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What is Local SEO, and How Does it Work?

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Jump Start Your Local SEO Presence

Local SEO is a type of Local Search Engine Optimization that focuses on optimizing a website for local search. Local SEO can be defined as increasing online visibility to rank higher in regional search engine results pages, such as Google Maps and Yelp. Local SEO services help businesses get found by customers looking for them within their geographical area. Local companies that are not employing Local Search Engine Optimizations techniques may eventually be pushed out of business by competition from those who use these techniques.

How Does Local SEO Differ From SEO?

The first and one of the most significant differences in how Local SEO focuses on geographical areas. There is a need for special attention to local SEO san Diego because US search engine traffic has shifted towards local results. Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and AOL are all moving their sites towards a more specialized approach wherein they give higher priority to local listings. This means that people who don’t live in San Diego may not find it on the first page of Google’s search results. How to Get Started with Local SEO If you have a website, the chances are that it is already optimized for search engines.

While many web designers will automatically install meta tags and follow other optimization principles, customers undoubtedly would rather not trouble themselves with the process. That is where GMB comes into play. How Can Local SEO Services Help Small Companies with Online Marketing? How can GMB help small businesses succeed online?

The answer is simple – by offering SEO services. We know that it is not easy to market your business on the internet because of all the competitors out there, but we are here to help you weed them out and get your business to the top of the search engine results. How Our SEO Services Work To rank high on Google and other search engines, we need you to complete a profile for your businesses online.

These profiles give search engine crawlers data that they can use to rank your website correctly in their search results. The only way people will find your business online is if the search engines know where you are located. How The Profiles Work Google, Yahoo!, and Bing understand that a website’s physical location is important and will use it for local ranking data.

By filling out our Google My Business forms, we can provide search engine crawlers with information about your address and phone number so they can connect your website to a local area.

How Does Link-Building For Local SEO Work in San Diego?

There are many ways to go about getting links, but one of the most effective is Through content marketing, the idea is to produce valuable, interesting, and engaging content that will appeal to your target audience and attract links. But it doesn’t stop there: you need to distribute your content on social media channels like Twitter and Facebook.

You can also submit articles for publication on third-party websites or blogs to gain backlinks from those sites. This tactic often involves a two-step process with guest blogging as the first step, followed by submitting an article written for another location or blog which incorporates a link back to your original post/page on your site. It’s essential not only that you have valuable information – but that you share it engagingly.

Once you have the right content, it’s time to distribute it. Let’s say your target audience is local businesses and consumers in a specific area – let’s call it “Midtown.” If you create a blog post that serves this community by answering questions or providing tips, for example, make sure those people can find it.

This means submitting the content on Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, and other social media sites. Post articles on niche forums or through advertising with YPN (Yellow Pages Network). Put your content in local directories like Google Places and Yelp.

If you can get people talking about your content, often referred to as “content amplification,” search engines will be more likely to notice you (because people use search engines when they search for information, right?). This is where social media like Facebook and Twitter comes in: it’s a great way to tell your story.

All of this work might sound difficult, but it can be pretty straightforward if you have a good content marketing strategy.

One way to get started is by downloading a free SEO eBook or search engine optimization guide that can put you on the right path.

One last thing: don’t forget local search, which brings people looking for services and products in your area. You want to make sure people who search locally know about you – because if you don’t, your competitors will.

What Does a Content Strategy Look Like For Local SEO?

Google search engine is the most popular search engine on Earth. It’s not surprising that search engines are paying more attention to local search results. With Google My Business, professions in San Diego, CA, can now manage their online presence across various platforms and channels, including Google Search, Maps, YouTube, and Gmail!

Research your competitors

It would help if you always researched what other companies in your area are doing well. If you know what they’re doing wrong or right, it will be easier for you to create a strategy that best fits your goals and objectives. For example, if one of your competitors is using video marketing, you should think about implementing video into your content strategy.- Create an editorial calendar – When creating an editorial calendar, you want to ensure that it’s easy for search engines to crawl and find your website. You can do this by using the search engine’s preferred file types, such as HTML or XML, instead of MP3 files. Make sure you use descriptive headings and keywords so search engines can quickly identify which content goes with which keyword.

Get found on search engines

There are search engine optimization (SEO) firms that specialize in local search engine optimization. If you choose to work with one, make sure they have a good understanding of how search engines rank your website.- Use images and video on your site – Images can be one of the essential factors in your search rankings because search engines are now analyzing search queries and searches with images.

Optimize search engine listings

Claim your listing on Google, Yahoo, Bing, and other search engines. Ensure all the information is accurate for search engines to be able to rank your business. If you don’t claim your search listing, a search engine won’t know that you are a local business.

