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Creative Services &
Content Marketing
What Are Creative Services:
Human Creatives Creating Creatives
Creative Services are the services performed by human Creatives to produce one or more creatives. For a creative industry, you’d think we would have a better way of describing the service.
More specifically, creative services include writing, designing, photographing, recording and editing, which are all the products of human creativity. These can each be a stand-alone service, or provided in combination with each other, or in combination with other marketing services, like SEO, PPC+, Social Media Marketing or Content Marketing, which is described below.
The professionals who provide the service are called “Creatives” and the finished product is also called a “creative”. The finished product may also be called “marketing collateral”.
If we can create creatives with the creativity of a creative team then how many creatives can the creative team create? That would only be limited by the limitations of imagination, which is now supplemented by AI. Those who want to DIY often only use AI, which fails to fly, because when they only try with AI the human eye will spy the disguise. You might get by with DIY, but if you really want to grow, hire a pro.
In other words, AI should only be a tool when creating content. It is especially useful for collaborating ideas, overcoming writers block and gathering information (which still needs to be fact-checked and reviewed by a human expert). The output of AI is still overly generic and robotic, and that’s not the best content for representing a brand. When a brand is represented accurately, it should begin to take on it’s own persona. Furthermore, if a business is going to hire a marketing agency for creative services, then of course those services would involve doing more than what anyone can do on their own with AI. Also, even when we as a marketing agency need to use AI, we use it more professionally than the layman because we use professional-grade tools and we know how to train it to do what we want.
Sometimes businesses may try hiring freelancers for creative services and that is often hit or miss. Freelancers often need creative direction; it’s not enough to create a pretty project if it does not accomplish the marketing objective. Hiring Mirex Marketing for creative services means you’ll have a creative director for your project, and you’ll have a full, vetted creative team to create the branded content that you need.
What Is Content Marketing?
Publishing Content On “The Rest Of The Internet” To Promote Your Business
Content Marketing is when content is created and published to promote a business or brand. If we described the internet based on the most common places people visit and the most common marketing channels, we could say that it consists of search engines, social media and the rest of the internet. Content Marketing technically covers all three, but since Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Marketing are often described independently, we could say that Content Marketing services are how we promote your business on the rest of the internet.
If you read the pages on Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Marketing, you’ll discover that within the digital marketing industry, the word “marketing” has been used interchangeably with “advertising”. However, that is not the trend with Content Marketing. Generally when marketers discuss Content Marketing, it is implied that they are publishing quality content on organic channels. Yet, Mirex Marketing considers the traditional use of the word “marketing” which implies the use of any channel, paid or earned, to promote a business. So on this page and throughout this website, Content Marketing would be the creation of branded content and then publishing that content on both paid and organic channels, to generate awareness and leads for your business. Mirex Marketing also coins Content Marketing (CM) to be the combination of Organic Content Marketing (OCM) and Paid Content Marketing (PCM). (CM = OCM + PCM).
Mirex Marketing can help your business produce and publish your branded content on both organic and paid media, including text, display, audio and video media.
Why you’d want Creative Services & Content Marketing:
Get custom, branded, human-edited content for organic perpetual use or to use for advertising.
As mentioned above, the first reason to hire Mirex Marketing for Creative Services and Content Marketing is to get custom, branded, human-edited content from a vetted creative team that is lead by a creative director. When this content is published on organic channels such as your blog or your social media profiles (including content-rich channels like YouTube, podcasting channels, etc.) then that content will work perpetually for your business until it either becomes outdated or you decide to unpublish it. As long as it is live, up-to-date and relevant, it is an opportunity to educate your potential customers, help them gain more awareness of your brand, and convert them to leads.
Content can be published on your own website as well as multiple social media or guest posting platforms online for text, images, audio and video. It is the foundation of SEO and Social Media Marketing (or what we call Social Media Optimization, SMO). Publishing content on organic channels postures you as an authority in your industry and gives you near-instant credibility for the users who consume that content. You may have heard the old internet adage “Content is King” when it comes to digital marketing – that still holds true today. It’s even more true with advancements in AI, because AI is now used to summarize informaton for users in search engine results. The AI machine needs accurate, authoritative data to produce the summary.
