magnets were also in the mix. We created white oval magnets complete with D&M’s logo (a logo that you probably recognize by now – see, all this promotional products marketing really is working!). The magnets also feature D&M’s contact information, including their phone number and website. Here’s the O2 office refrigerator with D&M’s magnets on display:

Finally, a banner. We created a durable outdoor vinyl banner for D&M to display, again with the same familiar logo; again communicating the company’s contact information. Here’s O2’s Jaryd displaying the D&M banner while pensively gazing off into the distance:

The shirts, hats, magnets, banner, and bottles are all part of a consistent mix of promotional products we created for D&M Roofing. From retaining existing customers; to converting new ones; to increasing brand awareness at job sites, trade shows, and even around town; these promotional products are tangible items that D&M can now use to make the most of their marketing efforts.

Promotional products can work as marketing tools for just about any sort of business as well. To discuss the benefits of promotional products for your business, or to learn about all the different kinds of promotional products we can create for you, contact us at O2 or visit www.o2promo.com today!

To contact O2 Creative, call 970-726-8021 or email [email protected].

Click here for our last blog: the O2 dogs!

Blogging about blogs

At O2 Creative we offer many different services to businesses both large and small – graphic design, web design, marketing and advertising, even promotional products. But did you know we also offer blog writing service as well?

That’s right. At O2 we can create relevant professional blogs that will benefit your business in a number of ways. From a marketing perspective, blogs are a great way to communicate with your market. They create a personal side to your business to which your customers can relate.

Blogs really build your business’s online presence as well. When we write blogs for clients, we include key terms that help to improve search engine optimization (SEO). This means your blog is optimized to make it easier for Google and other search engines to find you, which in turn helps customers find you. Blogs bring a bump to your website traffic too.

What if your business just doesn’t have the time to blog? That’s where our blog writing service comes into play. As an agency, we can research your blog, draft your blog, revise your blog, publish your blog, even take photographs for your blog. We can be your creative agents both in the field and online. We can write just about any sort of blog you’d like as well, from technical and informative to adventuresome and fun.

So if you think your business can benefit from a blog, contact us at O2 today. Trust us – a blog really can help to attract customers and generate attention for your business. After all, you’re reading our blog right now, right?

To contact O2 Creative, call us at 970-726-8021 or email us at [email protected].

Click here to read our other blogs!

Print brokering from O2

O2 is pleased to announce that we’re now offering print brokering services! In fact, we’ve actually offered print brokering services for years. We just thought it might be time for a friendly reminder.

So what exactly is print brokering? Well, it means we serve as an agent between our clients and the wholesale printers with whom we have close working relationships. You could even call us print managers. We can design, coordinate, and source the best print work for your business, and since we’re experienced print brokers, we can source printing as efficiently and as cost-effectively as possible for you.

Working with a print broker offers several advantages. Print brokering allows us to keep our costs lower for you, the client, since we don’t have the overhead of owning our own printing presses. We’re often less expensive than working with a retail printer, and in fact, many “retail” printers are actually just print brokers themselves. Our working relationships with a variety of wholesale printers also allow us to quickly source a variety of the highest quality print products: business cards, stationery, stickers, banners, posters, signage, billboards, even pizza boxes!

And as a full-service agency, we also offer full-service marketing and design work in addition to our print brokering services. We can serve your business through every step of the service, from the time it takes to design the graphics for your print work, to coordinating your print work as part of a marketing campaign, to actually delivering your print work in a timely and efficient manner.

O2 Creative is proud to offer print brokering services, in addition to our graphic design, web design, and marketing services. We can even create promotional products for your business! It’s all part of our greater effort as an agency to serve your business as best we can.

For fast, affordable, eye-catching, high-quality print work, contact O2 Creative about our print brokering services!

To contact O2 Creative, call 970-726-8021 or email [email protected].

Click here for our next blog: O2 goin’ guerrilla!

O2 goin’ guerrilla

O2’s Jaryd and Brad recently headed down to the Front Range for what we like to call a “guerrilla marketing” campaign. Our client Granby Ranch wanted to gain a little more exposure among Colorado’s mountain biking community, so we organized a promotional day at the awesomely huge Wheat Ridge Cyclery in Wheat Ridge, CO.

After promoting the event on social media, we set up shop for an afternoon at the Cyclery. Customers were invited to spin Granby Ranch’s promo wheel, giving them the chance to win passes, coupons, cozies, and other promotional items too.

We also offered cool new Bike Granby Ranch stickers, and even brought along a few Save The Fraser River stickers as well.

Everyone who stopped by to see us was excited to learn about Bike Granby Ranch and to get the opportunity to check out Granby Ranch’s lift-served downhill and cross-country bike trails. Though many people knew Granby Ranch as a winter ski resort, not as many folks were familiar with the resort’s summer bike park.

The promotional efforts really went a long way in increasing Granby Ranch’s brand awareness of its summer bike (and golf, and fish, and grill) offerings. Selecting a large bike shop like Wheat Ridge Cyclery was especially valuable to the campaign, since we were able to increase Bike Granby Ranch’s brand awareness among its most important demographic: bikers!

In addition to effectively increasing Granby Ranch’s brand awareness, the promotional day was actually a lot of fun. At O2 we always enjoy working with our clients, and we’re always happy to undertake all sorts of creative marketing efforts, even if it’s a guerrilla campaign in a whole new community.

Thanks so much to Granby Ranch for being the fun clients they are, and to Wheat Ridge Cyclery for kindly hosting us!

If O2 can help your business with anything from marketing campaigns to promotional products, contact us today!

To contact O2 Creative, call us at 970-726-8021 or email [email protected].

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