Make search engines aware of your changes.

Search engines will not know about your site once you update your location unless you submit a change report. Google requires you to submit a search engine update request after a certain number of days with an updated sitemap on Google’s Search Console(webmaster tools) page.

Update content regularly

Updating your website’s content regularly is one of the essential search engine optimization (SEO) techniques. It can be very time-consuming and tedious, but it pays off in spades if you do it right.

A good content marketing strategy starts with a well-planned editorial calendar that includes keywords, images, and video to satisfy search engines. You want search engines to know about any changes you make to your site so they can rank you higher for related searches. And finally, continually update your web pages as much as possible because search engines like fresh content.

Landing Pages

Landing pages are a crucial part of search engine optimization.

A landing page is any web page that has been optimized for conversion. The term originated in direct response marketing, where the goal was to get people to “land” on your website and buy something – usually by filling out a form or purchasing an offer.

Most websites have at least one landing page that they use as their homepage. However, search engines don’t rank these types of pages very highly because there’s no way to know what content will be seen first when someone clicks it (or if they click it). That means search engines can’t assign trustworthiness or reliability to those pages – which is why search engines like fresh content instead! The best choice is to build out a specific landing pages for search engines to rank.

A common type of landing page is designed with search engine optimization in mind. That usually means it includes a headline, description meta tag, and search terms that you want search engines to find your website for. You can also create content around specific keywords to help search engines index your site more easily. One hugely important factor is a straightforward call to action and a simple NAP form in the header.

So What is NAP?

NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number. This information is searchable on search engine websites. The NAP should be included in your website’s navigation and are usually a search engine optimization technique that you can have on your search engine listings page.

OUR LOCAL San Diego SEO MARKETING PROCESS

Successful GMB campaigns must be maintained and updated by editing details whenever necessary. It is vital to have this information on a website so customers can see who the business is, what they do, and how they perform. Local SEO marketing involves specific steps that help a company gain visibility online.

First steps

  • Know your customer
  • Create a Google My Business listing
  • Submit accurate company information to local directories
  • Build high-quality links from relevant sites and social media networks
  • Conduct keyword research for conversion optimization
  • Publish content on a blog
  • Get reviews from customers and influencers
  • Monitor your progress with analytics tools
  • Create backlinks to improve trustworthiness and increase visibility.

Working with our agency for optimizing your GMB listing

There are always new opportunities to reach your customers. We want to help you take advantage of them all!

We can help you optimize your GMB listing in San Diego, CA, so that it reaches the right people in your target audience with the right message at the right time. Whether through our social media optimization services or other digital marketing strategies, we will work with you to drive targeted traffic and leads for your business.

You don’t have to do this alone! Contact us today for more information on providing a customized solution for growing your business online.

UserWay Review: The Easiest Way to Ensure Compliance

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Women in wheelchair on phone with laptop

Here at Gee Productions, we’re always looking for ways to ensure our websites live up to expectations. Our latest venture is into improving website accessibility, and for this we chose UserWay.

We’re now affiliates with UserWay, and as such get a small commission if you sign up to their service using our link.

To help you decide whether UserWay is the right choice for your business, here is a review based on our experience and a brief comparison with other accessibility widgets.

What is UserWay?

UserWay is a website plug-in that provides on-page accessibility options that are compliant with ADA and WCAG regulations. The website widget provides options for:

  • Screen reading
  • Keyboard navigation
  • Contrast adjustment
  • Text adjustments (size, font, spacing)
  • Larger cursor
  • And more

Perhaps the easiest way for you to see what the widget offers is to have a browse. You’ll find it in the bottom left corner of this webpage.

It’s easy for website owners to set up because it only requires one line of code, and you can install it as a plug-in on your site.

How Much Does UserWay Cost?

UserWay offers a free WordPress plug-in that provides basic functionality. It includes voiceover options and keyboard functions, but not much else. However, it’s enough to get started.

Alternatively, there are monthly and annual subscription plans starting from $49 a month or $490 a year. This is the price scale for small businesses with fewer than 100,000 monthly page views.

There are also options for medium and large businesses, which are understandably more expensive. Each comes with the option for a free trial so you can test out the widget’s features.

How Does UserWay Work?

UserWay provides a widget that makes no changes to your website’s existing code. As a result, it’s very easy to integrate and won’t have any major impact on your website’s current functionality.

It uses AI to scan your website’s pages and check them against ADA and WCAG regulations (we’ll explain these later). Once this is complete, it provides voice and text functions to ensure immediate compliance and will run regular checks on new content to maintain this.

