Linkedin boasts that it is the "world's largest professional network with nearly 660+ million users in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide."

So, isn't that enough for you? End of article. Go make a page.

Seriously, though, having a company page on LinkedIn can give your business an extra edge. Here are five reasons why:

This really applies to any social media, social news, or networking sites, but it is especially true for sites as large and heavily populated as LinkedIn. Simply put, your business should be as easy as possible to find online. Publishing a company page provides all kinds of automatic SEO for your business, courtesy of LinkedIn.  In fact, you should probably look into optimizing your page's content for search engines, too.

Think about your online presence like a storefront. Imagine you're looking to open an office supply store in a busy strip mall. You rent the space, finish the interior, and hire a sign broker (like me :) to purchase and install a sign on the front of your suite. Why do you buy the sign? It would be much cheaper to hand-paint the words "office supplies" on your door. In part, you do it because you want to look professional. A LinkedIn page does the same thing; it adds to your legitimacy. A company page communicates to your potential customers, "this business has got it together!"

There are few sadder sights than a dead social media profile. You've seen them. They've got their name, no profile picture, and "CEO" of a company that they've made up. You can do better than that!

Once you create a company page, you can add it to your profile. That way, it shows off your company's established brand. When you've got just the title of your company and no photo, it looks like you haven't put much effort into your profile, giving your customers a bad first impression of you.

Whether you're looking to share news, post jobs, or simply share a few fun pictures of employees at your company, you can do it all with a company page. It's a great way to strengthen your connection with the greater community.

Once you have a company page, people will be able to tag your company in their posts or on their profile. As soon as they post, you'll get a notification that someone tagged your company. The best part about this is not just that you'll notice when people are talking about you, but you'll also be able to exercise more control over your public image. When your company is tagged in a post, users can click the title and they'll be directed to your company page.

Are you looking for help getting started with LinkedIn? Are you just hoping to frame your profile picture nicely, find a good header image, or even get a brand new logo? Send me a message, and I'd be thrilled to give you a free consultation!

We all know that a good marketing firm can design a logo, flyers, websites, typography… but what are some other things a marketer can do for your business? Here at Mike Up North Design & Branding, I like to share with my clients some of the other services I can provide. Nowadays, anyone can throw together some basic graphics on a computer. But if you already work with and trust a designer, creating graphics on your own can be counter-productive. Not only am I probably faster at putting together graphics, I know how to make them work together beautifully to contribute to your business’ success. Here is a handful of things you can have me, your marketer, work on so that you can have the time to focus on your business.

According to marketing research by the Outdoor Advertising Association of America (OAAA), vehicle wraps provide the lowest cost-per-impression compared to any other type of advertising, catching the eyes of as much as 30,000-70,000 people per day! ​Wrapping a vehicle, or even just applying a large sticker, can really help to create a professional image for your company car while constantly advertising your business.

In 1971, then design student Carolyn Davidson famously designed the Nike Swoosh. Perhaps infamously, she was paid only $35 for the design. Even adjusting for inflation, that's only about $220 in 2018 dollars. No one knew at the time that the swoosh was to become arguably the most famous logo of the 20th century.

As I mentioned in last week's article, lettermarks and monograms are comprised of the initials of whatever they represent, where a pictorial logo simply symbolizes something, and may or may not use alphabetic characters. Some are abstract, like the swoosh, which is representative of the Greek goddess Nike. Other logos are based on a tangible object, like a target, a shell, or Lacoste's alligator. 

And hey, don't worry about Davidson. Although she only made a student wage creating the original Nike logo, she got a call from the company a few years later to come visit the office. She was gifted 500 shares of Nike stock, a diamond ring bearing the famous Swoosh in gold, and "so many referrals!" according to Davidson herself.

At the time of writing, the going rate of about $94 per share, meaning Davidson's stock is worth $47000. Not bad for a 50-year-old design!

What kind of logos do you prefer? How would you feel about an alligator representing your clothing company? A seashell to represent your gas station chain? Whatever your preference, Michael at Mike Up North can create a brand that helps you accomplish your business dreams. Contact me, and let's have a no-obligation coffee meeting! [email protected]. 

Many of the logos we see on a daily basis are comprised only of stylized text. 

So where does the term "monogram" come from? The “-gram” portion of the word comes from the Greek gramma, which refers to anything written by hand, whether that happened to be lines, shapes, or letters. “Mono-” comes from the Greek monos, which, of course, means “single” or “alone.”

Because of this etymology, I always expected monograms to refer exclusively to single-letter logos. The actual etymology is based on the concept that the monogram itself is a single culmination of multiple letters. So a “monogram” could be translated as “multiple written figures combined into a single symbol.”

That said, a monogram and a lettermark often refer to the same thing. In a personal context, monograms have historically been used to customize an object and to designate ownership. You may have seen monograms on handkerchiefs, stationary, or architecture.

​In a business context, monograms are often used as logos. Some notable examples are Louis Vuitton, Warner Brothers, and HBO. ​

Now, something important I would like to point out here: there is no official classification for these logo types. There is no agreed-upon authority for design terminology. As a result, there are lots of different opinions on how specifically we can classify logos. As a result, you can find articles on the "The 7 types of logos (and how to use them)" or the "5 Different Types of Logo Designs" or even "10 Types Of Logos And How To Use Them." The way I see it, the primary distinction between logo designs is their or exclusion of text.

Next week I'll talk about pictorial logos. What's your view on text-based logos? Do you have a favorite? What do you envision for your business? Shoot me an email, [email protected], and let's set up a free consultation. I'd be thrilled to have the opportunity to contribute to the growth of your business!