When using content-rich channels for paid digital advertising, it is usually for a different strategy than for direct leads (such as calls to the business or other forms of contact). The goal of a content-rich ad campaign might be to build awareness, or a following or to create a database that you can then remarket to. It may also be to educate your potential customers so they can discover why they need your product or how it solves a problem they might be having. So instead of a direct lead, it would be a multi-step process of educating the customer and then converting them into a lead, possibly through much cheaper remarketing strategies, such as email marketing. This is more common with B2B businesses, businesses that have a strong sales force, new inventions, wellness and other niches that might require customer education or which may have low search volume. (If your business has products or services with a high search volume then you’d consider Search Engine Marketing first).
The phrase “search engine marketing” might mean different things to the layperson and to digital marketing professionals. Within the industry “search engine marketing” is often synonymous with “pay-per-click” advertising on search engines, the most dominant being Google. Yet the traditional use of the word “marketing” means much more than just advertising; so the layperson may interpret “search engine marketing” to mean any use of search engines, both paid and organic, to promote their business. Mirex Marketing considers Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to be both Search Engine Advertising (which we would coin as SEA), and Search Engine Optimization (SEO). (SEM = SEA + SEO). Further, the use of the label “pay-per-click” advertising is also becoming outadated, since there are now digital advertising platforms that allow the advertiser to pay for other high-value actions besides clicks. Mirex Marketing will therefore often abbreviate digital advertising as PPC+, for “pay-per-click plus”.
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Do you need creative services or plan to promote your business with content marketing?
Copy Writing
Copy writing could also be called “text production services”, and might even have other names depending on the planned creative, such as ghost writing for an entire book or script writing for audio and video creatives. Writing is the most basic of creative services and can be offered as a stand-alone service or in combination with other services. Indeed, all creative services begin with writing. Here are some common promotional creatives that might require extensive copy writing:
- Website Pages
- Blog Articles
- Press Releases
- Email Marketing & Newsletters
- Magazine or Newspaper Articles
- Direct Mail
- White Papers
- Ghost Writing for Books
- Script Writing for Audio and Video Production
Branding & Logo Design
Branding or creating a brand is the process of creating an entity with it’s own persona which represents the entire identity of the business or product that it represents. It encompasses everything about the product offering, market and target audience that it serves and might even include store design and business operations such as customer service, technical support or return processes.
As a service, Branding might include creating a name, logo, tagline and a full set of branded creatives, as well as helping you determine the target market and Ideal Customer Profile (ICP). Branding as a service can be customized on a consulting basis to meet your specific needs.
Creating a brand is much more than simply creating a logo. Yet, logo design can also be a stand-alone service. Perhaps you’ve already created the brand and need a logo that accurately represents it. Logo design is a common graphic design service (described in the next section), but is highlighted here as an important branding service because it influences or affects all following creatives that are ever made for that brand. It’s important to get it right early in the business so that it can carry into your other marketing with consistent, positive, forward momentum. See the description for the Mirex Marketing logo on the about page. Also get free logo design with a new website that has 10 or more pages.
Graphic Design & Illustration
Graphic design can be the creation of an individual graphic image, which may or may not include illustration and photography within the image (see photo services below), and it can be the layout design of a larger overall project, such as product packaging or a magazine (including digital magazines).
Mirex Marketing is mostly a digital marketing agency and therefore creates graphic designs for web. Yet all forms of traditional media have their online counterparts, and our graphic-designers are capable of creating designs for print and offline media. If you’re seeking design for print and offline media then you’d usually start with the printer who you plan to hire since they will often have a design team that can suite your needs. For when they don’t suite your needs, Mirex Marketing is available. Here are some common graphic design projects:
- Logo Design
- Infographics
- Business cards & stationary
- Book Covers/eBook Covers
- PowerPoint Presentation
- Digital or print Magazine, Newspaper or Newsletter
- Post cards, flyers, brochures and other small print
- Product packaging
- T-shirt Designs
- and much more
Motion Graphics Videos (Animation, Explainer Videos, White Board Videos)
With a good script, a motion graphics video is one of the most cost-effective forms of content that a business can have. It is quick and engaging media that can highlight the unique value proposition of your business within the attention span of common internet users. It improves the engagement and on-page time of website visitors. It increases conversions in ad campaigns. As video content it can be published on YouTube which also improves YouTube SEO. A stand-alone motion graphics video can be done completely remotely and is a very affordable project for the value it can bring to your marketing. Motion Graphics can also be incorporated into other, larger video production projects.
