Fitness Photos

If you’ve browsed through Migrate Photos, you probably noticed that there weren’t many “people” pictures… Since I have a predilection for macro photography, I usually choose objects, flowers and insects as my subjects. I turned down quite a few requests from people wanting me to take family portraits because I just don’t feel comfortable with that kind of photography. I would end up with slanted close ups of hands, eyes and noses… and I don’t know if people would appreciate my perspective since most of them are very traditional when it comes to family pictures.

When my friend Sonia asked me to take fitness photos of her, I warned her: “I usually don’t photograph people, this is not my thing… and fitness photography is an art in itself that I know nothing about…”, but we decided to do it anyway. Just the two of us and a few pieces of equipment. No make up, no professional lighting, very basic.

Sonia’s body is a piece of art in itself, like a sculpture carefully defined, her muscles create lines and shapes that really inspired me. Here’s a little glimpse at the result.

Sonia Martin, “Fit is The New Sexy”™, is an athlete and fitness instructor.

#photo#emotions#sharing

Those annoying Instagram filters that make all of our pictures have a similar feel, sometimes help you create that one image that’s truly unique and beautiful. This is mine.

The Importance of Advertising for Local Businesses

“A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time.” ~ Henry Ford

Can you imagine what would happen if you stopped your clock just to give you more time? You might get the illusion of accomplishing more but ultimately, you would get left behind, especially in a world and era as fast paced as ours.

In today’s economy, business owners are sometimes reluctant to spend money on advertising, not realizing that it is the key to making their business move forward and increase sales.

Here are a few reasons why you should advertise.

- Not everyone knows who you are: Your business might have been established for years or just a few months, but chances are, people don’t know you yet. Families are moving in and out of cities and you need ways to let them know about you.

- Let them know you’re still in business: Just as people move in and out of cities, businesses open and close, especially in today’s economy. Regular advertising will let your customers know that you’re still here to serve them.

- Competition is fierce: You might see competition only as other businesses or products of your type, but really, competition is anything consumers are spending money on. Advertising will help you stand out from the crowd.

- Generate traffic: Steady traffic is the first step towards increasing sales and expanding customer base. Make your potential customers curious about a new product or service and offer them a discount. The more customers through the door, the better chance of a sale and a referral.

- Turn wants into needs: Convince people that they need your service or your product by creating catchy advertising and having a consistent presence, either in local magazines, mailers, billboards…

- Save your customers time and energy: Especially in today’s economy, you need to be there when consumers are ready to purchase. If they have been repeatedly exposed to your message, they won’t have to spend time researching, they will come to you when they need you.

- Keep your image strong: Your business is more likely to be chosen if you have provided a strong, reliable image that sticks in people’s head.  As I mentioned in a previous post, visual identity is key, make sure your advertising follows the trends of the moment.

- Move forward: Advertising is the perfect tool to make you stand out and help you move forward by getting recognition and increasing sales. Don’t see it as a cost but as an investment in your business.

There are many more reasons I could mention, but the bottom line is: advertising is important. It’s like an invitation for your potential customers to come see who you are and what you have to offer.

Contact Migrate Design to discuss the many advertising options available to you and your business.

Your Logo, Your Identity.

Why is having a logo so important?

A logo is a symbol or small design used to identify an organization, a business or even an individual, product or service. A logo is what gives you a visual identity and we all know how important it is in today’s world!

Relevant: Wether you want it very obvious or more subtile, your logo needs to relate to your company’s services, products or its name, one way or another.

Representation: Your logo is your image, so whatever you want your potential customers to know about your company, your logo should represent it. Make it look professional, stylish and smart – or fun, grungy and smart.

Memorable: A smart logo is a memorable logo, and by smart I mean simple yet able to deliver a message. It needs to grab people’s attention quickly and stay anchored in their minds.

Color: Choosing the right color is important but once again, less is more and a logo should work in black and white as well as in color.

Identity: So you have the perfect logo… Now what? Use it as your visual identity and spread it. Business cards, flyers, brochures, ads… you name it! The more present your logo is in your community, the more chances people will hire you or buy your products!

So, are logos important? YES! The moment you try to reach people and you want them to remember you or your business, you need a logo. Every business, as small as it might be, should have one.

What if you already have a logo but you’re not happy with it? Even though you shouldn’t change your visual identity too much – just like you wouldn’t change your name – it’s never too late to give it a small makeover. Visual trends change over the years and once your logo is established, it’s okay to change it to make it fit the times better. Pepsi is a good example for this type of design evolution.

Migrate Design can help you create something unique and memorable. Don’t be shy, get your visual identity out there!