The higher levels assign you an account manager who monitors everything for you, but it’s designed to be easy enough for business owners (or their website managers) to digest and use the information it provides.

What are ADA and WCAG?

ADA is the Americans with Disabilities Act, which became law in 1990. It prevents discrimination against anyone with disabilities and is most commonly seen in building management (accessible toilets, ramps, automatic doors, etc.).

Online, however, it refers to features such as screen reading, resizable text, stopping animations, and more. In short, it helps make your website accessible for all.

The WCAG is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, a resource that defines the basics of website accessibility. Currently, we’re on version 2.1, although 2.2 is due in late 2021.

It offers much the same information as ADA regulations but with specific figures. For example, the zoom function must reach 200%, video content should feature captions, and websites should feature consistent navigation.

The WCAG rates accessibility features into a checklist of three levels. These are:

  • A: Some users can access the site.
  • AA: Almost all users can access the site.
  • AAA: All users can access the site.

The benefit of using a widget is that you don’t need to read and memorize all levels of WCAG and ADA compliance. Apps like UserWay get updated every time there are changes to the rules, meaning you simply install the plug-in and let it do its thing.

Why is Compliance Important?

As a small business, you want as many people as possible to visit your website. Greater accessibility means more potential visitors, which means more potential customers.

There’s no reason why those with accessibility concerns should miss out on the internet, which has been proven to be one of the most vital resources in our lives.

But, not being compliant with ADA regulations leaves you open to lawsuits. It happened to Domino’s Pizza back in 2019 when a blind man sued the company (and won) because their website didn’t provide text reading functionality.

So, while we all want more web traffic, it’s important to note that current regulations require your website to be accessible to as many people as possible. If it’s not, you leave yourself open to lawsuits.

Unfortunately, online accessibility isn’t something many people think about when creating their websites. That’s why a plug-in like UserWay is a good idea. It does the work for you and fixes errors you might not have even considered.

What Compliance Features Does UserWay Offer?

Compliance is the big issue here, so any widget that claims to provide ADA compliance must offer at least the minimum functionality. Luckily, UserWay has this, and more.

Here’s a brief roundup of some of the features UserWay offers. You can find a more detailed list on their site, where you can also request a demo.

Visual Access

The widget provides a zoom function (up to 200%) along with other UX fixes. You can adjust the contrast and color of the webpage, including putting it into grayscale.

There are also options to highlight links on the page, use a dyslexic-accessible font, and enlarge the cursor.

Visual accessibility options are arguably considered the bare minimum, but luckily UserWay does them well.

Screen Reading

UserWay includes a screen reading function that is incompatible with third-party readers, such as Jaws or NVDA. Unlike these programs, it doesn’t require images to have alt text or the site to include other code elements.

Instead, it simply reads the page from top to bottom. Unfortunately, this doesn’t help all that much because it doesn’t make it obvious what’s being read.

Even so, it’s a helpful alternative to specific programs because it doesn’t require extra code (although you should have this on your website anyway).

Pause Animations

Animations are a minimum expectation in modern website design. However, they’re difficult territory for those with photosensitivity conditions, such as epilepsy.

UserWay’s pause animations function does exactly what it needs to. It’s a simple thing but it doesn’t need to do any more.

Page Adjustments

UserWay provides a host of other page adjustments, such as line height and text alignment. There’s also a dictionary search function, which makes up for the text adjustment features you might find in other accessibility plug-ins.

The paid versions of UserWay include language functionality too, such as unusual words and abbreviations. These features help people with cognitive impairments to understand the copy on your webpage.

Of course, it’s vital to ensure any content on your site is clear and easy to understand anyway. You might have seen the difficulty AI translation software has with ambiguous words, and this is no different.

Comparison with Other Services

As you can imagine, UserWay isn’t the only accessibility plug-in on the market. It does everything we need (which is why we chose it), but it might help to offer a comparison with some of the other big names in web accessibility.

Siteimprove

Siteimprove provides accessibility features for websites, but not in the form of a plug-in.

Its website doesn’t provide pricing options and there are no free trials. You can schedule a demo, however.

Much like UserWay, it provides WCAG-compliant options up to the AAA level, meaning its sites are accessible to all.

Unlike UserWay, it’s done manually rather than through AI. Considering this, it’s likely to be far more expensive.

AccessiBe

AccessiBe prides itself on using more than 250,000 lines of code. But, as UserWay has proven, this isn’t necessary. If nothing else, it means greater integration, more chances for something to go wrong, and the need to outsource the work.

It doesn’t provide anything more than UserWay, and uses the same price scale. Therefore, it makes more sense to stick with the simpler option.

