PowerBand Graphics LLC – Creative Branding and Graphic Design for Small Businesses in Nebraska.

April is over half way through and I’ve almost forgotten to post the latest Strictly Business cover! Photography is once again by Shane & Sunny Photography.

PowerBand Graphics has continued to grow and there will be plenty of new things to post in the coming months. We just joined the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and will be networking and updating everyone on local events. New web design and identity projects are being finished for local businesses as well.

Another exciting project in the works are eduction classes for small business on what it takes to create powerful branding and how to go about doing this. Powerful branding means more than just logos. We’ll cover identity, establishing a message, consistent advertising, web design and more! Stay tuned!

PowerBand Graphics was contracted to create a custom website design for Lincoln Criminal Defense Attorney Tregg Lunn. The site needed to be easy to navigate, quick loading and professional looking. This site was built with static XHTML and CSS. Content management systems are great but not always necessary. They can some times add a layer of complexity and cost that isn’t ideal. PowerBand Graphics worked with the Tregg Lunn to create a solution that met their needs but was an excellent value to them. The functioning site can be viewed at www.tregglunnlaw.com

I’ve been considering this topic for a while because it’s something that has come up with clients and friends from time to time. I recently read “Crush It” by Gary Vaynerchuk, it’s a quick read about the importance of branding yourself as a business and person using social media like Facebook and Twitter. I was impressed at how many points he made that were relevant both to entrepreneurs and graphic designers. At one point he even highlights the importance of having a professionally designed website. I won’t get into that here but I think his main message is important for businesses.

Branding yourself using social media can be a crucial way to drive business and create new venues for you to interact with clients.

The thing is (as he describes in more detail), places like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube are great but you can’t just create an account and expect sales from it the next day (or even over the course of initial months). You have to spend a lot of time building relationships and creating a community. This doesn’t happen overnight. Social media works best when you are not shouting out your daily specials, it works best when you create a genuine face to your company. Let your sales and merchandising staff have an individual voice. Train your marketing team in customer care basics. If you are a one-person show, even better, people love being able to put a face to a profession and humanizing yourself is never a bad thing in this corporate world. Networking online is the same as networking in the real world, you recommend and follow people and products you trust, they in turn do the same for you.

The idea is that you are best at what you do, right? For whatever reason you decided to strike out on your own and build a business that does things different than anyone else. There should be a reason clients choose you so prove it to them! Being an expert in your field is what got you where you are today and letting people tap into that expertise allows you gain their trust and increase your value in their eyes. Soon people will be falling over themselves for your opinion and your business. So keep it simple: work hard, be sincere and treat people with respect. You’ll have social media down in no time…

Another month has come and gone which means another Strictly Business cover! It’s been a busy month but I’ve got new blog posts and updates on the way. The featured business on this issue is TCW Construction with the photo once again provided by Shane & Sunny Photography.