Motion graphics videos can be produced for both promotional and educational purposes, such as when it is needed for product training or staff training videos. When it is used for promotional purposes it is also often called an “explainer video” because it uses an advertorial tone to educate the customer and explain the value of the product or service. A common type of motion graphics video includes an animated human hand drawing the characters of the video on a white background; this format is called a “white board” video.
Business Photography in the Phoenix Metro Area
While the advancement of technology has placed a camera in everyone’s pocket, there are still occasions where you might need the services of a professional photographer who understands how the photography will be used to promote your business, either by itself or in conjunction with other creative services. Mirex Marketing has professional onsite photography services in the Phoenix area, complete with all needed lighting and equipment. Here are some common commercial photography projects:
- Professional head shots
- Photography for web and print creatives (websites, magazines, brochures, etc.)
- Product listings
- Event photography
- Candid & staged photography available
Photo Editing & Stock Photography
Photo editing can be provided as a stand-alone service or in conjunction with other creative services, such as copy writing and graphic design. While Mirex Marketing can only offer onsite photography in the Pheonix area, photo editing can be provided to any business nationwide on client-provided files. Custom photos are usually best, but not always available within the time frame or budget. So in cases where custom photography is not available, we can provide stock photography for your creatives, usually at no additional cost.
Audio Production
Mirex Marketing can provide the full range of audio production services from simple editing of client-provided files to local recording in the Phoenix area to commercial-grade audio ads. Audio production can be offered as a stand-alone service or in conjuction with video production. Do you record your own podcast and simply want the dead spots edited out, and maybe include a musical intro and outro at the beginning and end respectively? Mirex Marketing can help with that. Do you feel that internet radio advertising might help you achieve your marketing objectives? Mirex Marketing can help you produce commercial-grade audio ads.
Business Videography in the Phoenix Area
There is a wide range of video that can be produced to promote your business. While you can produce much of it on your own with your phone, there are occassions where your business will still need professional video services. Similar to onsite business photography mentioned above, Mirex Marketing can provide professional onsite videography and video recording services for businesses in the Phoenix area, complete with any needed crew, lighting and equipment. We can hire actors if required for the scope of the project, or we can coach you and your staff for an effective presentation. One common video service that we provide is the Shorts, Stories and Reels Videography Service which enables you to publish short-length vertical videos on social media almost daily (see also Social Media Marketing). Another common video service is commercial-grade video production for video advertising on YouTube and Streaming TV.
Video Editing, Stock Video and Complete Video Production
Video editing can be provided as a stand-alone service or in conjuction with motion graphics or complete video production. While onsite videography and video recording is only avialable in the Phoenix area, Mirex Marketing can provide video editing of client-provided files for any business nationwide. Do you record your own videos with a phone and want the dead spots edited out, and possibly have a graphic intro and outro edited in? Mirex Marketing can provide that. Of course custom videos are always best, but if time, budget or logistics don’t allow custom video for the project, then we can provide stock video as a cost-effective alternative. Whether you plan to use the video in organic or paid channels, Mirex Marketing can help from simple editing to complete video production, up to and including commercial-grade video for video advertising.
Organic Content Marketing
All of the creative services listed above can be used to create content for your business or supplement the content your business is already producing in-house. That content can then be published in various places online to reach a targeted audience through Organic Content Marketing. As noted above, Content Marketing usually implies that content is published organically. However, Mirex Marketing considers “marketing” to be the use of both earned and paid media, so Content Marketing can be both Organic Content Marketing and Paid Content Marketing (CM = OCM + PCM).
Content can be published on your own properties, such as your Blog, YouTube Channel, or Podcasting account. It can also be published on multiple social media sites and guest posting platforms online. Technically social media is not just the social networks like Facebook that people often think of. Social Media can be any site online that allows users to submit content or communicate with other users. In that respect, the deeper we dive into Organic Content Marketing the harder it becomes to distinguish it from Social Media Marketing or vice versa. Also, the deeper we dive into Organic Content Marketing the harder it becomes to distinguish it from SEO. It’s essentially “Content SEO”.
If any type of Content Marketing is part of your marketing mix, then Mirex Marketing can help you with creative services and publish the content where you need it. We can create custom packages for you where tasks are performed regularly every month or provide the services a la carte. Our team is prepared to help you in the way that fits the needs of your business best.