AudioEye

AudioEye uses page certification to let you know how compliant each page is. While using visuals is helpful, it doesn’t make much difference in the long run. You need to know whether your page is fully compliant and how to fix any issues.

It offers a free trial and its basic monthly package is the same price as UserWay. AudioEye’s higher levels are more expensive than UserWay’s, however.

It uses the same autonomous page scanning and also automatically fixes common issues. But, considering you can get this for less money through UserWay, there’s little need.

Conclusion: Why Choose UserWay

Although UserWay isn’t the only accessibility product on the market, it’s certainly one of the easiest to use. It does everything you need to make your website compliant with ADA and WCAG rules.

Better still, it does this using only a single script of code, meaning it’s incredibly simple for anyone to integrate into their website.

If it sounds like the right accessibility widget for your business site, sign up through the link below. And, if you have any comments, questions, or feedback, please feel free to contact us for more information.

UserWay Sign Up

Amezola Legal Group

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How brand identity expertise inspired
a decade of growth for law firm

About Amezola Legal Group, APC

Founded a decade ago, Amezola Legal Group, APC focuses on immigration law issues, such as citizenship and naturalization, deportation defense and family law.

Amezola’s experienced legal team, which is based in San Diego, CA strives for excellence in all areas of practice. They are earnestly invested in delivering clients the best results possible.

The Challenge

In the US alone, more than 1.3 million attorneys currently compete for clients, according to statistics from the American Bar Association.

Standing out in this over-saturated marketplace, means law firms must do more than ever before to stand out from the crowd and secure new business.

When attorney Maricela Amezola decided to create Amezola Legal Group in 2011, she recognized the need for a strong corporate identity, alongside easy online access.

As a one-person team, she turned to Gee Productions for the support and expert guidance necessary to develop her brand.

The Process

Gee Productions set up a consultation to find out more about Maricela, her business, and its goals.

Working in close partnership, Gee Productions developed a brand strategy, supported by a suite of brand identity design materials.

“Our vision was to create a brand which was professional and authoritative, while maintaining that personal connection,” explains Javi Gonzalez, founder of Gee Productions.

He continues: “Our team undertook an in-depth look at Amezola Legal Group, as well as its prospective clients.

“By understanding the needs of both groups, we conceived a full set of branding materials, including: a logo, website, business cards and graphic design elements.”

Over the past decade, updating these resources and introducing new website features has allowed Amezola Legal Group to keep its brand-identity and materials current and fresh.

Maricela Amezola Business Cards
Amezola Legal Group, APC - Website Design

 

Results

Working so closely together for more than a decade means that, now, Maricela always knows where to turn whenever she needs updates to her website, marketing and graphic design needs, as well as email support.

Just as this relationship has grown significantly, so has Maricela Amezola’s business.

Over the past decade, the relationship between Amezola Legal Group has grown significantly, as has Maricela Amezola’s business.

Starting out as a one-woman band, her firm, Amezola Legal Group now employs legal teams across two locations in the San Diego area.

Of their success, Maricela says: 

Javi and his team are exceptional. I am happy with his service and his vision for website design. I have been working with Javi for 10 years and he is a truly professional and dedicated individual.

Maricela Amezola - Owner

To discover the difference that Javi and Gee Productions can make for your business, book your free 20-minute consultation.

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Legend Fence Corp

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Legend Fence Corp

How Page Optimization and SEO Helped a Local Business Grow its Audience

About Legend Fence Corp.

Legend Fence Corp. is a family-run fence installation company that’s been in business for around 20 years. The owner, Edgar Garcia, is incredibly proud of the work he provides and wanted a high-quality website to generate more leads.

The Challenge

Search engine optimization is a blessing and a curse for many businesses. While it’s great to appear at the top of listings, sliding down rankings can make your business seem undesirable to potential customers.

Therefore, designing a quality website that books search engine rankings is vital. A company’s website needs to be clean, effective, and usable.

The Process

After Edgar approached Gee Productions, the process began with an initial consultation. This allowed Gee Productions to determine Edgar’s needs, which were a better online presence and social media management.

Also, Legend Fence Corp. needed a website that matched the quality of its services and was optimized to generate local leads.

Gee Productions began with some preliminary drafts of the website after creating a business strategy. It was decided that the business’s family-run element would help to generate leads in its potential market, so this was put front and center.

For the website content, Gee Productions conducted keyword research and both on-page and off-page optimization.

The next step was to develop a social media marketing strategy and to optimize the business’s Yelp and Google My Business pages. The aim was to generate leads and funnel them to the website where there would be a contact form.