Water Works Plumbing is the perfect example of logo makeover! From complicated and outdated, to simple and modern, Migrate Design gave this logo, a fresh new start.

2013, Here We Come!

I hope you had a wonderful Holiday season. It is now time to start planning for the New Year. One of the ways to grow your business successfully is to incorporate creative designs and graphics into your promotional materials. Migrate Design can help! We have lots of creative ideas and original designs and would love an opportunity to share these with you.

Let us assist you with your promotional needs, and be a part of your marketing strategy, perhaps a memorable new logo to start the New Year. Looking forward to partnering with you and make 2013 your most profitable year ever!

Happy New Year!

Local Internet Marketing

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the multitude of online marketing choices?

- You’re not alone!

Google Places, Bing and Yahoo Local offer basic business listings, as well as paid listing options. If you are trying to boost sales and increase local presence within your competitors, the following list will quickly and simply let you grasp all the local online marketing options available to you.

1. Local SEO – Gain top rankings in the natural or organic search engine listings for keywords that also contain a city or region name (i.e. “Santa Clarita SEO specialist”).

2. Pay-per-click Advertising – Create and place ads strategically on the Internet where people are looking for products and services within a given local area. When someone clicks on your ad, it sends them to your website and only then are you charged for the ad listing.

3. Pay-per-call Advertising – Similar to the pay-per-click advertising model, except having a website is not necessary. When someone calls the number on your ad, only then are you charged for the ad listing.

4. Local Directories – Listings and links in various online directories, including online yellow pages targeted to your locale, online yellow page advertising.

5. Fixed Placement Buys – Create and place ads strategically on Internet sites where people search for products and services within your local area.

Whether you’re looking to drive traffic to your site, fill your sales funnel with prospects or increase revenue – or all of those – the options listed above can help you meet your Internet marketing goals.

Migrate Design will guide you through various SEO procedures and help you with all your graphic design needs. Call us for a free consult.

Send Your Holiday Wishes With A Card

The holidays are approaching fast, and we all know what this means. The most magical time of the year can easily be the most stressful as well. One of the important tasks of the holidays is sending greeting cards to friends, family members, and even clients! If you’re a Mom or a business owner, you already have your hands full. Migrate Design can help you create your card for you.

Whether you are a person, a family or a business, we will customize a card that reflects your personality. Let us use one of our own photos, or send us one you took and love. We will design a card and make it a part of you. Don’t settle for a simple Christmas ornament, or a snow covered pine tree. Make it a card that people will remember from one year to the next. From a simple image to an elaborate photo montage, we can help you taylor a unique and special card.

This wonderful time of the year does not have to be stressful. But you must hurry… only a few weeks left!

Happy holidays ;)

Migrate Google+

Google+ has been making quite a buzz since its official release 2 days ago. We’ve read a lot of online articles about the new social network giant and they all depict a wide spread of emotions. Some people embrace it while others are frustrated at the idea of having to create yet another page for this new outlet. How successful will this new circle be? It’s anyone’s guess at this point. Nonetheless, Migrate Design decided optimistically to get on this bandwagon.

If you remain undecided about your decision to join or not, consider this important fact: If you have a page on Google+, it’ll be strongly put it forward in Google search results, and even more so if you have a lot of followers that +1 your business page! That is the foremost change, which will interest all businesses, organizations and companies looking for a better online referencing.

So get your g+ and let the “plusification” begin!

Migrate Design Google+

Santa Clarita Advertising (.com)

Migrate Design just acquired a new domain name: santaclaritaadvertising.com!

We’re very excited about owning such precious web real estate. This will undeniably boost online traffic and increase awareness of our company within the local advertising industry. With the proper links, we should be able to route traffic to our main site and let the visitor learn more about what we do and how we can help. Being able to include relevant information in the domain name can be extremely beneficial. If done right, it will guaranty a strong presence within search engines. Competition is fierce, so we don’t expect a number one ranking on Google or Yahoo… but we’ll definitely take first page.

The site is under construction for the moment. Stay tuned for upcoming news and content information. In the meantime, please visit our website at migratedesign.com.

Look For Migrate Design On Thumbtack.com

More than ever before, social networking continues to be a primal part of business marketing. It is important to always be on the look out for new online communities. Those web based social networking sites offer more than social relations among people. They allow users (businesses) to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within their individual networks, which can lead to new found business.

Migrate Design is now on thumbtack.com. Signing up is very quick and simple. It is time well spent. Now, we simply wait and see the kind of  response we get from this new service. If nothing else, it builds credibility and notoriety within existing clients.