Paid Content Marketing
All of the creative services listed above can be used for ad creative production, including text, display, audio and video ads. Some might consider Paid Content Marketing to simply be PPC+ Advertising, but the term can imply more than just advertising for clicks, traffic and conversions. It implies that even though it is paid advertising there is still a focus on content. That content can be used as more of an “advertorial” strategy where it still promotes the business but uses an educational tone with a softer call to action than simply “buy now” or “call us today”. Just as content can be used organically to tell a story, explain a unique value proposition in a non-threatening way, or provide the “why” in a why-how-what strategy, that same content can be boosted and seen by more people with paid ads. Businesses that need awareness or who need to educate their leads before converting them into customers can make good us of paid content marketing. An initial campaign might be used to an email marketing list or other database that can then be used for remarketing. Remarketing campaigns can then be run through the same advertisign channel, different channels or email marketing.
One type of digital advertising that can focus on content is Native Advertising. These ads appear as native content within the site where they are displayed, except for a non-obtrusive label that it is “sponsored” content. The ads might then appear on sites that match the target market for the business.
All Traditional Media Has Their Online Counterparts
There are still plenty of old-school business owners out there who don’t understand the importance of digital marketing. Somehow the digital landscape is so obscure to them that they still cling to traditional media for promoting their business. Maybe they find closure in it because they can see their ad in print for themselves, so they know they must be getting the service they are paying for. If it helps, all forms of traditional media have their online counterparts – the phone book, newspapers, radio, TV and other media are all online now. The modern phone book is Local Marketing & Reputation Management as well as Search Ads. The internet counterpart of newspaper or magazine advertising would be Native Ads. If you want to advertise on the radio or TV, no problem, we have Internet Radio Advertising and Streaming TV Advertising.
Mirex Marketing might be one of the few digital agencies that will attest that traditional media still has a place in the marketing mix of plenty of businesses, but all businesses should consider digital first. Mirex Marketing would be happy to put any digital media or advertising to the test against traditional marketing to show that you will get higher quality leads faster and cheaper than what you’d pay in traditional media.
Email Marketing
Email Marketing is particularly useful for B2B businesses, coaching business, retail and any business that has frequent sales, promotions or discounts, or has a need to educate their clients on an ongoing basis. It is the most cost-effective form of remarketing and can be used to help get new customers, get current customers to buy more and get current customers to buy more often. And it usually all starts with offering a giveaway on your website so that visitors opt-in to your email list. Mirex Marketing can help with all aspects of this, from helping you create the giveaway or promotions, to setting up the campaigns and helping you evaluate them.
When popups are used appropriately, they can supplement conversion optimization on your website, and the most common popups are prompts to get the user to opt-in to an email newsletter.
Digital Downloads, Informational Products & Affiliate Marketing
Down to this point it has been implied that the purpose of making creatives, marketing collateral, and content is for the promotion of your business, but the sale of these products can be an additional income stream for your business or even your entire business. Digital products which the user can download or access online are among the best products to sell online because the delivery of these products is instant upon payment (the user can download or access these products instantly compared to any tangible items which require time for shipping). Digital downloads are often called Informational Products because they provide information that is worth paying for. Digital products can also provide various forms of entertainment, which are available for download or streaming online.
If you’d like to create digital downloads that you intend to sell, Mirex Marketing can assist you with creative services. If you’d like to sell your informational products on your own website, then Mirex Marketing can build an appropriate website complete with shopping cart funcitonality and membership portal. And, if you’d like a commission-based sales force to promote your digital products, then Mirex Marketing can even build an affiliate marketing platform on your website too.
Affiliate Marketing is when an affiliate promotes their unique affiliate link to your products (this is a tracking link that forwards to your store, website or product). When anyone clicks on that link and buys your product, the affiliate is paid a commission. Bloggers and Social Media Influencers often use affiliate programs for additional income. You can have an affiliate program on your own website (the most common corporate example of that is Amazon Associates), or you can promote your products on any of many Affiliate Markets. These market places often have thier own verbiage, yet the major players are the product owners, the affiliates and marketplace itself (which can provide tracking and automated payments).
Book Publishing Packages
A lot of book publishing agencies often oversell their services because either the author does not recognize what happens on the backend or it’s simply a glorified book editing service. Mirex Marketing can help you get your book written, edited and published on places like Amazon. Usually we can also do a better job of marketing the book once it’s published. Beyond that we educate our clients so that they actually know what they are getting. If you are considering any book publishing agency, then talk to us a for a free second opinion.