Gee Productions set up Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages to create content and generate interest among potential customers.

Results

Gee Productions and Legend Fence Corp. have worked together for 3 years, during which time the company’s online platforms have generated hundreds of leads.

“The key to developing an effective business strategy is to identify its unique selling point,” explained Javi Gonzalez, founder of Gee Productions.

“For Legend Fence, we felt their USP was that it’s a family-owned, family-run business. Considering their potential market in San Diego, we knew this would work well for them.”

Gee Productions continues to work with Legend Fence, developing their marketing content and optimizing their business pages as information changes.

If you’d like to see how Gee Productions can help with your business strategy, book your free 20-minute consultation today.

Clayful Beauty

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Turning a Hobby into a Business Using Effective Online Marketing

About Clayful Beauty

Mari of Clayful Beauty has been making polymer clay earrings since January 2021. Recently, she decided to turn it into a business and enlisted the help of Gee Productions for website design and brand strategy.

The Challenge

Launching a small business requires learning numerous different skills. What’s more, many hang on a knife-edge, and the difference between success and failure can be as small as an effective website.

As more and more people launch their own businesses, it becomes harder to carve out a niche within a potentially saturated market. Mari knew she needed an online presence but didn’t know where to start. That’s where Gee Productions came in.

The Process

Gee Productions conducted an initial fact-finding mission with Mari to learn more about her business, her goals, and what she wanted from her online presence. The result was the beginnings of a strategy.

First, Gee Productions helped Mari decide on a brand identity and name. ClayfulBeauty.com was born, and this led into Mari’s overall business strategy. Her main goals were to generate leads through social media and convert them into sales of clay earrings on her website.

Next, Gee Productions designed and built Mari’s website, including its e-commerce side. Sales needed to be quick and easy with multiple payment options. Plus, Mari wanted to make custom earrings so there needed to be a simple contact option for customers.

After the website, Gee Productions moved onto the social media marketing aspect. Part of the strategy was to generate leads on social media, particularly Instagram due to its visual nature.

“Creating a sales funnel from social media to an e-commerce site is standard practice nowadays,” commented Javi Gonzalez, founder of Gee Productions.

“Mari’s business is selling earrings, but it’s also selling a look. This was instrumental to developing her business strategy and is why we put so much focus on social media marketing.”

Laptop Instagram Pinterest

Results

ClayfulBeauty.com launched around May 2021 and the results have been staggering. Mari has made a good effort in building her brand on social media and has already generated a good size audience.

Thankfully, this has led to sales on Mari’s e-commerce site too.

Gee Productions will continue to provide support and Mari knows to come back whenever she needs to adjust her website and marketing content.

If you’d like to see how Gee Productions can revolutionize your online presence and brand identity, book your 20-minute free consultation now.

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Quality Aircraft Detailing

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Brand Identity and Online Presence For An Aircrafit Detailing Services in LA

 

About Quality Aircraft Detailing

The company has operated for nearly 20 years and is a family owned and run business. Offers mobile aircraft cleaning services in Van Nuys, Burbank, Camarillo, and other nearby airports.
 

The Challenge

In 2019, Ana from Quality Aircraft Detailing contacted Gee Productions for help with the company’s website. With nearly 20 years of industry experience, the company needed to develop its online presence to match its website to its business model and quality of work.

Solution

Gee Productions used its experience in branding to help QAD settle on a clear and concise brand identity. As a mobile aircraft cleaning company, QAD has a unique market position that we were able to leverage to our advantage.

We helped them to solidify their company goals and mission statement, both fundamental to clear branding. These appear on their website as the cornerstone of their brand identity.

As part of developing QAD’s brand identity, we also designed their logo. It’s an impactful logo that makes it clear what the company offers. Sometimes, simple is best.

 

 

Once we had this covered, we designed and built a website that reflected their business niche and need for an online presence. We chose a clear, concise layout and light color scheme with easy navigation and a responsive layout. Of course, the website is optimized for mobile, too.

Generating leads was one of our main concerns, so we added a contact tab to the website and a contact form at the bottom of every page. This makes it easy for potential customers to reach out to QAD and just as easy for QAD to convert leads into sales.

Quality Aircraft Detailing - Website Design

 

QAD was involved throughout the process, as we believe in collaboration. Ana from QAD checked over our designs and website draft, and was very happy with our choices.

As part of the design, we clarified with QAD why clear brand identity is vital for generating leads and building an online presence. QAD already knew their brand identity, as many companies do, but putting it into words is something else entirely. That’s where we came in.

Along with the logo and website, Gee Productions created business cards for QAD. We also ensured we’d provide support during development and rollout of the website and rebranding effort. We’ll also continue to provide support when needed in the future.

Now, we’ve launched the website, and QAD is very happy with the results. As are we! Take a look over the site, and if you like what you see, contact us for help with your branding campaign.

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Why Branding for Musicians is Just as Important as the Music

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Why Branding for Musicians is Just as Important as the Music

Table of Contents

The cornerstone of a musician’s success is, of course, their music. But you could be the most talented musician in the world and fail to get anywhere without effective branding.

After all, musicians effectively function like any other business. They sell a product (their music) to an audience, and therefore need a well structured brand strategy to get themselves out there.

Here at Gee Productions, we appreciate that the idea of branding and brand strategy can seem confusing – and potentially pointless – to musicians. But as branding experts, we know the difference it can make. Here’s why branding for musicians is just as important as the music.

What is branding for musicians?

Simply put, branding is about creating your desired business image in the minds of your audience. Once you start picking apart this statement, though, the idea of branding becomes much more complicated.

Most people consider a brand to be a logo or product/service, but it’s much more than that. The industry definition of a brand is summarized as the gut feeling customers have when they interact with a company’s product or service.

This might seem like a confusing definition when you think of a brand like IBM or Visa, but it actually makes plenty of sense when you think about musicians.

Music is all about emotion: happy songs make you want to dance, sad songs can help you realize and overcome your own negative emotions. Music, at its most basic level, is emotion.

For businesses not in such an emotionally charged industry, this desired gut feeling is often trust or professionalism. But for musicians, it can essentially be whatever you want it to be.

Brand identity vs. brand

To create this emotional connection with your audience, you need a suitable brand identity. Brand identity is the same as a brand, right? Not quite.

Brand identity is effectively the complete opposite of a brand. If a brand is defined as emotion, brand identity is things you can see, perceive, and interact with.

It includes the things many people think of as a brand, such as:

• Logo
• Typeface
• Website design
• Color scheme
• Merchandise

Brand identity is used to influence the way customers feel about a particular brand. Take a couple of well-known bands as examples.

Red Hot Chili Peppers are a world-renowned band. Their brand identity has shifted considerably over their history but one thing has remained true: their logo. It appears on albums, merch, visuals, everything.

While you might not be able to make a face-value judgment of the kind of music they make based on their brand identity, it remains consistent even as they reinvent other aspects of their image.

Weezer is a great example of brand identity for a band. They have a distinctive, recognizable logo, a specific font for their band name, and a clear visual unity among the band’s members.

Another key aspect of their brand identity is their album names. While not true of every album they’ve released, many are based on colors (much like the Beatles’ albums). For example, you have the Red Album, the White Album, the Teal Album, and more. Again, this boils down to a recognizable aspect of their brand identity.

Then let’s consider someone at the opposite end of the spectrum: Lady Gaga. She’s an interesting example because her brand identity changes with each album, but always remains in the sphere of pop visuals.

It’s often colorful with different artistic influences. Her latest album, for example, is heavily influenced by 90s aesthetics. However, it’s still true to her roots as a pop artist. Again, if you took her at face value based on her brand identity, you could make a judgment as to what her music will be.

In short, brand is feeling and brand identity is visual. You can have a successful brand without a carefully considered brand identity.

Working with branding

But how does branding relate to all this? Simply put, it’s combining the two to reach your target.

You use your brand identity to create your brand through the process of branding.

The brand is the result and branding is the process.

To make this journey as smooth as possible, you need a brand strategy. These are the steps you’ll take to clarify your purpose and work out where you want to go.

You have to ask yourself, “Other than for money, why am I doing this? Where am I heading, and how do I get there?”

Thinking about these questions and deciding on some answers will really help you to streamline your branding to arrive at your desired image.

Let’s think about it using an example that’ll hopefully be familiar to most musicians: songwriting.

The songwriting process is your brand strategy, and the end result (the finished song) is your brand. Each of the various parts of a song (verse, pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, etc.) represent different parts of a brand strategy, such as marketing, brand identity, and so on.

During the writing process you think of the story you want the song to tell. In doing so, you aim to connect with your fans over a shared experience or emotion – that’s the entire purpose of writing a song.

Sometimes it can take a long time to write a song, and while some parts may seem more important than others, you can’t have a complete song without each part receiving the attention it deserves.

The same is true for a brand strategy. As a musician, you might feel your social media presence is more important than, say, your website, but you need both to function properly.

Alternatively, you might think that you don’t need to conduct market research. But without it, you won’t know what sets you apart from everyone else and what you can use as your unique marketing points.

At the most basic level, being a musician is about making music. However, if you want to get your name out there (which most musicians do) then you’ll need to work out your brand identity and brand strategy.

Conclusion

Branding is as important for musicians as any other form of business. In fact, branding is something musicians have always done, but haven’t necessarily given it the industry title.

Either way, it’s a vital process for creating a successful identity as an artist.

If you’re a musician in need of effective branding, contact Gee Productions. We can help refine your brand identity and developing an effective brand strategy. What’s more, we know how important this is for musicians. Get in touch for a free consultation and see how we can help.

How Musiversal Helped Me Take My Music to the Next Level

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Guitar, Guitar Pick and Piano

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In my spare time outside of this business I like to make music. I recently began recording my first track of the year and decided to try out a new platform, Musiversal, to see if I could take it to the next level.

In short, it gave me everything I needed and more, and now I’m a big fan. I thought I’d take this opportunity to share my experience with you in the hopes it’ll get you hooked too.

What is Musiversal?

Musiversal is basically an online platform for hiring session musicians. Rather than simply relying on the same old samples you can access through production software, it allows you to hire session musicians to record real parts for your songs.

The site uses only top talent as its session musicians. There are some artists on there who have toured with major musical talent, so you know they’re credible musicians in their own right.

You can pick from a wide range of instruments, styles, and functions. Musiversal has you covered for bass, drums, vocals, keys, mixing, mastering, and a lot more. You have access to the right styles for your track and can listen to samples before making your selection.

How Does it Work?

The track I wrote is called “It’s True”. It’s about my feelings when I first met my wife, who is the love of my life. I’m sure it’s something many people can relate to. I chose a mix of rock and modern psychedelia, and recorded my vocals, acoustic guitar and midi instruments on my DAW.

What the song really lacked was decent bass and drum tracks. I searched for samples and loops on my DAW but nothing really fitted the mood. After taking a break to recoup I was hit by the almost too-perfect Facebook ad: Musiversal, record with real musicians. Better yet, it offered a 14-day free trial.

I jumped over to the website, took a look around, and decided it might be exactly what I was looking for. And with a 14-day free trial, there wasn’t much to lose. After the trial ends, you choose from one of the 3 subscription plans:

  • Essential (5 sessions a month)
  • Pro (unlimited sessions a month)
  • Business (terms to be discussed directly)

I chose the Essential plan, created my account, and booked my first session within a few minutes. Each session is 30 minutes via Zoom, during which you discuss your track and requirements with your chosen musician.

As part of the process you access the musician’s availability, and upload any files if needed. This gives them the chance to listen to your track in advance so they can come up with some ideas. Obviously this is a big help with the relatively short meeting times.

Musiversal sends you an email confirmation, and then 24 hours before the session you get a Zoom link for the meeting and an Audiomovers link for the audio stream.

I started with drums and chose Nate Barnes. It’s safe to say Nate was a great guy to work with. I explained my direction and he nailed it in 3 takes. After listening to my song he even said it was catchy!

Nate sent me the drum audio files within 24 hours and that was that.

Next, I went with Pablo Arruda for the bass track. I followed the same process as before and sent him the audio files, this time with the drums included. Obviously, drums and bass are fairly synchronous instruments, so this was a big help.

In fact, I told Pablo that he could improvise whatever he felt would fit with the drum track. He said he was impressed with Nate’s skills and that he agreed this would be the best way forwards. Within 2 takes I had my bass track. Perfect!

What Happens Next?

Now that I’ve got the bare instruments down, including the next-level bass and drums, I’m working on my vocals a bit more. Once I’ve completed that, I’ll send it off for mixing and mastering.

I’ll probably use Musiversal for this too. While these services aren’t included in the subscription, they’re pay-per-mix and the prices are pretty reasonable.

In short, I’m a complete convert. I’ve been incredibly impressed with the level of service the musicians provided, and the benefit of working with such industry experts is that they bring their own knowledge to the table too.

Musiversal is arguably going to change the way we create music. It offers you the services of pro session musicians, something that was only reserved for a select few in the past.

So if you’re a musician looking to take your songs to the next level, why not give Musiversal a try? It’s super easy to understand, is highly accessible, and has loads of great musicians to choose from.

Listen To The Finished Song

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Is Professional Graphic Design and Branding Important for Musicians?

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Is Professional Graphic Design and Branding Important for Musicians?

Is Professional Graphic Design and Branding Important for Musicians?

Musicians arguably have a good starting point when it comes to branding. Their music is their unique contribution, meaning musicians often have a firm grasp of who they are.

But like anyone who sells products or services, musicians need strong branding to really make their mark on the industry. Therefore it’s vital for musicians to work on their branding, a large part of which is graphic design.

What is branding?

Branding is different to a brand. A brand is your company identity, summarized as the gut feeling customers have when presented with your product (in this case music).

Branding, on the other hand, is the process of shaping this brand in the minds of customers. If your brand is the result, branding the efforts you take to get there.

There are plenty of different methods you can use as part of the branding process, but not all of these are applicable to musicians.

Brand identity, defined as the name, tone, and visuals, is of course relevant, as is product packaging. In this case, product packing obviously refers to visuals on your albums and music releases.

Let’s look at an example of branding in music: Björk. Even those who aren’t fans of her music know her name and are probably aware of at least one song. Why? Because Björk has a powerful brand and knows how to handle branding.

Björk’s brand, in short, is Icelandic space princess. She’s “weird” and embraces that with every musical release. Her music is experimental, avant garde, and very niche, but it works.

Importantly, too, Björk’s branding changes with each album. She constantly reinvents her image, yet still manages to remain consistent and the dominant voice in her niche.

If you’re unfamiliar with her music, look up her albums in series: Debut, Post, Homogenic, and her more recent releases Volta and Biophilia. Seeing the massive differences between each album’s identity will help you to understand the power of branding for musicians.

Of course, this exercise is possible with almost any musician, although some have much stronger branding than others. That’s why Björk is a good example: her power for branding is very strong.

The cornerstone of branding: graphic design

But what does all of this boil down to for musicians? Simply put, good graphic design. Obviously your music is the product you’re selling, but like any business, it needs to be wrapped in sellable and unique packaging to really complete it.

Music is almost as visual as it is aural. Whether it’s album covers, music videos, or merch, songs are supported by visual elements.

These visual elements also help to strengthen a musician’s overall identity through association with powerful graphics that stand out from the crowd. At the most basic level, this will be a strong logo, but it goes much deeper than that.

Graphics play an important role in marketing, and using the same graphics across multiple platforms is the easiest way to create a coherent brand.

For musicians, these platforms include:

• Social media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.)
• Spotify and other streaming platforms
• YouTube
• Personal websites
• Album art

Of course, the list goes on, but the point is that your graphics should be adapted to the specific platform on which they’re being used.

It’s important to understand how each platform works in order to adapt graphics to suit. Here’s a brief rundown of the most important:

YouTube

Since its creation, YouTube has been an important platform for new artists trying to get their name out there. Look at Justin Bieber, for example, who was discovered on the site.

A YouTube channel gives plenty of opportunities to present your personal brand, from banner images and profile pictures to video thumbnails.

Visuals will help grab a potential viewer’s interest and tempt them into clicking on a video. After all, if they don’t know your music they’ll need something to hook them in.

Band/musician websites

A website is still the most useful central hub. It’s where you can collect and release information directly to fans, including news, music, tour dates, and merch.

As with any business, a website should be the end point of any marketing efforts.

Therefore, it’s important for it to stand out and really reflect your brand.

The good thing, you have ultimate control over a website’s visuals. Even a simple WordPress site can be transformed into a visual masterpiece with the right graphic design.

On a website, graphics will include your band logo, typography, color scheme, and so on. There’s a lot to think about on a website, so it’s worth getting right.

Album art

Although physical music releases have been on the decline, digital albums still need cover art.

Album covers are vital visual hooks for converting potential listeners into fans. It’s common for people to pick up an album based on its cover even before they know the music.

Graphic design for album covers presents a unique challenge. It’s important to get the branding right while also having complete freedom over how you achieve this.

Competition is fierce in the music industry, and one way to stand out is with incredible album artwork.

Marketing as a musician

The bottom line is that graphics should be marketable, and form an important part of the branding process.

Of course, they’re not the only part. It’s also necessary to have a clear brand strategy (how you plan to arrive at your end goal) in order to make best use of your branding efforts.

But good graphics mean strong branding. As a musician’s following grows, they have more opportunities to market themselves.

These strong graphics then have a wider reach and bring in more people. Over time the cycle repeats, each time with more success.

Getting graphic design right

As a musician, you might already have a strong idea of what image you want to portray.

But this doesn’t always translate into marketable materials that can be used across multiple platforms for best impact.

The best option is to hire a professional graphic designer, particularly one with marketing experience.

They will know how to translate your brand identity into a successful set of graphics and a relating branding process.

If this is something you need as a musician, contact Gee Productions. We are experienced graphic designers and marketers who know exactly how to sell your brand.

We’ll work with you to create your brand and related branding and brand strategy efforts. We can even take care of your website design and logo.

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